We Shall Be Masters

overview

contents

Introduction: “Only a Short Distance Away”: Russia’s Arrival on the Pacific Coast
1. Lord of Alaska: Tsar Alexander I’s Transpacific Empire
2. “Russian Control Will Be Guaranteed Forever”: Nikolai Muravev and the Conquest of the Pacific Coast
3. “We Can Still Repeat the Exploits of Cortez”: Expansion and Retreat in China’s Central Asian Borderlands
4. “Tightening the Bonds between Us”: Sergei Witte and the Trans-Siberian Railway
5. “A New Mecca for the East”: The Bolshevik Revolution in China
6. “We Must Have Our Hands Free”: Stalin’s Drive for Hegemony in East Asia
7. “The Great Hope of Humankind”: Soft-Power Socialism in Asia
8. Perestroika and the Pacific: Mikhail Gorbachev’s Opening to Asia
Conclusion: “Heir to the Empire of Genghis Khan”: Vladimir Putin’s Pivot to Asia
Abbreviations
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index