Article about Ukrainians in Manchuria

[koczownik]

I thought I would post a link to this article just in case some people were interested. Manchuria (and later the state of Manchukuo) was home to a variety of nationals from the former Russian Empire, not just the more widely known Russians but also smaller groups like Poles, Ukrainians, Jews from various countries and, from my research, at least a few Georgians and Armenians. I thought this article provided an interesting look at some of these other nationalities, and the problems a historian can sometimes encounter trying to identify them, given that they were so often grouped together with Russians.

https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/pi ... e/1419/961

[Eugen Pinak]

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing it.

[sarhang]

I gather the very same school of thought maintains that in 1945 Berlin fell to Ukranians.

[koczownik]

I gather the very same school of thought maintains that in 1945 Berlin fell to Ukranians.

Well, I'm not going to get in to a debate about similarities or differences between Ukrainians and Russians (since I'm neither), I just thought this article was interesting. Manchuria (especially Harbin) had quite a multinational character back in the day.

[DavidFrankenberg]

Thanks for sharing.

It is a very good topic.

I have just learned about this Ukrainians in Mandchuria in Alliance For Murder: The Nazi-Ukrainian Nationalist Partnership (BF Sabrin, 1991) where they state that the Japanese secret services recruited a lot among ukrainian nationalists in Mandchuria.

[koczownik]

I don't know anything about a Ukrainian nationalist presence in Manchuria, but I know that Japanese secret services recruited generally among the emigres of the former Russian Empire, due to the need for anti-Soviet agents. They paid lip service to a variety of emigre causes, such as Rodzaevsky and the Russian fascists or Kislistin and the Russian monarchists, in exchange for their cooperation with the Manchukuo regime. Japan was fairly pragmatic in how it treated these kinds of groups; as long as they felt the emigres could be of use, Japan was willing to let them conduct propaganda activities in Manchukuo. As Japan started losing WW2 and the Soviet threat became more worrying, the Japanese began to clamp down on a lot of these emigre organizations, to avoid agitating the USSR. For example in 1943 the authorities closed 'Nash Put' (publication of the Russian fascists in Manchukuo) due to complaints from the Soviets. Similarly, many of the White Russian units in the Manchukuo army were disbanded in July 1945, to avoid giving the Soviets any excuse for accusing Japan of raising a "White Army" against them.

[sarhang]

For example in 1943 the authorities closed 'Nash Put' (publication of the Russian fascists in Manchukuo) due to complaints from the Soviets.

The newspaper was shut down as early as in the spring of 1938, in the wake of similar closures, as part of the Japanese drive to monopolize the press of Russian Harbin.

[koczownik]

The newspaper was shut down as early as in the spring of 1938, in the wake of similar closures, as part of the Japanese drive to monopolize the press of Russian Harbin.

Can I ask your source for this? Every source I have read (Russian and English) says it was fully closed in 1943.

[sarhang]

Can I ask your source for this? Every source I have read (Russian and English) says it was fully closed in 1943.

One source is me. I remember reading in a 1938 issue of the Харбинское время Rodzayevsky comment that the cessation of the Наш путь had not been of the free will of the RFU.
Another source is: Чжао Юнхуа. Русская пресса в Китае (1898-1956).- Москва, 2017.
I understand a Chinese edition exists as well.
She writes:
"В ноябре 1937 года японская газета "Харбинское время" поглотила "Известия", в феврале 1938 года был закрыт "Рупор", в апреле - "Наш путь". (p 161)
What leads to confusion is that in 1941 the Shanghai branch of the RFU started a publication under the same name of Наш путь, which was effectively shut down along with the disbanding of the RFU in 1943. It is useless to argue whether or not the two publications were one and the same. The point is that overall, the Manchukuo Наш путь was an ordinary daily newspaper chronicling the life of Harbin, which did die in 1938.

[koczownik]

I see. I had heard of the Shanghai publication, but I did not realize it was closed in 1943. I can see how this might have caused confusion. Thank you for your clarification, it's good to correct mistakes.