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Russians in Hong Kong

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Russians in Hong Kong
Total population
5,000 (2016 estimate)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Central and Western District:Mid-Levels;Eastern District:North Point,Kornhill,Chai Wan
Languages
Russian,CantoneseandEnglish
Religion
Russian Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
Russians in China
Part of a series on
Ethnicity in Hong Kong

Russians in Hong Kongform one ofthe territory's smaller groups of expatriates and a minor portion of the worldwideRussian diaspora.ManyRussians from Chinapassed through Hong Kong in the 1950s through 1970s on their way to resettlement in Australia, Brazil, and Canada.

Migration history

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White Russiansin the pre-World War IIperiod were looked down upon by the British; asGerald Horneput it, their lifestyles, employment, and poverty were seen to "undermine 'white privilege'", and other Europeans tried to avoid any interaction with them.[2]Nevertheless, in 1930 a number were engaged by the Anti-Piracy Guard Contingent (established in 1914) which came under the auspices of theHong Kong Police.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 thePeople's Republic of China,the White Russians remaining in China such as inShanghaibegan 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 resettledid not yet recognizethe PRC,but recognizingtheRepublic of China (Taiwan)instead.[3]Similarly, Hong Kong only permitted entry to therefugeesif 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 viaHong Kongfor resettlement overseas in 1952; they also faced pressure from the PRC government to abandon their efforts to emigrate and instead return to theSoviet Union.[4]However, by 1956, the divergence between the PRC and the Soviet Union which would eventually grow into a full-blownSino-Soviet splithad 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.[5]

The Hong Kong government had picked out a site to set up a camp for Russian refugees atChi Ma WanonLantau Island,but in the end decided not to build it.[6]Instead, the Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugeesand private charities including theWorld Council of Churchesprovided the funds for the refugees to be sheltered in private boarding-houses and to receive money to cover their other medical expenses.[7]Their major destinations included Australia, Brazil, and Canada. Some who faced a long wait for resettlement found work asdomestic helpersor on construction sites, in addition to receiving living allowances from the UN; young children also enrolled in schools.[8]By 1980, a total of twenty thousand White Russians from mainland China had passed through Hong Kong on their way to resettlement in overseas destinations.[9]

Organizations and community

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The history of theRussian Orthodox Churchin Hong Kong goes back to 1934, when Dmitry Ivanovich Uspensky ofVyazniki,Vladimir Oblastarrived in Southern China from his previous posting in Shanghai.[10]TheOrthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asiawas officially established in 1996.[11]Hong Kong CemeteryinHappy Valleyhas 105Russian Orthodoxgraves; in 2012, theRoyal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branchand the Hong Kong Orthodox Church jointly led a project to restore 15 of them.[12]

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.[13]The Russian consul-general in Hong Kong estimated in 2007 that just 600 Russian citizens lived in Hong Kong.[14]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".[15]

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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.[16]The autobiographicalGweilobyMartin Boothcovering his childhood in 1950s Hong Kong reminisces of the Russian bakeries and discusses an elderly White Russian street woman who may have been Russian royalty.[17]

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^[1]Nga ở cảng
  2. ^Horne 2003,p. 25
  3. ^Scherr 2011,p. 8
  4. ^Scherr 2011,p. 9
  5. ^Scherr 2011,p. 10
  6. ^Bray 2001,p. 47
  7. ^Scherr 2011,p. 14
  8. ^Scherr 2011,p. 19
  9. ^Trivedi, Anjani (13 June 2013),"Famous Company for Edward Snowden: White Russians",Time,retrieved15 June2013
  10. ^Frolov, Nikolai (13 August 2012),"Vyazniki-Hong Kong: a life-long mission",Russia Beyond the Headlines,retrieved11 September2012
  11. ^"Orthodox Church to set up S.E. Asia Metropolitanate in Hong Kong",Union of Catholic Asian News,22 November 1996,retrieved11 September2012
  12. ^Lee, Amanda Wai-Man (1 August 2012),"Russian graves in Hong Kong",Russia Beyond the Headlines,archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2013,retrieved11 September2012
  13. ^"Русский клуб в Гонконге отметил 10-летие грандиозным балом",Rian.ru,9 November 2009,retrieved8 September2010
  14. ^Dương liễu (13 July 2007),"Nga trú cảng tổng lãnh sự cách Thái: Vứt bỏ cũ thành kiến thác hợp tác không gian",Ta Kung Pao,archived fromthe originalon 19 July 2011,retrieved8 September2010
  15. ^Che, Charmaine (28 July 2013)."Russians are rushing to 'exotic, trendy' Hong Kong".South China Morning Post.Retrieved28 July2013.
  16. ^Bickley 2001,p. 1
  17. ^"Rewind, book: 'Gweilo' by Martin Booth".South China Morning Post.Retrieved5 May2020.

Sources

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Further reading

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  • Share, Michael B. (2007),Where empires collided: Russian and Soviet relations with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao,Hong Kong: Chinese University Press,ISBN978-962-996-306-4
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