Sino-Soviet relations : the first phase, 1917-1920

Abstract

This study seeks to shed light on one of the mysteries of modern Chinese history - that of the Karakhan Manifesto. This remarkable document - addressed to the Chinese by the Soviet Commissariat of Foreign Affairs in 1919 - pledged the new Soviet Government to restore to China the rights and privileges forcibly extracted by Tsarism. Shortly afterwards the Chinese were told that the text they had received, containing a promise to restore unconditionally to China the Chinese Eastern Railway and other Russian possessions in Manchuria, was not authentic and another version was forwarded. This monograph discusses the problems of the different versions and the Chinese Government's apparent ignoring of the manifesto. The author's conclusions on this intriguing problem will interest scholars of Soviet policy, both foreign and domestic, Sino-Soviet relations, and modern Chinese history. Show more