“There Is a Growing Awareness that Japan Will Inevitably Be Defeated”: Reports of the War Agent A. I. Pavlov to the Ministry of Finance during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05

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УДК 930:94(520+470)“1904/05”+94(470)+930.253”

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2022-2-464-477

Kalmina, Lilia V.

Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation

Malygina, Olga A.

Dorzhi Banzarov Buryat State University, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation

“There Is a Growing Awareness that Japan Will Inevitably Be Defeated”: Reports of the War Agent A. I. Pavlov to the Ministry of Finance during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05

Abstract

The article analyses archival documents, reports of Alexander Ivanovich Pavlov, agent of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire at the beginning of Russo-Japanese War (1904–05), stored in fond 560 (General Chancellery of the Ministry of Finance) in the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA). A. I. Pavlov’s reports are full of optimism, which was typical for Russian generals at the initial period of the war. He preferred “telegram style” to avoid emotions and to introduce vital information as fast as possible. The authors use archaeographic method of research to acquaint the scientific community with important historic documents; make assumptions on methods of retranslation and further transfer of information; describe formation of archival collections of the Russian agents’ reports of the Russo-Japanese War period. Russian Ministry of Finance, which played an important role in strengthening of Russian influence in the Far East, developed a network of agents who supplied information from China, Korea, and Japan. Their reports allowed Russia to improve its politics in the region. There were struggles for domination in the region at the turn of the 20th century. Information from ministerial agents was of greatest importance in the period of Russo-Japanese War, which was to establish the political leader in the region. A.I. Pavlov happened to be a central link of the agents’ network, having made right connections in his diplomatic career in Korea in 1898–1904. His net of agents, consisting of Japanese Foreign Department officials, diplomats, journalists, allowed him to inform the Ministry of Finance of situation in the Japanese army and navy, of the enemy’s war budget expenses, of prevailing moods in the Japanese society. Accuracy of data, report on transfers of high-ranking Japanese military officials, description of intrigue in top military circles displayed A. I. Pavlov’s excellent knowledge and, to some extent, compensated for inexperience of the emerging Russian military intelligence. Value of his data may be proved by the fact that his reports were analyzed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and passed on to the Emperor. His diplomatic methods helped to develop a moral climate in the region, which was quite favorable to Russia. The published documents demonstrate the “behind the scenes” of the war, highlight new pages of one of the most dramatic events in the Russian history.

Keywords

Historical sources, Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire, intelligence service, A. I. Pavlov, report, agent, Japan.

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About the authors

Kalmina Lilia Vladimirovna, PhD in History, Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist, and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, department of history, ethnology, and sociology, leading researcher, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation, +7-914-635-07-30, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Malygina Olga Anatolievna, PhD in History, Dorzhi Banzarov Buryat State University, Institute of Inner Asia, senior researcher, Ulan-Ude, Russian Federation, +7-914-832-53-85, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

The research has been carried out by L.V. Kalmina within the frameworks of state assignment (project “Russia and Inner Asia: Dynamics of Geopolitical, Socioeconomic, and Intercultural Interaction (17th -21st Centuries,” no. 121031000243-5); the research has been carried out by O.A. Malygina with support via grant of the President of the Russian Federation for young Russian scientists, no. MK-6005.2021.2 “Imperial strategy of transboundary security of Russia on the eastern borders (19th – early 20th century)”.

Submitted 25.11.2021, published (for citation):

KALMINA, L. V., MALYGINA, O. A. “Ukreplyaetsya soznanie, chto v okonchatel'nom rezul'tate Yaponiya budet pobezhdena”. Doneseniya voennogo agenta A. I. Pavlova v Ministerstvo finansov vo vremya Russko-yaponskoi voiny 1904-1905 gg. [“There Is a Growing Awareness that Japan Will Inevitably Be Defeated”: Reports of the War Agent A. I. Pavlov to the Ministry of Finance during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2022, no. 2, pp. 464-477. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2022-2-464-477

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