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Russian Commercial Shipping and Singapore, 1905-1916
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2011
Abstract
After the Russo-Japanese War, Russia's Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Trade and Industry tried to reorganize the country's shipping on a more commercial basis by creating steamship lines and exploiting various trade opportunities. Because Singapore was a major halting point for Russian ships using the sea route from the Black Sea to the Far East, Consuls there were in the forefront of trade issues. Based on records of the Singapore Consulate and other materials at the archive of the Ministry of Foreign Policy in Moscow, the article explores plans for the commercialization of Russian shipping and the problems faced by Consuls in advancing Russian economic activity in the region.
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References
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16 AVPR, d.1325, [19 Mar. (1 Apr.) 1899], 1.11. Witte refers to this meeting with “Captain Andersen” and another Danish citizen, and their discussion about the proposal of the East-Asiatic Company, in a letter to M.N. Murav'iev, Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 1897 to 1900.
17 AVPR, d.1325, [18 Feb. (2 Mar.) 1899], 1.7.
18 See the Honours thesis of Constance See Yuan, Sin, “Russian Mercantile Maritime Trade to the Far East, 1880s-1917” (Dept. of History, National University of Singapore, 1996/1997), pp. 29–30Google Scholar and appendices 2b and 2c.
19 Sumner, Tsardom and Imperialism in the Far East, p. 15.
20 These thoughts were expressed by N.V. Shvedov, President of the Society to N.G. Gartvig, Director of the First Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1484, [30 July (12 Aug.) 1903], 1.64.
21 See Utkhtomskii's account of the Tsar's voyage to the Far East in Poezdka naslednika (St. Petersburg, 1893Google Scholar) and Sumner, Tsardom and Imperialism in the Far East, p. 16.
22 Bezobrazov was eventually made a state secretary in control of eastern affairs in May 1903, after the demise of Witte's “peaceful penetration” approach to Russian expansion in the Far East. See Jelavich, Barbara, St. Petersburg and Moscow (Bloomington: Indiana Press, 1974), pp. 242–43Google Scholar.
23 For a discussion of the interaction between domestic and foreign policy that led up to Russia's fiasco in the East, see Dietrich Geyer, Russian Imperialism, pp. 186-219.
24 For discussion of the foreign policy rivalry between Britain and Russia see Jelavich, St. Petersburg and Moscow; Geyer, Russian Imperialism on the rivalry of Britain and Russia in Central Asia, pp.86-100; Mitchell, Donald W., A History of Russian and Soviet Sea Power (New York: Macmillan, 1974Google Scholar) and Marriot, J.A.R., Anglo-Russian Relations, 1689-1943 (London: Methuen and Co., 1944Google Scholar). On references to Russian/British rivalry in Southeast Asia and the Far East, see R. Quested, “Russian Interest in Southeast Asia”, pp. 48-60; Nish, I.N., The Anglo-Japanese Alliance: The Diplomacy of the Two Island Empires 1894-1907 (London: Athlone Press, 1966Google Scholar); Thio, Eunice, British Policy in the Malay Peninsula, 1880-1910 (Singapore: University of Malaya Press, 1969Google Scholar) and Snow, “The Russian Consulate in Singapore”.
25 Jelavich, St.Petersburg and Moscow, pp. 249-56 and Marriot, Anglo-Russian Relations.
26 Russian Mission in Peking to the First Dept. of Foreign Affairs which then sent the report to the Dept. of Trade Navigation in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, AVPR, d.1342, [27 Dec. 1906 (9 Jan. 1907)], 11.35-40.
27 AVPR, d.1342, [27 Dec. 1905 (9 Jan. 1906)], 11.1-2.
28 AVPR, d.1342, [Mar. 1906], 11.3-10.
29 AVPR, d.1336, [1(14) Jan.1912], 11.24
30 Ministry of Trade and Industry to S.D. Sazonov, directing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1336, [21 Dec. 1912 (3 Jan. 1913)], 11.36-40.
31 Leng, Tay Soo, “The Russian Volunteer Fleet in Singapore, 1880-1915” (Honours Thesis), (Dept. of History, National University of Singapore, 1995/1996), pp. 19–25Google Scholar.
32 Ibid., p.29. War office (WO) to CO, 26 Jan. 1899, CO273/246/4435.
33 For information on the dual purpose of the Fleet see Jane, Fred T., The Imperial Russian Navy (London: Conway Maritime Press, 1904Google Scholar) and Byrnes, Robert F., Pobedonostsev: His Life and Thought (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1968Google Scholar).
34 Tay Soo Leng, “The Russian Volunteer Fleet in Singapore”, pp. 32-37. Also Yih, Choy Peng, Alexander, , “A Colonial Perspective of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 from the Straits Time” (Academic Exercise, Department of History, National University of Singapore, 1994/1995), pp. 22–24Google Scholar.
35 Straits Times 10 April 1904, p. 5. Also see Tay Soo Leng, “The Russian Volunteer Fleet in Singapore”, pp. 44-45.
36 Ibid.
37 Choy, “A Colonial Perspective”, pp. 52-57. See also Pang, Tham Chin, “Anglo-Russian Relations from a Southeast Asian Perspective, 1905-1917” (Honours Thesis, Department of History, National University of Singapore, 1977/1998Google Scholar).
38 Selected official Russian documents related to the interests of Russia and other European powers in Southeast Asia are published in Politika kapitalisticheskikh derzhav i natsional' noosvoboditel'noe dvizhenie v Iugo-Vostochnoi Azii (Moscow: The Science Publishing House, vol.1, 1965Google Scholar, vol.11, 1967) (henceforth Pkd). Zhevanov to V.I. Kovalevsky, Director of Dept. of Trade and Industry, Pkd, vol.1, document 117, [16 (29) May 1900], p. 232Google Scholar.
39 Ibid., pp. 232-33.
40 Kozlova, Rossiya i sran yugo-vostochnoi Azii (M., 1986), pp. 89-94.
41 Ibid., p. 278.
42 “Annual Report on the Marine Development, Straits Settlements, for the Year 1905”, Supplement To The Straits Settlements Government Gazette (20th Jul. 1906), pp.114-15. A sample of some of the figures in Straits dollars from the Statement of the Principal Articles of Export from Singapore:
The reduction in the dollar amounts in the 1904/1905 period may be explained by the Russo- Japanese War.
43 Ibid., p. 285. As a result, Russian kerosene would have faced competition from English and American producers.
44 Ibid., pp. 276-81.
45 Most of the reports on shipping have remained unpublished, but some materials on political issues such as British expansion and local rebellions are found in Politika evropeiskikh derzhav v Iugo-Vostochnoi Azii 1760-1860 (Moscow: Publishing House for Oriental Literature, 1962Google Scholar) and Pkd. Some consulate reports from Southeast Asia also appear in Sbornik konsul'skikh donecenii (St. Petersburg, 1903Google Scholar).
46 See correspondence between the Acting Russian Consul R. A. Palmgren and the Director of the First Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1325, [13(26) Mar.1900], 11.28-29, and between the East-Asiatic Co. and N.Schebeko, d.1325, [28 May (10 Jun.) 1900], 11.34-36.
47 AVPR, d.1325, [28 May (10 June) 1900], 1.35.
48 Behn Meyer & Co. (Singapore) to the East Asiatic Co., AVPR, d.1325, [30 Mar. (12 Apr.) 1900], 11.37-38.
49 Part of the agreement between the Company and the Russian government allowed for Danish captains and some officers to remain on the Russian-owned steamers for the first three years. Andersen to Nicolai Schebeko, charge d' affaires of the Imperial Russian Legation, Copenhagen, AVPR, d.1325, [28 May (10 Jun.) 1900], 1.34.
50 Ibid., 11.35-36.
51 Vyvodstsev to First Dept., the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pkd, vol. 1, document 124, [15 (28) Apr. 1909], pp. 242^44.
52 Ibid.
53 Ibid., pp. 243-44.
54 Quested, “Russian Interest in Southeast Asia”, pp. 51-52.
55 Vyvodstsev was especially keen on promoting Russian-Siam relations and believed Russia had a role to play in keeping Siam a neutral zone between the English and the French. See Vyvodtsev to D.A. Kapnist, Director of the Aziatic Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, documents 44 [18 (30) Sep. 1891] and 45 [2(14)Feb. 1893], Pkd, vol. 2, pp.105-108 and Snow, “Russian Consulate in Singapore”, pp. 362-63.
56 M. Bakunin, Russian Consul in Batavia to F.R. Osten-Saken, Director of Foreign Affairs, document 66 [6(18) Oct. 1895], and Admiral N.M. Chikhachev, Naval Ministry to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, document 67 [9(21) Dec. 1895], Pkd., vol. 1, pp. 152-53.
57 Tay Soo Leng. “The Russian Volunteer Fleet”, pp. 27-28.
58 Dutch entrepreneur, H. de Kinderen to Chikhachev, Pkd., vol. 1, document 62 and from P.P. Turtov, Chief of Main Naval Staff to P.N. Nazimov, Chief of Pacific Naval Fleet, document 63, pp. 138-41 and Quested, “Russian Interest”, pp. 51-52.
59 This report included maps and photos of the port facilities. Rospopov to Fourth Political Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1363, [5 (18) Aug. 1915], 1.164
60 Ibid., 1.165.
61 Ibid., 1.165. Rospopov had estimated that 909 Russian ships had visited Singapore in 1913, but in 1914, with the outbreak of the War, the number declined to 733.
62 To Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1360, [8(21) Mar.1913], 1.33.
63 Rospopov to the Fourth Political Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1363, [27 July (9 Aug.) 1915], 1.158. For further information on Turovskaya see note 95.
64 Rospopov to First Dept. of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1360, [8(21) Mar. 1913], 1.33 and 20 July (2 Aug.) 1912, 11.29-31.
65 See Snow, Karen A., “Russia and the 1915 Indian Mutiny in Singapore”, South East Asia Research 5,3 (Nov. 1997): 295–315CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
66 AVPR, d.1360, [1913], 11. 83-100. The report included photos and detailed information on the restructuring of the docks and other port facilities along the Singapore River and Tanjong Pagar Dock which was redesigned to accommodate larger ships. Rospopov spoke of the slow progress and difficulties encountered in the undertaking but noted that by 1913 there had been “strong results” (1.87). He also referred to the colony's conflicts with the Siam government over the exit point of the railway on the Indian Ocean, critical for trade advantages (1.99).
67 AVPR, d.1360, [1913], 11.50-77.
68 Ibid., 11.59-77. Rospopov acquired most of these figures from the local press.
69 Quested, “Russian Interests in Southeast Asia”, pp. 49-50.
70 Rospopov to Trade Navigation Section, Ministry of Trade and Industry, AVPR, d.1360, [24 May (6 June) 1912], 11.7-12.
71 Ibid., 1.12.
72 Ministry of Trade and Industry to S.D. Sazonov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1336, [21 Dec. 1912 (3 Jan. 1913)], 1.36 (p. 1 of report).
73 Rospopov to Trade Navigation Section, AVPR, d.1360, [no date 1912], 1.13.
74 Ibid., 1.14.
75 Rospopov to Trade Navigation Section, AVPR, d.1361, [3(16) Oct. 1913], 1.24.
76 Confidential Report to First Dept. of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1361, [27 Mar. (9 Apr.) 1914], 1.23.
77 AVPR, d.1361, [3(16) Oct. 1913], 1.14.
78 Ibid., 1.15.
79 Trade Navigation Section to First Dept. of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1361, [no date 1913], 1.20.
80 To Northern Steamship Company, AVPR, d.1361, [no date 1913], 11.25-28.
81 To First Dept.of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1363, [29 Apr. (12 May) 1914], 11.9-12.
82 Ibid., 1.13.
83 AVPR, d.1348, [10 (23) Jan.1914], 1.2.
84 Ibid., 1.3.
85 Ibid., 1.4. He also sent a copy of the Ordinance to the Trade Navigation Section. See AVPR, d.1348, [25 Apr. (7 May) 1914], 1.6.
86 To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1348, [21 May (3 June) 1914, 11.9-10.
87 AVPR, d.1348, [10 (23) Jan. 1914], 1.3.
88 AVPR, d.1348, [21 May (3 June) 1914], 11.9-12.
89 AVPR, d.1348, [10 (23) Jan. 1914], 1.2
90 AVPR, d.1348, [21 May (3 June) 1914], 11.12-14.
91 To First Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d. 1360, [11 (24) June 1912], 11.18-19.
92 To First Dept. of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1361, [26 Oct. (8 Nov.) 1913], 1.4.
93 Rospopov sent this report to the Russian Consulate in London, as the recognition of the Ordinance had to be done by a high authority such as the Consul in London. AVPR, d.1360, [9 (22) June 1912], 11. 15-17.
94 To First Dept. of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1361, [26 Oct. (8 Nov.) 1913], 1.3.
95 Ibid., 1.4. These sailors were also assisted in their harassment of the Consul by Madam Turovskaya. Along with providing a prostitution ring of Russian women, she also offered other services such as false passports to runaway sailors and other Russian indigents, and encouraged and assisted them in their harassment of the Consul. Rospopov, who saw her as a nuisance, attempted to rescue Russian women from Turovskaya and discouraged her contacts with Russian sailors. In 1915 he succeeded in having her expelled from Singapore in connection with a British clampdown on prostitution. On policies toward prostitution in Malaya in this period see Butcher, John G., The British in Malaya 1880-1941 (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1979), pp. 217–22Google Scholar.
96 Circular of First Dept. of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1337, [21 Mar. (3 Apr.) 1912], 11.4-5. This followed- a decision by the Committee of the Volunteer Fleet in conjunction with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to give the right of unpaid passage on their ships as long as the proper form was issued by the Consul. Trade Navigation Section to First Dept. of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1337, [13 (26) Feb. 1912], 1.5
97 To Personnel and Economic Affairs Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1337, [31 Jan. (13 Feb.) 1913], 1.2.
98 Ibid., 11.2-3.
99 Rospopov to First Dept. of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1336, [16 (29) Mar. 1913], 1.40.
100 Ibid.
101 Ibid., 11.38-39.
102 Copy of letter from Rospopov to Colonial Secretary, AVPR, d.1336, [12 (25) Feb. 1913], 11.43-45. The Agent for the Volunteer Fleet remarked to the Consul that this British stipulation contravened the Paris Convention of 1903. See AVPR, d.1336, [16 (29) Mar. 1913], 11.38-39.
103 Ibid., 1.45.
104 Copy of letter from Colonial Secretary to Rospopov, AVPR, d.1336, [26 Mar. (8 Apr.) 1913], 11.46-47.
105 AVPR, d.1336, [16 (29) Mar. 1913], 1.43.
106 Copy of letter from Colonial Secretary to Rospopov signed by Acting Secretary, A. Bryant, AVPR, d.1336, [14 (27) June 1912], 1.54
107 Volunteer Fleet Administration to First Dept. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1336, [1 (14) Aug.19 13], 1.51.
108 Rospopov to First Dept. of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AVPR, d.1336, [16 (29) Mar. 1913], 1.40.
109 Ibid., 1.41.
110 Kozlova, Rossiya i ctrany yugo-vostochnoi Azii, pp. 287-89.
111 Ibid., p. 287. Below are some trade statistics for these goods:
112 Ibid., pp. 286-87.
113 Pitner, Walter Mckenzie and Rowney, Don K. (eds.), Russian Officialdom: The Bureaucratization of Russian Society from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Century (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1980CrossRefGoogle Scholar) and Lieven, Dominic, Russia's Rulers Under the Old Regime (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989Google Scholar).
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115 Ibid., p. 73.
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