Russians in China

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Russians in China

俄罗斯族 Pусские
Ethnic Russians, flanked by the Oroqen (left) and the Derung (right), a poster in Niujie, Beijing
Total population
Officially, just over 16,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and other areas
Languages
Russian, Chinese
Religion
Predominantly: Russian Orthodoxy and Irreligion minority: Islam.
Related ethnic groups
Russians, Albazinians

Ethnic Russians (Russian: Pусские в Китае; simplified Chinese: 俄罗斯族; traditional Chinese: 俄羅斯族; pinyin: Éluósīzú) or Russian Chinese, are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized in China.^[2] Enhe Russian Ethnic Township is the only ethnic township in China designated for China's Russian minority. Russians have been living in China for centuries and are typically the descendants of the Russians who settled in China in the 17th century. Ethnic Russians in China are Chinese citizens. Many of them are descendants of Cossacks. There are currently over 16,000 ethnic Russians in China who have lived their entire life as Chinese citizens. In the census of 1957, there were 9,000 ethnic Russians. The 1978 census counted just 600 Russians, but the figure rose to 2,935 in the 1982 census and 13,504 in the 1990 census.