Building Russian Shanghai: The Architectural Legacy of the Diaspora

The Russian population of Shanghai during the 1930s was close to 50,000 people, and although this large community disappeared in the 1950s, it was not without a trace. Beyond signature monuments to the presence of the Russians – the Orthodox churches and the former Sino-Soviet Friendship Hall – there are over sixty public buildings, offices, villas, apartment houses and lane compounds designed by the diaspora. Architects, engineers and general contractors from the émigré community rose to the top echelons in the city-building industry and compensated for the precariousness of their statelessness by achieving eminent professional status and economic security. The careers in construction and real estate proved an opportunity for the Russians to integrate into the treaty port society and economy. They were occupied at every level in large and small Chinese and Western firms as bosses and subordinates, independent contractors and full partners, owners, independent consultants and clerks. The 1949 Liberation tore through the treaty port’s social fabric, essentially removing the foreign society from the city, but the Russians’ involvement in the physical building of Shanghai ensured their tangible mark on its map