861a.01/362

The Acting Chairman of the Special Trade Delegation of the Far Eastern Republic to the United States ( Skvirsky ) to the Secretary of State

Sir: The Government of the Far Eastern Republic whose people are suffering under the burden of the destructive Japanese Intervention, has been doing everything possible in order to induce the Japanese Government to remove its troops and establish normal political and economic relations.

Repeated efforts to accomplish this proved fruitless because of the very evident tendencies of the Japanese to predominate in the region of the Russian Far East. While carrying on negotiations with the Government of the Far Eastern Republic in Dairen, the Japanese [Page 860] did not cease to create anarchy and chaos in the territory of the Far Eastern Republic by arming and financing monarchist bands and instigating them to attack the people of the Far Eastern Republic. While negotiating in Chang Chun, the Japanese adhering to their policy of creating disorder in the Far Eastern Republic, distributed arms which belonged to the Far Eastern Republic to monarchist and reactionary hirelings, for the purpose of attacking and weakening the Far Eastern Republic, and for the creating of an impression in the outside world that the presence of Japanese troops in Siberia has been forced upon them by circumstances.

The Conference in Chang Chun terminated without arriving at any agreement because the Russian side safeguarding the sovereign rights of the people of the Far Eastern Republic and Russia in the Far East, could not sanction the continued occupation by Japanese troops of the Island of Sakhalin, under the pretext of compensation for the Nikolaievsk events. The Russian people cannot differentiate between the seizure of Sakhalin and the seizure of any other territory of the Russian Far East. Northern Sakhalin must be liberated as well as the rest of the Russian territory occupied by the Japanese.

At the time of Japanese attacks on the Russian population in the territory of Maritime, Priamur, Amur and Zabaikal Provinces, the Japanese also suffered losses in men as well as in Nikolaievsk. But the Japanese do not dare use this fact as a formal excuse for the seizure of that territory. While the Japanese during their attacks suffered losses of hundreds of people, the Russian population lost tens of thousands men, women and children killed, and property losses amounting into hundreds of millions of gold roubles.

The Russian people cannot consider themselves responsible for the intrigues and cruelties of Japanese militarists, nor can they recognize the principle of the seizure and holding of territory as security.

In this respect the representatives of the Russian people of the Far East totally share the point of view of the American Government as expressed at the Washington Conference by the Honorable Secretary of State in regard to the seizure of Sakhalin by the Japanese.

The Government of the Far Eastern Republic is moved by one strong desire—assuring and maintaining of peace in the Far East.

Japanese seizures regardless under what excuses they are made, and no matter how they are masked, are constantly threatening this peace and are keeping the Far East in a state of tension and uncertainty.

Highly appreciating the friendly position assumed by the American Government at the Washington Conference, the Government and the people of the Far Eastern Republic hope that the American [Page 861] Government will support them in their endeavors to liberate their territory from foreign invasion and use its influences for aiding in the speediest evacuation of the territory of Northern Sakhalin by the Japanese.

I am [etc.]

B. Skvirsky