Harbin

Harbin. See Google Map. City (2020 pop 10,009,854) in northeast China, capital of Heilungkiang province. Harbin was founded in 1898 as a railway center of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which was built by Russia on Chinese territory to link the Trans-Siberian Railroad with Vladivostok. Most of the inhabitants were employees of the railway company, including mostly Russians but also Ukrainians and other nationalities. Ukrainians formed their own artistic groups and maintained close ties with Ukraine and their countrymen in the Far East. In 1907 the Ukrainian Club was founded. After the February Revolution of 1917 the Ukrainian community in Harbin became much more active. Several new institutions such as the Ukrainian Council and the Manchurian Regional Council were created to provide political leadership in the Far East and to maintain close ties with Ukraine. In 1917 a company of Ukrainian troops was sent from Harbin to Ukraine. It was commanded by Petro Tverdovsky, who returned to Harbin a year later as a consul of the Ukrainian National Republic. A Ukrainian school and gymnasium were established on the premises of the Ukrainian Club. In 1918 the Ukrainian Orthodox church parish of the Holy Protectress was organized by Rev M. Trufaniv. By 1929 it had built its own church.

From 1922 to 1931 the Ukrainian community in Harbin was isolated from other Ukrainian centers and treated unfairly by Chinese authorities, who were influenced by local Russians. The Ukrainian People's Home was confiscated and the Ukrainian schools and other institutions were abolished. Only the Prosvita society continued to operate under the auspices of the YMCA. It maintained a theater group and published a weekly—Ukraïnske zhyttia.

The fortunes of the Ukrainian community improved in 1931 when the Japanese buffer state of Manchukuo was set up. The Ukrainian People's Home was restored to the Ukrainian community. The Ukrainian Political Center assumed the leading role in Ukrainian life in Manchuria. It founded the Ukrainian Publishing Union, which published Man'dzhurs'kyi vistnyk (ed Ivan Svit, 1932–7) as well as books and brochures. From 1934 Ukrainians had their own radio programs. The Zelenyi Klyn association and the Ukrainian Youth Association merged to form the Association of Ukrainian Youth. In 1935 the Ukrainian National Colony was founded as an umbrella organization for all Ukrainian communities in Manchuria. When Manchuria was occupied by the Soviet Army in 1945, most Ukrainians were arrested and deported and their institutions were abolished. Until then the number of Ukrainians in Harbin was close to 15,000.

Volodymyr Kubijovyč

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1988).]