International Journal of Korean History(Vol.12, Aug.2008) 157 Koreans in Russia in the Context of History of Russian Immigration Policy Alexander I. PETROV∗ Introduction The variety of ways of moving of people from one country to another and formation of ethnic groups in the countries of arrival (or in the so- called recipient countries) allows to define the general and special in history of those or other migratory streams. In given paper an attempt is undertaken to determine some features of history of the Korean immigration to and process of formation of the Korean community in Russia (the Soviet Union). The theme of given research paper has three groups of topical aspects which are very closely interconnected between each other. Firstly, it is necessity of constant elaborating, perfecting and more precise defining the historical facts on Koreans in Russia. Though there are many different books, articles and collections of documents on the subject published by the present time our knowledge about some facts and events in this history is very approximate. A fundamental academic history of Koreans in Russia, which could help young researchers and ordinary people to estimate the facts and events of the past and to form their opinion about them is not written yet. ∗Russian Academy of Sciences, Far Eastern Branch 158 Koreans in Russia in the Context of History of ~ The second group is actually connected with the necessity of more detailed explanation of the general picture of history of the international migrations. Such practical and theoretical knowledge gives us an opportunity to project the probable development of the situations connected with moving for whatever reason of people from one country to another, and to work out measures for solving the arising problems. The importance of the international migration was proved by the fact that on July 9-11th 2007 in Brussels, a global forum was held devoted to studying the problems of the given world phenomenon. And, at last, the third group of topical aspects is closely connected with the past and present political and economic situation in Russia with the stress on the Russian Far East and her integration into the Northeast Asian region from the point of view of international migration and those its streams which have ended in or crossed the Russian territory. So the logic of scientific research makes us to consider and analyze every problem of given topic at least in three planes: 1) the Korean immigration as itself and the process of formation of Korean community in Russia; 2) Russian society as a closest environment of this process, and 3) international relations along the ways of Korean migration and especially the Russia’s relations with the contiguous countries along her borders in those places in Russia where the Koreans settled. From History of Formation of the Russia’s Openness From early times Russia has experienced various kinds of migrations both of internal, and external character. Foreigners had been invited to Russia for constant residence, with granting to them privileges and support, or moved to Russian territory by themselves in accordance with general practice. Some part of immigrants settled in Russia illegally. The forming of the Russia’s openness began during the rule of Emperor Peter the Great who had invited considerable number of foreigners to work in Russia for carrying out of his grandiose reforms. Alexander I. PETROV 159 This practice had been continuing under empress Ekaterina II (she said: “make our land to swarm with people”), who issued the manifesto of July 22, 1763 with many benefits and advantages for “all foreigners” who were “interested in settling in… empire”. The Office of foreign tutelage was established with budget of 200,000 roubles for rendering assistance for foreign settlers. Thanks to energetic measures of the Office of foreign tutelage there have been soon formed 102 colonies of Germans in the Saratov, and then in Samara provinces on coast of Volga River.1 So, as we can see, such a policy was oriented mostly to European countries in accordance with special laws, which gradually formed the Russian immigration policy. The new stage of formation of the Russian immigration policy began during the realm of emperor Alexander I. This period continued until the Great Reforms of 1860s. The immigration laws and regulations took into account in larger scale the Russian treaties with foreign states and the international experience in the sphere of migration.2 On March 5 (17), 1861 the manifesto on a cancelling of the serfdom in Russian Empire had been declared. “Regulations about the peasants got out of a serfdom” had simultaneously been published, according to which the Russian peasants were released from a serfdom and received a lot of personal and property rights. Henceforth peasants could be engaged freely in crafts and trade; they could leave places of their residence, get the movable and immovable property, conclude various contracts and transactions, show claims, enter to educational institutions and on state service, pass to estates of petty bourgeoisies and merchants, etc. Landowners forever lost the right to sell and interfere into peasants’ personal life, as well as to dispose their destiny. Progressive transformations of the beginning of the 1860s which opened the modern period of Russian history had at the same time caused revival of public and economic activity of broad masses, assisted significant activization of migratory processes both inside of Russia, and in both directions in relation to adjacent and at all to foreign states. It rendered essential influence on all spectrum of social and economic, demographic and cultural development of the Russian society. Progressiveness of the Great reforms was obvious, and immigration 160 Koreans in Russia in the Context of History of ~ attractiveness of the Russian state had sharply increased. From the beginning of the 1860s the openness of Russia both for immigration and emigration had instituted by the number of laws and regulations, including a rather progressive law about citizenship of Russian Empire (1864). The Korean Immigration: Preconditions, Beginning and Development At the beginning of the 19th century Russia was seeking ways to make her Far Eastern policy, first of all with China more effective in economical perspective. The Ch’ing Dynasty, however, was reluctant to such initiatives of Russian Government trying to neutralize them (the Count Yuri A. Golovkin’s mission, and so on). None the less by the second half of the 19th century the international situation around these two countries drastically changed, and political and military factors began to play more important role in their relations. These factors got their reflections in two wars: Russia was caused to fall into the Crimean War (1853-1856), and China was forced to wage so called the First (or Anglo- Chinese, 1840-1842) and the Second (or Anglo-Franco-Chinese, 1856- 1860) Opium Wars. Even though both Russia and China waged these wars separately, nevertheless they had the common enemies in them – the Great Britain and France. This circumstance brought Petersburg and Beijing together, and they signed the Aigun (1858) and Beijing (1860) Treaties which defined the Russian-Chinese-Korean border along the Amur, Ussuri and Tumangang Rivers. By that time Russia and China had already some treaties and agreements which contained some articles about rules of crossing the border by their subjects, but it was a question mainly of deserters. The articles were in general formulated by the Ch’ing party and demanded extremely severe punishment to those who crossed the border without official permission. It contradicted to the general line of development of Alexander I. PETROV 161 the Russian immigration policy. That is why the Russian authorities could not execute the ordinary people who emigrated from China to Russia just because they would like to change place of their living. For example, when Mongols had moved to the Russian territory at the middle of the 18th century, because they decided to become subjects of the Russian tsar, they, certainly were not executed. According to “the Rules of land trade between Russia and China” of February 20, 1862, signed additionally to the Beijing Treaty, free trade was permitted along all Russian-Chinese border within the limits of 50 kilometers from both sides of it. This fact demonstrated much progress in an issue of moving of the Russian and Chinese subjects across border in comparison with, for example, the Kiakhta Treaty, which concentrated all Russian-Chinese trade just in one point i.e. in Kiakhta. At the same time the Russian authorities got possibility to rely upon the internal laws when foreigners immigrated to Russia, though some misunderstanding on this issue went on until beginning of 1880s.3 It meant that the immigration policy in this region was brought closely to the all-Russian level. The development of the Russian Far East took place in special historical conditions. This region did not have direct influence of the serfdom, so the process of modernization here, especially its such subprocesses as industrialization, urbanization and bureaucratization, had accelerated rates of development. In 1840s-1850s the Russian scientific expeditions informed to St.- Petersburg, that as it had appeared, the Amur and Ussurijsky regions was deserted, sparsely populated, and absolutely not developed territory. So on April 27, 1861 for settling this territory by accelerated rates emperor Alexander II signed «Regulations for settlement of Russian and foreigners in the Amurskaya and Primorskaya oblasts of Eastern Siberia», worked out by the Siberian Committee. The first clause of the law said: «It is permitted in general to settle in these areas to all interested persons, both to Russian, and foreigners, but with compliance with conditions, below stated». Subsequently followed twelve more clauses by which the benefits granted to settlers were explained.