In the mid - late 17th century, the borders of Russia and the Qing Empire converged. Numerous skirmishes between Russian Cossacks and Manchu cavalry often ended with the capture of Russians and their sending to Beijing (most of them were defenders of the border fortress of Albazin, hence the name "Albazins"), where they were assigned to serve in a specially created "Russian company" of the Manchu army. Our compatriots were used to carry out military and diplomatic actions on the border and perform internal garrison service in Beijing. Some of them were engaged in translation and teaching activities. After the establishment of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing in 1715, the Albazin community became an important object of influence of the Russian authorities: through the efforts of clergymen, the Orthodox faith and good attitude towards their former fatherland were maintained among Russians in Beijing. Keywords: Albazins, Russian diaspora in Beijing, Russian-Chinese border conflict, Russian spiritual mission. In the first half - third quarter of the XVII century. Russia pursued an active policy of developing the Far Eastern borders. By the 80s of the 17th century, the upper reaches of the Amur River had become the domain of Russia, where the main settlements were Albazin and villages located along the banks of the Amur River; seven other forts were built on the lands adjacent to the river1. In 1684, Moscow decided to create the Albazin voivodeship: Albazin received a coat of arms (an eagle with outstretched wings, with a bow in the left paw and an arrow in the right) and reinforcements in the form of a regiment of Cossacks. Alexey Tolbuzin was appointed voivode (for more information on the development of the Amur and Primorye regions by the Russians, see, for example: [Alekseev and Melikhov, 1984, pp. 57-71; Foreign policy of the state of Qing..., 1977, pp. 266-269; International relations in the Far East, 1973, pp. 26-28, 30-32; Melikhov, 1974, pp. 55-73; ... Read more