'Ethnic Russians in China' () form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the
People's Republic of China. They are the descendants of Russians who settled in China, and hold Chinese rather than Russian citizenship.
History
The first Russians recorded to have settled in China were the
Albazin Cossacks who joined the Manchu imperial guard in 1685. Significant immigration began in
1897 with the construction of the
China Far East Railway and increased after Russia's
October Revolution. In the years after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, many Russians either
emigrated to Australia or were repatriated to the
Soviet Union; only a minority remained behind in China.
There is a district of Beijing known as
Russiatown. It is settled primarily by Russian tradesmen from
Siberia. The focal point of the district is a large market. Business
signs are mostly in
Russian and written in the
Cyrillic alphabet, a surprise to many
tourists.
Prominent ethnic Russians in China
★
Chiang Fang-liang, the
First Lady of the
Republic of China in 1978-88
★ Nikolai Lunev, deputy to the tenth
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
See also
★
Harbin Russians
★
Shanghai Russians
★
China Far East Railway
★
Chinese Eastern Railway Zone
External links
★
Zdravstvuyte, China
★
Security service investigation followed Orthodox priest's deportation