Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / The Romanovs and the Russo-Japanese War: A Lost Empire in the East
Transcript
- Luna: We've talked a lot about the Romanovs and their troubles at home, but I don't think we've ever really looked east. Lucas: No, we haven't. And that's a big gap, because the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 was one of the most humiliating defeats a European power had ever suffered at the hands of an Asian one. It shattered the myth of Russian invincibility and directly sparked the 1905 Revolution. Luna: So this is the war where the Baltic Fleet sailed all the way around the world, only to get destroyed at Tsushima. Lucas: Exactly. That's the most dramatic part. But let's back up. The roots of the war lay in competition over Korea and Manchuria. After the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, Japan had forced China to give up influence in Korea, but Russia stepped in and took control of the Liaodong Peninsula, building a naval base at Port Arthur — what the Chinese called Lüshunkou. Japan felt encircled. Luna: So Russia was pushing into Japan's backyard. Lucas: Absolutely. And Tsar Nicholas II bought into a circle of advisors who believed that a 'short, victorious war' would boost the monarchy's popularity. They seriously underestimated Japan. The war began on February 8, 1904, with a Japanese surprise attack on Port Arthur — much like what they'd do at Pearl Harbor decades later. The Russian Pacific Fleet was trapped in the harbor. Luna: And then came the long march of the Baltic Fleet. Lucas: Yes. The Baltic Fleet, renamed the Second Pacific Squadron, was dispatched under Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky. It was a colossal undertaking — 38 ships, including 8 battleships, steaming 33,000 kilometers from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Japan. Along the way, they had a bizarre incident called the Dogger Bank affair, where they mistook British fishing boats for Japanese torpedo boats and opened fire, nearly triggering war with Britain. Luna: That sounds like a disaster before they even got there. Lucas: It was a sign of the panic and poor leadership. By the time they reached the Tsushima Strait in May 1905, the crews were exhausted, the ships were barnacle-encrusted and slow, and Rozhestvensky was suffering from a nervous condition. The Japanese fleet, under Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, was waiting — modern, well-trained, and ready. Luna: What happened at Tsushima? Lucas: It was an annihilation. In the two-day Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese sank or captured almost the entire Russian fleet. Out of 38 ships, only 3 escaped to Vladivostok. Rozhestvensky himself was wounded and taken prisoner. The Japanese lost just 3 torpedo boats and 117 men. The Russians lost over 5,000 dead. It was the most decisive naval battle since Trafalgar. Luna: And the war ended soon after. Lucas: Yes. Both sides were exhausted, but Russia was in chaos. There was the Bloody Sunday massacre in January 1905, then strikes and mutinies. So when U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt offered to mediate, both sides accepted. The Treaty of Portsmouth was signed in September 1905. Russia gave up its lease on Port Arthur, recognized Japanese dominance in Korea, and ceded the southern half of Sakhalin Island. Nicholas II had gotten his war — and it was a catastrophe. Luna: It's amazing how one defeat can unravel so much. You can really trace the revolution back to this war. Lucas: Absolutely. And you know, it's a perfect example of imperial overreach. The Romanovs had expanded for centuries — into Siberia, the Caucasus, Central Asia — but in 1904, they collided with a rising power that was faster, more modern, and more determined. And the war exposed all the cracks: the inefficiency, the corruption, the gap between the court and the people. Luna: And it's a reminder that history isn't just about Europe. Lucas: Right. Russia is a Eurasian empire, and its fate has always been tied to both. The war also had global implications: it was the first time a non-European power had defeated a European great power in modern times, inspiring anti-colonial movements from India to the Ottoman Empire. Luna: Speaking of inspiring things — I know we don't do ads on this show, and I love that. But a few listeners have asked how they can support us. Lucas: Yeah, it's something we think about. We keep Fexingo ad-free because that's the kind of history show we want to listen to. If you've been enjoying these conversations and want to help keep them going, a handful of listeners chip in monthly through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It honestly makes a difference. Luna: It really does. We're grateful for every bit of support — it lets us spend more time digging into stories like this one. Now, back to Tsushima... Lucas: So after the war, Russia's prestige was shattered. In the years that followed, Japan emerged as a major power, and Russia turned inward, toward revolution. But the loss also had a personal dimension for the Romanovs: Nicholas II's cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II, had encouraged him to go to war, hoping to keep Russia distracted from Europe. It backfired spectacularly. Luna: And it planted seeds that would grow into World War One. Lucas: Exactly. The Russo-Japanese War wasn't just a colonial conflict. It was a turning point that accelerated the fall of the Romanov dynasty. Without Tsushima, there might have been no 1905, no Duma, no desperate gamble in 1914. So when we talk about the Romanovs' bloody end, this is where the blood started to flow.