Военный министр генерал Алексей Николаевич Куропаткин о наместничестве на Дальнем Востоке накануне русско-японской войны (1903 год)
War Minister General Alexey Nikolaevich Kuropatkin on Viceroyalty in the Russia’s Far East at the threshold of the Russo-Japanese war (1903).

Summary/Abstract: By the Decree of July 30, 1903, Nicholas II formed a Viceroyalty in the Russian Far Eastern Region with Admiral Evgeniy I. Alekseev (alt. Alexeev) as Viceroy. It was unexpected for most of his ministers. Without their knowledge, a vast strategic region was separated with the removal of all civil and military rights from the ministries. This led to a crisis in the government on the eve of the Russo-Japanese war (1904–1905), and significantly influenced the pre-war events. Finance minister Sergei Witte was dismissed. Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to deal with a difficult situation. War minister Alexey Kuropatkin was forced to raise a question of no-confidence, and defend the position of the Ministry of war. As a result of his work, despite the aggressive policy of Admiral Alekseev at the Russia’s Far East, the Russian Empire did not enter first into the war with Japan, and the army management structure was preserved; a joint strategic plan for military action was developed, and the “shadow cabinet” of Alexander M. Bezobrazov lost its power.

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