UDC

94(47).083+94(73):327(045)

Authors

Ivan V. Rogachev
Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov; prosp. Lomonosova 2, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation;
e-mail: i.rogachev@narfu.ru

Abstract

This paper analyses the logic and features of the establishment of Russian-American relations at the regional level (in the Russian North) at the turning point of the development of international relations. Primary attention is given to the role and potential of the Russian North in the activation of trade and economic, as well as political, diplomatic and cultural ties between Russia and the United States. The study aimed to highlight the author’s periodization elucidating the importance of this region in Russian-American relations during the period from 1914 to 1920. The author reveals the peculiarity of the US “Russian policy”, which became obvious in October 1917 when the relations shifted from the government to the regional level. Since that time, it was in the Russian North that America’s true interests came to the surface. Using their economic leverage, the USA sought to strengthen their positions in weakened Russia. During the armed intervention in mid-1918, the USA and other Entente Powers tried to establish close contact with Russia’s northern region, bypassing the central authorities, and separate it from the rest of the country. The article provides a plausible plan of creating a buffer state on the territory of the Russian North under the name of the Russian Arctic Ocean Republic. These ideas could not be implemented due to the failure of the armed intervention. The performed analysis of the interaction between the two countries at the regional level can prove extremely valuable considering the current international relations in the context of the tough US policy aimed at weakening Russia’s position in the world. What is more, the research identified both positive and negative opportunities for and consequences of keeping contact with foreign powers by a country’s regions during heightened international tension.

Keywords

Russian North, World War I, Russian-American relations, armed intervention, Russian Arctic Ocean Republic

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