mperialism in 1904 produced the Russo-Japanese War. The Japanese were offended by Russian commercial interests having moved into the Korea's north. There was rivalry too over Manchuria.
Tsar Nicholas II did not want war with Japan, but he believed in his empire's commercial future in the Far East. Some in his inner circle had commercial interests in the Far East, and they persuaded the tsar that Japan would never go to war against the great empire of Russia. They were convinced that Japanese "monkeys" were no match militarily for the civilized Russians. They failed to see that their military was antiquated. Russia's soldiers were not well armed and commanders were ineffectual cronies. It was the same kind of delusion that would contribute to their role in creating World War I a decade later. At the moment, however, it contributed to their opposition to any accord with the Japanese. They claimed, moreover, that a war with Japan would unite the nation in patriotism and still labor unrest.
