Becoming Russia or Becoming Japan? The Russo-Japanese War and Ottoman Public Opinion
Journal: Turkish Historical Review
Year: 2025

Abstract This article examines the impact of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5 on Ottoman public opinion. The diverse segments of the Ottoman Muslim intelligentsia rejoiced in the Japanese victory. First, because it was a Japanese victory and second, it was a victory over Russia . Japan’s victory set a precedent for the Ottomans amid European imperialism and the looming threat of dissolution. Islamist intellectuals, nationalists, and the Young Turks in particular urged the Ottomans to follow the