Why didn't Russia colonize in the scramble for Africa?
Upvote:0
The colonial interests of Russian Empire lie elsewhere - notably in Central Asia (as has been already pointed out in the answer by @FelixGoldberg). In part this was due to geographic and historical factors, but also due to the competition with other colonial powers, notably Britain and France. Just to give a few points (a rather incomplete list):
- Russian attempts to profit at the expense of the Ottoman Empire and to increase its influence in the Balkans were repeatedly countered by France and Britain, eventually culminating in the Crimean War.
- Not the least in the competition for Turkey was the Russian Navy access to the Mediterranean sea via Bosphorus and Dardanelles - this may be counted as one of the more explicit reasons why Russian Empire never git to Africa.
- The conflict between Russian Empire and Britain in Central Asia is known as Great game. On occasions this came close to an outright war, but the issues were eventually settled diplomatically, notably through Pamir Boundary Commission protocols in 1895 and Convention between the United Kingdom and Russia relating to Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet in 1907.
- Finally, the culminating point of the cooperation between the colonial powers was the Sykes-Picot agreement, where the British and French empires divided their spheres of influence in the Middle East, while the Russian Empire renounced its claims to the region in exchange for having a free hand in Central Asia.
Upvote:2
During this time Russia was already engaged in a colonial enterprise on a staggering scale - the conquest of Central Asia. Conquering and then digesting such a vast territory more or less took up most of Russia's attention and resources available for colonization.
Upvote:15
You got your facts wrong.
- The peak of the scramble for Africa was the Berlin Conference of 1878.
- Alaska was sold to the USA in 1867.
Russia had (and has) great resources, but always had (and has) problems monetizing them. They didn't sell Alaska for pennies on the dollar because they are such generous people, but because they desperately needed the cash. Especially after loosing the Crimean War in 1856. That's probably the reason why they sold it to the USA, not to Great Britain.
Russia doesn't have too many warm water ports. Maritime trade never has been that important for Russia. Today the sanctions they face would cripple any other nation, but Russia seems to endure it. Why? Because it doesn't really need outside resources.
Apart from that, they already had a colony. The largest in the world, it's called Siberia.
Even so, a Mr. Nicolas Ivanovitch Achinoff did try to set up a colony in Africa, in Somaliland. His colonial experiment was not supported by the Russian government, and wasn't successful.
More post
- 📝 What was the impact of race in the French Foreign Legion in the 20th century?
- 📝 Who were the victims of the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery?
- 📝 How common was banditry in 16th & 17th century Great Britain and Ireland?
- 📝 Why are the majority of Dresden inhabitants atheists or agnostics?
- 📝 Are there any images within the time period of contemporary history (1945 to the present) that had different interpretations by historians?
- 📝 How were ethnographic maps in the 19th century made?
- 📝 Are there any good sources on the history of the name for Kazakhstan?
- 📝 How many traps did mountain men typically use?
- 📝 Why did Xerxes choose Hellespont over Bosphorus?
- 📝 Are there non-russian sources related to how Rurikid Dynasty became rulers of Russia?
- 📝 Do NKVD files say that during WWII, Soviet leadership knew about the rape of Soviet women liberated from labour camps and did nothing to stop it?
- 📝 Was Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Suess really banned?
- 📝 What was the highest ever win for a decision in a nationwide *democratic* voting?
- 📝 What was the first spy agency?
- 📝 Was Hagia Sophia built over a pagan temple?
- 📝 Why did Franklin Roosevelt promote Nazi sympathizer/eugenicist Frederick Osborn to high levels of office?
- 📝 Was there actually a project by the Nazis to create supernatural monsters/weapons?
- 📝 Origin of San Francisco's water lots off Candlestick Point
- 📝 Did any Nazi TV news broadcasts survive?
- 📝 Early 20th century naval communication
- 📝 When dubbing a knight why is the right shoulder dubbed first?
- 📝 Why were Hoplite shields circular?
- 📝 Has this newspaper printed the wrong picture (as well as a baffling caption)?
- 📝 What is the exact reign years for Japanese Emperor Keiko, Emperor Seimu, Emperor Chuai, Empress Jingu and Emperor Nintoku?
- 📝 Is there a field of study which attempts to document historic experiences of ordinary individuals?
- 📝 What kind of knife could this be?
- 📝 Did the Germans have a team equivalent to the one from Bletchey Park in the UK during WWII?
- 📝 How did Romans know if their money was debased?
- 📝 Was arson prominent in the Kingdom of Hawaii?
- 📝 What sovereign Jewish polities have existed outside of Palestine?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why didn't Russia colonize in the scramble for Africa?
- 📝 Why was Africa colonized last of the continents in the Age of Discovery?
- 📝 Why did Britain not purchase Alaska when Russia had it up for sale?
- 📝 Why didn't the Nors*m*n colonize North America?
- 📝 If the Ch’in dynasty was so short-lived, why was China named for it?
- 📝 Given their reputation for fighting to the last man in the Pacific, why did 700,000 Japanese troops surrender in Manchuria?
- 📝 Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
- 📝 Why did Peter the Great name Saint Petersburg, Russia with a foreign styled name?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for Europeans to adopt the moldboard plow?
- 📝 Why does the US use the opposite convention to the rest of the world for colour-coding harbour buoys?
- 📝 Why didn't the Black Death result in favorable results for surviving peasants in China?
- 📝 Why was the area now known as Liberia chosen as the location for repatriation of African slaves in the US?
- 📝 Why did Stalin push for the Great Purge against the Red Army in 1936?
- 📝 Is there a historical source that might explain why so many countries use 35 as a minimum age for the president / the highest office person?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for the Germans to develop the first tank model in World War I?
- 📝 Why did JFK give approval for the CIA to encourage Diem's deposal?
- 📝 Constantine the Great created the Chi-Rho from the Greek word for "Christ". Why choose Greek over Latin, even though he was Roman?
- 📝 Why did Russia inherit the USSR status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power?
- 📝 Why did Argentina invade the Falklands when they did, rather than wait for the pending sale of the UK aircraft carriers to complete first?
- 📝 Why is the name "Tecumseh" used for US Navy ships?
- 📝 Did anyone warn about the potential for stock market crashes in 1929, and if so why were their warnings ignored?
- 📝 Why didn't Ronald Reagan become Republican candidate for the President of the USA in 1976?
- 📝 Why was the Halifax death penalty reserved for thefts of at least 13½ pence?
- 📝 Why was Villa Gaggia chosen as the setting for Hitler & Mussolini's July 1943 meeting?
- 📝 Why did J. Edgar Hoover publicly deny the existence of the Mafia for so long?
- 📝 What were the most common reasons why draft-age men were not conscripted for the Union Army?
- 📝 When, where, why did clean shaving for men become the norm?
- 📝 Why was an SS commander dismissed and charged for the mistreatment of Jewish prisoners?
- 📝 Why did the attempts to keep Africa colonized after World War II fail?
- 📝 Why did people die for their religion in the 400s CE (or even now)?