Research project «The Soviet-Chinese friendship of 1954–1960 in historical and cultural memory of Perm region»

Abstract

The paper presents the description of the research project «The Soviet-Chinese Friendship of 1954-1960 inHistorical and Cultural Memory of Perm Region». The period from the 1950s to the early 1960s is considered to be a time of close foreign policy interactions between the USSRand China, known in historical studies as the Sino-Soviet friendship. For the People’s Republic of China, the USSR was a key strategic and ideological partner. Officially, amicable relations between China and the USSR started with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance on the 14th of February, 1950. The agreement initiated the development of economic cooperation between the countries. During that period, theUSSR lentChina an unprecedented aid in developing industry as well as in training young Chinese professionals at the Soviet plants. Molotov region was one of the places of their training and work. The project focuses on historical reconstruction of the circumstances of arrival, living and working of the Chinese in the city ofMolotov in the 1950-1960s and includes the analysis of socio-demographic features, culture, and the process of adapting everyday life and work of Chinese in Molotov. Separately, the way of life and the evolution of the Chinese people’s consciousness after returning homeland is under investigation. The presence of the Chinese in theUSSR in the 1950s is one of the least researched episodes in the history of Chinese immigration toRussia. Having come from the impoverished by the long-lasting war country to the “closed” Soviet society, the Chinese people were welcomed very warmheartedly. Sometimes hospitality went even beyond the boundaries of a “friendly relationship”. The Chinese workers who lived in theUSSR managed to adopt the behavior and the traditions of local community, whilst preserving their ethnic identity and elements of traditional Chinese culture. According to the results of the project, the Sino-Russian conference and the publication of monographs in Russian and Chinese took place.