Harbin Operation
하얼빈 작전
An NKVD mass repressive operation of the Great Terror, launched by Operational Order No. 00593 signed by Nikolai Yezhov on 20 September 1937, targeting former employees of the Chinese Eastern Railway and repatriates from Harbin, Manchuria. Although ethnically Russian, the so-called 'Harbinites' were treated as a functional diaspora because of their cross-border ties, making this the only national operation aimed at a non-ethnic group; it was the third largest after the Polish and German operations. Estimates range from 30,000 to 49,000 convicted, of whom 19,000 to 31,000 were shot.
Related people
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian Wikipedia: comprehensive article on the Harbin Operation; defines it as a mass repressive campaign of the Great Terror (1937–1938) against 'Harbinites' — former CER employees, re-émigrés from Manchuria; Order No. 00593 signed by Yezhov 20 Sep 1937; third largest national operation; estimates 30,000–49,000 convicted and 19,000–31,000 shot; two-category sentencing system; album procedure and troikas.
- Wikipedia (EN) English Wikipedia: NKVD Order No. 00593 'about Harbinites'; background of CER sale to Manchukuo in 1935 and repatriation of ~25,000 people; Memorial estimate of 48,133 repressed and 30,992 shot; 13 pre-defined arrest categories; operation extended beyond original deadline of 25 Dec 1937.
- sciencespo.fr Nicolas Werth, Sciences Po (2010): frames the Harbin Operation as the clearest illustration that 'Soviet xenophobia was an ideological rather than an ethnic concept'; despite ethnic Russianness the Kharbintsy were treated as a functional equivalent of a diaspora nationality and targeted within the National Operations.
- aljazeera.com Nikolay Korzhov, Al Jazeera (2017): reportage on the Harbin Operation as the 'third bloodiest' national operation; personal accounts of victims' families including Viktor Didenko and Elena Rudiy; describes the order mandating 'a broad operation to arrest and eliminate' all Harbiners and their families.
- cyberleninka.ru N.N. Ablazhey, Гуманитарные науки в Сибири (2008): academic article on the Harbin Operation; analyses NKVD statistics and investigation files; confirms 20.6–21.5 thousand repatriated in 1935 and the operation's scale and specific character as a national operation.