What treaty ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905?

The Treaty of Portsmouth ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Signed on September 5, 1905, it brought peace between the Russian Empire and Japan after a conflict fought over influence in Korea and Manchuria.

The negotiations took place at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt helped bring the two sides to the table, while Sergei Witte led the Russian delegation and Komura Jutarō led Japan’s. Roosevelt received the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation.

The treaty recognized Japan’s dominant position in Korea, transferred Russia’s leasehold interests around Port Arthur and the southern Manchurian railway to Japan, and ceded the southern half of Sakhalin Island. Russia did not pay the war indemnity Japan wanted.

A common mix-up is the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895. The Treaty of Versailles instead concluded Germany’s participation in World War I.