Russian Industrial And Commercial Industry In Harbin And Impact On Harbin (1898—1931)

At the end of 19th century, Harbin, which consists of many scattered villages, hasn't developed to be a unified and complete area before the construction of the MiddleEast railway. With the open of the Middle East railway and Harbin commercial port,many Russian Chinese begin to settle down in Harbin. These people have conducted aseries of activities in Harbin, among which industrial and commercial industry holdsan important position. The Russian Chinese have established a variety of industrial enterprises, mainly flour mill, oil-extracting industry, wine-making industry, food-processing industry, clothing & shoe industry, soap factory, power plant, and etc. The Russian Chinese have invested a lot in flour mill, oil-extracting industry, wine-making industry, and have earned a lot of profits. This paper divides all the commercial activitiesof the Russian Chinese in Harbin into export-import business and retail business in accordance with the scale of commercial enterprises and the nature of commercial activities. The industrial and commercial industry of the Russian Chinese, which boasts of thousands of industrial and commercial enterprises, has been glorious for a time. The development of the Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry, to a large extent, relies on the support from the Russian government. With the loss of Russian privilege, the Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry begins to shrink, and theadvantage of the Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry has been gradually replaced by Japanese businessman after the September 18th Incident. The Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry has produced a great impact on Harbin. On the one hand, it promotes the rapid rise of Harbin;on the other hand, it plunders theresources of our country and thus brings harm to people's interests.This paper focuses on exploring and evaluating the Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry in Harbin. Firstly, the construction of the Middle East railway,the rise of Harbin, the favorable policy of the Russian government, and the October Revolution in Russian constitute the historical background of the emergence of the Russian Chinese. The Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial activities hold a prominent position in the series of Russian-Chinese activities.Secondly, the Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry begins with the construction of the Middle East railway. As a monopoly industry, the Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry has developed rapidly and possessed thousandsof industrial and commercial enterprises in a short period before the Russia-JapaneseWar.Thirdly,The Russian-Chinese industrial and commercial industry has exerted a great influence on Harbin. It not only promotes the development of Harbin industrial and commercial industry, but also plunders the resources of our country and thus bringsharm to people's interests.