The Shanghai Russians, a sizable part of the Russian diaspora, flourished in Shanghai, China between the World Wars. By 1937 an estimated up to 25,000 Russians lived in the city; they formed the largest European group there by far. Most of them had come from the Russian Far East, where, with the support of the Japanese, the Whites had maintained a presence as late as the autumn of 1922.

Shanghai is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of China. The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. The population of the city proper is the third largest in the world, with around 29.2 million inhabitants in 2023, while the urban area is the most populous in China, with 39.3 million residents. As of 2022, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of nearly 13 trillion RMB. Shanghai is one of the world's major centers for finance, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, tourism, and culture. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.