On the Eurasian frontiers, Chinese and Russians also viewed their settlement programs as the penetration of civilization into wilderness, ignoring or repressing the independent histories of other inhabitants. The national histories of both countries are intimately bound up with their expansion into the Eurasian interior. Although they have maintained national states, unlike the indigenous Americans, Mongols and other Central Eurasian peoples likewise still find much of their history written in terms of penetration of their territory expanding empires. Here, however I argue for resemblances among the three major competing agrarian empires in Eurasia- the Zunghar Mongols, the Russian, and the Chinese- and the European states. All three driven by geopolitical competition, mobilized their resources for war, trade and diplomacy against one another. In order to compete with its rivals, each regime fought to increase its uniqueness, by extracting resources from its subject peoples and from its neighbors. These efforts led to substantial social and institutional reforms. Central Eurasia has never coincided neatly with national boundaries. Only under the brief rule of the Mongols was the region united under one imperial ruler. Until 1991, China, Mongolia, and Russia or the Soviet Union controlled the bulk of the region, with other parts in …show more content…
Russian military expeditions against the Mongols in 1607 pushed them back in order to secure Russian monopoly of Iasak payments. Mongols aimed to use Russian backing against their rivals, Mongolian, Manchu or Chinese, and to gain the benefits of trade at Russian fortress towns, while the Russians steadily pushed for the subordination of individual tribes to the Tsar. The Russians entered the Mongolian steppes and as the Ming dynasty was in decline. China had little political influence in the region, but the lure of its market for furs drew the Russian steadily eastward. Even in this early period, it became clear that Russo-Mongol relations would be tense, because Mongols refused to submit unconditionally to the Tsar, and Russians mainly considered Mongolian territory a way station to