 The Russian Empire officially ended in 1917, and was succeeded by Communist rule formalized in 1922 by the Soviet Union.For later periods, see Japan–Soviet Union relations (1917–1991) and the Japan–Russia relations (1992–present).From the beginning of the 17th century, the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan imposed a state of isolation, forbidding trade and contact with the outside world, with a narrow exception for the Netherlands.