Includes bibliographical references (pages 345-360) and index.

Introduction : Russian and Soviet policy toward the China periphery -- Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan -- Along the fringes of "the great game" : imperial Russia and Hong Kong, 1841 -- 1914 -- Dawn of a new age : war and revolution -- Russia and Hong Kong, 1914 -- 1921 -- Clash of Worlds : the comintern, British Hong Kong, and Chinese nationalism, 1921 -- 1929 -- The gathering storm : the Soviet Union and Hong Kong, 1930 -- 1945 -- The Soviet Union, Hong Kong, and the Cold War : years of Sino-Soviet alliance, 1945 -- 1960 -- The Soviet Union, Hong Kong, and the Cold War : the Sino-Soviet split, 1960 -- 1980 -- Ideological enmity and non-recognition : Russian and Soviet relations with Taiwan to 1960 -- The limits of friendship : Soviet and Russian relations with Taiwan, 1960 to the present -- The permanent afterthought : Russian and Soviet relations with Macao -- Transitions : British Hong Kong and the Soviet Union sail away into the sunset.

"For two centuries Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan fascinated Russian and Soviet leaders. Newly declassified Russian and Soviet archives reveal a long chronicle of international drama, passion, and intrigue, as the world's biggest powers clashed repeatedly over China's fringes. Where Empires Collided: Russian and Soviet Relations with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao represents the fruit of some eight years of research in those archives. It deals with the past relationship between Russia and the Chinese Eastern periphery (Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao) - an area of study that in the past received only marginal academic attention. The book is crammed with illuminating details on how Russian and Soviet dealings with the China Eastern periphery were inextricably linked to the broader international relationships among Russia, China, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States."--BOOK JACKET.