Russian-Chinese Relations from their Origin until 1917

To date, there is no accurate data on when and how the very first information about China appeared in Russia. It is not excluded that the appearance of the data was facilitated by the trade that Russian merchants led with the countries of the East. The first Chinese, obviously, got to Russia during the Mongol invasions. Among those who were brought to Eastern Europe by Khan Baty were residents of the “Middle State”. The earliest mention of Russia is contained in the 120th Yuan of the “History of the Yuan Dynasty”, which refers to the march of the Mongols to Russia, the siege and capture of Russian cities. The Mongol conquest of China and Russian principalities, as well as their liberation from the Mongol yoke, occurred almost at the same time. The popular movement against the Mongols, headed by Zhu Yuanzhang, known in the history of China as the uprising of “class troops”, brought to power the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644). In Russia in 1380 there was the Kulikovo battle, which initiated the liberation of Russia from the Horde yoke. However, in the Chinese sources of the early period of the Ming dynasty, there are no references to Russia and Russians.

The first Russian embassy, headed by the Tomsk Cossack Ivan Petlin, was sent from Tobolsk to Beijing in 1618. The stay of the Russian embassy in Beijing was brief - only four days. Ivan Petlin was not allowed to the imperial court: the Chinese officials explained to the Russian ambassador that he did not have worthy presents for the presentation to the emperor, and without gifts, it was not allowed to appear to the Son of Heaven.

At the same time, the embassy of I. Petlin was of great importance for the development of Russia’s relations with China. This was the first conscious contact of the representative of the Russian state with Chinese officials. I. Petlin opened a land route from Europe to China through Siberia and Mongolia. Chinese officials handed the Russian ambassador a letter on behalf of the emperor, which contained permission to establish trade relations.

The Nerchinsk Treaty of 1689 between diplomatic representatives of the Russian state and the Qing Empire became the first in the history of Russian - Chinese relations. The head of the Qing delegation was Prince Songgotu, the uncle of Emperor Kangxi. The Russian delegation was led by the neighbor okolnichy and the governor of Bryansk, Fyodor Alekseyevich Golovin (hereinafter - the associate of Peter the First, the Chevalier of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called).

The text of the Nerchinsk Treaty clearly stated that any conflicts should be resolved through negotiations. It is important to note here that for the next two centuries Russia had to wage wars with almost all its neighbors, and on the border with China there were no serious conflicts until the end of the 19th century. This fact can be considered the main result of the inter-civilization compromise reached in 1689.

At the initiative of Emperor Kangxi, the first Russian language school was established in Beijing. The study of the Chinese language also began in Russia. Russian trade caravans were going to Beijing. There were contacts in the field of medicine. The exchange of goods promoted cultural exchange.

There are many explanations of reasons for the rapprochement between Russia and China. So, the American historian, professor of Yale University Peter Purdue offered his explanation of reasons that allowed Russia and the Qing Empire to come to a compromise at the talks in Nerchinsk and to sign the first-ever treaty between China and the European state. In his opinion, Russia moved to Siberia “not for fame, but for profit”, so the territorial issue and even prestige turned out to be secondary in comparison with the development of fur trade. As for the Qings, they were ready to sacrifice the rules of etiquette and ceremonial to ensure Russia’s neutrality in the approaching conflict with Dzungaria.

Relations, formed in the XVII century between Russia and China, were characterized by a dialogue between two different cultures, which acquired very distinctive forms due to fundamentally different approaches to these relations.