Count Vladimir Nikolayevich Lamsdorf was an Imperial Russian statesman of Baltic German descent who served as Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire in 1900–1906, a crucial period which included the Russo-Japanese War and the Russian Revolution of 1905.
Count Vladimir N. Lamsdorf
As a result of the Russo-Japanese War, the Korean minister (ambassador) to Russia was left without orders or funding. Other diplomats lent him some money, and Vladimir Lamsdorf instructed that the Korean minister be funded for the duration of the conflict; in gratitude, the Korean minister "hastened to subscribe five pounds to the Russian fleet fund". Lee W. Stanley portrays this scenario in two panels: on the left, the minister shows his empty pockets and declares himself "brokio" (that is, 'broke', or without money); on the right, he sits among several bags of money with his feet on the desk and offers a five-pound note to a bearded man representing Russia. Note the pen and inkwell on the desk, indicating that he has just written a cheque, and the champagne bucket on the floor indicating that he is now wealthy.
Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov
Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov was a Russian statesman who advocated transferring the attention of Russian foreign policy from Europe to the Far East. He is probably best remembered for having initiated the Hague Peace Conference.
Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov
