Amur Annexation

The Amur Annexation refers to the incorporation of the southeast corner of Siberia into Russia in 1858–60. The two areas involved are the Priamurye between the Amur River and the Stanovoy Range to the north and the Primorye which runs down the coast from the Amur mouth to the Korean border; and does not include Sakhalin Island. The territory of Outer Manchuria was formerly under the control of the Qing dynasty.

In the modern-day geography of Russia, Priamurye ("the Amur Lands") roughly corresponds to the Amur Oblast and the southern half of the Khabarovsk Krai, while Primorye ("the Maritime Lands") corresponds to the Primorsky Krai (and, possibly, adjacent sections of Khabarovsk Krai).

Hydrologically, the Stanovoy Mountains separate the rivers that flow north into the Arctic from those that flow south into the Amur River. Ecologically, the area is the southeastern edge of the Siberian boreal forest with some areas good for agriculture along the middle Amur. Socially and politically, from about 600 AD, it was the northern fringe of the Chinese-Korean-Manchu world. For a Chinese view of this, see Outer Manchuria and Hulun (Manchuria).

In 1643 Russian adventurers spilled over the Stanovoys, but by 1689 they were driven back by the Manchus. For this, see Sino-Russian border conflicts. By the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) the two empires recognized the Stanovoys and the Argun River as their border. This remained stable until the 1840s.

Following the voyages of Captain James Cook significant numbers of British, French and American vessels began entering the Pacific. They were followed by Russians like Grigory Shelikhov and Nikolai Rezanov who were mainly concerned with the new Russian colonies in Alaska. This raised the problem of naval defense of the east coast of Siberia and the possibility of using the Amur River as a supply route to the Pacific.

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