Ivan Korostovetz — Russian Diplomat and Expert on China

Abstract

Ivan Yakovlevich Korostovetz (1862–1933) was one of the most prominent Russian diplomats of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played an extremely important role in the developing Russian-Chinese relations and a no less significant part in the development of Russian-Mongolian ties. Not a sinologist by education, and at the start not speaking Chinese, Korostovetz could understand the specifics of China so deeply and delve into the peculiarities of Chinese realities that he became one of the best experts on China at that time. Korostovetz actively popularized his knowledge on China among the Russian public by writing books and articles about the country. At the turn of the 20th century, Korostovetz became one of the most capable diplomats in the Russian Empire and contributed to an active Russian policy in China and Outer Mongolia. Having a deep understanding of the Russian geopolitical interests in the Far East, he was able to clearly formulate the main goals of Russia’s policy in this region at the time when the Xinhai revolution broke out in China. Unfortunately, after 1917, Korostovetz failed to find a place for himself in the diplomatic field, and so he became the author of many published and unpublished works on the history of diplomacy and international relations in the Far East. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of Korostovetz’ activities in various diplomatic positions in China and evaluate his role in the development of Russian-Chinese relations, as well as analyze his articles and books about China and show the depth in which he understood political development, history and culture of this country.