THE PACIFIC FLEET AS A FACTOR IN THE SECURITY OF RUSSIA AT THE END OF THE XIX AND THE BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURIES
The formation of a new geopolitical system in modern political, socio-economic and geographical conditions draws us to the experience of the past, when in the conditions of military-political conflicts of the late XIX - early XX century the formation of a new geopolitical map of the world took place. The Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905 was one of the irst examples of the war for geopolitical redistribution of the world, the struggle for "spheres of influence". The authors conducted a study of national security policy in the context of considering different views of the Russian commanders on the formation and technical equipment of the Paciic leet. The study provides a more complete picture of the development of international relations and foreign policy of the period. Methodological approaches and the source base of the research determine the scientiic novelty of the article. The materials of the article are the result of many years of research into the development of Russian shipbuilding in the late XIX - early XX centuries. The authors present the analysis of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire in the con- text of the study of the "Great Asian program". The reasons for the defeat in the 1904-1905 Russian-Japanese war are clariied. The development of naval forces of Russia in the Far East is studied. The consideration of new facts reveals the peculiarities of tactical and technological properties of Russian ships. The role of I. A. Shestakova and F. V. Dubasov in the occupation of Mozampo port as an alternative strategic center in the military-political confrontation between Russia and Japan in the Far East is investigated. There are additional factors that conirm the lag in the pace of construction and equipping of national combat armored ships in the Far East. The analysis of the shipbuilding program of Russia in connection with the strengthening of its presence in the Paciic Ocean is given. New data on technologies of domestic shipbuilding development, on activity of Obukhov steel, Baltic and Admiralty Izhorskiye Factories during preparation for the Russian-Japanese war are presented.