Russians in Hong Kong form one of
the territory's smaller groups of expatriates and a minor portion of the worldwide
Russian diaspora
The Russian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Russians. The Russian-speaking ('' Russophone'') diaspora are the people for whom Russian language is the native language, regardless of whether they are ethnic Russians or not.
History
...
. Many
Russians from China passed through Hong Kong in the 1950s through 1970s on their way to resettlement in Australia, Brazil, and Canada.
Migration history
White Russians in the pre-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
period were looked down upon by the British; as
Gerald Horne put it, their lifestyles, employment, and poverty were seen to "undermine 'white privilege'", and other Europeans tried to avoid any interaction with them. Nevertheless, in 1930 a number were engaged by the Anti-Piracy Guard Contingent (established in 1914) which came under the auspices of the
Hong Kong Police
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...
. They were not trained police officers with warrant cards, and accordingly were paid less. After WWII, some of the more capable Russians joined the HKP as inspectors in Water Police - one, Alex Zarembra, was killed in 1947 when his launch collided with a steamer off Tsim Sha Tsui.
After the establishment of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, the White Russians remaining in China such as in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
began to look to the exits. However, the government would only permit them to leave the country if they had secured visas for overseas destinations. There were further bureaucratic complications in obtaining such visas since at that early date, most countries in which Russians aimed to resettle
did not yet recognize the PRC,
but recognizing the
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
instead. Similarly, Hong Kong only permitted entry to the
refugees if they had those same visas, which in most cases could only be obtained from diplomatic missions in Hong Kong. As a result of these barriers, only 880 Russian refugees from China departed via
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
for resettlement overseas in 1952; they also faced pressure from the PRC government to abandon their efforts to emigrate and instead return to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. However, by 1956, the divergence between the PRC and the Soviet Union which would eventually grow into a full-blown
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the China, People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by Doctrine, doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications ...
had begun to grow, and the PRC's policy towards the White Russians softened: the government no longer repatriated them to the Soviet Union, and liberalised the issuance of exit permits.
The Hong Kong government had picked out a site to set up a camp for Russian refugees at
Chi Ma Wan on
Lantau Island
Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands ...
, but in the end decided not to build it. Instead, the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
and private charities including the
World Council of Churches
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most ju ...
provided the funds for the refugees to be sheltered in private boarding-houses and to receive money to cover their other medical expenses. Their major destinations included Australia, Brazil, and Canada. Some who faced a long wait for resettlement found work as
domestic helpers or on construction sites, in addition to receiving living allowances from the UN; young children also enrolled in schools. By 1980, a total of twenty thousand White Russians from China had passed through Hong Kong on their way to resettlement in overseas destinations.
Organizations and community
The history of the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
in Hong Kong goes back to 1934, when Dmitry Ivanovich Uspensky of
Vyazniki,
Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast (russian: Влади́мирская о́бласть, ''Vladimirskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its closest border 66 Meter, km east of central Moscow, the administrative cen ...
arrived in Southern China from his previous posting in Shanghai. The
Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia () is an Eastern Orthodox diocese of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is centred in Hong Kong and has jurisdiction over Eastern Orthodox Christians in Southeast Asia. ...
was officially established in 1996.
Hong Kong Cemetery
Hong Kong Cemetery, formerly Hong Kong (Happy Valley) Cemetery and before that Hong Kong Colonial Cemetery, is one of the early Christian List of cemeteries in Hong Kong, cemeteries in Hong Kong dating to its colonial Hong Kong, colonial era beg ...
in
Happy Valley has 105
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
graves; in 2012, the
Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch
Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch is an organisation to encourage interest in Asia broadly, with an emphasis on Hong Kong. The society was founded in 1847 and folded 1859. It was revived on December 28, 1959. Its parent association is the Roya ...
and the Hong Kong Orthodox Church jointly led a project to restore 15 of them.
The Russian Club in Hong Kong was formally established in 1999 out of informal gatherings, which began as early as 1993; it celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2009 with a grand ball, which attracted roughly 150 participants. The Russian consul-general in Hong Kong estimated in 2007 that just 600 Russian citizens lived in Hong Kong.
Another 2011 consular estimate suggested that there were only 400 Russian citizens living in Hong Kong, but that estimate doubled to 800 by 2013, while the Russian Club thought that the true number might be as high as two thousand due to the tendency of many Russian expatriates not to register with the consulate. Observers attribute the growth in the population to the expansion of business ties between Hong Kong and Russia. Former Russian Club's president Mark Zavadisky stated, "Unlike other Western or European countries, Hong Kong is an exotic, upscale and trendy place for Russia's younger generation, people are setting their sights on Asia, particularly Hong Kong".
In popular culture
Russians in Hong Kong have also been the subject of works of fiction; ''
The Back Door'', an 1897 war novel, imagined a naval invasion of Hong Kong by the Russians and the French. The autobiographical ''Gweilo'' by
Martin Booth
Martin Booth (7 September 1944 – 12 February 2004) was an English novelist and poet. He also worked as a teacher and screenwriter, and was the founder of the Sceptre Press.
Early life
Martin Booth was born in Lancashire England, the son of ...
covering his childhood in 1950's Hong Kong reminisces of the Russian bakeries and discusses an elderly White Russian street woman who may have been Russian royalty.
See also
*
Chinese people in Russia
*
Russians in China
Ethnic Russians (russian: Pусские в Китае; ) or Russian Chinese, are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized in China. Enhe Russian Ethnic Township is the only ethnic township in China designated for China's Russian minori ...
References
Notes
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
The Russian Translators and Guides Association of Hong KongThe Russian Club in Hong Kong*
{{Hong Kongers
European diaspora in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...