Means of forming political loyalty of the younger generation of Russian emigrants to the Japanese occupation authorities in the territory of Northeast China (Manchuria)

The article studies the peculiarities of the formation of political loyalty of the Russian younger generation of emigrants to the Japanese occupation authorities in Northeast China. The chronological scope of this study is defined as 1931–1945 and covers one of the most complex and controversial periods in the history of the Asia-Pacific region. Implementing a geostrategic program to conquer Asia in 1931, Japan occupied the northeastern part of China – Manchuria. In an effort to legitimize their rights and strengthen their influence in the annexed territory, the occupation authorities developed a non-standard, unique strategic program to build the population’s loyalty to the expansionist political regime. The new generation of Russian emigrants, being an effective and productive resource in terms of quality and quantity, capable of ensuring breakthrough development of an economically and industrially weak region in the shortest possible time, became an object of close attention for the representatives of the new government. Developed by the Japanese and implemented at the individual, institutional, and state levels, the system of legal, political, organizational, and ideological means of influencing the younger generation of Russian emigrants was aimed at forming a new generation of citizens of Manchukuo, loyal to the Japanese political regime and voluntarily implementing the pan-Asian program. The material for this research was the documents preserved in the emigrant funds of the State Archives of the Khabarovsk Territory: personal files of Russian emigrants, including correspondence with major figures of the Russian emigration during the period under study, materials from intelligence agencies, orders, instructions and reports, correspondence of officials and individuals responsible for the Japanese military mission; periodicals for children and youth published by Russians in China in the early to mid-20th century, which are currently a bibliographic rarity. The methodological basis of the work was made up of modern scientific approaches, principles, and research methods: historical-cultural, sociocultural, systemic-historical, cultural, comparative approach, nomothetic (generalizing) principle of research, methods of comparative-historical, synchronic, structural-typological, descriptive, biographical, and systemic analysis.

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