by Oleg Airapetov
[Regnum] The first reaction of Emperor Nicholas II to the news of the outbreak of hostilities in the Far East was a desire to bring the war to a decisive end, the result of which was the complete neutralization of Japan, "so that she could no longer have either troops or navy." As options for the conditions of the future peace in St. Petersburg were discussed and the rejection of the treaty of 1875 (AKA The Treaty of St. Petersburg) on equal relations with Japan, and the annexation of the island of Tsushima. The international situation at the beginning of 1904 was generally favorable for Russia.