ABSTRACT
The decade 1895-1905, during which Russian foreign policy turned from the Balkans to seek expansion in the Far East, was of special benefit to Polish industry. The Russian Foreign Minister, Prince Gorchakov, addressed a circular note to the Powers on 21st November 1864, in which he justified Russian policy by the need to ensure the security of Russia's boundaries. As he pointed out, subjugation of one tribe brought the civilising power into contact with fresh tribes. Russian expansion in Central Asia was completed by the conquest of the Turcomans on the east shore of the Caspian Sea. Russian interest in the Balkan Peninsula and the Straits of the Black Sea was very old and was well known to the governments of Europe. To the Russian Tsars, rulers of the only great state whose religion was Orthodoxy, the spiritual centre of Orthodoxy, Constantinople, always held a special attraction.
