Yakut rebellions...

after the arrival of the Russians in Yakutia in the 1620s, the Yakuts rebelled against Russian rule between 1634 and 1642.

what if some other power (no idea who would) that wasn't crazy about the idea of a Russian port on the Pacific, supplied the Yakuts with weapons, training, etc, so they could fight off the russians and establish their own state.

ASB, or not?

and how would it happen?
 
the japanese of this period were begining to isolate themselves from the world and i suspect that thier forign policy would not extend to formenting rebellion abroad

the only european powers that were particularly active in this reigon at this time were the portugese and the dutch , both of whom had links to china and japan , and whilst they had guns for sale i doubt the yakult had anything to sell worth the price

My 2 cents would have to be the chinese , but it seems unlikely. Like the japanese they were becoming increasingly insular even whilst increasing trade with eurpe from the southern ports. However you could argue that they wanted to create a weak buffer state , or perhaps look to a POD in japanese of chinese history that reversed thier retreat from the world:cool:

good luck:p

Scott
 
looking at the map http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakha_Republic, The only country that would be close would be China.
I don't think they have lost the Chinese Maritimes [Amur] yet,
If they did get involved, they either keep their Maritimes, or lose them earlier.

there were also Yakuts as far east as Magadan and the Kamchatka Peninsula, IIRC, so other countries could come into contact with those Yakuts.

the only european powers that were particularly active in this reigon at this time were the portugese and the dutch , both of whom had links to china and japan , and whilst they had guns for sale i doubt the yakult had anything to sell worth the price

what about if they had come into conflict with russia in Europe for one reason or another, and for political reasons they thought it would be in their interests to supply the Yakuts, even if there wasn't much profit for them?
 
what about if they had come into conflict with russia in Europe for one reason or another, and for political reasons they thought it would be in their interests to supply the Yakuts, even if there wasn't much profit for them?

I very much doubt it. whilst i can envisage the dutch at war with the russians in this period , i cannot see why. even if they were to come into conflict over the baltic trade , there is no way that the dutch had the resources ,time ,or infrastructure to arm and train a rag tag semi-civilised army on the far side of the world , having had to go via cape hope to get there

Then there is the military aspect of a possible russo-dutch war. it would be fought mainly at sea , and probably won by the dutch. the russian navy at this time was still vey primitive. anywhich way ,with the limited scope for the army and the relitively small dutch army compared to the russians , there is nothing to say that they would have found it difficult to fight both at once

plus at thier distance from european russia , the tsar could afford to leave them in revolt until he'd fought the dutch into submission , and then send in the okhrana or the Cossacks.:cool:

HOWEVER , with further reasearch i have discovered a slightly silvery looking lining to this historical conundrum. Turns out that this reigon was the centre of a highly productive fur trade that started around this time. If it was as productive as the american market(with which it would have to compete) it is possible that one of the european traders would have condsidred running guns and powder to them , but they would still be fighting an uphill battle against the russian expansionist hoarde:eek:


Sir Scott
-Historian to the Tsars
 
thanks for your input, Sir Scott. :)


but for the purpose of this WI, let's say that the RFE (Russian Far East) fur trade is as productive or more so. so might another power run the weapons and whatnot to the Yakuts, in the belief that a free Yakut area aligned with them would greatly increase their wealth in the fur trade? or something like that?
 
there were also Yakuts as far east as Magadan and the Kamchatka Peninsula, IIRC, so other countries could come into contact with those Yakuts.
In fact most part of Yakuts' lands was settled only when Russians pacified local tribes (mainly Yukagirs)
 
The problem with having China involved is that at this time the Qing and the Ming are at the crucial point of their war and that China would not be entirely pacified till Kangxi's reign. Once unity was achieved in the 1680s Kangxi was able to kick the Russians in the ass and forced them to accept the Treaty of Nerchinsk, so I don't doubt that an earlier united China in the 1630s-40s would achieve more success against a weaker Russian presence in Siberia. To achieve that, you need either to have the Qing conquering China earlier, or the Ming able to repel the Manchus, put them down and still be interested in helping the Yakuts against Russia. The first is probably the most likely scenario, seeing how inept were the Ming leadership sometimes.

Either that or delay the Russian penetration in Siberia, of course.
 
Top