Nicholas their intention to support themselves, independent of Russia. As Russia has its national church they wished to have also their Japanese National Church. Little has been written concerning the work of the Russians in Japan; even in Russia almost nothing has been published. According to one Protestant reckoning, the Orthodox church numbered 30,166 baptized Christians; according to another only 13,000 (the last figure denotes perhaps practicing members). There were 37 native priests and 139 catechists. Expenses for church and evangelization in 1907 amounted to 55,279 yen; contributions of Christians, 10,711 yen; Churches or places of preaching, 265. Among the Russians, as among Protestants, and everywhere throughout Japan, the tendency was toward independence. Russian Revolution After the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, about 2,000,000 Russian refugees who did not accept the Bolshevik rule entered mostly the United States and Europe. Some of them settled in the Home Islands of Japan. Traditionally these refugees have been known as White Russians, with the corresponding Japanese term being Hakkei-Roshiajin, a term which has been applied to all former residents of the former Russian Empire. Initially the majority of Russians lived in Tokyo and Yokohama. After the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923 a significant number of them moved to Kobe. A white émigré family is depicted in the novel The Makioka Sisters by famed Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki. Modern times As of 2005, the statistics of Japanese government reported 37,000 Russians enter Japan yearly on average, not counting temporary landing permits of seamen and tourists. The number of Russians that stay in Japan longer than 90 days (the maximal duration of a temporary visa in Japan) is about 6,000. The Russian Embassy School in Tokyo serves Russian diplomat families in Tokyo. Notable individuals Victor Starffin Kaori Kawamura Anna Murashige Kento Masuda Nicholas of Japan Fictional people Victor Nikiforov and Yuri Plisetsky, two Russian characters from Yuri on Ice Simon Brezhnev and Vorona from Durarara!! Erast Fandorin, from Boris Akunin's novels, described as the Russian Vice-Consul in Yokohama. Lev Haiba, a half-Russian, half-Japanese character from Haikyu!! Anastasia from The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls See also Nikolay Rezanov, the first Russian ambassador in Japan Japanese language education in Russia Ethnic groups of Japan References Citations Sources Sawada Kazuhiko, Nihon ni okeru hakkei-Roshia-jin no bunka-teki eikyo (Cultural impact of White Russians in Japan), in Naganawa Mitsuo and Sawada Kazuhiko, eds., Ikyo ni ikiru — Rai-Nichi Roshia-jin no