The present monograph “Russian Diplomacy and Korea. 1888-1897” chronologically covers one of the most important  and complicated periods in the history of Russo-Korean relations. The research starts with signing of the Russo-Korean treaty on inland trade in 1888 and ends with sojourn of Korean van Kojong in Russian mission  (11^th of February 1896-20^th of February 1897).    Russian diplomats during this period  operated

 in very complex situation of sharpening of struggle  of Powers for predominance on Korean Peninsula.

     Until present there were not special research on problems examined in monograph. In general works on history of international relations on Far East, Russo-Korean and correspondingly Russo-Japanese relations, the struggle of Russian diplomacy for preserving of the status-quo in Korea, for its independent development during the years of the Japanese-Chinese war and immediately after it, is viewed only in general context  of Russian policy in Far-East,  and  activities of Russian diplomacy in Korea on the  eve of Japanese-Chinese war, especially in 1890-1893, remained almost unstudied.

      The monograph deals with  the history of struggle of Russian diplomacy for prevention of Japanese-Chinese war against establishing of the total domination of Japan over Korea during the period of war. 

      The book studyies the activities of Russian diplomats in Korea in the time of Korean van Kojong's sojourn in the Russian legation, when Russia was solving the tasks of the elimination of Japanese supremacy  and strengthening of her political and economical influence on Korean peninsula. 

   The main source basis of this monograph constitutes materials of Special conferences and  correspondence between Russian ministries of foreign affaires, military and navy, diplomatic correspondence with Russian representatives in Seoul, Tokyo and Peking, documents of Russian mission in Seoul, diplomatic office of the general-governor of  Maritime province, from the  Archives of Foreign Policy of Russian Empire (AVPRI), Russian State historical Archives (RGIA), Russian State Historical Archives of Far East in Vladivostok (RGIA DV) and Russian State Archives of Military Navy (RGA VMF), documents and materials published in Republic of Korea and United States.