Ukrainians in China

Historically holding a significant presence in Harbin, the Ukrainians of China saw a peak of political activity in the interwar and World War II before being effectively integrated into Chinese society in 1948.

The 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk, conducted between the Tsardom of Russia and the Qing dynasty, marks the beginning of the Ukrainian community in China.

[1] During the early 19th century, Ukrainian doctor Yosyp Voytsekhovskyi [uk] actively countered cholera in China.

[2] A wave of Ukrainian migrants began to arrive almost two centuries after Lezhaisky's mission to China, with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway in the 1890s.

[3] During the Russian Civil War, the Ukrainians of Harbin threw their weight behind the self-declared state of Green Ukraine.

[4] As the Bolsheviks were pushed back from early gains in the Far East by Chinese forces participating in the allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, the Chinese military provided protection and support for Green Ukrainian governmental and military bodies, who began issuing Ukrainian passports.

[5] After the Russian Civil War (particularly after the dissolution of the Far Eastern Republic), the Ukrainian community in Manchuria found its size bolstered by political refugees from Green Ukraine.

[4] However, the boom ultimately proved to be short-lived, as the Soviet invasion of Manchuria sent the community fleeing southwards to Tianjin and Shanghai.

[7] Chinese Ukrainians have also organised themselves, participating in cultural and charity events and creating informational resources about their history.