Conclusion of the Nerchinsk Treaty. Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689). The significance of the Nerchinsk Treaty

66 SIMPLE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (JOINT ACTIVITY AGREEMENT) Under a simple partnership (joint activity) agreement, two or more persons (partners) undertake to combine their contributions and act together without forming a legal entity to extract

This section is taken from, published with the participation of FEGU, TIDOiT and the team of authors represented by S.V. Plokhikh, Z.A. Kovaleva.

Conflict of interests. By the 80s of the 17th century, the economic and administrative development of the Amur region was marked by major successes, as discussed above. It is unlikely that the expansion of the living area by the Russians could have pleased their closest neighbors in the Far East. From the very beginning, the process of spreading Russian influence on the Amur came under close attention from Qing government of China. Back in 1644, central China was conquered by the Manchus, who founded their Qing dynasty, which lasted until 1911. Its foreign policy was characterized by an aggressive nature and they regarded the appearance of the Russians on the Amur as a threat to their interests. And although the Amur region was never part of Chinese Empire, the Qing government tried in every possible way to oust the Russians from this territory. An example of this is the Albazin epic and a number of other unpleasant skirmishes.

The success of colonization by Russian settlers of the Amur basin and the steady approach of the borders of the Russian state to the territory of the Manchu domain posed a real threat to the Qing. The penetration of Russians into the Amur region and the extermination of the local population deprived the Manchus of sources of manpower and valuable furs. In addition, Russian policy in the region was successful and attracted everyone to the Russian state. larger number representatives of the local population. All this put the Manchus in the face of a serious threat in this vast region and could affect the position of the Qing dynasty throughout China. To avoid this, the Qings began to prepare for a big war against the Russians and, having some experience in interacting with them, did not hope for an easy victory. An important component of this preparation was the diplomatic precondition for aggression. At least, the Qing government created a whole series of historical documents, according to which the lands of the Amur region, which had belonged to Russia for more than 40 years, were declared “captured,” “occupied by thieves,” etc. In a word, public opinion was formed about the annexation of these lands by Russia from the Qing Empire.

Russia has repeatedly tried to establish good neighborly relations with China. But neither the mission of F. Baikov (1654-1658), nor the mission of I. Perfilyev and S. Ablin (1658-1662) were successful. Baikov’s diplomatic mission involved establishing diplomatic and trade relations with China and simultaneously studying the situation in the country. Baikov was met unfriendly in China because of the recent clash between Russian merchants and the Manchus on the Amur in September 1656. He was asked to leave Beijing. The next embassy of I. Perfilyev and S. Ablin had a little more luck. They were not allowed into the imperial court, but trade in China was allowed. After this, a system of relationships with the Qing government at the regional level gradually began to be built through the establishment of contacts with the Nerchinsk governor. The new Emperor Kangxi (from 1662) proposed establishing peace in the border areas in order to “live in peace and joy.” Peaceful orientation foreign policy Kangxi remained in words. In fact, preparations were underway for military action.

The first steps towards regulating relations. To resolve the situation on the Amur and normalize Russian-Chinese relations in February 1675 a new embassy was sent to China, headed by N. Spafariem. Negotiations dragged on for several months. The Qing government refused all peace-loving proposals, and soon switched to hostile actions. After the second siege of Albazin, it was clear to both sides that an urgent diplomatic resolution to the conflict was required. It was decided to hold negotiations by mutual agreement in Transbaikalia in the city of Nerchinsk. They took place against the background of the ongoing aggression of the Manchu-Qing side on the Amur, justified by the interests of “protecting” small nationalities.Our embassy was represented by OkolnichyFedor Alekseevich Golovin,Nerchinsk voivodeIvan Astafyevich Vlasov and clerk Semyon Kornitsky.

In the instructions Ambassadorial order Golovin contained recommendations that the border should pass along the Amur River, but in the event of the Qing’s unyielding position on this issue, war should not be allowed with them and, making concessions, agree to draw the border in the Albazin region. As for the rest of the territory, it could be considered neutral for fishing and trade on both sides. Considering the importance of the upcoming event and the tension in relations between the two powers, Golovin was accompanied by a detachment of archers numbering 1,400 people. The Russian government thus hoped to achieve peace through negotiations. Far East and consolidate Russia’s position in the Amur region by agreement.The Qing court sought to achieve peace with Russia through its concessions in the return of annexed Russian possessions in the Amur region that never belonged to it. The Qing Emperor Kangxi stated in this regard: “These Amur places are an important strategic point. If we do not annex these areas, the border population will never find peace. I believe that Nerchinsk and Albazin, the upper and lower reaches of the Amur, as well as every river and stream flowing into it, all belong to my lands. We cannot give up even the slightest part of this in favor of the Russians.” This idea was also contained in Emperor Kangxi's instructions to the Qing embassy.

The embassy was headed by Prince Songotu, a member of the State Council, the largest dignitary of the Qing Empire, commander of the emperor's personal guard. Having received a message that Fyodor Golovin had arrived in Nerchinsk and was ready to negotiate, the Chinese emperor ordered his embassy to also leave for Nerchinsk. The Qing embassy set out with five thousand troops, contrary to the promise to have an escort only from the necessary security convoy. In addition, there were already Manchu troops in the Albazin area, sent there to “reconnoiter the position of the Russians.” Ultimately, a 15,000-strong Manchu army was concentrated on Russian territory.Before the start of negotiations, Songotu received an order from the emperor, which stated: “At the beginning of negotiations, you must continue to insist on making Nerchinsk the border. If their envoy asks to leave Nerchinsk to the Russian state, then we can agree to make Argun the border.” In a secret imperial decree, the embassy was recommended to “act in accordance with the current situation,” i.e. if necessary, exert military pressure on the Russian side.

Unequal contract. On July 26, the Manchu flotilla on 120 river ships arrived at Nerchinsk, where the rest of the troops moving by land arrived on the same day. Thus, in violation of international norms and customs, Qing representatives arrived to negotiate with a huge and well-equipped army. This action cannot be called anything other than a desire to demonstrate one’s strength and put pressure on Russia.Russian diplomats made a proposal to establish a border along the Amur, based on Russia's priority in the development of this region and the recognition of this fact by the local population. WITH opposite side At first there was a proposal to consider the Lena River as a border strip. The intransigence of the Russian ambassador led to threats of the use of military force. In the surrounding forests and valleys, troops began to march under Manchu banners. At the next meeting, the Manchu ambassadors put forward a proposal “to be the border to the Baikal Sea,” which meant giving them all the lands east of Lake Baikal. The justification for such demands was an appeal to history: Transbaikalia was once part of the power of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, whose heirs should be considered the Manchus. Negotiations lasted for almost a month andAugust 29, 1689was signed historical document - Treaty of Nerchinsk.

The border between Russia and China was established along the Argun River to its confluence with the Shilka River, and then along the river. Gorbitsa and “from the top of that river with stone mountains that start from that top of the river and along those same mountain peaks even stretching to the sea.” Apparently, the border from the confluence of Shilka with the Argun to the sea was determined by the agreement very conditionally, because both sides did not have an exact idea about these places. In accordance with the Treaty of Nerchinsk, Russia evacuated its population from the area of ​​the former Albazinsky Voivodeship, the Argun fort was moved to the left bank of the Argun, and the territory of the Amur region henceforth served as a kind of buffer between the two states.Considering the situation in which the agreement was discussed and signed, it can be considered violent, i.e. prisoners under threat of force. F. Golovin was forced to cede a number of territories to the Qing Empire that actually belonged to the Russians in the 40-80s. XVII century These circumstances slowed down economic development The Amur region for more than a century and a half.

The conclusion of the Nerchinsk Treaty, at the same time, created conditions for the normalization of state and trade relations between Russia and China and generally stabilized the situation in the Far East. The conditionality of the established border, discrepancies in the texts of agreements on different languages assumed a return to the border demarcation problem in the future.Thus, the 17th century Russian history marked by the greatest discoveries of the Russian people, which radically transformed the historical and geographical ideas about Siberia and the Far East. Russian expansion from the Urals to Pacific Ocean took a rather short historical period, but provided extensive material about new previously unexplored lands, their riches, climate and inhabitants. At the same time, we note that the movement of Russian explorers in the 17th century. was mainly of an initiative nature on their part. The Moscow government encouraged this initiative, accumulated information, contributed to the development of territories and bringing indigenous peoples under the “sovereign hand.” Only from the end of the XVII - beginning. XVIII centuries The tsarist government began a targeted policy in the Far East from the point of view of further study, development of the region and strengthening its positions on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, by the end of the 17th century. A serious problem has arisen in the relations between the two great states of Russia and China. Only the transfer of this problem from the military to the diplomatic sphere allowed Russia to consolidate legal basis previously spontaneously developing relationships. The Nerchinsk Treaty created the preconditions for their improvement in the future.

As a legal document Nerchinsky the agreement is extremely imperfect. Border delimitation, i.e. its contractual conditionality was reflected in it absolutely unsatisfactorily: the texts of the agreement are not identical, the geographical landmarks are unclear, the exchange of maps was not carried out at all. The demarcation of the border on the ground was not carried out at all, although the text of the agreement provided for the Chinese side the right to set up border markers. Although both parties recognized the treaty, it was not formally ratified by special acts. Thus, the boundary was not established in the generally accepted sense. The Qing Empire formally received the right to the territories designated by the treaty, but did not exercise full sovereignty on them due to the oath of their authorized representatives, observed by the Manchus, not to build buildings on the site of former Russian forts.A stela erected by the Qing authorities near the mouth of the Argun, containing the texts of the treaty in Russian, Chinese, Mongolian, Manchu and Latin languages, which was more of a monument than a boundary marker, provided an incomplete text of the treaty. The Qing government and its successors not only unilaterally interpreted the articles of the treaty, but also, in order to violate them, resorted to outright falsification, cutting off the clauses of the treaty on leaving demarcated lands along the river. Ude.

The archives have preserved to this day only the Manchu and Latin originals of the text of the Treaty of Nerchinsk. The Russian text given to the Manchus in Nerchinsk is probably lost. The basis for Russian publications of the treaty were the surviving copies of its text, as well as the text contributed by F.A. Golovin to the article list. Although the Manchu text of the Treaty of Nerchinsk became a textbook in pre-revolutionary literature, its first translation into Russian was made in 1972 and published in the 2nd volume of the collection of documents “Russian-Chinese relations in the 17th century,” which has become a bibliographic rarity today. The translation was made from the Manchu original, stored in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, while simultaneously checking the original with the Manchu text published in the “Collection of Treaties of Russia with China, 1689-1881”, published in 1889.

Translation of the Manchu text of the Treaty of Nerchinsk 1689

Sent by decree of the august Chinese emperor to establish boundaries, the Duma nobleman, the commander-in-chief of the imperial bodyguards, the first senior class retinue general Songotu; first senior class retinue general and corps commander, first class official, maternal uncle of the emperor Tong Guwe Gan; corps commander Lan-Tan, corps commander Bandarsha; the commander of the troops, Sabsu, guarding Sahalanyulu and other places; head of the banner of Mala; adviser to the Tribunal of External Relations Unda and sent by order of the White Tsar of the Russian state to establish borders, the great ambassador, okolnichy and governor of Bryansk Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin at a personal meeting in the 28th year of Elhetai-fin, the year of the Yellow Snake, on the 24th day of the 7th the moons, having gathered in an area called Nibchu, in order to curb those vile hunting people of both states who cross the border without permission, hunt, kill each other, commit violence, and engage in vile deeds; in order for the Chinese and Russian states to accurately establish the border, and also so that, by combining laws, to realize eternal peace, as a result of the meeting it was decided:

1st article

Make the border the Gorbitsa River, located near the Chernaya River, called Urum and flowing from the north into Sakhalin-Yulu. Following the slopes of the rocky Greater Khingan reaching the sea, where the upper reaches of this river, all the rivers and rivulets flowing into Sakhalanyulu from the southern slopes of the ridge, are made subject to the Chinese state, and all other rivers and rivulets on the northern side of the ridge are made subject to the Russian state. But the areas, rivers and streams located south of the Udi River and north of the Khingan Range established (as a border) should be temporarily made intermediate. Upon returning to your place, establish (in order to) then carefully study the area either by negotiations through ambassadors, or by sending letters.

2nd article

Set the border as the Argun River, which flows into Sakhalyanyulu. Make the southern coast subject to the Chinese state, and establish the northern coast as the property of the Russian state. The Russian buildings currently located on the southern bank near the mouth of the Mairelke River will be moved to the northern bank.

3rd article

The city, currently built by the Russian state in the Yaksa area, will be completely destroyed, razed to the ground. The Russian people who lived in Yaksa and all their property were transferred back to the possessions of the white king.

4th article

Hunters of both states are resolutely prohibited from crossing the boundaries established hereby. If one or two dissolute people, having crossed the border without permission, hunt and rob, then, having captured them, take them to the officials who govern those places, and the local officials, having quickly sorted out the case of those tramps, carry out punishment. If, in addition, more than 10-15 (people), united in a gang and taking military weapons, hunt and kill people, engage in violence and robbery, then, having certainly submitted reports to the sovereigns, the death penalty will be immediately carried out. Although one or more people will do something by mistake, it is desirable that both states, while still living in peace, do not start a war.

5th article

Do not discuss various old cases that previously took place. The Russian people now living in the Chinese state and the Chinese subjects who are in the Russian state, having mutually accepted each other, are immediately allowed to live.

6th article

Both states, following the eternal peace, decided that from now on every person coming to one or another country, if he has a travel certificate, can conduct trade.

7th article

Since the day of the oath at the embassy congress, fugitives in hiding have ceased to be mutually accepted, captured and handed back.

8th article

The nobles of both states, having gathered together, stopped quarrels and hostilities on the borders, with an ambassadorial congress they forever extended the good agreement, it is desirable that (the parties) obediently observe a very precise establishment of (border) places. After this, having made one copy (of the agreement) for each person and attaching government seals to them, they will give them to each other; also after this, having made Chinese, Russian and Latin copies, carved them on stone and, placing them on the border of the two states, made them an eternal monument. Reign of Elhei Taifin, 28th year,

7th moon 4th day Seal of the Amur Jiangjun

Signatures: Songotu, Dong Guwe Gan, Lantan, Bandarsha, Sabsu, Unda, Mala

I - The boundary line should be the Gorbitsa River, which flows into the Amur from the north near the Chernaya River, or Ulun-mu. Up this river, on the barren side, is the rocky Khingan Range, stretching all the way to the sea. All rivers and streams that flow into Heilongjiang in the area south of this ridge belong to the Middle State, and the rivers and streams on the northern side of the ridge belong to Russia.

II - The Argun River, which flows into the Amur River, will serve as the border boundary. The southern bank of the river will belong to China, the northern bank to Russia. Located on the southern bank at the mouth of the river. Mailerke will move Russian buildings to the northern shore.

III - The fortification built by the Russians in Yaksa should be destroyed to the ground, and the Russian people living in Yaksa and everything belonging to them should be transferred to the land of the white king.

IV - Animal traders and other people should not cross the border. If one or two cross the border without permission, they will be caught and transported to the proper authorities, and this authority will, depending on the importance of the guilt, punish them. And if 10 or 15 people in a crowd and with weapons in their hands hunt, or kill someone, or rob someone, then they will certainly be reported to the sovereign and put to death, so that because of an insignificant circumstance they will not upset a great cause and give no reason to sever friendship with China.

V- There is no more talk about previous affairs, and therefore let the Russians who are now in China and the Chinese who are in Russia remain there; there is no need to necessarily return them.

VI - After the peaceful settlement that has now taken place, caravans with travel documents can henceforth carry out barter trade without hindrance.

VII - After the peace treaty, if there are defectors, they are not allowed to be accepted or left, but must be sent back

Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689, the first treaty that determined the relations of the Russian state with the Manchu Qing Empire. Concluded on August 27. (Sept. 6) after the war. conflict 1683-1689, caused by the desire of the Manchu dynasty, which enslaved in the 17th century. whale. people, to the conquest of the Amur region developed by the Russians. Having met courageous resistance from the Russians. garrisons in Albazin and other forts (fortified points), as well as due to a number of other internal reasons. and ext. nature of the Manchus were forced to abandon extensive military operations. plans and offer Russian. to conduct negotiations in order to make peace and establish borders. Rus. production, not having sufficient military. forces for the defense of the Amur region, trying to establish permanent diplomatic relations. relations and develop trade ties with China, agreed to enter into peace negotiations. The negotiations took place near the walls of the Nerchinsk fort in an extremely difficult time for the Russians. side of the situation. Nerchinsk was blocked by the Manchu army and a flotilla of the total number. 17 thousand people equipped with art. Russian is available. The embassy numbered only 1.5 thousand people. without sufficient ammunition and food. Thus, over Nerchinsk and the Russian itself. embassy there is a real threat of war. attacks and extermination. Albazin was also under siege - Ch. Russian stronghold in the Amur region. Rus. The embassy was forced, under the terms of the N.D., to go to great lengths. concessions, leave a vast territory. Albazinsky Voivodeship. Albazin, built by the Russians, was subject to destruction “to the ground,” while representatives of the Qing court gave an oral “sworn obligation” not to populate the “Albazin lands.” Argunsky fort and other Russians. the buildings were to be transferred from the right bank of the Argun to the left. State the border along the N.D. was extremely uncertain (except for the section along the Argun River), outlined only in general terms. The names of rivers and mountains that served as geogr. guidelines were not identical in the Russian, Latin and Manchu copies of the treaty, which made it possible to differ. their interpretations. At the time of signing the agreement, the parties did not have any accurate maps of the demarcation area, the delimitation (see State Border) of the border was unsatisfactory, and its demarcation was not carried out at all. The delimitation of lands near the Okhotsk coast was postponed until more favorable times. When signing the N.D., there was no exchange of maps with the border line between the two countries marked on them. N.D. also regulated issues of measures to combat defectors and persons who committed crimes in the territory. on the other hand, provided for a peaceful settlement of the border in any case. disputes and established the principle of equal trade rights for both sides. This opened up opportunities for the development of peaceful politics. and trade relations between Russia and the Qing Empire. All R. 19th century Russia managed to complete many years of diplomatic relations. struggle and achieve a revision of the terms of the N. d., which was reflected in the relevant articles of the Aigun Treaty of 1858 and the Beijing Russian-Chinese Treaty of 1860.

Treaty of Nerchinsk. At the dawn of Russian-Chinese relations.

The first attempts to establish relations with China, before the Treaty of Nerchinsk, were made by the great sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich. In 1654, they were heading to Beijing Russian embassy, however, the mission ended unsuccessfully. The Russian ambassadors did not want to perform the rituals of the Chinese Court.
Thirty years have passed. Princess Sophia, together with her first minister and favorite Prince V.V. Golitsyn, began to rule the Russian state, during the minority of Tsars Ivan and Peter. From 1685, alarming news from the East began to arrive in Moscow. In July, Chinese troops attacked and captured the town of Albazin, not far from the Amur River. The governor was released according to the agreement, and soon they themselves left. Tolbuzin, the Albazin governor, returned and rebuilt the city. Golitsyn decides to send an embassy to the Chinese to conclude treaties on peace and borders. The governor of the Bryansk district, Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin, was appointed to lead the embassy. He should be helped by: the governor of Nerchinsk I.A. Vlasov and the clerk S. Kornitsky. They were accompanied by about five hundred archers, and about one and a half thousand soldiers from the garrison regiments joined in Siberia. The instructions the ambassador received contained several points that described the concessions that could be made. In particular, it was proposed to determine the border along the Amur River; if not, then it could be along Albazin; if this is not accepted, then at least demand permission for Russian people to fish in this area; if this condition is not accepted, it was necessary to postpone negotiations until better times. The ambassador was allowed to secretly promise a reward for the Chinese negotiators in case of their intransigence and was instructed to find out what the state and control of the Chinese army was.
On January 26, 1686, the embassy set out from Moscow. The journey was very long. Having reached the Fishing Fortress in the fall, the embassy remained there for the winter, spending it in dugouts and huts. In the spring of 1687 we continued our journey along the river. Tunguska, and in the summer by dry route to Irkutsk. In the fall, being already in Selenginsk, Golovin sent to the Chinese Emperor notification of his arrival and an offer to appoint a place for negotiations with the Chinese plenipotentiaries. While waiting for an answer, Fyodor Alekseevich managed to build the wooden fortress of Udinsk and in February 1688 repel the attack of the Mongol princes on Selenginsk.
In June, the Chinese informed Golovin of the emperor’s intention to choose Selenginsk as the place for negotiations and that their ambassadors with five hundred guards were ready to go there. At the same time, clerk I. Loginov arrived from Moscow to the Russian embassy in Udinsk with new instructions. They spoke of the need for Golovin to go to Albazin and begin negotiations with the Chinese ambassadors there. But Golovin, for now, resolves the issue of pacifying the Mongol princes and sends Loginov to Beijing with samples of the treaty. In the spring of 1689, the ambassador received a notification from Loginov that the Chinese ambassadors, accompanied by a thousand guards, were leaving for Nerchinsk, where Golovin should go. The first to arrive in Nerchinsk in July was the Chinese embassy, ​​consisting of many high-ranking nobles and headed by the most noble, Sangotu. They were accompanied by Jesuit translators, a Frenchman and a Spaniard, as well as fifteen thousand soldiers with fifty cannons. On August 9, the Russian embassy also arrives in Nerchinsk. On August 12, they set the opening of negotiations outside the city, in a field, with five hundred guards on both sides.
Two tents were set up at the meeting place. Turkish carpets decorated the first one, intended for Russian ambassadors, the second, for the Chinese, was furnished only with benches upholstered in felt. On the first day, claims and proposals of the parties were voiced. Golovin began with a complaint that the Chinese side, without declaring war, attacked and captured Albazin and made a proposal to mark the border along the Amur River. The Chinese ambassadors responded that Albazin was illegally built by Russian Cossacks on its territory and since then the Chinese population has been repeatedly subjected to violence. As for the borders, the Chinese laid claims to the entire territory up to Lake Baikal, including Albazin, Nerchinsk and Selenginsk.
At the second meeting, the Chinese ambassadors made some concessions, agreeing to draw the border along the line of the city of Nerchinsk, Golovin also gave up, not insisting on the Amur border, but Albazin categorically did not want to give in. After heated debates, the Chinese, having gathered at their council, decided to cross the Shilka River with their army and surround Nerchinsk. The Russians intended to defend themselves, despite the obvious disparity of forces. Golovin managed to bribe the support of the Jesuits and, with their help, defuse the situation, but Albazin and the Amur border had to be abandoned.
The first Russian-Chinese treaty, accompanied by desperate disputes and forceful pressure, was signed on August 27, 1689. The Nerchinsk Treaty included six main points. The first delineated the border along the Gorbitsa River, the second spoke about the division of the possessions of the two countries along the Argun River. The third, the most painful, is about the destruction of the long-suffering town of Albuzin and the resettlement of its inhabitants; the fourth talks about fugitives from both sides and their mutual extradition. The fifth talks about allowing citizens of the two states to enter both directions and engage in trade. The sixth records the punishment of criminals in border cities guilty of theft, robbery and murder.
Two days later, a solemn ceremony was held with a seal attached to the agreement and an oath of its execution, and then the exchange of agreements took place. Until August 31, celebrations continued with various treats, music and drumming. The Russians presented the Chinese ambassadors with furs, expensive dishes and watches. They, in turn, presented satin, brocade and expensive materials.
Golovin destroyed Albazin by October 15, strengthened Nerchinsk and strengthened its garrison, and then set off on the return journey, reaching Tobolsk only almost a year later. On January 10, 1691, the Russian embassy arrived in Moscow, and on February 2, F.A. Golovin introduced himself to the autocratic Tsars Ivan and Peter. Words of gratitude were expressed to him for his zeal and service to the great sovereigns, and soon he was granted a boyar status and appointed governor of Siberia. Although Albazin’s surrender and failure to follow instructions was blamed on him, despite all the excuses.
Later, both sides tried to present the signed agreements as their success. And yet, despite its contradictory nature, the Nerchinsk Treaty laid the first stone in building further Russian-Chinese relations.

After the founding of Tobolsk, its voivode sent Cossacks to the Far East. Russian Cossacks and peasants settled Transbaikalia and the Amur region, built several forts (fenced settlements) along the Amur, the largest of which were Albazin on the left bank of the Amur and Nerchinsk on the Shilka River.

Despite the fact that the lands of the Russian settlers did not border either the ancestral lands of the Manchus or China (during this period, the border of the Qing Empire ran slightly north of the Liaodong Peninsula along the so-called “Willow Palisade”), the government of Qing China treated them extremely hostilely, fearing the departure of the Evenks and other tribes recently conquered by the Manchus to the Russians. After some large clans came under the protection of Russia, the Manchu government of Qing China began to seek the withdrawal of Russians from the banks of the Amur.

At the same time, the Russian government sent representatives to China in order to establish peaceful relations. In 1618, the diplomatic mission of the Cossack Ivan Petlin reached Beijing. The path to China was open.

Ultimately, the Qing Empire was forced to enter into these negotiations by the fact that attempts to oust the Russians from the Amur by military means failed, and it seemed imprudent to leave problems with its northern neighbor unresolved in anticipation of the military operations planned by the Manchus to capture the powerful Dzungar Khanate in Central Asia. In May 1688, the Qing government appointed its embassy to negotiate with Golovin. The embassy, ​​along with the Manchus, included Jesuit missionaries in the service of the Qing authorities - the Portuguese Tomás Pereira and the Frenchman Gerbillon, who had opposed the agreement with Golovin from the beginning of the negotiations (August 12, 1689) for direct negotiations. further complicated the situation at the negotiations in Nerchinsk.

The negotiations for the Russian side took place in an extremely difficult situation. Nerchinsk was besieged by Qing troops numbering over 15 thousand people with the support of artillery and a river flotilla. They were confronted by about one and a half thousand Russian archers and Cossacks without sufficient ammunition and food. The Qing embassy constantly emphasized its readiness at any time to use the mentioned troops to strengthen its position in the negotiations.

The Manchus categorically refused to accept Golovin’s proposal to define the Russian-Chinese border in the Far East along the Amur River and demanded the transfer of the entire Albazin voivodeship and most of Transbaikalia to the Qing Empire, which was met with Golovin’s categorical refusal.

However, threats to seize Nerchinsk by storm, as well as the beginning of a massive transition of local Buryats to Chinese citizenship, forced Golovin to cede land to China along the right bank of the Argun. At the same time, the lands between the Uda River and the Greater Khingan remained undelimited, and the Albazinsky fort was destroyed. The Argun fort was moved to the left bank of the Argun. The Manchus did not intend to develop the territory left by the Russians; it was for them a buffer zone inhabited by a tax-exempt population. From the Russian side, the Nerchinsk Peace Treaty was signed by F. A. Golovin, I. E. Vlasov and S. Kornitsky, from the Qing government - Songotu, Tungogan and Lantan.

• 1st article.

A river named Gorbitsa, which flows down into the Shilka River, on the left side, near the Chernaya River, establishes the boundary between both states. Also from the top of that river with the Stone Mountains, which begin from that top of the river and along those same mountain peaks, even extending to the sea, the power of both states is divided, like all rivers, small or great, which from their mountains flow into the Amur River from the midday side , to be under the possession of the Khin state. Likewise, all the rivers that come from the other sides of those mountains will be under the power of the Tsarist Majesty of the Russian state. Other rivers that lie in the middle between the river Udya under the Russian state and between the limited mountains that contain near the Amur, the possession of the Khin state, and flow into the sea and winds of the earth in the middle of existing, between the above-mentioned river Udya and between the mountains that are up to borders should not be limited, now let them remain, since the great and plenipotentiary ambassadors abroad to these lands, not having a decree of the Tsar's Majesty, postpone not limited until another prosperous time, in which, upon the return of ambassadors from both sides, the Tsar's Majesty will deign and Bugdykhanov's Highness will want it ambassadors or envoys become fond of transfers, and then either through letters or through ambassadors assigned unlimited lands by the deceased and decent, cases can be calmed and demarcated.

• 2nd article.

Also, the river named Argun, which flows into the Amur River, will set the border so that all the lands that are the left sides, going by that river to the very peaks under the possession of the Khinsky Khan and the owner, are the right side: also all the lands and the owner are on the side of the royal majesty The Russian state and the entire structure on the half-day side of that Argun River will be demolished to the other side of that river.

• 3rd article.

The city of Albazin, which was built by the Tsar's Majesty, is to be destroyed to the ground and the people staying there with all future military and other supplies with them will be driven towards the Tsar's Majesty and not a small loss or any small things will be left there from them.

• 4th article.

The fugitives who, before this peace decree, were both from the side of the Tsar's Majesty and from the side of Bugdykhanov's Highness, will be on both sides without any hesitation, but who after this decree of peace will run across and such fugitives will be sent away without any delay from both sides without delay. to the border governors.

• 5th article.

Any people with travel certificates from both sides for the current established friendship for their affairs in both sides, come and go to both states voluntarily and buy and sell what they need, may it be commanded.

• 6th article.

Previously, there were any future quarrels between border residents before this peace was established, for which trades of both states industrial people will cross and commit robbery or murder, and such people, having been caught, will be sent to the directions from which they will be, to the border cities to the governors, and for this they will inflict a cruel execution; They will unite with the large number of people and commit the above-described theft, and, having caught such self-willed people, they will be sent to the border governors, and for this they will be given the death penalty. And wars and bloodshed on both sides for such reasons and for the most borderline people do not charge crimes, but write about such quarrels, from which the parties will steal, both sides to the sovereign and break up those quarrels with amateur embassy transfers.

Against these articles decreed on the border by the embassy treaties, if Bugdykhanov’s Highness wants to put some signs on the borders for memory, and sign these articles on them, then we submit to the will of Bugdykhanov’s Highness. Given at the borders of the Tsar's Majesty in the Daurian land, in the summer of August 7197, 27th day. This is the letter from the hand of Andrei Belobotsky, written in Latin. Clamped according to sheets of secretary Fyodor Protopov. Translator Foma Rozanov read with an authentic copy.

It should be especially noted that China basically complied with the provisions of Article 3 of the Treaty of Nerchinsk - until the end of the 18th century there were no Manchu settlers in the Amur region, and until the mid-19th century, Qing laws prohibited ethnic Chinese (Han) from appearing even in Manchuria under threat of death penalty.

Characteristics of the agreement

Thus, according to the Nerchinsk Treaty, the border between Russia and China was drawn along the Arguni River and further along the “Stone Mountains”: from the sources of the Gorbitsa River and “extended to the sea.” At the same time, all rivers flowing into the Amur from the south of these mountains were considered to belong to China, and all rivers flowing from the other side of these mountains belonged to the Russian state. The rivers and lands located between the Uda River, which belonged to the Russian state, and the “Stone Mountains” from the Amur to the sea, which belonged to the Chinese state, were supposed to be left undelimited.

The most unclear thing in this agreement was the question of the geographical position of the “Stone Mountains”, which remained uncertain until 1850. Honor to explore the direction of the Khingan Range and thus prove the rights Russian Empire The exploration of the Far Eastern lands fell to the Russian officer D.I. Orlov, who, as a member of the Amur expedition, on the instructions of G.I. Nevelsky, explored the direction of the Khingansky, which in the local dialect means Kamennoye, ridge. He determined: that the Khingan ridge, accepted according to the Nerchinsk treaty of 1689, confirmed by the treaty of 1721, beyond the border between Russia and China, from the headwaters of the Uda River does not go to the northeast, as was mistakenly believed until that time and as depicted on all maps, and to the southwest. That is, that from the Amur River “Stone Mountains” is nothing more than the Greater Khingan.

On the other hand, the interpretation of the Greater Khingan as the “Stone Mountains” does not stand up to criticism from the point of view of the river delimitation mentioned in the Nerchinsk Treaty, according to which Russia did not receive rights to the rivers of the Amur Basin flowing through the mountains of the Greater Khingan. It clearly follows from the text of the agreement that the areas between the Kivun and Taikansky ridges, where the watershed boundary between the northern tributaries of the Amur and the rivers of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk basin lies, remain undelimited. In the definition of “Stone Mountains,” the watershed Stanovoy Ridge is easily visible, the line of which most closely corresponds to the geographical landmarks specified in the Nerchinsk Treaty.

However, Russian historians regard the Treaty of Nerchinsk as a very imperfect document from an international legal point of view. Its texts in Russian, Manchu and Latin were not identical, the mentioned geographical landmarks were unclear, maps were not exchanged, the delimitation of the border was carried out at an unsatisfactory level for those times, and the demarcation of the border was not carried out at all. At the same time, no actual demarcation was made outside the Albazin Voivodeship.

These circumstances gave grounds for the Russian side to demand a revision of the force-imposed border in the Amur region and the definition of the border in Primorye, which was done in 1858 when the parties concluded the Treaty of Aigun. China, in turn, also considers the Aigun Treaty to have been imposed by force, and recognizes the Nerchinsk Treaty as the only truly fair agreement on borders.

see also

Literature

• Nevelskoy G.I., Exploits of Russian naval officers in the extreme east of Russia 1849-1855, OGIZ, Moscow, 1947.
• Artemyev A.R. Controversial issues of border delimitation between Russia and China under the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689
• Treaty of Nerchinsk August 28, 1689. Russian edition
• Treaty of Nerchinsk August 28, 1689. Translation from Latin
• Treaty of Nerchinsk August 28, 1689. Translation from Manchu

Categories:

• Russian-Chinese relations
• International treaties of Russia
• International treaties of China
• International treaties of the 17th century
• 1689
• Foreign policy of imperial China

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