Russian colonization

The Russian colonization was a process of development or conquest of new territories by Muscovy and the Tsardom or Imperial Russia . In contrast to the colonization of most of the other European colonial powers, it was distinguished by the fact that it only marginally aimed at areas overseas, but primarily focused on continental expansion into neighboring areas such as North and Central Asia . This was often accompanied by internal colonialism . This was due on the one hand to the centuries-long lack of full access to the world's oceans, on the other hand to the presence of large, sometimes rather sparsely populated land masses in the immediate vicinity.

Lenin (in Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism ) portrays Russia in 1914 as the second largest colonial power behind England and ahead of other great powers such as France , Germany , the United States and other states. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union , large parts of these internal colonial territories and spheres of influence gained their independence , far later than the overseas colonies of the classical colonial powers.

Russian Empire at the time of its greatest expansion 1790–1860. The expansion of the Russian Empire clearly shows the importance of Russian colonialism.

Internal colonialism in Tsarist Russia

Since the 16th century, Russia expanded in six directions: in Siberia , in Central Europe , in Scandinavia , in Central Asia , in the Caucasus and in the Balkans .

Siberia and America

Russia first became a multi-ethnic state after the conquest of the Tatar khanates Kazan and Astrakhan in 1552 and 1556. Subsequently, the conquest of Siberia began, where after the fall of the khanate of Sibir the Russian Cossacks advanced further and further east, founded forts and the indigenous population forced tribute to the tsar. The fur trade and freedom from serfdom were a great drive for development and settlement . At the end of the 17th century the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed with China , which defined the borders of the areas of influence of two states on the Amur . In the course of the 18th century, Russia brought all of Siberia under control up to the Bering Strait and began to expand into the North American continent ( Alaska , Fort Ross ). In the 1860s Russia got rid of fears of overstretching American possessions ( sale of Alaska ), but expanded its influence in the Far East at the expense of China ( Treaty of Aigun ). Further Russian penetration into Manchuria and the establishment of ports of Port Arthur and Dalian sparked tensions with Japan and led to the loss of influence in Korea and Manchuria after the war of 1904/05 .

Balkans and Caucasus

Before it was incorporated into the Russian Empire, the territories between northern Ukraine and the Sea of ​​Azov had long been contested between Poland-Lithuania , the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. In addition, there were regular raids by the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate and the Nogai Horde . Therefore, despite their fertile black earth, these steppe areas were only sparsely populated and were called " Wildes Feld ".

In 1764 Russia pushed back the Ottoman Empire and its vassal state, the Crimean Khanate ; the area came to Russia and was called New Russia . The extensive development of the area was organized by Prince Grigori Potjomkin . The land was distributed to Russian nobles who brought colonists from central Russia and also recruited foreign colonists, mostly Germans, Serbs and Greeks. The number of serfs was fewer than in other areas.

In the Peace of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774, Russia achieved not only the weakening of the Crimean Khanate but also the role of protecting the Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire. Russia used this status in the next decades to expand on the Black Sea at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. The declared goal was to conquer the "Straits", the Dardanelles and the Bosporus with the city of Constantinople . Initially, in the North Caucasus it was only a question of a paved connection road into Transcaucasian Georgia , the Georgian Military Road . Therefore, in 1774, the two Kabardine principalities bordering this street were annexed. This gradually led to the almost 50-year Caucasus War (1817–1864) , at the end of which Russia had conquered the North Caucasus . As a result, the focus of Russian expansion shifted to Central Asia.

After losing the Crimean War in 1856, Russia adopted Pan-Slavism to strengthen its influence in Central Europe and the Balkans; Nikolai Danilewski was a pioneer . Russia found an ally in Serbia for its Pan-Slav plans and supported the uprisings of the Slavic peoples in the Balkans, which led to the Balkan crisis and finally to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) : Bulgaria became independent from the Ottoman Empire, but Russia was able to defend itself the Berlin Congress with its vision of a Greater Bulgaria that should extend to the Adriatic.

Central Asia

→ Main article : Central Asia # Russian conquests (16th – 19th centuries)

From the 16th century onwards, Russia had built a long line of Cossack settlements on its southeastern borders from the Caspian Sea to the Altai Mountains , which were supposed to prevent the Kazakhs from invading the Volga region and western Siberia . However, the Kazakhs often broke through the Russian lines and attacked settlements.

In the early age of imperialism , Russia extended its sphere of influence to Turkestan . After the dissolution of the Small Horde in 1822 and the Middle Horde in 1824, Kazakh independence was undermined. Border posts were set up in the steppe. Unsuccessful expeditions against the Khiva Khanate followed . In the 1840s the bases were pushed forward into the steppe and the Kokand Khanate was threatened. Kasalinsk (now Qasaly ) was reached in 1853, and Alma-Ata was founded a year later . The advance was halted by the Crimean War .

In 1864 Jambul (today Taras ), Jassy and Tschimkent (today Schymkent ) were conquered. The Russians reached the Chu River and surrounded the Kazak Steppes with a ring of forts. In 1867 the newly won territories were subordinated to a military governor as "Oblast Turkestan", and then Khujand and Samarqand were conquered.

Scandinavia

Note: Here the expansion of Russia is in the foreground, not the colonization.

In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Finland was occupied by the Russians (1714–1721). After the conclusion of the Peace of Nystad , the occupation of Finland ended, but also Sweden's previous great power position. In another Russian-Swedish war, the so-called War of Hats (1741–1743), Finland was reoccupied, and in the peace that followed, Russia's western border was pushed as far as the Kymijoki River .

During the Napoleonic Wars, Russia allied itself with France against Great Britain and Sweden, allied with it . In 1808 Russia attacked Sweden and thus began the Finnish War , as a result of which Sweden had to cede large areas to Russia in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn in 1809: today's southern Finland, the Åland Islands and parts of Lapland and Västerbotten . From these and the areas conquered in 1721 and 1743 the Grand Duchy of Finland was formed, which was part of the Russian Empire but enjoyed extensive political autonomy.

From the end of the 19th century, a strengthened Finnish national consciousness was countered by Russian efforts to centralize the empire and Russify the areas belonging to it. The so-called February Manifesto of Tsar Nicholas II of 1899 noticeably restricted Finland's autonomous rights. This resulted in a tough political conflict, culminating in the assassination of Governor General Nikolai Bobrikov in 1904 and, in connection with the Russian Revolution in 1905 , a widespread general strike in autumn 1905. As a result of the general strike, Nikolaus promised the restoration of autonomy and the creation of a non-class representative body.

Central Europe

Note: Here the expansion of Russia is in the foreground, not the colonization.

Poland-Lithuania was a strong neighbor in western Russia for a long time, but plunged into a permanent crisis in the 17th and 18th centuries and came under Russian influence. This became visible in the 1764 election in the presence of 20,000 Russian soldiers. Finally, by 1795, Poland's internal weakness was exploited by its neighbors and the country was wiped off the map in three partitions of Poland . Russia received the largest part, u. a. Lithuania , Belarus and large parts of Ukraine . The French Revolution and Napoleon's wars brought about further border changes, which only lasted for a short time, until finally at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the so-called Congress Poland as the Kingdom of Poland was combined with the Russian Empire in personal union. At first this state enjoyed extensive autonomy .

With the rise of Russian nationalism , the tsarist administration tried to restrict this autonomy. 1830 broke out in Warsaw November Uprising from where the Poles tried the Russian foreign rule to shake off, and was defeated in 1831 by the Russian army. As a result, the Polish population was exposed to increased Russification , which increased further after the second failed uprising, the January uprising of 1863: The term Poland was banned and the country was referred to as the Vistula by the Russian authorities .

Overview of the areas in Europe and Asia

Former intra-colonial territories and spheres of influence
Possession	Acquisition	loss	history
Armenia	1829	1918	in the ninth Russo-Turkish war in 1829 the eastern part of Armenia came to Russia, in the tenth Russo-Turkish war in 1857 further parts of eastern Armenia and the provinces of Kars and Ardahan were added, in 1918 independent as the Democratic Republic of Armenia
Azerbaijan	1784	1918	1784 conquest of North Azerbaijan, in the sixth Russo-Turkish War the khanates Gəncə , Shirvan , Karabakh , Şəki , Quba , Baku and Talysh fell to Russia for good, in the seventh Russo-Persian War in 1828 the khanates Naxçıvan and Yerevan ( 1828), became independent in 1918 as the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan .
Baltic states	1721	1918	In the Great Northern War in 1721 Sweden ceded the provinces of Livonia , Estonia , Ingermanland and part of Karelia , as well as the islands of Ösel , Dagö and Mön to Russia. In 1918, under pressure from the German Empire, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania became independent
Finland	1808	1918	Conquered by Russia in 1808 in the course of the Russo-Swedish War , as well as the Åland Islands , parts of Lapland and Västerbotten , 1809 establishment of the Grand Duchy of Finland as an autonomous part of Russia, independent in 1918
Georgia	1783	1918	1783 Treaty of protection of East Georgia (Kartlien-Kaketien) with Russia, 1810 conquest of the Georgian Kingdom of Imeretia, after the Caucasus War in 1864 western Georgia was annexed, 1918 independent
Kars	1878	1918	part of the Russian Empire after the Russo-Turkish War 1877–1878 , returned to Turkey after the October Revolution .
Kazakhstan	1822	1918	From 1731 under Russian influence, in 1801 independent as Kazak Khanate, in 1822 all of Kazakhstan comes to Russia, 1918 autonomous Soviet republic
Kyrgyzstan	1865	1918	Gradual conquest from 1865, Russia incorporated in 1875, part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1918 , formation of the Karakirgis Autonomous District in 1925, Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic in 1935
Congress Poland Vistula area	1815	1916	Created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 , linked to Russia through a personal union, incorporated as the Vistula region between 1831 and 1867 , independent as the reigning kingdom of Poland in 1916
Kuril Islands	1945		Controversial between Russia and Japan in the 19th century, Soviet since 1945, claimed by Japan
Manchuria	1858	1905	1858 annexation of Outer Manchuria , 1900 also occupation of Manchuria south of the Amur , returned to China through the Russo-Japanese War in 1905
Moldova Bessarabia	1792 1878	1856 1917	In the Peace of Jassy in 1792 the Ottoman Empire ceded all possessions east of the Dniester to Russia, in the Peace of Bucharest in 1812 an enlarged Bessarabia was incorporated, in 1856 Moldova and Wallachia were subordinated to the collective guarantee of the 7 signatory states, southern Bessarabia returned to Moldova by the Berliner In 1878, South Bessarabia returned to Russia, and in 1917 became independent as the Moldovan Democratic Republic
Siberia	1547		since the establishment of the Russian Empire in 1547, gradual conquest of Siberia, which became part of Russia
South Sakhalin	1945		Disputed between Japan and Russia in the 19th century, Soviet since 1945, claimed by Japan
Tajikistan	1868	1924	In 1868 Bukhara became a Russian protectorate and Tajikistan a colony of Russia, in 1924 an autonomous republic within the Uzbek SSR, in 1929 its own Soviet republic
Turkmenistan	1894	1924	Russian since 1894, Soviet republic in 1924
Ukraine	1667	1917	After the Russo-Polish War 1654–1667 , Ukraine, east of the Dnepr , became part of Tsarist Russia . In 1795 the western part, with the exception of Galicia, became Russian. In 1796 the southern and eastern parts of today's Ukraine were ceded to Russia by the Ottoman Empire and combined in the New Russia governorate . Independent in 1917, Ukrainian Soviet Republic in 1922
Uzbekistan	1868	1918	1868 Russian colony and establishment of the General Government of Turkestan , 1918 part of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, 1925 its own Soviet republic
Belarus	1793	1918	after the partition of Poland in 1793 Russian, 1918 temporarily independent, 1920–1939 western part attached to Poland, 1922 Soviet republic
Russian concession Tientsin	1895	1943	1895 to Russia, 1943 back to China
Russian concession Hankou	1896	1924	1896 to Russia, given up in 1924

Farther:

• Xinjiang in northwest China, 1871–1911 Russian zone of influence
• Ili , a small part of Xinjiang, part of the Russian Empire from 1871–1881
• In 1911, following the separation of Mongolia from China, Tannu Tuwa declared itself an independent Republic of Urjanchai and became part of Russia in 1944.
• Lüshunkou 1898-1904, the city of Lüshun together with the Liaodong peninsula was leased from China to Russia. The Russians called the city Port Arthur

Overseas colony of Russian America with Alaska

Alaska was (re) discovered as early as 1741 by the Russian Bering - Tschirikow expedition. The Russian-American Company was awarded in 1799 by Tsar Paul I a monopoly on the fur trade in Russian America . Although numerous Spanish, British, French and American expedition and merchant ships sailed along the coasts of Alaska until the end of the 18th century, the country remained with Russia until 1867. That year, the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $ 7.2 million.

In the course of the territorial expansion of Russian America, there were efforts by Russia to establish itself further south in the climatically more favorable California . So about 80 kilometers north was in 1812 in San Francisco , the Fort Ross set up as the attempt by the establishment of a food supply for the north. However, due to a lack of profitability, it was sold to the Swiss Johann August Sutter in 1841 .

Territories outside the contiguous mainland

Russian territories from Corfu to California

Corfu and Ionian Islands

After the destruction of the Republic of Venice by Napoleon were Ionian Islands (since then Greece ), 1798 Russian protectorate, this insisted on Corfu 's longest (1808).

Jever

Jever and the surrounding area ( Lower Saxony , Germany ) were not colonial acquisitions, but were inherited by Catherine II in 1793. In 1818 Russia ceded the area to Oldenburg .

Port Arthur

Port Arthur , since then a district of Dalian , People's Republic of China , was from 1898 on Russian leased territory and naval base on the Yellow Sea . Russia renounced Port Arthur in 1905 as a result of the Russo-Japanese War through the Treaty of Portsmouth .

Kaua'i

In 1816, the German Georg Anton Schäffer , who was in Russian service , signed a protectorate treaty over the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i with the Hawaiian sub-king Kaumualii on his own initiative, but in the name of the Russian crown . However, this contract was rejected by the Tsar and Schäffer was forced to leave Hawaii in 1817, also under pressure from US and British businessmen who acted as royal advisers. The Russian fort there was abandoned.

Saxony

The Generalgouvernement of Saxony was under Russian military administration from October 21, 1813 to November 10, 1814. Governor General was Prince Repnin-Volkonsky . However, Saxony was not a Russian colony in the strict sense.

Sagallo

At Sagallo in what is now Djibouti , in 1889 the Cossack Nikolai Aschinow tried to create a starting point for Russian colonization in Africa ( "Russian Somaliland" ). French claims and the reluctance of the Russian tsar thwarted this project.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Andreas Kappeler: Brief history of the Ukraine. P. 108.
2. ^ Gavin Hambly: Zentralasien (Weltbild [Fischer] Weltgeschichte, vol. 16), Augsburg 1998, p. 217.
3. ^ Gavin Hambly: Zentralasien (Weltbild Weltgeschichte, vol. 16), Augsburg 1998, p. 219.
4. ^ Gavin Hambly: Zentralasien (Weltbild Weltgeschichte, vol. 16), Augsburg 1998, p. 220.
5. ↑ Andreas Platthaus: 1813 - The Battle of Nations and the end of the old world. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-499-62922-8 , pp. 358, 378.

literature

• Peter Littke: From the tsar's eagle to the stars and stripes. The history of Russian Alaska . Magnus Verlag, Essen 2003, ISBN 3-88400-019-5

Web links

Lenin : Imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism , VI. The division of the world among the great powers