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IMAGINING THE RUSSIAN CONCESSION IN HANKOU

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2018

ALAN CRAWFORD*
Affiliation:
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
*
School of Humanities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Rd, Shanghai, Chinaalancrawford@sjtu.edu.cn

Abstract

In 1896, the Russian empire established a territorial concession in the Chinese treaty port of Hankou. Russian activity in the treaty ports has usually been subsumed into a wider ‘European’ or ‘Western’ presence, the assumption being that the Russian empire copied existing British and French concessions. This article traces the development of the idea of establishing a Russian concession from its inception to the early years of its development. The various arguments made at different stages in this process make clear that the decision was not a simple case of imitation of existing concessions, but was reached in the context of a broader shift in ideas about the proper relationship between economy, nation, and the Russian imperial state.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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References

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