The Significance of Building trans-siberian railway

The construction of trans-siberian railway also had a considerable impact on China at that time. At that time, Russia had been coveting the northeast of China. Therefore, trans-siberian railway occupies an important position in Russian aggressive policy. Shortly after the start of construction in trans-siberian railway, Russian Finance Minister Viktor advocated that the main railway line would go directly to Vladivostok through the northeast of China, so as to bring the northeast of China closer to Russia. Just then, the Qing government was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War and was forced to sign the treaty of shimonoseki.

In order to restrain Japan's influence in the Far East, Russia joined hands with Germany and France to force Japan to "spit out" Liaodong Peninsula. Subsequently, Russia, which was "active" because of its intervention in Liao countries, quickly gained the favor of the Qing government, and Russia also took the opportunity to secretly formulate the so-called "Asian Yellow Russia Plan". The basis of this plan is to build a railway that runs through the northeast of China and extends southward to Dalian while building trans-siberian railway.

1896, when Li Hongzhang went to Moscow as a special envoy to congratulate Tsar Nicholas II on his coronation, the Russians induced him to sign the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty and decided to build a trans-Siberian railway branch line in China, and named it Dong Qing Railway (later called Middle East Railway). 1898, Dong Qing railway started construction, and the whole line was opened to traffic on June 1903. After the completion of trans-siberian railway, it brought great economic benefits to Russia. In the roar of the train, Siberia, which was originally barren, flourished rapidly. After opening to traffic, the first change here is the rapid growth of population. In 1863, the population of Siberia was only 2.86 million, and by 19 14, it had reached 9.62 million. The arrival of a large number of immigrants has effectively alleviated the labor shortage in Siberia. With the rapid growth of population, many cities emerged on both sides of the Grand Railway, which was praised as "American speed" by international public opinion at that time.

Relying on the labor force and capital technology brought by the railway, Siberia has become Russia's main agricultural and animal husbandry base. Before the October Revolution, Siberia's grain output accounted for 17% of the whole country. At the same time, Siberia's industry has also been vigorously developed. The coal mining industry, wood processing industry and metallurgical industry, which are produced to meet the needs of road construction, have been stimulated unprecedentedly, and even boosted the whole Russian economy.

The construction of trans-siberian railway also had a great influence on the international situation in the Far East at that time. Because Japan regarded China and Korea as forbidden areas, it clashed with Russia, which was expanding eastward. By 189 1, when the Russians started to build trans-siberian railway, the Japanese were even more restless. They are worried that once the railway is fully opened to traffic, it will greatly benefit the Russian military's military mobilization and enhance its military strength in the Far East. To this end, the Japanese government rushed around the world, contacted Britain and the United States and other countries to put pressure on Russia, trying to stop the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, but to no avail.

At the beginning of 1904, the Russo-Japanese war was on the verge. According to Japan's analysis, although Russia's overall military strength is stronger than Japan's, its forces in the Far East are limited and it is difficult to supply. At that time, trans-siberian railway was about to be built, and only a section of 100 kilometers was left around Lake Baikal. If the railway is completed, Russia's military disadvantage in the Far East will be fundamentally reversed. So at the insistence of Yamagata Aritomo, the military minister, and others, the Japanese army suddenly declared war on Russia on February 8, 1904. The development of the war further proved the importance of this railway.

After the war began, the well-prepared and geographically advantageous Japanese army really took the initiative and defeated the Russian army in succession. The Russian side had to work hard and forcibly opened trans-siberian railway on July 1904. Relying on this railway, Russia mobilized a large number of troops from Europe to the front line of the Far East in a short time, and finally surpassed the Japanese army in strength, thus partially recovering the defeat. It is for this reason that the Portsmouth compromise treaty came into being. Later, the Soviet Union deeply realized the importance of trans-siberian railway, further reformed and improved it, and once again played its great role in the 1945 war against Japan.

Trans-siberian railway has not yet played its full role. Misharin pointed out in his report that the annual trade volume between Europe and Asia is US$ 600 billion, but only 1% of the trade volume is realized through Russian transportation infrastructure. The construction of Russia's supporting transportation infrastructure will help to increase the total transit transportation to 25 million tons to 30 million tons by 20 10, thus enabling Russia to obtain additional income of more than 6 billion US dollars.