Prince N. A. Kudashev — the Last Envoy Extraordinary of the Russian Empire to China

Abstract

The article discusses the activities of the Russian Envoy Extraordinary to China, Prince Nikolai Alexandrovich Kudashev, who was appointed to this post at a difficult period in the history of the two countries: Russia and China. He took up his duties in 1916 as an Envoy of the Russian Empire to the Republic of China, continued to serve in 1917 as a diplomatic representative of the Russian Provisional Government and remained in office until 1920, without recognizing the Bolsheviks’ power, but being still recognized by the government of China. The article analyzes his activities and characterizes the state of Russian-Chinese relations in that most challenging period of history. Although N. A. Kudashev was not an outstanding diplomat, he played a prominent role at a turning point in the development of Russian-Chinese relations. The purpose of the article is not only to consider specific aspects of the diplomatic work of N. A. Kudashev in China and evaluate his role in the development of Russian-Chinese relations but also to demonstrate complicated conditions under which Russian-Chinese relations developed at a critical point in Russian, Chinese and World history. The example of N. A. Kudashev and the Russian consuls subordinate to him makes it possible to clearly trace the problems of relations between diplomats of the old school and the new Bolshevik government. Remaining at their posts, these people tried to work conscientiously and fulfill their duties as they understood them. The novelty of the article lies in the involvement of a large number of archival documents on the history of the Russian diplomatic mission in Beijing during the period under review.