Albazinians

The Albazinians (Russian: албазинцы; Simplified Chinese: 阿尔巴津人, Traditional Chinese: 阿爾巴津人) are one of several Chinese ethnic groups of Russian descent. There are approximately 250 Albazinians in China who are descendants of about fifty Russian Cossacks who fought at the Siege of Albazin on the Amur River that were resettled by the Kangxi Emperor in the northeastern periphery of Beijing in 1685. Albazin was a Russian fort on the Amur River, founded by Yerofey Khabarov in 1651. It was stormed by Qing troops in 1685. The majority of its inhabitants agreed to evacuate their families and property to Nerchinsk, whereas several young Cossacks resolved to join the Manchu army and to relocate to Beijing. See Sino-Russian border conflicts.