Q&A: Did Russia expect to win by endurance?

Did Russia's tradition of winning wars through endurance and attrition shape its strategy against Japan?

Not effectively; Russia entered an attritional contest but collapsed before its depth could be converted into a usable advantage.

Russia did not successfully apply its familiar pattern of winning through endurance and attrition. It reached the attritional stage and then collapsed before outlasting Japan. A historical reputation for absorbing losses did not guarantee the same result in every conflict. The events of 1904-1905 have to be judged by what the state could actually sustain.