However, culture is one thing; history is quite another. With our access to unlimited computing power and information at our fingertips, I thought it would be easy to find out about the history of, well, anywhere. It’s just that my anywhere is currently Blagoveshchensk and Far East Russia. And the information I found was woefully inadequate.
Mystery of Not Knowing
Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Amursky was responsible for negotiating with the Chinese for the Amur River as a border for Far East Russia. The Chinese could’ve rejected his proposals. They already had a treaty in place, and Russia did not have a water route to the Pacific. The two super powers of the region negotiated and the Chinese gave up everything north of the Amur for what?
No one I’ve talked to can tell me. It doesn’t seem like a good decision on China’s part. Maybe, China wanted to avoid a military confrontation. Maybe there was just too much turmoil during the 1850s to deal with the Amur Region. The point is -- I don’t know, and I don’t buy that Nikolai Nikolaevich was just that good of a statesman. I can’t completely discount that he was, and I am sure that the answer exists somewhere in Russian. It’s just that my Russian isn’t good enough to find it, yet.
Explore Russia
Most people think of Russia as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and if they are old enough to remember the Sochi Olympics, Sochi. Hardly anyone thinks of Asia Russia. There are a lot of places to explore in the world, Far East Russia shouldn’t be overlooked. There are a lot of interesting, and sometimes strange, thigs to do and see, even if everything is spread out.
Have Some Fun
Mostly, I wanted to have some fun and revisit my love of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries. I also like the idea of bringing in elements that you might find in Indiana Jones. I have in mind several other stories that involve Steve, Irina and the mysteries of Far East Russia. I hope you’ll come along for the journey. And if you want to know some true things about Far East Russia, check out the Adventures on the Amur blog.