The Russians got a contract to build a railroad to Harbin back in the late 1800’s so there was a very large Russian population that had a lot of influence here until the Japanese took over prior to WWII. But the Russians are back! Most of the tourist shops in Harbin sold Russian souvenirs and Russian sausage and most of the tourists were Russian. During the Cultural Revolution most of the Russian Churches were destroyed but this one remained. Inside were more Russian souvenirs and the walls were covered with many old photographs that showed how it was during the early 1900’s.
