Becoming Russia or Becoming Japan? The Russo-Japanese War and Ottoman Public Opinion

Abstract This article examines the impact of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5 on Ottoman public opinion. The diverse segments of the Ottoman Muslim intelligentsia rejoiced in the Japanese victory. First, because it was a Japanese victory and second, it was a victory over Russia . Japan’s victory set a precedent for the Ottomans amid European imperialism and the looming threat of dissolution. Islamist intellectuals, nationalists, and the Young Turks in particular urged the Ottomans to follow the Japanese path of reform and referred to Russia as the antithesis of Japan, while the Sultan and the Hamidian press were less enthusiastic about such parallels. Each intellectual circle emphasized different aspects of Japanese modernization, contrasting it with Russia. However, their objective was the same: preserving the empire. This is the story of how a war in the Far East inspired intellectual discussions on how to save an empire in the Near East.