Harbin, Manchuria (Heilongjiang) - The Russian City in China (1900-1945)

Summary of Lecture:  
At the end of the 19th century, Russians of various ethnicities moved to Harbin, China to manage the Chinese Eastern Railroad. The Russian population helped develop the economy of Harbin and as a result, during the Bolshevik Revolution waves of Russian refugees fled to Harbin as well. Following the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in the early 1930s, life changed drastically and many people fled from Harbin to Shanghai. Following the Soviet army sneak attack of Manchuria in 1945, the majority of the remaining Russians left Harbin, immigrating to various countries.