Prior to the 1600s
China and
Russia were on opposite ends of
Siberia, which was populated by independent nomads. By about 1640
Russian settlers had conquered most of Siberia and founded settlements in the
Amur River basin. From 1652 to 1689, China's armies
drove the Russian settlers out, but after 1689 China and Russia made peace and established trade agreements. By the mid-1800s China's economy and military lagged far behind the colonial powers, so it signed
unequal treaties with Western countries such as Russia, through which Russia annexed the Amur basin and
Vladivostok. The Russian Empire and other powers exacted many other concessions from China, among which were indemnities for anti-Western riots, control over China's tariffs, and
extraterritorial agreements including legal immunity for foreigners and foreign businesses. Many Chinese people felt humiliated by China's submission to these foreign interests, and this contributed to widespread hostility towards the emperor of China. In 1911 public anger led to a revolution, which marked the beginning of the
Republic of China. However, China's new regime (known as the
Beiyang government) was forced to sign further unequal treaties with Western countries, including Russia.