«the Great Ocean Is Our Lake»?: Russian Ministers in Search of an Ice-Free Port in the Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries

The article presents the results of a study of the Far Eastern policy of the Russian Empire during the late 19th–early 20th centuries, using the search for an ice-free port in the Pacific Ocean as a case study. The paper examines the positions of the ministries involved in such decision-making and reveals the relationship and interdependence between the discussions, the existing hierarchy of ministries, inter-institutional communication practices, and the changing international situation. The author concludes that the ministerial struggle from 1895–1898 over the acquisition of an ice-free port involved four administrative entities: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Naval Ministry, and the Ministry of War. Key figures in shaping Far Eastern policy included Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte, Head of the military department A. N. Kuropatkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs M. N. Muravyov, and Head of the Naval Ministry P. P. Tyrtov. Arguments advocating the need to develop the Pacific Fleet and strengthen relations with Korea were overruled by proponents of prioritizing railway construction and leasing the Liaodong Peninsula.