The population was 15,609.
Ethnic profile
The ethnic Russians are descendants of Russian immigrants. They are mainly found in the northwestern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the northern part of Heilongjiang, and the Hulunbeier League in the northeastern part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. According to the fifth national census in 2000, the population of the ethnic Russians was 15,609. The Russian language, belonging to the Slavic group of the Indo-European language family, is commonly used.
The word "Russian" originates from the name of an East Slavic tribe, "Rus" or "Rus". In terms of racial classification, Russians belong to the Europaean race (Caucasians). As a result of intermarriage with the neighboring peoples, the Russians in China gradually changed their physiognomy and took on the characteristics of the yellow race. As early as the 18th century, but mainly in the 19th century and around the time of the October Revolution in Russia, ethnic Russians moved from Czarist Russia to Xinjiang in China. During the period when the feudal warlord Sheng Shicai ruled Xinjiang, they were called "naturalized people". The villages where they gathered were called "naturalized villages". After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the name was changed to Rusyns.
Since the Russians have not been in China for a long time, many of them still have friends and relatives in the former Soviet Union. After the founding of New China, the relationship between them was restored, and many of them asked to return to their hometowns to be reunited with their relatives. in the 1950s, the governments of China and the Soviet Union agreed to help them to move back to their hometowns one after another. In addition, some of the Russians moved to Australia and Canada, where they also have relatives, so the number of Russians in our country is already small.
Socio-Economic
Before 1949, most of the ethnic Russian people living in the towns were engaged in various kinds of repairs, transportation and handicrafts. Some also practiced agriculture on the side. Some specialized in horticulture, livestock breeding and beekeeping. Most of the ethnic Russian people in the countryside lived in clusters of ten households, which became a village on their own. They cultivate land on the barren grasslands on both sides of the Ili and Tekes Rivers. Those who live close to pastoral places also engage in animal husbandry. They were y oppressed by successive reactionary governments. Such as the Russian village in Tekes County, is the Russian people after many years of hard labor to build up . But then the Kuomintang warlords occupied their land, forcing them to move to another place of residence, reclamation and living.
After the liberation, the Russians enjoyed full democratic rights as did people of all ethnic groups. There were representatives of the Russians in all the sessions of the People's Congresses of the whole country and of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The ethnic Russian people have actively participated in democratic reform, socialist transformation and socialist construction. Through labor and employment, most of the urban residents have become workers on various fronts in industry and commerce, finance and trade, and health. Some ethnic Russians in the Hulunbeier League of Inner Mongolia have joined local state farms and become agricultural workers. Their living standards have improved significantly.
Culture and Art
Russian literature occupies an important position in world culture, and its main source is the oral literary heritage left by the ancestors of the Russians for their descendants, such as the long epic poems glorifying the warriors, nursery rhymes, proverbs and so on. Especially at the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian literary heritage had a certain influence on the culture of the ethnic Russians in our country.
Customs
The living customs of ethnic Russians in China are basically the same as those of Russians in the former Soviet Union. For ethnic Russian women, they wear a coarse cloth blouse over a sleeveless, high-waisted, button-down robe, and a long, woolen skirt underneath. Men's undergarments are shirts with slanting collars (knee-length) and thin-legged pants, and they wear tweed hats or fur hats with earmuffs. On New Year's Day, the colors of the flowers are brighter. In spring and fall, they wore tweed robes, and in winter, they wore short sheepskin jackets or leather coats. In summer, farmers also wear a kind of birch or willow bark strips woven into simple shoes (similar to straw shoes), winter felt boots or fur shoes. Unmarried girls wear their hair in braids, and are fond of wearing colorful square headscarves, earrings and other accessories. Nowadays, most Russian men and women prefer to wear modern clothes.
Homes are mostly made of earth and wood, with roofs covered with straw, earth walls surrounding the yard, trees and plants planted in the front yard, animal pens erected in the back yard, storehouses built and cellars dug. There are good hygiene habits, the house is very neat.
In terms of diet, the Russians are mainly pasta. Bread, naan, all kinds of pies and other staple foods. Generally three meals a day, Chinese food is plentiful, morning and evening simple. They also love to eat cucumbers, tomatoes and other fresh and nutritious raw vegetables, love to drink white wine, beer. In addition, there is a kind of low drink called "Kvass" is also the Russians like. Donkey and horse meat are forbidden, and some do not eat pig and dog meat.
In the marriage customs, the Russians advocate free love, freedom of marriage, but pay attention to the family, to get married with the consent of parents. With other ethnic groups can be intermarried. The wedding ceremony is solemn and cumbersome. Wedding to be held in the church, by the priest for them to read prayers, sing hymns, exchange wedding rings. Then they are taken back to the groom's home and celebrated with a banquet. Nowadays, Russian weddings in China have diversified and are moving towards a simpler and more meaningful approach.
In the past, when ethnic Russians died, they were to be parked on a stool, with their heads facing an icon and their feet facing the door, and buried a day or two later. At the funeral, the coffin could not go out through the front door, but had to be carried out through the back door or window. Most burials are carried out in the earth, with a cross on the grave, and mourning ceremonies are held on the 12th, 20th, 40th and anniversary of the death of a loved one. Nowadays, when an ethnic Russian dies, a memorial service is usually held in his honor. Townspeople have mostly switched to cremation.
The Russians are very polite, meet to greet. Or bow and salute, shake hands. In socializing, kissing etiquette is also more prevalent. To the Russian family as a guest, to knock on the door first, into the house to take off their hats, sit on the seat given by the host, can not sit on the bed. When giving cigarettes, one must not give one alone, but the box, and when lighting cigarettes, one must not light a match to three people's cigarettes: when smoking and borrowing fire, one must not take the other person's cigarettes. Women must wear a headscarf in front of elders or guests as a sign of respect. The grandest traditional courtesy is to greet guests with bread and salt to symbolize goodwill and friendship. Guests must use a knife to cut off a piece of bread dipped in a little salt to eat before entering the house, which used to be used to welcome brides and VIPs, and is now also used for general social occasions. Eaten with a knife, and, spoon shall not be placed on the tablecloth, to ride on the edge of the plate. Russians avoid sending yellow gifts, that yellow indicates disloyalty, blue represents friendship.
Food
The staple food is their own baked bread, side dishes are mostly Russian hot dishes. Buns, dumplings, all kinds of noodles and rice are often eaten. They like to eat cucumbers, tomatoes and other raw vegetables, and often eat pickles made from green tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and cabbage. They love to drink a variety of vegetable soups with beef and potatoes, white wine (vodka) and their own sweet and mellow beer.
Festivals
The Russians attach great importance to traditional festivals, especially Easter. In the week before the festival, no meat is eaten, and only vegetarian food is eaten. On the day of the festival, each family prepares colorful "bicheni" (pastries), in addition to hard-boiled eggs, which are painted in red, yellow, blue, coffee, green, purple and other colors.
The first thing the guest does is to congratulate the host on the holiday, and then the host passes the guest a colored egg as a sign of congratulations. The host and the guest can also play the egg game together. After the guests are seated, the host will take out the sumptuous food and drink to entertain the guests, among which there is a kind of round tower bread with a height of more than 30 centimeters and a diameter of more than 20 centimeters, which is called "Gulicha". This bread is made of sugar, oil, eggs and milk and other raw materials, the surface coated with crystal sugar and colorful cream, not only the color is pleasing to the eye, but also fluffy and tasty, entertaining the guests, usually cut it into slices and then eat.
Religion and Important Festivals
The Russians initially believed in polytheism (animism), and in modern times, they switched to Orthodox Christianity. After the liberation of China, the country practiced the policy of freedom of religious belief. Most of the Russians in China believe in Orthodox Christianity, some believe in Christianity, and more and more people do not believe in religion. The Orthodox Church differs from the Catholic Church in that it does not recognize that the Pope has a higher status and authority than other bishops. It advocates that all clergy other than bishops may marry. The main festivals are Easter, Christmas and Baptism. Orthodox Christmas begins on January 7 and lasts ***3 days.
Another: the Russians are one of the less populous ethnic groups in China, in the northern foothills of the Daxinganling Mountains, the right bank of the Erguna River and Russia across the river in Erguna City, Inner Mongolia, there is China's only Russian ethnic townships: the Enhe Russian ethnic townships. At present, there are 2124 ethnic Russians in Erguna City. Among them, there are 135 poor households with 468 people. Western development and the State People's Committee of the "border rich people action" for the border flag county has created a great opportunity, Erguna City, give full play to the advantages of the Russian people and geographic location, according to the characteristics of the Russians and Chinese-Russian descendants, and actively realize the "rich people, prospering the borders, strengthening the country, and good-neighborliness," the development of the strategy.