By Mark McConville
STUNNING images have revealed the war Putin would have you forget after Russia suffered complete defeat to the military might of Japan.
The rare pictures show Russian warships being sunk during the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905 as well Russian soldiers marching past their fallen comrades.
Other shots show Japanese soldiers recovering in a hospital ward, American sailors posing on a ship before the Portsmouth Peace Conference and flag-waving crowds celebrating Japanās victory.
The black and white photographs document Russiaās complete and utter loss to Japan during the war. Both sides suffered heavy casualties during the war. Around 47,000 Japanese died in the conflict while Russian losses are estimated at between 34,000-53,000. Russian lost almost all its Pacific and Baltic Fleet during the fighting. Japanās defeat of Russia was the first major victory in the modern-era of an Asian power over a European one.
The war was fought over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria, China and Korea. Russia sought a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean and leased Port Arthur in Liaodong Province from China.
Japan feared a Russian expansion into their sphere of influence. They offered to recognise Russian dominance in Manchuria in exchange for recognition that Korea was within the Japanese sphere of influence.
When Russia refused, and demanded Korea north of the 39th parallel to be a neutral buffer zone between the two countries, Japan decided to go to war. They attacked the Russian Eastern Fleet at Port Arthur, China in a surprise attack which began the hostilities.
Despite suffering numerous defeats to Japan, Tsar Nicholas II chose to remain engaged in war in order to avoid a āhumiliating peaceā.
The war was eventually concluded with the Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt. Japan eventually annexed Korea, and had proxy-influence over Manchuria. Russiaās reputation as a Great Power was severely dented by the conflict.