Albazinians and the Russian Community in Beijing in the Late 17 <sup>th </sup>to the Second Half of the 19 <sup>th </sup>Century)
The middle-to-late 17 th century witnessed the borders of Russia and the Qing Empire closing in. Numerous clashes between Russian Cossacks and Manchu cavalry often ended in Russians being taken prisoners and sent to Beijing (majority of them were defenders of the Albazin frontier fortress – Albazinians) where they were commissioned for duty to a specially established Russian Company within the Manchu Army. Our compatriots were engaged in military and diplomatic actions on the border as well as in garrison sentry duty in Beijing. Some of them were translators and teachers (lecturing). After the setting of the Russian Orthodox Mission in Beijing in 1715 the Albazinian community became an important object of inﬂuence on the part of Russia’s authorities: the priests contributed to the fact that Russian residents in Beijing maintained Orthodox faith and good will toward their former homeland.