The emergence and development of Russian-speaking communities along the China Eastern Railway in the late 19th – early 20th centuries

After the construction of the China Eastern Railway began in 1896, a large number of Russian immigrants arrived in the northeastern part of China. After the opening of the CER in 1903, 107 stations along the railway line quickly turned into large settlements and towns. The development of these settlements was greatly influenced by Russian-speaking communities, who formed infrastructure for a favorable existence. After the October Revolution, a significant number of anti-Soviet former servicemen and refugees rushed to the previously Russian-occupied areas of the CER, the number of emigrants was constantly increasing, Russian-speaking communities were undergoing changes and faced significant difficulties in organizing the lives of emigrants of the first wave.