Chinese Eastern Railway electoral district (Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917)
The Chinese Eastern Railway electoral district was a constituency created for the 1917 Russian Constituent Assembly election. It covered the territory controlled by the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), including the cities of Harbin, Manchuria Station, and other settlements along the railway line. This area was under Russian administration despite being located within Chinese territory.
The election in this district was complicated by the presence of a diverse population, including Russian railway workers, merchants, and other expatriates, as well as a significant number of Chinese laborers and residents who were not eligible to vote. Political organizations representing various socialist factions, liberals, and even pro-monarchist groups campaigned in the district. However, the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs) were generally considered to be the strongest political force among the Russian population in the CER zone.
The results of the election in the Chinese Eastern Railway electoral district are not fully documented and remain a subject of historical debate. Information about specific candidates, vote totals, and party representation is fragmented and often contradictory across different sources. This is partly due to the remoteness of the area, logistical challenges in conducting the election, and the subsequent political turmoil following the Bolshevik Revolution. The assembly itself was dissolved in January 1918, shortly after convening.
Despite the incomplete nature of the data, it is generally accepted that the SRs likely won a significant plurality of the votes in the Chinese Eastern Railway electoral district, reflecting their strength among the Russian population. However, the exact composition of the delegation from the district to the Constituent Assembly is difficult to ascertain with precision. The Chinese Eastern Railway electoral district represents a unique case in the Russian Constituent Assembly elections, as it was a foreign territory under Russian control with its own particular political dynamics.