> huge stroke of luck, or something else .. Tsushima This is very much underselling how outclassed the Russians were on every level of this engagement, except

> huge stroke of luck, or something else .. Tsushima This is very much underselling how outclassed the Russians were on every level of this engagement, except in terms of sheer number of ships (they had more), and technology, which was roughly on par. I think the 'isolation' was pretty advantageous in the sense that they managed to preserve their governmental and cultural structures for a very long time without the disruptive influence of western money and might. I imagine if they had let the Europeans in, the eventual fall of the Shogunate, partly caused by a proxy war between the French and the British (who supported different Daimyo), partly caused by public dissatisfaction about foreign incursion, would have been much earlier. That would have put them in a much less coherent and consequently weaker postion to resist European colonization efforts in the modern era.