On the offenses of Chinese migrants and the reaction of local authorities in the Russian Amur region in the late XIX - early XX centuries

The article is devoted to the study of offenses committed by the Chinese population in the Russian Amur Region in the late XIX – early XX centuries. Relations between migrants and local authorities were very difficult. The fault of the emerging problems was most often the behavior of migrants and the wary attitude of the local population towards them. The work analyzes the circumstances that contributed to the commission of offenses among the Chinese. Particular attention is paid to the types of crimes common among migrants, and the reaction of local authorities to these phenomena. In sources of various types reflecting the events of the period under review, there is information about violations of Russian laws by the Chinese population. In turn, the complaints of the migrants themselves allow us to conclude about the attitude of the Russian authorities towards them. The study is based on an analysis of documents from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire, court materials and periodicals. The novelty of the work lies in the circulation of new archival sources on the problem. In the course of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that in the late XIX – early XX century. Chinese migrants, while adapting to living conditions in new territories, committed various kinds of offenses. Offenses committed by Chinese migrants ranged from minor misdemeanors involving violations of local norms and customs to more serious crimes such as smuggling, speculation, and even crimes against the person (murder, robbery, theft, etc.). The main reason for the commission of crimes by the Chinese was economic difficulties. This was aggravated by insufficient control of the migration process by local authorities, a shortage of personnel, a small local population, as well as non-interference in the affairs of migrants by the Qing government.

Chinese Empire, Russian Empire, Far East, Chinese migration, migrants, hunhuz, smuggling, opium, offences, crimes