Revisiting the China Mission of Mikhail Borodin in 1923–1927: In Light of New Documentation

Mikhail Borodin, a Bolshevik Party member, became one of Moscow's most influential foreign operatives in China in the early 1920s. The access to many previously inaccessible Russian and Chinese archival sources after the collapse of the former Soviet Union made it possible for scholars to conduct a new study on Borodin's Mission to China. Perhaps the most extraordinary finding to emerge from the new sources is that it was not the Comintern, but the Soviet Politburo, acting on Stalin's recommendation, sent Borodin to China. His assignments there went far beyond “making revolution.” While in China, he was involved in almost every important aspect of Soviet operations, including secret diplomacy, dealing with all factions: the Nationalists, the Communists, and the various warlords, as well as the warlord-controlled Beijing government. Without a proper understanding of Borodin's Mission to China, it would be next to impossible to comprehend Moscow's policies toward China in the 1920s.