Chinese Migration in the Russian Far East

Abstract

A H i s t o r i c a l a n d S o c i o d e m o g ra p h i c A n a ly s i s OLGA ALEXEEVA 1. In 1859, the new province was divided into two parts: the Amur region (the Amur River basin) and the region of Primorye (the sea coast). In 1884, when it was separated from the province of Eastern Siberia, it included three regions: Zabaikalye, Primorye, and Amur. The territory of Kamchatka and the Island of Sakhalin were added in 1909. Today the Federal District of the Far East includes the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the province of Amur, the autonomous district of Chukotka, the autonomous Jewish province, the territory of Kamchatka, the province of Magadan, the territories of Primorye and Khabarovsk, and the province of Sakhalin. It amounts to 36 percent of the total area of Russia. The present population of the region is around 6.6 million, which amounts to 4.6 percent of the total population of Russia. 2. S. E. Anikhovsky, "Kitaici na Dalnem Vostoke Rossii: Etnosociologichesky aspekt (vtoraia polovina XIX-nachalo XX veka)" (The Chinese in the Russian Far East: The ethnosociological dimension [second half of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century]), in A.P. Zabiako et al., Rossia i Kitai na Dalnevostochnih rubegah (Russia and China in the border areas of the Russian Far East), Blagoveshchensk, 2006, pp. 103-122. 3. V. G. Dacishen, "Formirovanie kitaiskoi obshini v rossiskoi imperii (vtoraia polovina XIX veka)" (The formation of the Chinese community in the Russian Empire [in the second half of the nineteenth century]), in Diaspori (Diasporas), n° 2-3, 2001, pp. 36-53. china perspectives The Far Eastern region of Russia borders on China, and population movements from the People's Republic can be seen as a natural phenomenon. Chinese migration began in the 1860s, when the region was incorporated into Imperial Russia. Interrupted during the Soviet era, migration began again with the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The Russian Far East region makes it possible to study the workings of migration dynamics from their beginnings, and to follow all the stages in the building of the community and of its economic and migration networks. This article seeks to give a historical and sociodemographic overview of Chinese migration in the Far East of Russia, and to analyse the various forms of migration seen in the past and in the present.

Impact of Chinese Agribusiness Entrepreneurs on the Local Land Market in the Russian Far East

“…They do not abuse alcohol and are more disciplined and professional than their Russian counterparts. These traits make the Chinese workers attractive to employers (Alexeeva 2008). Zhou (2015) argues that Chinese workers in the RFE not only fill a labor shortage but also contribute positively to local food security.…”

“…Chinese in the RFE typically produce for the local Russian market rather than for the Chinese market, capitalizing on high market demand and high local prices. Some fruits, such as watermelons, that have been introduced by the Chinese farmers are new to the markets in the RFE (Alexeeva 2008).…”

Connecting Eurasia and the Americas: Geopolitical Implications of the Bering Strait Crossing in the Age of Globalization

“…In recent years, the Russian Far East (RFE) has also been a point of interest in academic circles (Alexeeva, 2008;Arsenov, Artemkina, & Zaboev, 2005;Barkovsky, 2006;Blank, 2011;Bliakher & Vasil'Eva, 2010;Kangas, 2007;Kuhrt, 2012;Nemchaninova & Buldygerova, 2012;Rozman, 2008;Sullivan & Renz, 2010;Troyakova, 2007;Vishinevskii & Demyanenko, 2010;Zausaev, 2012). It is considered as a region in crisis due to troubled economic conditions, corrupt governance, and problem-ridden cross-border relations with China, Japan, and both Koreas (Rozman, 2008).…”

Burgeoning Sino-Russian Economic Relations and the Russian Far East: Prospects and Challenges

“…There was a strong sense that the Soviet leadership condescended to their Chinese counterparts, in sort of an "elder brother-younger brother" relation-ship. This upset Mao and his colleagues, who looked upon their own culture and civilization as being much older and more developed than the Russian/Soviet one (Alexeeva, 2008;Sullivan & Renz, 2010).…”

“…Yet Moscow has recently begun to focus specifically on revitalizing the RFE, as years of dynamic economic growth and surging global trade in neighboring China have pulled the international community's attention to developments in the Pacific Rim. This change in the international political and economic climate, especially in light of the RFE's rich supplies of natural resources and strategic location in the North Pacific, has brought about a rethinking of Moscow's policy in Russia's Far East (Alexeeva, 2008;Blank, 2011).…”