The Treaty of Nerchinsk

Abstract

The increasing complications between China and Russia on the Amur frontier made it appear desirable at Moscow to come to some arrangement regarding the frontiers of the two empires. The chancellor Nicephore Venyukoff, accompanied by Ivan Favoroff, was sent to arrange preliminaries, as has been mentioned above. He left Moscow in December, 1685 and arrived at Peking in September, 1686. At Peking he succeeded in inducing the Emperor to order the Chinese general to lift the siege of Albazin, which, as stated above, actually took place on November 30, 1686. Venyukoff brought back a letter from the Emperor to the Csar. Though addressed to the “great, white Lords, Brethren, Tsars and Autocrats,” its contents were first to be communicated to the governor of Siberia. As the letter conveys a good idea of the Chinese manner of thinking with regard to Russian operations on the Amur, we reproduce it here extensively. It may help in understanding the stay of the siege of Albazin and the negotiation of the treaty. It is dated November 12, 1686.