ABSTRACT
With the advent of 1903 there was a turning-point in the attitude of Russia towards the far east. Its features included a change of attitude both at home in St Petersburg and at the frontier in China, Korea and Manchuria. It is not easy to define this turning-point. But indisputably it contained the following elements: a change in the balance of forces at the Russian court; the rise and fall of Bezobrazov and his circle; decentralization of power in dealing with east Asian issues and the rise of Admiral Alekseyev. Beyond this, it is hard to go. It is doubtful whether the conventional phraseology of the 'old course' being replaced by the 'new course' is wholly satisfactory. There were too many resemblances between the old and new courses; and there was continuity in some of the key roles, even if Finance Minister Witte was forcibly retired. We shall, therefore, suggest that, while there were continuities, there were also new dimensions and that, even within these 'new dimensions', there were many contradictory elements.
