B. N. Shepunov and the confrontation among the Russian political emigration in Manchukuo in the 1930s and early 1940s

The article examines the problem of political struggle among the Russian emigration in Manchuria in the 1930s and early 1940s on the example of the activities of B. N. Shepunov, the leader of one of the regional emigrant groups in Manchukuo. The basis of the documentary was a set of unpublished materials, which are mainly biographical in nature. The confrontation in the political circles of the Russian emigration to Manchukuo, caused by ideological differences and membership in competing political organizations in the 1920s, practically did not weaken even after the liquidation of political groups disloyal to the Japanese and the creation of a single administrative body (Bureau for Russian Emigration), designed to unite all emigrants. This confrontation, led by ambitious leaders of individual groups, took on ugly forms under the repressive regime in Manchukuo, combining forceful pressure, mutual denunciation and political provocations. Japanese military and administrative circles, which were not consolidated themselves, were drawn into the internal emigrant struggle at the suggestion of various Russian groups and lost the ability to effectively control the conflict among political emigration.