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The morning of May 27, 1905, when the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War(1904-1905) took place, was covered with thick fog. Nine years ago, on this day in 1896, the coronation ceremony of Russian Emperor Nicholas(Николай) II was held in Moscow. This coronation ceremony was also attended by King Gojong’s special envoy Min Yeong-hwan and his party, who departed from Jeumulpo and arrived at Nodo (露都) via the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Admiral Rozhdestvensky (З.П.Рожественский), a commander of Russia’s 2nd Pacific Fleet, prepared for battle by raising the flag high in commemoration of the emperor’s coronation at 8 a.m. He knew well that for the Russian fleet to pass through the Korean Strait and reach Vladivostok, a battle with the Japanese fleet was inevitable. This also meant that the victory or defeat of the Battle of Tsushima was linked to the fate of the Korean Empire and Imperial Russia.

  The reason why Min Young-hwan attended the coronation of Nicholas II was clear. This was because Russia was considered a powerful country that supported Joseon’s independence in a situation where the country was devasted by the Sino-Japanese War, Empress Myeongseong was assassinated, and the king moved to the Russian embassy. And the mission given to Russian Admiral Rozhdestvensky nine years after the coronation was also clear. It was a victory to save the tsarist government, which was on the brink of revolution. News of the victory was desperately needed to divert the public’s attention from the inside to the outside. Therefore, whether the Korean Strait, the site of the decisive battle, would become the epicenter of driving the 20th-century world into a chain of revolutions depends on the outcome of the Battle of Tsushima.

  Korea-China Relations History Research Center conducted a field trip to Tsushima Island last November to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the Russo-Japanese War in 2024. This is because the background of the field trip was a critical awareness that the theme of “The New Great Game and the War on the Korean Peninsula” had a significant influence on the development of the trilogy of world history.

  Although it was a short itinerary of 3 days and 2 nights (November 6-8), we were able to look at the Russo-Japanese War historical sites located in Oeyangpo, Gadeok-do, Busan with the help of teachers from the History Education Department at Pusan National University. The next day, we took the ferry to Tsushima Hitakatsu(比田勝)

and looked at the remains of the Russo-Japanese War that Japan remembers. Although we were able to visit Tonozaki (殿崎) Observation Park, Toyo Battery (豊砲臺), and Manzeki Bridge (萬關橋), the 2-day and 1-night Tsushima itinerary was too short to even tour the island itself. I returned with regret, promising to investigate properly later.

Russia’s 2nd Pacific Fleet’s Far East Islands

  The Russian 2nd Pacific Fleet, led by Admiral Rozhdestvensky, departed the Baltic Sea on October 15, 1904, passed through the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and entered the Korean Strait. The 18,000-mile route from Europe to the Far East had two options. The latest large battleship with a deep draft, which is the submerged part of the ship, chose a route around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, while older warships chose to pass through the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. Afterward, the fleet reunited in Madagascar and decided to sail to the Far East via the Indian Ocean. The plan received the Tsar’s approval in August 1904.

  The primary purpose of Russia’s formation of the 2nd Pacific Fleet was to rescue the Pacific Fleet, which had been blockaded in Lushun Port by the Japanese Navy. Due to its geographical characteristics, Russia had to have separate fleets in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and Pacific Ocean. Russia was in a position to compete with France for second place after Britain in terms of the size of its fleet, but it was showing a strategic weakness in that it had to distribute its three fleets. The method to compensate for these geopolitical shortcomings was the rotation of warships. In particular, as the superior combat of the Japanese Navy was witnessed in the Sino-Japanese War(1894-1895) after the start of the construction of the Siberian Railway(1891), the need to strengthen the Pacific Fleet increased. This was the reason why it was decided to place the newly built battleships first in the Far East. As a result, the task of finding and acquiring ports to accommodate the increased number of warships emerged as a top priority in Russia’s East Asia policy.

  Masanpo and Jinhae on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, which were evaluated as the best ports in Asia, were the naval bases most coveted by the Russian Navy. The Lushun Port and Dalian Port on the Liaodong Peninsula, which were taken over by the Qing in 1898, were only the next best option. This was because Lushun Port failed to guarantee the right of free navigation in the Korean Strait, which the Russian Navy valued. Therefore, this was the reason why an operational plan was established to seize Masanpo and use it as a base for the integrated Pacific Fleet if the 2nd Pacific Fleet rescues the Pacific Fleet in Lushun Port, as well as to isolate the Japanese Army in Manchuria by blocking the maritime supply route.

Judgment on Admiral Rozhdestvensky: Incompetence or Loyalty

  In contrast to the rosy outlook of the Russian Navy leadership, the Ministry of the Army questioned the legitimacy of dispatching the 2nd Pacific Fleet. The issue was whether the Lushun Port and the Pacific Fleet would survive until the 2nd Pacific Fleet arrived in the Far East. The Minister of the Army believed that a major counterattack against the Japanese army would be possible in the spring of the following year (1905), but that in this case, there was a strong possibility that Lushun Port would already have fallen. This also raised questions about the justification for dispatching the Rozhdestvensky fleet. The desperate situation in which the Japanese Army is attacking Lushun Port, which is surrounded by the Japanese Navy, by crossing the Yalu River from the rear means that they must either give up on dispatch or at least delay dispatch in line with the Army’s major counterattack. This was a problem that Admiral Rozhestvensky, who was the Chief of Naval Staff, knew better than himself. The admiral’s agony deepened that much.

  Rozhdestvensky’s solution was a decision to take a risk rather than withdraw the dispatch plan. He knew that Nicholas II wanted to send a fleet. Rather than rationally weighing the pros and cons of sending a fleet, the emperor’s priority was to save the tsarist regime, which was on the brink of revolution. There was a need for an event to protect the system that would highlight the authority of the emperor and the sanctity of the tsarist system. The admiral’s decision to go to war may have been due to his heroism in protecting the system as well as his transformed loyalty to become a martyr for maintaining the system.

  The background to Rozhdestvensky’s decision appears to have been a reflection on the history prior to the 2nd Pacific Fleet’s Far East expedition. The Russian Navy had experience with the East Asia expedition (1880-1881) of the Lesovsky (С.С.Лесовский) fleet before the Far East expedition (1904-1905) of the Rozhdestvensky fleet. Admiral Lesovsky was the person who resigned as Minister of the Navy and succeeded in the Far East Expedition as commander of a joint fleet consisting of 26 ships when the war crisis with the Qing Dynasty escalated due to the issue of Yiri (伊犁) in Xinjiang (新疆) region. The reason why Vladivostok was developed as a base for the Pacific Fleet in 1880 was the Far East expedition of the Lesovsky fleet. Joseon’s security guarantee plan that Kim Hong-jip, who was dispatched to Japan to investigate the situation caused by the Russian fleet’s expedition to the Far East, obtained from Huang Zunxian (黃遵憲) was the Joseon Strategy(朝鮮策略). In short, the Joseon Strategy was a typical example of the Qing Dynasty’s fear of Russia.

  The power of the Lesovsky fleet was not directly demonstrated in the naval battle with the Qing Dynasty. Rather, the fleet’s maritime demonstrations held off the coast of the Qing Dynasty increased psychological pressure on the Qing Dynasty. The reason why Li Hongzhang invited American Admiral R.W. Shufeldt, who was staying in Japan to establish diplomatic relations between Joseon and the United States, to Tianjin was to listen to the admiral’s advice on the prospects for the Russo-Qing naval battle. The admiral’s answer was simple and clear. The result will be a disaster for the Qing Dynasty. As a result, the Lesovsky Fleet was able to conclude the Russo-Qing Trade Treaty(1881), which was favorable to Russia, without going to war with the Qing Dynasty. Admiral Lesovsky stayed in Vladivostok until the treaty was ratified by the Qing government, then stopped by Japan and returned home to a warm welcome. Therefore, it is highly likely that Admiral Rozhdestvensky also had high hopes of the experience of the Lesovksy Fleet’s Far East expedition.

Rozhdestvensky’s report from Sasebo, Japan

  Rozhdestvensky’s report, which the foundation excavated from the Russian Naval Ministry Archives (RGAVMF) in 2022, suggests another reason why the Battle of Tsushima ended in tragedy for Russia. The report he sent to the Russian Navy Minister from Sasebo, Japan as a prisoner of war in July 1905 was deeply filled with resentment over the diplomatic failure of the Tsarist government, which had fallen into a state of isolation and helplessness. The Rozhdestvensky fleet was virtually floating in the waters of Indochina from April 14 to May 9, 1905, waiting for the Nebogatov(Н.И.Небогатов) squadron, which departed the Baltic Sea in February 1905. Although France was an ally of Russia, it declared wartime neutrality and therefore refused to allow belligerent warships to call at its Indochina ports. For France, which was threatened by Japan with the severance of diplomatic relations, the Rozhestvensky fleet was nothing more than a scoundrel. The Rozhdestvensky fleet, which had traveled 16,000 miles from Kronstadt, Russia, was eventually forced out of port despite its need for water and fresh supplies.

  Moreover, Britain blocked the Russian fleet from entering Shanghai under the pretext of protecting the neutrality of the Qing Dynasty. The Rozhdestvensky fleet, which was unable to receive coal and drinking water even from Russia’s coal warehouse in Shanghai, had to receive coal brought in by its own transport ships from the East China Sea. The Russian fleet, which was not welcomed anywhere, was getting tired.

  Even in the East China Sea, the admiral was waiting for the Tsar’s order to return to the Baltic Sea. Even if they passed through the Korean Strait and reached Vladivostok, the port would undoubtedly be surrounded by the Japanese Navy. But there was no order from the Tsar to return. Now Rozhdestvensky decided to become a sacrifice to maintain the tsarist regime. He slowly led the fleet down the Korea Strait.

  In the Battle of Tsushima, which took place on the 9th anniversary of the Tsar’s coronation, 5,045 Russian sailors were killed and 7,282 were taken prisoner. Min Young-hwan, who attended the tsar’s coronation ceremony, committed suicide(November 30, 1905) to resist Japan’s forced signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty after the Battle of Tsushima.