From China to the U.S.S.R.: The Return of the "True" Russians
FAIN: FEL-272979-21
Laurie Manchester
Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ 85281-3670)
Research and writing leading to a book on the 1954 return of 100,000 Harbin Russians to the Soviet Union from China.
Beginning in 1954, 100,000 Russians from pious, monarchist families voluntarily repatriated to the Soviet Union. Most were born and raised in China. My book will be the first comprehensive study of mass voluntary return to an illiberal, impoverished, historical homeland in the 20th Century. It challenges the dominant theories in migration studies that economic betterment, the desire for liberty, or family reunification motivate migration. Cultural preference and nationalism inspired the majority to repatriate. Based in part on the collection of thousands of uncensored personal letters, this project provides an alternative history of the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. It also illuminates the encounter between Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union by focusing on how and when repatriates and Soviet Russians have othered one another. By examining the fluctuating strategies of assimilation and integration repatriates have used, it also contributes to diaspora studies.