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Portsmouth peace treaty with Japan signed
On August 23 (September 5), 1905 in Portsmouth (New Hampshire, USA) there was signed the peace treaty that ended the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905. From Russian side it was signed by president of Ministers Committee S. Witte and ambassador in USA R. Rozen, from the side of Japan by the Minister of Foreign affairs D. Komura and envoy in USA K. Takahira.
It was very difficult for Japan to fight this war and from July of 1904 the Japanese government through the mediation of Great Britain, Germany and USA, had repeatedly tried to persuade Russia to begin parley.
The parley began on August 9 (21), 1905. Japan demanded that Russia handed over to it the rights for Lyaodunsky peninsula, South-Manchurian railway, Sakhalin island; that Russia recognized a “free hand” of Japan in Korea, that it paid the contributions, withdrew its troops from Manchuria, limited its navy at the Far East including extradition to Japan of the interned in neutral waters Russian ships; that it authorized the Japanese to fish along the Russian coast. After an intense diplomatic struggle Japan renounced some of its demands.
According the treaty Russia ceded to Japan the tenant rights for Lyaodunsky peninsula with Port-Arthur and Dalniy, for South-Manchurian railway from Port-Arthur to Chanchun and the southern part of Sakhalin (up to the 50th parallel). In the same time Japan pledged to use the South-Manchurian railway only with a view of commerce and not to raise any fortifications on Sakhalin. Korea was recognized as Japanese zone of influence on condition that Japan did not infringe its sovereignty. Russia agreed to make a fishing convention with Japan. The sides pledged to withdraw their troops from Manchuria and not to interfere with commerce of other countries there. It was stipulated that two countries would not put any obstacles to navigation in La Perouse and Tatar straits.
The terms of the peace treaty were rough for Russia and S. Witte who had signed it was derisively nicknamed “half-Sakhalin”. However the conclusion of the treaty let the Russian government to direct its energies to suppress the revolution raging in the country.
In 1931 Japan violated Portsmouth peace treaty by having occupied Manchuria. After the defeat of Japan in the Second World War and its capitulation on September 2, 1945 Portsmouth treaty lost its validity.
Lit.: Кутаков Л. Н. Портсмутский мирный договор. (Из истории отношений Японии с Россией и СССР 1905–1945 гг.). М., 1961; Левицкий Н. А. Русско-японская война 1904–1905 гг. СПб., 2003; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/levicky_na/index.html; Портсмутский мирный договор [Электронный ресурс] // Хронос. 2000. URL: http://www.hrono.info/dokum/portsmut1905.html.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Грипенберг О. К. Ответы О. Грипенберга на обвинения Г.-А. Куропаткина. СПб., 1909;
Записки генерала Куропаткина о Русско-японской войне. Берлин, 1909;