page_title: Russia in the Opium Wars
section_title: First Encounter
hierarchical_section_title: Russia in the Opium Wars / First Encounter
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Игнатьев, Николай Павлович. Пекин, 1900. English: Ignatyev, Nikolay Pavlovich
context_page_description: Imperial Russia was a participant of the Chinese Opium Wars, more specifically in the second and third wars which occurred in 1856-1860. Russia played a role of mediator, being both an ally with Britain, France, and the United States and negotiator with the elites of the Qing dynasty. Throughout the whole war period Russia provided minimal amount of military aid and used diplomatic power to present its interests in the conflict. As a result of the ratified agreements in 1860 Russia received former Manchurian lands along the Ussuri river and increased its economical influence on China.
context_section_description: After a victorious campaign in the Crimean War of 1856, Britain transferred its focus on Qing China to further expand its political influence on the empire. On 8 October 1856 they found one: Chinese authorities arrested Arrow, a British commercial ship that was smuggling goods and selling opium. Britain demanded to free the sailors, as they believed the accusation was falsified, but their petitions were declined. In April 1857 Britain officially declared war against Qing China.
  British military campaign was soon accompanied by France and the United States which had similar interests in this area. As the campaign proceeded with success, Russia realized that this could be an opportunity to expand its influence in the region. Victory of any of the sides did not satisfy the Empire: if China would win, Russia's chances of ratifying any treaty would be equal to zero. After all, even the territory north of the Amur called it "given to Russia for temporary use". If the allies would win, then in order to avoid competition they would not allow Russia to strengthen on the Pacific coast and themselves would occupy convenient bays from the mouth of the Amur to the border with Korea. Under these conditions, Russia would have only one chance of success - acting as an intermediary between the warring sides. This card also had to be played by a new Russian envoy in China.
  After completing a diplomatic mission in Crimea, General major Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev was assigned to negotiate with the Qing to ratify the Aigun Treaty, which would update the previous arrangements regarding territorial borders of two countries. The first attempt made by Ignatyev was unsuccessful: he was asked to leave the country as soon as possible, as this agreement was not in their interest. The diplomat refused to leave citing the orders he was given by his superiors. During this time, Ignatyev used all possible diplomatic arsenal - from assurances of eternal friendship of fraternal neighboring peoples to threats of military seizure of territories. Despite his efforts, the necessary result was not achieved. Ignatyev then decided to negotiate not with the Chinese, but the allied forces instead, so he went to Shanghai to do so.
  Thinly maneuvering between all the warring parties, he prevented any attempts of their rapprochement without his participation. One the one hand, he cheered the Chinese and gave them hope to win in this war. On the other, he lulled the vigilance of the allied forces, assuring that the existing land issues between China and Russia had already been settled and, therefore, his diplomatic service has no bad intentions.
  On May 20, 1858 Qing lost a major fortification during the battle for Taku forts and called for peace. On May 28 China was forced to sign the Aigun Treaty, despite the cabalistic conditions that Russia proposed: the sides agreed that the left bank of the Amur River from the Argun River to the mouth was recognized as Russian, and the Ussuri region from the confluence of Ussuri and Amur rivers all the way to the sea remained in common possession until the definition of the border. Also, naval routes on the Amur, Sungari and Ussuri were restricted to only Russian and Chinese vessels. This agreement replaced the previous territorial agreement, the Treaty of Nerchinsk, signed in 1689.
  After the Aigun Treaty the allied forces, with the help of General Ignatyev, signed the four positions of the Treaty of Tientsin. They stated the following:
  Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. would have the right to establish diplomatic legations (small embassies) in Peking (a closed city at the time)
  Eleven additional Chinese ports would be opened for foreign trade, including Newchwang, Tamsui (former name of Taiwan), Hankou and Nanjing
  The right of all foreign vessels including commercial ships to navigate freely on the Yangtze River
  The right of foreigners to travel in the internal regions of China, which had been formerly banned
  China was to pay an indemnity of four million taels of silver to Britain and two million to France.
  As a result, Russi
caption: Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev
exif: {}