Chinese Communities in Western Siberia

Chinese immigrant communities were established in the Russian heartland (Western Siberia) during the interwar period (1920s-1930s). Chinese -primarily male groups - had managed to adapt peacefully, though temporarily, into the local environment due their particular mentality and social features: they were often occupying free labour and demographic lacunae, caused by the losses of men in WWI/Russian civil war and devastation of economy/infrastructure. The growth of authoritarian tendencies under the Stalinist regime in Soviet Union, economic shortcomings and the ethnic purges of 1930s closed the agenda of Chinese presence in the western Siberian, as well as in the whole Soviet scene. Actually all persons of Chinese origin were accused of being 'outside' (Japan's) collaborators, and they were assassinated or, at best, forwarded to concentration camps. Just a few survived. The Chinese in Western Siberia represented a very particular sociodemographic and ethnical phenomenon, remarkably distinctive from other similar, Russian Far East or worldwide, immigrant communities.  

Cross-border migrations between Russia and China are among the most actual problems of contemporary Russia-Chinese relations. Their history and dimensions have been shaped by the neighbouring positions of the two states and also by objective economic factors. The social-political situation on either side the border has also played a crucial role in determining the character, direction and 'algorythm' of these migrations. Historically it came about that the main form of migrational interaction between Russia and China was the movement of Chinese into the spacious regions of the Russian Far East and Siberia. The specifics of this presence, its socio-demographic structure and its possible consequences require further research and analysis. One element of such an analysis is the exploration of the history of Chinese immigration into Russia, specifically into West Siberia. We should note that this subject has not been well studied, either by Russian or foreign scholars, because of its political sensitivity and the lack of access to sources.

 At the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, there were only just over 40,000 Chinese in the region. Very few of them lived in the southern and western parts of this vast area. The situation changed significantly during the years of the First World War and the 1920s. Hundreds and then thousands of Chinese migrants attached themselves to the hitherto tiny islands of Chinese scattered in the large cities of Western Siberia. They were mostly contract workers on war-related projects and seasonal workers. A great proportion of them were entirely taken up with the problems of their own survival, while others were directly drawn into the internal Russian military conflicts caused by the revolutionary events of 1917 and the deep crisis in the country. These Chinese migrants were mostly people from the lower social layers. They voluntarily entered the international brigades of the 3rd and 5th Red Armies, which were active at the time on the Eastern front. They revealed themselves to be brave fighters, which caused them to be much detested by their opponents. It is known that brutal punishments of Chinese prisoners of war from the Red Army were carried out by Kolchak's troops. In the winter of 1918, for example, at the station of Tyumen, two hundred people had their clothes removed and were then sent off naked to a distant prison camp. Only forty of them survived.

If you are interested, you can find more interesting and detailed information in the article presented by Mr. Boyko at the International Conference of Institutes and Libraries for Overseas Chinese Studies.