ABSTRACT
The Soviets’ entry into Harbin in August 1945 was essentially uncontested, with no fighting or bombing. Manchuria’s senior Orthodox cleric, Archbishop Nestor of Harbin, once allegedly an honorary fascist companion-in-arms, welcomed the Soviet troops as liberators and conducted an Orthodox mass at the cathedral with Red Army officers and men in attendance. Russian education in Harbin seems to have been swiftly and effectively re-established. Two Soviet ten-year schools were opened in Harbin, so Mara’s mother was able to resume her schooling, which had been interrupted under the Japanese. The United States was a popular option, as was Australia (more so in Harbin than Shanghai, because some of the Harbin group had contacts there from earlier emigration), as well as various Latin American countries. Between 4000 and 5000 Shanghai emigrants repatriated in 1947–48, along with smaller groups from Tianjin and Beijing.
