War Prerequisites
The end of the Russian-Japanese War had a substantial impact not only on the countries participating in the conflict but also on the international community. The War in the Far East has altered the balance of power in the region and the world.
Russia had previously considered Japan a second-rate state, but Tokyo proved the fallacy of this perspective. It is worth noting that Japan entered the camp of the great powers in 1905. Japan has become one of the dominant forces in the Asian region. This significantly impacted the European powers’ policy regarding Asian countries, which had not been adequately perceived before.
Japanese militarism facilitated the empire’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific region from the 1910s to the 1940s. The main theater of military operations during the Russian-Japanese War was the territory of China. The civilian Chinese and Manchu populations suffered from food shortages in the besieged Port Arthur and the destruction caused by the Battle of Mukden.
War Implications
In conjunction with other colonial wars, the Russo-Japanese War prompted revolutionary circles in China to organize a national liberation struggle. Subsequently, these events will affect both the First and Second World Wars, as they will be one of their catalysts. For Russia, the first Russian revolution that began was more significant than the economic and human losses it caused, as its onset accelerated the defeat in the War.
The main result was that the War pushed Russia toward transformation and further revolutionary changes, exacerbating many problems and contradictions inherent in autocratic power. This will also be one of the reasons for the wave of socialist revolutions in other countries that sought to embark on the path of industrialization and progress. For Japan, winning the War meant turning the country into a great power at the European level of development.