"Described as a 'cradle of conflict', Northern Manchuria between 1924 and 1931 was characterized by ethnic, ideological and geopolitical tensions: the Soviet Union, China and Japan vied for supremacy in the region. These tensions culminated dramatically in 1929 when military conflict between the Soviet Union and China combined with the global depression to produce economic devastation and political turmoil.

In Russian Politics in Exile Felix Patrikeeff argues that the seven years preceding the Manchurian Incident (1931) were more significant in the development of the Northeast Asian balance of power than the event of 1931 that precipitated the Japanese occupation of Manchuria."--BOOK JACKET.