As the 19th century is drawing to a close, Moishe Mess (later
also known as Morris Ginsburg) and his brother Marcus set
out from their Jewish "shtetl" in anti-semitic tsarist Russia,
arriving penniless in Japan where they build a successful
business in a world dominated by the competition for political
and economic advantage between Russia, Japan and the other
great powers. The outcome depends on who will control the
ports and the hinterlands of the region. The Mess brothers
are soon prominent players as chandlers to and eventually
sole suppliers of Russia's Pacific fleets, operating from
their main offices in Yokohama, Nagasaki and Port Arthur,
and becoming privileged partners of the Russian military
establishment. Once the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/1905
has put an end to the Russian dream of dominating East
Asia, they return to Russia as honoured citizens of Saint
Petersburg, decorated by Tsar Nicholas and known as much
for their generous contributions to charitable projects as
for the beauty of Marcus's strong-willed wife Regina. The
Mess brothers' services worldwide are still required by the
increasingly unstable government, but the October Revolution
of 1917 sweeps away what is left of their status and most of
their fortune. The Mess family has helped in a small way to
shape the story of Russia in this turbulent period and has, in
turn, been shaped by its convulsions. In the end, Marcus dies
young, Morris leaves Russia for the last time and the younger
generation seeks new lives across the globe.
