China’s Secret Russian Community: The Russian Chinese

In the East Asian nation of China, there exists an ethnic Russian minority who have been living in China from as early as the 17th century. The Russian Chinese are estimated to number around 16,000 people and are primarily concentrated in China’s northern provinces. The first arrival of Russians in China can be traced back to the 1600s, when Russian war captives were brought to China during the Qing dynasty and were later incorporated into several Chinese military divisions. The Russians resided mainly in the northeastern areas of the city of Beijing and were referred to as “Albazinians’’ by surrounding Chinese ethnic groups. During the 18th century, some Russian refugees fled to China due to religious persecution in Tsarist Russia and were allowed to settle in the northernmost parts of China’s Xinjiang province. These Russian refugees were referred to as “Jirjaks’’ by the surrounding population and were known for their devout adherence to Orthodox Christianity and for rarely interacting with others outside their own communities. In the year 1896, the Russian Empire was granted a concession by the Qing Dynasty of China to build and operate the Chinese Eastern Railway across the Manchuria region of northeastern China in exchange for a secret military alliance against the Japanese empire. The Russians selected a small village called “Harbin’’ as their base of administration over the railway and gradually began forming large scale settlements in the area. Harbin eventually grew into a large city and became the economic hub of northeastern China and an international metropolis. The city of Harbin very much resembled the cities found in mainland Russia at the time and was greatly influenced by the Russian language, architecture, and Russian Orthodox Christianity. During the Russian revolution of 1917, a large number of Russian refugees fled to China, particularly to the city of Harbin, in an effort to escape from political instability, economic hardships, and persecution. After the establishment of the Soviet Union in the year 1922, the vast majority of the Russian refugees became stateless and eventually left China to settle in other countries that offered a stable political environment and better economic opportunities. A small minority of the Russian refugees remained in China and were given Chinese citizenship, following the founding of the People’s Republic of China by the Chinese Communist Party in the year 1949. Although the majority of the Russian Chinese can still speak the Russian language, they all speak the Chinese language fluently and have been fully assimilated into mainstream Chinese society. The vast majority of the Russian Chinese community have also widely adopted traditional Chinese names in an effort to acculturate with the surrounding Chinese population. The Russian Chinese are known for their unique cuisine, which mostly consists of traditional Russian dishes but also includes influences from other surrounding Chinese ethnic groups. Bread and pastries are popularly consumed by the Russian Chinese community and are often accompanied by fried dishes and traditional Russian desserts. Timestamps: Introduction - 0:00 History - 0:19 Language and Names - 2:37 Religion - 3:00 Russian Chinese Cuisine - 3:12 Attributions: Channel 1 - @Leisadventure Video 1 - Channel 2 - @user-fv6xw9dd7z Video 2 - Channel 3 -@user-db6mw5hh9h Video 3 - Channel 4 - @ADVChina Video 4 -