Statistics

For the purposes of this study, “Russians” are all persons from ex-Russian Empire and their children, as well as those considering themselves Russian by origin, language or religion.

The earliest recorded Russian death in Shanghai was that of Andrey Sokoloff, a sailor from the clipper Djigit, in 1858, followed by Alexander de Medem, an aristocrat globetrotter, in 1859.

The last Russian émigré to die in Shanghai was Alexander Poroshin, who died in 1997, aged 94.

The last Russian Jewish resident to die in Shanghai was, apparently, Max Leibovich, who was aged 75 at the time of his death in 1982.

The longest-living Russian resident of Shanghai was Agafia Garzey, who celebrated her 100th birthday on 18 February 1940. There is no information about her death. The previous record belonged to the Russian woman whose name was given as Usesa Tratzovitta, who died on 9 July 1929, aged 99 years and 1 month.

Average age at death: 53 years.

Percentage of suicides: 7.9%.

Cemetery with the most number of Russian graves: Lokawei (36%), followed by Hungjao Road (27%).

Ratio of female to male records: 32% / 68%.

Estimates of the Russians in Shanghai and their deaths vary; the available numbers are often incomplete, unverifiable and contradictory. Stateless persons (“White Russians”) were often counted separately from the Soviet citizens. Below are some of the estimates from the censuses, newspapers, reports of benevolent societies and other sources.

1890 – 7 persons.

1895 – 28 persons.

1900 – 47 persons.

1905 – 354 persons (census).

1910 – 317 persons (census).

1915 – 361 persons (census).

1917 – the Russian Society has 125 members. (source)

1919 – 1,000 persons.

1923 – 7,000 persons (League of Nations). 1,425 persons (living in the Int’l Settlement), and additionally 3,500 newly arrived refugees, "unfitted for work".

1924 – 7,000 persons (estimated), of which 4,200 are adult males. (SCMP).

1925 – 6,000 Russians in Shanghai (UN Geneva). 2,766 Russians residing in the International Settlement. (TCP). 

1927 – 8,000 persons (approximately). (NCDN 15 Sept 1927). 7,717 persons registered ad refugees: 4,094 men, 2,319 women and 1,304 children. (UN Geneva)

1930 – 7,366 persons in two foreign settlements (Statistics of Shanghai 1933). 

1931 – 16,000 persons (according to Slovo, 1 Jan 1932). (Source). More than 14,000 persons (UN Geneva).

1932 – 6,045 Russians in the French Concession (Statistics of Shanghai 1933).

1933 – 25,000 persons (according to Shanghai Zaria, as quoted in China Press, 3 Dec 1933)

1936 – 22,000 persons. (SST)

1937 – 22,445 persons. Estimated 25,000 persons. 

1940 – 26,000 persons.

1941 – 15,430 stateless and Chinese citizens (Census by the Committee of Russian Emigres quoted in Meng Li).

1942 – 18,578 persons in two settlements, including Soviet citizens (Foreign authorities census, SZ 1942-08-15 in Wang 1993:86).

1946 – 21,000+ persons (estimated). Official count: 15,851 Soviet and stateless Russians (Wang 1993:87)

1946 (Dec) – 7,705 (official count, including 4,107 Soviet Russians and 3,598 stateless Russians). 

1947 – 6,000 White Russians (estimated);  7,017 stateless Russians and 11,260 Soviet citizens (police stats).

1948 – 7,000+ persons (estimated). 

1949 – 5,000 stateless Russians (estimated). But according to another estimate, 11,806 Russian refugees still remained in Shanghai in 1949. (Henriot)

1950 – 4,500 Soviet Russians (estimated).

1952 – 2,000 stateless Russians, plus some 1,500–2,000 members of the Soviet Citizens' Association (estimated by CIA).

1961 – 100 persons (estimated).

1962 – 60 persons (estimated).

1964 – 34 persons.

The early records are incomplete. With the emergence of the Russian-language newspapers in 1925, the number of deaths became more accurate thanks to published obituaries. According to the calculations of the Russian Orthodox Church in Shanghai, in the 1930s an average of 170 deaths was recorded yearly into the church registers. The statistics for the years 1942–1949 are incomplete, because many foreign newspapers ceased publication during the Japanese occupation and did not restart after 1945.

1851–1891

We have 13 records.

1892

SMC Report mentions 1 Russian death in the International Settlement. 

...

1903

4 deaths were recorded by the Russian Church (one infant and three sailors). 

...

1907

SMC Report mentions 2 Russian deaths in the International Settlement. 

...

1916

Church of the Epiphany recorded 16 deaths.

...

1921

SMC Report mentions 15 Russian deaths in the International Settlement. We have 8 records.

1922

We have 16 records.

1923

15 deaths were registered among the Russians living in the International Settlement. We have 13 records.

1924

25 Russian deaths were officially recorded in the Int'l Settlement. We have 9 records.

1925

39 Russian deaths were officially recorded in the Int'l Settlement. We have 32 records. Additionally, by 1925 about 40 men died on Gen. Gleboff’s ship Ohotsk, stationed near the Quarantine Station in Woosung since 1923 (Zhiganov, p. 38).

1926

41 Russian deaths were officially recorded in the Int'l Settlement. We have 22 records.

1927

SMC Report mentions 39 Russian deaths in the International Settlement. We have 30 records.

1928

SMC Report mentions 52 Russian deaths in the International Settlement. We have 43 records.

1929

Russian church reported 154 deaths (95 males, 39 females, 20 children) for all of Shanghai. SMC Report for 1929 mentions 76 Russian deaths in the Settlement. We have 71 records.

1930

SMC Report mentions 116 deaths of all causes of resident and non-resident Russians in the Int'l Settlement. We have 68 records.

1931

We have 75 records.

1932

We have 77 records.

1933

We have 71 records.

1934

Russian church register has 138 deaths (85 men and 53 women). We have 125 records.

1935

SMC recorded 51 Russian deaths in the Settlement (of which 6 were suicides). We have 110 records for all of Shanghai.

1936

We have 125 records.

1937

The Russian Church registered 171 deaths among the Russians (103 men and 68 women); we were able to recover 106 names, or 56%. Most deaths were between the ages of 40 and 50, with the deceased "succumbing to tuberculosis, heart trouble and stomach illness." 

The SMC recorded 61 Russian deaths in the Settlement.

1938

The Orthodox church registered 171 deaths (111 men and 60 women). We have 101 records.

1939

We have 114 records for this year.

1940

We have 122 records for this year.

1941

We have 214 records for this year.

1942

We have 189 records for this year.

1943

We have 170 records for this year.

1944

We have 70 records for this year. 

1945

We have 48 records. 

1946

We have 81 records.

1947

We have 52 records.

1948

We have 11 records.

1949

We have 13 records.

1950–1959

We have 15 records.

1960–1969

We only have 1 record.

1970–2008

We have 5 records.