Cossacks in the Conditions of Frontier Modernization (on the example of the Far East in the late 19th – early 20th centuries)

Abstract

Historically, the contacts between the Cossacks and the Chinese population were established and their particular strengthening occurred during the construction of the Chinese-Eastern Railway between 1897 and 1903. The imperial authorities devised a plan to establish the Sungurian Cossack army, which was to be augmented by the Cossacks dispatched to protect the ‘KVZhD’. These troops were to comprise the descendants of Albazin and the local population. In the context of the present circumstances, the Cossacks in the peripheral Ussuri Territory and Manchuria served as the frontiers of the system of relations with the local Chinese and Korean populations, as well as the modernizing transformation of the region. As the most mobile and passionate segment of the population, the Cossacks played a pivotal role in the socio-economic and cultural transformation of the region. Their extensive involvement in the agrarian economy and their diverse socio-class and ethno-confessional composition contributed to the diversification of the regional mosaic. During this historical period, the Cossacks served as the driving force of the Russian exploration of the Far Eastern space. Moreover, they facilitated the militarization of the newly developed territories. The format of the study permits presenting a set of relations risen along the Center–Far Eastern Cossacks axis. The objectives of this paper is to ascertain the nature of this relationship within the system and to study the dissemination of the experience of the Cossack self-government system to neighboring regions, including the process of Japanese colonization of the island of Hokkaido. The research findings indicate the efficacy of applying the Cossack administrative and economic management experience to the Far East and Manchuria, as well as in adjacent regions, such as Hokkaido. The article is intended for Cossack specialists and sinologists.

Keywords

• far east
• cossacks
• china
• manchuria
• modernization
• self-government
• ussuriysky krai
• frontier
• hokkaido
• japan