Harbin. Heilongjiang renmin chubanshe. 2011 423 s*

The desire to write a review of a book about Russian emigration in Harbin arose as soon as it was presented to me at the Academy of Social Sciences of Heilongjiang Province. The fact is that I have family memories with Harbin: my father worked here in the Soviet Consulate General, in this city I was born.

The book under review by three authors contains a large amount of statistical data and archival materials about the Russian emigration in Harbin, including biographies of more than 120 emigrants whose lives and activities were somehow connected with the city. These are representatives of various social groups and professions, political views and ideological beliefs. Among them are leaders and employees of the CER, military, police, office workers, doctors, merchants, entrepreneurs, domestic workers, clerks, locomotive drivers, cab drivers, homeowners, housewives, workers of various professions, employees of trading firms, employees of restaurants and cafes, school teachers, hairdressers, nurses, artisans, journalists, engineers For example, accountants, translators, university teachers, clergy, retired people, artists, and even people who were engaged in honey production or kept dairy cows. The vast majority of the emigrants, whom the authors of the book consider to be Russian, were indeed Russian by nationality, but among them there were also Georgians, Jews, Ukrainians, Tatars, Latvians, Estonians, Poles, Finns, Czechs, etc.

In essence, the book is a broad canvas describing the life of Russian people in the first half of the 20th century in a city that was a kind of outpost of Russian influence in China. This is not accidental, for it was in Harbin that the China-Eastern Railway (CER) Construction Department was established in 1898, although the first Russian merchant involved in the cattle trade appeared here two years earlier, in 1896 (p. 18).

The eight-chapter book is prefaced by a methodological introduction that explores China's history after the opium wars, when under pressure from Western powers it was forced to enter into a series of unequal treaties, resulting in its transformation into a semi-colonial state. Under these conditions, the movement "for the study of overseas affairs" (yanwu yundong), "Western teaching" (xixue) emerged in the country, whose representatives Feng Guifeng, Wang Tao, Xue Fucheng, Zheng Guanyin, Ma Jianzhong opposed the supporters of traditional methods of governing the country ," for the reform of institutions", but they failed achieve the implementation of their programs.

A special section of the introduction is devoted to Sino-Russian relations. According to the authors of the book, although tsarist Russia had long ago begun "aggressive expansion towards China, before the first opium war (1840), when it was an independent, sovereign state, relations between the two countries were equal; however, then they turned into relations of the oppressor and the oppressed, the aggressor and the victim of aggression" (pp. 11-12). The reason for this policy lies, according to the authors of the book, in the transition of Russia from a feudal system to a capitalist one and in the search for new markets for its developing industry.

In accordance with the tradition accepted in modern Chinese historiography, the author describes in detail the alleged aggressive armed actions of Russia, as a result of which China lost a significant part of its territory in the north-east and north-west of the country; then he talks about the conclusion of the "unequal" Tianjin and Beijing treaties, which legally secured the "acquisitions" of Russia. Shortly after China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, on June 3, 1896, a treaty was signed in St. Petersburg between Russia and China, directed against Japan. The text of the agreement contained a clause on the construction of a railway by Russia on the territory of Manchuria. The authors of the book believe that "this treaty was a product of the aggressive plans of tsarist Russia and the missile defense system."-

* Shi Fan, Liu Shuang, Gao Lin. History of Russian emigrants in Harbin. Harbin: Heilongjiang renmin chubanshe. 2011. 423 p.

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the policy of alliance with Russia and counteraction to Japan led by the Tsinekim government". As a result, they conclude, "Russia, under the banner of a joint struggle against a common enemy, not only fraudulently obtained the right to build a cross-border railway in northeastern China, but also opened a convenient gateway for its army and navy to invade China" (p.16-17).

The first chapter of the book is devoted to the history of the formation of the Russian diaspora in Harbin. If in 1894 there were only 170 Russian emigrants in all of China, which was a small percentage of the total number of foreign residents (the British were more than 2000 people), then after the construction of the CER began, hundreds of Russians began arriving in Harbin. First of all, these were engineering and technical workers who provided the design and construction of the railway, as well as institutions serving it, not only administrative buildings for civil and military administrations, but also a hospital, a fire tower, banks, a library, clubs, schools, temples. For example, in 1899-1900 the St. Nicholas Cathedral was built.

At the same time, merchants and other people who were looking for work began to arrive in the city. To protect the railway and the Russian population from the "Hunghuz" in north-eastern China, mainly in Harbin and its environs, infantry and Cossack units were stationed on a permanent basis from 1900. With the construction of the CER and the increase in the population, the first industrial enterprises appeared in the city: a mechanical plant (1900), sugar factories (1902), wine factories (1900), pharmacies, hotels, theaters, cinemas, courts, and the police department. Since, as the authors of the book write, "Harbin was the center of the expansion of tsarist Russia in the north-eastern region of our country," the Russian population of Harbin increased from several tens and several hundreds of people in 1898 to several thousand in 1899, and in 1902 reached 12,000 people (p. 26-27). 1903. after the opening of traffic on the CER, it began to grow even faster, during the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian population of Harbin reached approximately 30,000. In 1911, 73,635 Russians lived in northeast China, including 43,091 people in Harbin, which was 63.7% of the total population of the city (with. 35).

The First World War and the subsequent October Revolution led to an influx of refugees from Soviet Russia. Remnants of the defeated White armies and civilians were arriving in Harbin and China in general. Based on the study of publications in newspapers and archival materials, the authors estimate the number of Russian emigrants in Harbin in the early 1920s: in 1918 there were 60,200 people, in 1920 131,073 people, in 1922-155,402 people, and in 1925 their number already exceeded 200,000 people, which means that there were more Chinese living here (p. 48).

Later in the book, the vicissitudes of Soviet Russia's relations with China in connection with the CER are described in detail. The authors insist that the Soviet Union's position on the future status of the CER varied from agreeing to return it to China without any redemption to recognizing it as the property of Soviet Russia (pp. 48-50). According to the agreement concluded in May 1927, the CER was recognized as a commercial enterprise, so its management remained under the jurisdiction of the Soviet government, but in compliance with the sovereign rights of the Chinese state, i.e., problems of legal proceedings, tax collection, relations with the police, land relations, etc.were to be under the jurisdiction of the Chinese authorities.

In July 1924, the Consulate General of the Soviet Union was opened in Harbin. After that, the citizens of the former tsarist Russia living in the city were faced with a painful choice - either to accept Soviet citizenship, or to become citizens of other countries, or to remain stateless. Those who worked for the CER or were somehow connected with it and other Soviet organizations located in the city preferred the first option: according to the data given in the book, there were 27,617 Soviet citizens in Harbin in 1931. At the same time, quite a few Russians chose not to accept Soviet citizenship; there were 41,188 such people in the same year, 1931 (p.54). Many Russian emigrants began to move to other cities, mainly to Shanghai, which was considered the Paris of the Far East. There were emigrants who took citizenship of England, the United States, Denmark, Sweden and Japan, although the latter were few. More or less wealthy people went to North and South America and Australia for permanent residence. Some emigrants moved to Hong Kong, India, and Indochina.

The excesses and atrocities of the Japanese military against the Russian population of Harbin during its occupation by Japan from 1932 to 1945 led to a new "exodus" of Russian emigration.-

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operations. Initially, most of the Russian emigrants who lived in Harbin welcomed the Japanese as liberators, but very quickly, after a few weeks, an epiphany came. The Japanese behaved in Harbin as in a colonial country: thousands of Russians were imprisoned, hundreds were shot, many Russian women were raped, the property of Russian merchants was confiscated, etc. By the time Harbin was liberated in 1945 by the Soviet army, there were only 18,448 stateless Russian residents left in the city (up from 65,000 in 1932). After the end of World War II, a massive transition of Russian emigrants to Soviet citizenship began. In 1948, they numbered 26,625 in Harbin, while only 2,303 Russians remained stateless (p. 62). In the early 1950s, some Russian emigrants left for Brazil, Australia, the United States, and other countries, but most returned to their homeland. According to my own information, since I was familiar with some of them, many of them had a difficult fate waiting for them here. As a rule, they were not allowed to settle in the cities of Central Russia, even if they had relatives there, many of them had to go through "labor hardening" on virgin land.

At present, there are virtually no Russian emigrants left in Harbin: 1,134 in the 1960s, 179 in a decade, 57 in another decade, and only slightly more than ten in the 1997 census (p. 66). In fact, children of mixed marriages between Russian women and Chinese can serve as a reminder of Russian emigration in Harbin.

The second chapter of the book describes in detail the Russian and Soviet state and public organizations that existed at different times in Harbin-the CER administration, the consulates of tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union, the history of their activities, including after the February and October revolutions in Russia, and their relations with the Chinese authorities. For example, the book reports that in October 1920, all the rights "illegally seized by the CER" were returned to China. In September of the same year, the Russian consulate ceased to exist, and all its property, including the building and archives, was transferred to the Chinese authorities; from that moment on, all Russian citizens who lived in Harbin were no longer under anyone's legal protection, i.e., they were effectively deprived of rights. The exception was made by employees of the CER, whose rights were guaranteed by relevant agreements with the Chinese authorities.

Opened in 1924, the Consulate General of the Soviet Union lasted until October 15, 1962, when it was closed by official order of the Soviet government. During the 1920s and 1930s, relations between him and the Chinese authorities were uneasy. The book mentions the conflict provoked by the Chinese authorities on the CER, when on May 27, 1929, 39 employees of the railway administration and other Soviet institutions were arrested in the consulate building, a large number of documents were seized, and two days later all consulates in Manchuria were closed, including the consulate General in Harbin. In June, Chinese troops were deployed along the entire length of the CER, the railway's telegraph and telephone equipment was confiscated, the premises of Soviet companies were sealed, and more than 200 Soviet citizens were arrested. The Soviet government was forced in November 1929 to send troops to China and occupy the Manchuria station. This forced the Chinese authorities to negotiate, which took place in December in Khabarovsk 1 and ended with the signing of the agreement on December 31. According to it, the status quo in relations between the two countries that existed before the conflict began was restored, in particular, the Consulate General in Harbin resumed its work.

The authors of the book pay special attention to the violation of China's sovereignty in Harbin and in the territories adjacent to the CER. The third chapter describes the Public Self-Government Council (Harbinshi zizhang gong'ihui), which was established in 1908 and lasted until 1926. After persistent appeals from the Qing authorities, a special agreement was signed regulating its activities, according to the first article of which China's sovereignty in the sphere of CER activities was recognized. However, according to the authors of the book, this was an element of "diplomatic embellishment", since subsequent articles actually contained references to the autonomous nature of the Council's activities. By words

1 The book also gives its Chinese name - Pain. The authors do the same for Vladivostok (Haishengwei) and Blagoveshchensk (Hailanpao).

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According to the authors of the book," under the cover of the public Council of self-government and its Charter, the interests of Russian emigrants in economic, political, social, cultural and other areas were absolutely fully realized, and the Chinese merchants and ordinary Chinese who always lived in the CER alienation area were humiliated and damaged " (p.353).

Speaking about the history of the creation and activity of the Russian police, they emphasize that its main task was to "round up" members of the Socialist-Revolutionary and Bolshevik parties, whose organizations arose in Harbin under the influence of socio-political events in Russia, in particular the 1905 revolution. An active role in the local Bolshevik organization was played by a well-known Soviet politician and diplomat L. M. Karakhan.

The third chapter describes in detail the various organizations that existed among Russian emigrants in Harbin, which were united by an anti-Soviet position. The most numerous were the Harbin branches of the monarchist Party, established in Paris in 1925, and the All-Russian Military Union, formed in Paris and consisting of officers of the former tsarist army. The latter had 2,000 members, and 600 young people were trained in the military. The Monarchist Party and the All-Russian Military Union collaborated with the Chinese militarist Zhang Zongchang, both organizations received financial assistance from him, in return sending young emigrants trained by them to his "white Russian troops" (65th Division).

The authors pay special attention to the fascist party, which appeared in Harbin in 1925-1927 in the walls of the Law Institute under the influence of propaganda of Mussolini's views by professors G. N. Gins and N. I. Nikiforov. One of the leaders of the fascist party was K. Radzievsky, who was born on August 1, 1902 in Blagoveshchensk in a wealthy family. At the age of 18, he fled to Harbin, where he entered the Law School. In January 1927, K. Radzievsky, together with his associate M. Matkovsky, published the Manifesto of Russian Fascism. In May 1931, the first congress of the Russian fascist Party was held. At the time of its creation, it had only 200 members, but the situation changed after the occupation of northeast China by Japan. The Japanese command began to look for allies among the organizations of Russian emigrants, and ultimately its choice fell on Radzievsky, because unlike other emigrants, he immediately agreed to cooperate with the Japanese invaders. As a result of receiving material and financial assistance from them, he managed to increase the number of members of the Fascist party to 5,000 people in two years. Its branches were established in Shanghai, Tianjin, Changchun, Dalian, and even outside of China - in Seoul and Tokyo, a secret party school was opened to train illegal immigrants heading to the territory of the Soviet Union (pp. 137-138).

The organization of Soviet emigrants in Harbin did not exist until 1935, because this was not necessary, because their interests were represented by the CER administration, but under pressure from the Japanese occupiers, the Soviet Union was forced to sell the railway to Japan, as a result of which Soviet citizens were left without legal protection. On July 1, 1935, the Society of Soviet Citizens was established, but its activities until the liberation of Harbin by Soviet troops in August 1945 were ineffective, since it was constantly subjected to harassment by the Japanese authorities and provocations organized by White immigrant organizations.

The fourth chapter of the book is devoted to industrial and commercial enterprises owned by Russian emigrants. Earlier than others, back in 1900, Harbin began to develop flour production. By 1913, 18 flour mills were opened in the city with a daily capacity of 58 thousand tons of flour. This industry attracted the most investment, because, as the authors of the book write, Harbin and the surrounding rural areas grew wheat, had a good sales market and high profit opportunities due to the uninterrupted supply of cheap raw materials and cheap labor, along with support from the CER administration. After the First World War, a strong position in the Harbin flour industry was gradually taken over by Chinese national capital, which began to buy up enterprises owned by Russian owners in the late 1920s. Out of 33 flour mills in northeastern China, 21 were owned by Chinese and only 8 by Russian entrepreneurs (p. 146). With the beginning of the construction of the CER in Harbin, the production of vodka, wine and beer began to develop rapidly, and specialists from Russia and other countries were invited to improve the quality of products.

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The transformation of Harbin into an outpost of tsarist policy in the Far East made it a major trading center, where a large number of import and export operations were carried out. The tables and figures presented in this book allow us to get an idea of the structure of imported and exported goods, their quantity, the activities of various Russian companies, and the volume of retail trade in the first decades of the XX century. At the same time, it is reported about the old Russian company Churin (in Chinese, Qiulin), which in 1900 opened its branch in Harbin, which later turned into one of the largest Russian trading houses in China. It was famous for bread sold in special canvas packaging, sauerkraut, pickles and many other Russian products and consumer goods. The company's popularity was so great that after 1949, when it was nationalized, it retained its former name and still exists today.

In the first two decades of the 20th century, the CER Administration was the largest land and real estate owner in the Harbin region. The sale and lease of land plots were the main source of his income. The sale of land belonging to the CER became particularly widespread after 1917, when its management felt that "the end of Russia's colonial rule in Harbin was coming" (p.165). From the figures given in the book, it is clear that the income of the CER from the sale of land in 1918 increased by 3 times compared to 1917, and in 1919 - by 14 times compared to the previous year (p.169). The authors describe in detail the real estate market in Harbin, saying that in the period from 1908 to 1921, Russian emigrants in Harbin built office and residential space of almost 180 thousand square fathoms (one square fathom was equal to 4.55 square meters).

This chapter contains information about banks, insurance companies, hotels, hairdressers, photographs, movie theaters, dance halls owned by Russian emigrants, and public catering establishments (about 600) with different seating sizes that existed in Harbin. The book mentions 11 restaurants serving European cuisine.

The fifth chapter of the book is devoted to educational and cultural institutions of Russian emigrants. Immediately after the construction of the CER began, primary, secondary and professional educational institutions appeared in Harbin, while private schools appeared along with state-owned ones that were opened by the railway administration. According to the authors of the book, "a coherent system of education has developed, as a result of which the absolute majority of Russian boys and girls have received a good, systematic, regular education" (p.198).

In 1920, almost simultaneously, two Russian higher educational institutions were opened in Harbin-the Law Institute and the Polytechnic Institute. Their appearance is connected with the appearance in the city of many professors from Central Russia and the presence of a large number of young people from emigrant families. The first rector of the Law Institute was a well-known figure of the Cadet Party, who later became the leader of the smenovekhovstvo movement, Professor N. V. Ustryalov (in the 1920s he returned to the Soviet Union and tragically died). He managed to gather under his leadership well-known professors who worked at St. Petersburg, Kazan and other universities in Russia. Among them were experts on China and Mongolia V. A. Ryazanovsky, V. V. Engelfeld, M. N. Efimov, E. M. Chepurkov and others. The greatest flourishing of the institute's activities occurred in 1928, when it had 830 students, but in 1929 its funding from the CER was sharply reduced. The Law Institute came under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, and after 1931, under pressure from the Japanese occupiers, Russian teachers were forced to leave it and in 1936 it was turned into a Pedagogical Institute.

The first rector of the Polytechnic Institute was an engineer, a well-known specialist in geodesy A. A. Serkov. The Institute had two faculties - Civil engineering and electromechanical Engineering. The course of study was 5 years, at the preparatory department-3 years, Chinese students had to study Russian for one year. Although the tuition fees were high and, as the authors write, beyond the power of young people from ordinary emigrant and Chinese families, there were many who wanted to study there. By the tenth anniversary of the institute in 1930, 193 people had already graduated from it, and in total that year it had more than 200 students, in addition, 123 future students from among Chinese citizens studied Russian. At that time, the Institute was managed jointly by the Soviet Union and China. Many Russian graduates of the Polytechnic Institute have become well-known specialists both in the Soviet Union and abroad, in the USA, Australia, Brazil and other countries. The same

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We can also talk about graduates from among Chinese citizens. After 1935, when the institute came under Japanese administration, the overwhelming majority of teachers were Japanese, and Russian students were not accepted at all. The Polytechnic Institute resumed its normal functioning only in 1945, after the liberation of Harbin by Soviet troops (pp. 205-208).

The book contains detailed information about printed publications in Russian published in Harbin at various times from the beginning of the XX century to 1956. There were about 140 newspapers, some of them existed for a long time, others quickly disappeared. During the Japanese occupation, only 2 Russian newspapers were published. The authors cite in the book the names of 224 Russian-language journals of various orientations, from socio-political to special ones, devoted to various branches of science: from publications of religious organizations to those focused on studying the problems of the Far East and China.

Even before 1917, Harbin had a creative intelligentsia, mostly poets and artists. After the October Revolution, "many people came to the city who received special education in literature, theater, dance, singing, music, and painting, including famous writers and artists" (p. 289). The book mentions 16 poets and writers, the most famous of them was the poet, writer and journalist Arseny Nesmslov. Until 1924, he published 5 poetry collections, and after moving to Harbin for permanent residence, he published 6 more poetry collections in 20 years. His fate was tragic: in 1945, after the liberation of the city, he was arrested by the NKVD, transported to the Soviet Union and died in a concentration camp. In Vladivostok, where he is originally from, both his works and those dedicated to him are currently published.

The city constantly hosted musical concerts (the first one was held in June 1909), staged opera and ballet performances, for example, Glinka's Life for the Tsar, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Swan Lake, Dargomyzhsky's Rusalka, Bizet's Carmen; there were two music schools in the city where experienced musicians worked. teachers; many musicians and music critics have graduated from them. In Harbin, there was a special theater group that staged works by Ostrovsky, Chekhov, and Ibsen.

The sixth chapter describes in detail the daily life of Russian residents of Harbin, their way of life, clothing, food, interior decoration of residential buildings, cultural hobbies and sports, etc. Interesting material is contained in the section devoted to religious organizations that existed in the city. It is reported that the first Orthodox priest named Zhuravsky arrived in Harbin already in 1898, together with the second group of security troops. In 1946, the number of Orthodox churches in the city was more than 20, because the absolute majority of Russian emigrants were Orthodox. In addition to them, there was one Old Believer church, one Armenian church, two Catholic churches, eight Protestant churches (this number was explained by the fact that they belonged to various Protestant movements - Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Baptism, etc.), four synagogues, one mosque, and the Molokan community.

The authors of the book specifically focus on the question of the economic basis of life of Russian emigrants and their income. They distinguish several periods here: the first one refers to the beginning of the construction of the CER and before 1917, when the economic and social situation of Russian citizens in Harbin was quite stable; the second period - after the October Revolution, when a large number of emigrants arrived in the city due to the civil war, but they found themselves in a difficult situation, since the Chinese The Government has stripped Russian citizens of the special rights they once had; so many of them are either unemployed, live off the rent and sale of their homes, or finally benefit from the help of charitable organizations. The third period was the time of the Japanese occupation, when the economic situation of Russian emigrants became worse and worse, their living standards dropped sharply, so many of them left Harbin.

The seventh chapter of the book contains material on the attitude of Russian emigrants in Harbin and throughout China to German aggression against the Soviet Union. Most of the Russian emigrants hated the Soviet government, but they did not want it to lose the war. As early as July 1940, an article appeared on the pages of the Shanghai newspaper Slovo stating the following:: "Of course, most Russian emigrants expect a war of some kind.

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a strong state with the Soviet Union and all the time believes that its result will be the disappearance of the Soviet regime and the restoration of national power. However, in Russia, which has suffered a war with a strong state, not only can a counter-revolutionary uprising break out, but great Russia can finally disappear, it will be dismembered and break up into a number of buffer states. Therefore, we should not rely on an external war, but should rely on internal forces to realize our faith in the revival of Russia" (pp. 370-371).

At the same time, among the emigrants - former soldiers and officials of tsarist Russia, members of the fascist party, Ukrainian nationalists-there were those who hoped for the defeat of the USSR in the war. Since, in their opinion, the only enemy of Russia is the Soviet government, in order to overthrow it, they are ready to pay any price. At the same time, the Great Patriotic War caused an explosion of patriotism among emigrants, mostly young, who did not know either the old Russia or the modern Soviet Union.

The last, eighth chapter of the book is devoted to the cultural influence of Russian emigrants in Harbin and their role in the life of Chinese society there. The authors claim that "their role was twofold, it is possible to distinguish" the aggressive side and at the same time the civilizational side, positive aspects and at the same time negative aspects". In general, we can take neither a position of negation nor a position of affirmation, we need a concrete analysis, a realistic approach " (p. 400). First of all, the influence of Russian culture was manifested in construction and architecture-the layout of city streets and squares. If in Chinese cities most of the streets were located according to the character" well", i.e. there was a strict quadrangular order, then in Harbin the ray principle was chosen, when all the streets converged to the square or central structure, creating geometrically arranged streets. This is what distinguishes Harbin from other Chinese cities, and this cultural heritage still exists today. Some streets in Harbin still have names that indicate Russian influence.

Harbin residents have adopted some of the Russian eating habits, such as drinking beer. It was in Harbin that the first brewery was built in 1900, and public transport appeared in the city for the first time in China. In addition, under the influence of the Russians, the religious rites accepted among the Chinese, the ceremonies of weddings and funerals, changed. The authors point out that the appearance of newspapers, magazines, and book products had a serious impact on the dissemination of new knowledge and information exchange, as well as on the progress of society. "Many intellectuals drew from them information about philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, geography, biology, medicine; they learned that in addition to the Confucian doctrine, there is the doctrine of the social contract, the theory of evolution, the law of the rotation of the planets around the Sun, that in addition to Confucius and Mencius, there are also Rousseau and Darwin, Bacon and Newton; the very it goes without saying that this had an impact on the Harbin intellectuals who lived during the critical period" (pp. 407-408). The authors ' conclusion: this effect was positive.

Summing up the history of Harbin, the authors note the following positive aspects of the influence of Russian emigrants: their industrial and commercial enterprises stimulated the socio-economic development of the city; Russian culture influenced the cultural exchange of Harbin with the world community; revolutionary propaganda and activities of Russian emigrants contributed to the development of the Chinese labor movement; Russian emigrants contributed to the struggle of China and peace against fascism.

At the same time, the authors point out some negative aspects of the influence of the Russian emigration in Harbin: a small part of it, taking advantage of unequal treaties," by force and cunning " seized considerable wealth in Harbin, causing serious damage to the interests of the Chinese people; after the October Revolution, the remnants of the tsarist regime forces turned Harbin into a center of anti-Soviet activity, seriously interfered order; various emigrant organizations conducted anti-Soviet propaganda, organized provocations and murders of Soviet citizens; some emigrants engaged in robberies, banditry, drug trafficking, led a rampant lifestyle; some were accomplices of the Japanese colonial authorities, participated in activities directed against the national liberation movement of the Chinese people.

The reviewed book is a valuable source for studying the history of China in modern and contemporary times, and the history of Russian-Chinese relations.

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