How do you or other minorities in China view the Uyghur or Tebetan people?
I cannot speak for others, nor do I speak as a representative of all minorities in China, but personally I wish that they would accept becoming a minority within the Chinese nation. I hold the same view towards Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, I also understand why they want to be independent, I simply don't support it.
are you and other Russian Chinese people perfectly bilingual
This varies greatly, generally by how far removed from Russia one is. Mother, for example, speaks fluent, though outdated Russian, which she picked up from her parents while growing up. I, on the other hand, cannot speak a word of Russian, as mother never spoke Russian at home.
Did the community treat your family differently?
To an extant. The first interaction we have with new people is usually to dispel the idea that we are tourists from America. Once we explain that we are Russian minorities, they treat us more or less the same. Not identical, mind you, as we are not Han. They're not going to ignore the fact that we are Russian, in the American "color blind" style. But they do not treat us poorly for being Russian. Simply different. Because we are different.
Were they at all intrigued by your ethnic background
They were indeed intrigued. I imagine it's similar to if a child in an American school is a full blooded native American. They are "American", but are also very rare and thus interesting.
Also, throughout this topic I have not mentioned my father. His heritage is a whole another can of worms that I don't want to get into right now, but suffice to say he is a "non-Chinese white man", which also affected how the community saw us.
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