The author of this report, devoted to one of the key events of Russian-Japanese war of 1904—1905 — the navigation of the Second Pacific squadron from Libava to Tsushima — for the first time considers these events from the point of view of African studies. It’s true that some groups of the squadron and its separate vessels as well turned round the African continent from two different sides and visited modern Angola, Gabon, Djibouti, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, the Republic of South Africa and Madagascar. Many of the Russian seamen (about 12 thousand in 45 ships) wrote letters, cards, diaries, verses, scientific articles during this campaign. Those who survived wrote memoirs. The considerable part of these sources isn’t published. They mainly deal with the description of three phenomena: the nature of Africa, colonial cities and villages, and colonial society (both Africans and Europeans). The introduction of these materials into scientific circulation will considerably enrich our notion of the African history in the period of the end of the colonial division, of Russia-African relations and of the history of African studies in Russia.