The Rival Powers in Central Asia
The Rival Powers in Central Asia

Author: Józef Popowski

Publisher:

Published: 1893

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13:

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The Rival Powers in Central Asia is an English translation of a work originally published in Vienna in 1890 under the title Antagonismus der Englischen und Russischen Interessen in Asien: Eine Militär-Politische Studie (The antagonism between English and Russian interests in Asia: A military-political study). The study analyzes what the author sees as the threat to British India posed by an aggressive Russia. The author characterizes the Russian Empire as a "reckless, expansive force," which, having reached its natural limits on the seas to the east and the north, was now concentrating "all its energies on the South, and chiefly in the direction of Constantinople and Central Asia." While the Russian thrust into Central Asia is portrayed as a threat mainly to British interests, Russian ambitions toward Constantinople are seen as most threatening to the continental European powers, "Austria in particular," which "cannot at any cost permit Russia to take possession of Constantinople." On this basis, the author argues that it is in Great Britain's interest to join a "Central European Coalition" with Austria-Hungary and imperial Germany. Chapter four, the longest in the book, entitled "Strategical Relations of the Two States," assesses the relative strengths of Russia and Great Britain in a contest for control of Central Asia and ultimately India, with sections on land forces, naval forces, and the transport and logistical routes likely to be used by each power. The concluding chapter discusses the benefits that Great Britain would gain by allying with the Central European powers against Russia, stresses the value to those powers of a British alliance, and argues that only through such an alliance would Britain be able to retain its hold on India. Ultimately, of course, the envisioned alliance did not come about, as some two decades later Great Britain allied with Russia (and France) and against Germany and Austria-Hungary in the great European conflict that came to be known as World War I.

The Russian Conquest of Central Asia
The Russian Conquest of Central Asia

Author: Alexander Morrison

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2020-12-10

Total Pages: 641

ISBN-13: 1107030307

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A comprehensive diplomatic and military history of the Russian conquest of Central Asia, spanning the whole of the nineteenth century.

England and Russia in Central Asia
England and Russia in Central Asia

Author: Demetrius Charles Boulger

Publisher:

Published: 1879

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13:

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Demetrius Charles Boulger (1853-1928) was a British orientalist who wrote prolifically on topics mainly related to the British Empire. With Sir Lepel Henry Griffin (1838-1908), a British administrator in India, he co-founded the Asiatic Quarterly Review, which he edited for a time. Presented here is Boulger's two-volume England and Russia in Central Asia, published in 1879 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-80). Boulger was an unapologetic imperialist with strongly anti-Russian views. In this book he predicts an "imminent" Anglo-Russian war, which, he argues, Great Britain should undertake at a time when it is still "strong enough to solve the Central Asian Question wholly in our own favour." Volume one is largely dedicated to matters pertaining to Russia. Its 11 chapters cover such topics as recent Russian explorations in Central Asia, the Amu Darya River, Russian government of Turkestan, Russia's military strength in Central Asia, and Russia's relations with Khiva and Khokand, Bukhara, and Persia. This volume has seven appendices containing official documents, including the texts of the treaties concluded by Russia with the khanates of Khiva and Bukhara. A "latest" Russian official map of Central Asia is also included at the end of volume one. Volume two covers matters relating primarily to Great Britain and British India. It has ten chapters, covering such topics as recent British explorations in Central Asia, the Anglo-Indian army, Afghanistan, and England and Persia. The final chapter, "The Rivalry of England and Russia," summarizes the main arguments and warns of Russian intentions. Two appendices contain the texts of the treaties of Gulistan and Turcomanchai, imposed by Russia on Qajar Persia in 1813 and 1828 respectively. A third appendix, entitled "A French Opinion upon England and Russia in Central Asia," contains an assessment of the strategic situation in the region that was published by the influential French daily Le Journal des Débats in the spring of 1878. At the start of volume two there is also a fold-out map of Persia and Afghanistan. In the end, the Anglo-Russian war that Boulger predicted never materialized, as Russia never seriously threatened India and as subsequent events such as the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), World War I, and the Russian Revolution shifted the focus of both powers to other regions.

Russia's Railway Advance Into Central Asia
Russia's Railway Advance Into Central Asia

Author: George Dobson

Publisher: Legare Street Press

Published: 2022-10-27

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781017147629

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Great Game, 1856–1907
The Great Game, 1856–1907

Author: Evgeny Sergeev

Publisher: Woodrow Wilson Center Press / Johns Hopkins University Press

Published: 2014-08-11

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781421415574

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The Great Game sheds new light on Asia’s political influence on Russia at the turn of the twentieth century. Winner of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of the Choice ACRL The Great Game, 1856–1907 presents a new view of the British-Russian competition for dominance in Central Asia in the second half of the nineteenth century. Evgeny Sergeev offers a complex and novel point of view by synthesizing official collections of documents, parliamentary papers, political pamphlets, memoirs, contemporary journalism, and guidebooks from unpublished and less studied primary sources in Russian, British, Indian, Georgian, Uzbek, and Turkmen archives. His efforts amplify our knowledge of Russia by considering the important influences of local Asian powers. Ultimately, this book disputes the characterization of the Great Game as a proto–Cold War between East and West. By relating it to other regional actors, Sergeev creates a more accurate view of the game’s impact on later wars and on the shape of post–World War I Asia.

The Great Game
The Great Game

Author: Peter Hopkirk

Publisher: John Murray

Published: 2006-03-27

Total Pages: 661

ISBN-13: 1848544774

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For nearly a century the two most powerful nations on earth, Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia, fought a secret war in the lonely passes and deserts of Central Asia. Those engaged in this shadowy struggle called it 'The Great Game', a phrase immortalized by Kipling. When play first began the two rival empires lay nearly 2,000 miles apart. By the end, some Russian outposts were within 20 miles of India. This classic book tells the story of the Great Game through the exploits of the young officers, both British and Russian, who risked their lives playing it. Disguised as holy men or native horse-traders, they mapped secret passes, gathered intelligence and sought the allegiance of powerful khans. Some never returned. The violent repercussions of the Great Game are still convulsing Central Asia today.