ABSTRACT
A man named Haimovich was the first Russian Jewish settler to become a permanent resident in Shanghai in 1887, some 45 years after the signing of the Nanking Treaty and the opening of five Treaty Ports – including Shanghai – to foreign trade. In 1902, a synagogue committee was formed in Shanghai by Russian Jews. 1st chairman was H. Kammerling. The first Ashkenazi (Russian Jewish) Synagogue, inaugurated 1907 in rented premises, was named Ohel Moshe, after Moshe Greenberg, a leading Russian Jewish personality. A nucleus of Russian Jews arrived in Harbin during the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railroad. This followed the signing of a treaty between China and Russia in 1896 ensuring mutual assistance against any future Japanese aggression. After World War I, Russian Jewish soldiers again filtered into China, their numbers swollen by civilians escaping the atrocities of the civil war and anti-Semitism raging in Russia.
