First edition. Octavo. [2 – t.p.], [2 – table of contents], 230, [1 - errata] pp. Title page with a large lithographed vignette; phototype illustrations in text. Period style dark brown half morocco with cloth boards; spine with raised bands and gilt-lettered title. A few leaves mildly age-toned, occasional owner’s paper notes in text, but overall a very good copy.

Very rare Russian imprint with only one copy of this first edition (Princeton University) and one copy of the second edition (Library of Congress) found in Worldcat. The second edition was published in St. Petersburg under the same title in 1904. There are no other Russian editions, and the book was not translated into other languages.

Interesting original account of a voyage of the Russian naval cruiser “Admiral Nakhimov” to the Far East and China in November 1899 – October 1900, written by the cruiser’s priest Nikolay Dyakov. The ship left Kronstadt on November 12, 1899, and proceeded to China via the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal, stopping at Kiel, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, La Spezia, Naples, Colombo, Singapore and Hong Kong. “Admiral Nakhimov” spent about twenty days in Port Arthur – modern-day Lyushunkou District on the Liaodong Peninsula, China, the site of the Russian naval and military base in 1898-1905. In August-October 1900, the cruiser took part in the Eight-Nations Alliance’s invasion of northern China, which aimed to suppress the Boxer Rebellion.

The account contains interesting descriptions of Port Arthur and nearby Dalny city (Dalian), their military installations, urban and industrial development, relations between Russian officials and settlers and Chinese inhabitants, and military activities in both settlements during the Boxer Rebellion. Two chapters are dedicated to the cruiser’s service with the forces of the Eight-Nations Alliance in the mouth of the Peiho River near Taku Forts and describe the Battle of Taku Forts (16-17 June 1900), the invasion of Beijing (August 1900), the Battle of Peitsang (Beicang), the surrender of the Chinese fort at Shanghaiguan, “Admiral Nakhimov’s” stay in the mouth of the Peiho River and Shanghaiguan, clashes between Russian and French troops, a military expedition of a part of the crew to the inland China, &c.

Very interesting also are the author’s impressions of Singapore (pp. 144-56), describing European and native quarters, advertising of “Russian hotels,” Chinese shops and money exchange offices, Chinese secret societies and British ruling politics, countryside estates, botanical gardens &c. There are also curious notes on the author’s first tasting of ginger ale and tropical fruits (mangosteen, mango, banana, pineapple). The other chapters talk about Colombo, Kandy, Hong Kong (geography and nature, European city, tram ascent to Victoria Peak, meeting with a Russian language teacher, cruiser enduring a typhoon), Suez Canal, Aden, &c.

The book is illustrated with about twenty phototypes in text, including a portrait of the author (p. 129), views of a Malay village near Singapore (p. 147), the house of the Governor of Hong Kong (p. 157), the harbour of Port Arthur (p. 169), Dalny (pp. 173, 181), the mouth of the Peiho River (p. 187), a temple in Shanghaiguan (p. 211), cruiser’s crew during a military expedition to the inland China (p. 215), quarantine barracks (p. 217), &c. Overall am an interesting original source on the history of Port Arthur and Dalian before the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) and the participation of the Russian naval fleet in the Eight-Nations Alliance’s invasion of China.

In the 1890s-1900s, Nikolay Dyakov served as a priest on several ships of the Russian navy, including the church of the ironclad warship “Admiral Chichagov,” cruiser “Pamyat Merkuriya,” the ironclad warship “Ne tron’ menya,” steamers “Kostroma” and “Vladimir,” &c. He participated in the Russo-Japanese War and was awarded a Cross of St. George. Dyakov authored several books on Orthodox Christian topics and a description of Manchuria (“Byt i nravy v Manchzhurii”), published in Kharbin in 1918, which indicated that he left Russia after the 1917 Revolution.

The armoured cruiser “Admiral Nakhimov” was launched in Saint Petersburg in 1885 and served with the Russian Pacific Fleet, cruising along the coasts of China, Korea and Japan and taking part in the seizure of Port Arthur at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War (1895). In 1893, “Admiral Nakhimov” visited New York to participate in the celebration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery. The cruiser was damaged and sank during the Battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War on May 14, 1905.