Russian Railway Service Corps in 1918

This article analyzes the role of the Russian Railway Service Corps – an engineering unit formed by the American government in the autumn of 1917 for dispatch to Russia – in implementing official Washington’s policy toward Russian railways. Drawing on documents from the Department of State, congressional hearings, and memoirs, the author reconstructs the circumstances of the Corps’ formation, its stay in Japan awaiting deployment to Russia, and its work on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1918. The author draws attention to the contradictory position of the White House regarding the status of the Corps’ personnel, which was driven by the desire to gain additional advantages in the struggle for control over the Trans-Siberian and Chinese Eastern railways. Particular consideration is given to how the Corps’ members and leadership perceived the purpose of their presence in Russia, as well as their attitude toward the prospects of fulfilling professional tasks amidst the Civil War and the preparations for foreign intervention. The author emphasizes that the railway question became an important instrument for implementing Woodrow Wilson’s foreign policy strategy, aimed at establishing the «Open Door and equal opportunity» principle on Russian railways and countering Japanese expansion in the region.