Russian emigrants of 1917. What happened to the Russians from the first wave of emigration. God was with the children

One of the most complex and intractable problems in Russian history was, is and remains emigration. Despite its apparent simplicity and regularity as a social phenomenon (every person is given the right to freely choose his place of residence), emigration often becomes a hostage to certain processes of a political, economic, spiritual or other nature, thereby losing its simplicity and independence. The revolution of 1917, the subsequent civil war and the reconstruction of the system of Russian society not only stimulated the process of Russian emigration, but also left their indelible mark on it, giving it a politicized character. Thus, for the first time in history the concept “ white emigration", which had a clearly expressed ideological orientation. At the same time, they ignored the fact that out of 4.5 million Russians who, willingly or unwillingly, found themselves abroad, only about 150 thousand became involved in so-called anti-Soviet activities. But the stigma attached to emigrants at that time—“enemies of the people”—remained common to all of them for many years. The same can be said about the 1.5 million Russians (not counting citizens of other nationalities) who found themselves abroad during the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. There were, of course, among them accomplices of the fascist occupiers, and deserters who fled abroad to escape just retribution, and other kinds of renegades, but the bulk of them still consisted of people who languished in German concentration camps and were taken to Germany as free labor force. But the word - “traitors” - was the same for all of them
After the revolution of 1917, the constant interference of the party in matters of art, the ban on freedom of speech and press, and the persecution of the old intelligentsia led to the mass emigration of representatives, primarily of the Russian emigration. This was most clearly noticeable in the example of a culture that was divided into three camps. The first consisted of those who turned out to accept the revolution and went abroad. The second consisted of those who accepted socialism and glorified the revolution, thus acting as “singers” of the new government. The third included those who were wavering: they either emigrated or returned to their homeland, convinced that a true artist could not create in isolation from his people. Their fate was different: some were able to adapt and survive under Soviet rule; others, like A. Kuprin, who lived in exile from 1919 to 1937, returned to die a natural death in their homeland; still others committed suicide; finally, the fourth were repressed.

In the first camp were cultural figures who formed the core of the so-called first wave of emigration. The first wave of Russian emigration is the most massive and significant in terms of its contribution to world culture of the 20th century. In 1918-1922, more than 2.5 million people left Russia - people from all classes and estates: the clan nobility, government and other service people, the petty and large bourgeoisie, the clergy, the intelligentsia, - representatives of all art schools and movements (symbolists and acmeists , Cubists and Futurists). Artists who emigrated in the first wave of emigration are usually classified as Russian diaspora. Russian abroad is a literary, artistic, philosophical and cultural movement in Russian culture of the 20s-40s, developed by emigration figures in European countries and directed against official Soviet art, ideology and politics.
The problems of Russian emigration have been considered by many historians to one degree or another. However, greatest number research appeared only in last years after the crash totalitarian regime in the USSR, when there was a change in the very view of the causes and role of Russian emigration.
Especially many books and albums began to appear on the history of Russian emigration, in which photographic material either constitutes the main content or is an important addition to the text. Particularly noteworthy is the brilliant work of Alexander Vasiliev, “Beauty in Exile,” dedicated to the art and fashion of the first wave of Russian emigration and containing more than 800 (!) photographs, the vast majority of which are unique archival material. However, with all the value of the listed publications, it should be recognized that their illustrative part reveals only one or two aspects of the life and activities of the Russian emigration. And a special place in this series is occupied by the luxurious album “Russian Emigration in Photographs. France, 1917-1947". This is essentially the first attempt, and undoubtedly a successful one, to compile a visible chronicle of the life of the Russian emigration. 240 photographs, arranged in chronological and thematic order, cover almost all areas of cultural and social life of Russians in France during the period between the two world wars. The most important of these areas, as we see it, are the following: Volunteer army in exile, children's and youth organizations, charitable activities, the Russian Church and the RSHD, writers, artists, Russian ballet, theater and cinema.
At the same time, it should be noted that there is a fairly small number of scientific and historical studies devoted to the problems of Russian emigration. In this regard, one cannot help but highlight the work “The Fates of Russian Immigrants of the Second Wave in America.” In addition, it should be noted the work of Russian immigrants themselves, mainly of the first wave, who examined these processes. Of particular interest in this regard is the work of Professor G.N. Pio-Ulsky (1938) “Russian emigration and its significance in the cultural life of other peoples”.

1. REASONS AND FATE OF EMIGRATION AFTER THE REVOLUTION OF 1917

Many prominent representatives of the Russian intelligentsia greeted the proletarian revolution in full bloom of their creative powers. Some of them very soon realized that in the new conditions, Russian cultural traditions would either be trampled upon or brought under the control of the new government. Valuing creative freedom above all else, they chose the lot of emigrants.
In the Czech Republic, Germany, and France, they found jobs as drivers, waiters, dishwashers, and musicians in small restaurants, continuing to consider themselves bearers of the great Russian culture. The specialization of cultural centers of Russian emigration gradually emerged; Berlin was a publishing center, Prague a scientific center, Paris a literary center.
It should be noted that the paths of Russian emigration were different. Some did not immediately accept Soviet power and went abroad. Others were either forcibly expelled.
The old intelligentsia, who did not accept the ideology of Bolshevism, but also did not take an active part in political activities, came under the harsh pressure of the punitive authorities. In 1921, over 200 people were arrested in the case of the so-called Petrograd organization, which was preparing a “coup.” A group of famous scientists and cultural figures was announced as its active participants. 61 people were shot, among them the chemist M. M. Tikhvinsky, the poet N. Gumilyov.

In 1922, on the instructions of V. Lenin, preparations began for the deportation of representatives of the old Russian intelligentsia abroad. In the summer, up to 200 people were arrested in Russian cities. - economists, mathematicians, philosophers, historians, etc. Among those arrested were stars of the first magnitude not only in domestic but also in world science - philosophers N. Berdyaev, S. Frank, N. Lossky, etc.; rectors of Moscow and St. Petersburg universities: zoologist M. Novikov, philosopher L. Karsavin, mathematician V. V. Stratonov, sociologist P. Sorokin, historians A. Kiesewetter, A. Bogolepov and others. The decision to expel was made without trial.

Russians ended up abroad not because they dreamed of wealth and fame. They are abroad because their ancestors, grandfathers and grandmothers could not agree with the experiment that was carried out on the Russian people, the persecution of everything Russian and the destruction of the Church. We must not forget that in the first days of the revolution the word “Russia” was banned and a new “international” society was being built.
So emigrants were always against the authorities in their homeland, but they always passionately loved their homeland and fatherland and dreamed of returning there. They preserved the Russian flag and the truth about Russia. Truly Russian literature, poetry, philosophy and faith continued to live in Foreign Rus'. Everyone’s main goal was to “bring a candle to the homeland,” to preserve Russian culture and the uncorrupted Russian Orthodox faith for a future free Russia.
Russians abroad believe that Russia is approximately the same territory that was called Russia before the revolution. Before the revolution, Russians were divided by dialect into Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians. They all considered themselves Russians. Not only they, but also other nationalities also considered themselves Russian. For example, a Tatar said: I am a Tatar, but I am Russian. There are many such cases among the emigration to this day, and they all consider themselves Russian. In addition, Serbian, German, Swedish and other non-Russian surnames are often found among the emigration. These are all descendants of foreigners who came to Russia, became Russified and consider themselves Russian. They all love Russia, Russians, Russian culture and the Orthodox faith.
Emigrant life is basically pre-revolutionary Russian Orthodox life. The emigration does not celebrate November 7th, but organizes mourning meetings “Days of Intransigence” and serves memorial services for the repose of millions dead people. May 1st and March 8th are unknown to anyone. Their holiday of holidays is Easter, the Holy Resurrection of Christ. In addition to Easter, Christmas, Ascension, Trinity are celebrated and fasting is observed. A Christmas tree with Santa Claus and gifts is arranged for children and in no case Christmas tree. Congratulations are given on the “Resurrection of Christ” (Easter) and on the “Nativity of Christ and the New Year”, and not just on the “New Year”. Before Great Lent, Maslenitsa is held and pancakes are eaten. At Easter they bake Easter cakes and prepare cheese Easter. Angel Day is celebrated, but birthdays are almost not. New Year is considered not a Russian holiday. They have icons everywhere in their houses, they consecrate their houses and at Epiphany the priest goes with holy water and blesses the houses, they also often carry a miraculous icon. They are good family men, have few divorces, good workers, their children study well, and their morality is high. In many families, a prayer is sung before and after meals.
As a result of emigration, approximately 500 prominent scientists ended up abroad, heading departments and entire scientific directions(S. N. Vinogradsky, V. K. Agafonov, K. N. Davydov, P. A. Sorokin, etc.). The list of literary and artistic figures who left is impressive (F. I. Shalyapin, S. V. Rachmaninov, K. A. Korovin, Yu. P. Annenkov, I. A. Bunin, etc.). Such a brain drain could not but lead to a serious decline in the spiritual potential of Russian culture. In literary countries abroad, experts distinguish two groups of writers - those who formed as creative personalities before emigration, in Russia, and those who gained fame abroad. The first includes the most prominent Russian writers and poets L. Andreev, K. Balmont, I. Bunin, Z. Gippius, B. Zaitsev, A. Kuprin, D. Merezhkovsky, A. Remizov, I. Shmelev, V. Khodasevich, M. Tsvetaeva, Sasha Cherny. The second group consisted of writers who published nothing or almost nothing in Russia, but only fully matured outside its borders. These are V. Nabokov, V. Varshavsky, G. Gazdanov, A. Ginger, B. Poplavsky. The most outstanding among them was V.V. Nabokov. Not only writers, but also outstanding Russian philosophers ended up in exile; N. Berdyaev, S. Bulgakov, S. Frank, A. Izgoev, P. Struve, N. Lossky and others.
During 1921-1952 More than 170 periodicals were published abroad in Russian, mainly on history, law, philosophy and culture.
The most productive and popular thinker in Europe was N. A. Berdyaev (1874-1948), who had a huge influence on the development of European philosophy. In Berlin, Berdyaev organized the Religious and Philosophical Academy, participated in the creation of the Russian Scientific Institute, and contributed to the formation of the Russian Student Christian Movement (RSCM). In 1924 he moved to France, where he became the editor of the magazine “Path” (1925-1940), the most important philosophical organ of the Russian emigration, which he founded. Wide European fame allowed Berdyaev to fulfill a very specific role - to serve as a mediator between Russian and Western cultures. He met leading Western thinkers (M. Scheler, Keyserling, J. Maritain, G. O. Marcel, L. Lavelle, etc.), organized interfaith meetings of Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians (1926-1928), and regular interviews with Catholic philosophers (30s), participates in philosophical meetings and congresses. Through his books, the Western intelligentsia became acquainted with Russian Marxism and Russian culture.

But, probably, one of the most prominent representatives of the Russian emigration was Pitirim Aleksandrovich Sorokin (1889-1968), who is known to many as a prominent sociologist. But he also acted (albeit for a short time) as a political figure. After the overthrow of the autocracy, his active participation in the revolutionary movement led him to the post of secretary of the head of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky. This happened in June 1917, and by October P.A. Sorokin was already a prominent member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party.
He greeted the Bolsheviks' rise to power almost with despair. P. Sorokin responded to the October events with a number of articles in the newspaper “The Will of the People,” of which he was the editor, and was not afraid to sign them with his name. In these articles, written largely under the influence of rumors about the atrocities committed during the storming of the Winter Palace, the new rulers of Russia were characterized as murderers, rapists and robbers. However, Sorokin, like other socialist revolutionaries, does not lose hope that the power of the Bolsheviks will not last long. Just a few days after October, he noted in his diary that “the working people are in the first stage of sobering up; the Bolshevik paradise is beginning to fade.” And the events that happened to him seemed to confirm this conclusion: workers saved him from arrest several times. All this gave hope that power could soon be taken away from the Bolsheviks with the help of the Constituent Assembly.
However, this did not happen. One of the lectures “On the Current Moment” was given by P.A. Sorokin in Yarensk on June 13, 1918. First of all, Sorokin announced to the audience that “in his deep conviction, after carefully studying the psychology and spiritual growth of his people, it was clear to him that nothing good would happen if the Bolsheviks came to power ... our people have not yet passed that stage of development of the human spirit. the stage of patriotism, consciousness of the unity of the nation and the power of one’s people, without which one cannot enter the doors of socialism.” However, “with the inexorable course of history, this suffering... has become inevitable.” Now,” Sorokin continued, “we see and feel for ourselves that the tempting slogans of the October 25 revolution have not only not been implemented, but have been completely trampled upon, and we have even lost them politically”; freedoms and conquests that were previously enjoyed.” The promised socialization of the land is not being carried out, the state is torn to shreds, the Bolsheviks “entered into relations with the German bourgeoisie, which is robbing an already poor country.”
P.A. Sorokin predicted that the continuation of such a policy would lead to civil war: “The promised bread was not only not given, but by the last decree must be taken by force by armed workers from the half-starved peasant. The workers know that such grain extraction will finally separate the peasants from the workers and will start a war between the two working classes against each other.” Somewhat earlier, Sorokin emotionally noted in his diary: “The year 17 gave us the Revolution, but what did it bring to my country other than destruction and shame. The revealed face of the revolution is the face of a beast, a vicious and sinful prostitute, and not the pure face of a goddess, which was painted by historians of other revolutions.”

However, despite the disappointment that at that moment gripped many political figures who were waiting and approaching the seventeenth year in Russia. Pitirim Aleksandrovich believed that the situation was not at all hopeless, because “we have reached a state that cannot be worse, and we must think that it will be better in the future.” He tried to reinforce this shaky foundation of his optimism with hopes of help from Russia’s Entente allies.
Activities of P.A. Sorokina did not go unnoticed. When the power of the Bolsheviks in the north of Russia was consolidated, Sorokin at the end of June 1918 decided to join N.V. Tchaikovsky, the future head of the White Guard government in Arkhangelsk. But, before reaching Arkhangelsk, Pitirim Aleksandrovich returned to Veliky Ustyug to prepare there for the overthrow of the local Bolshevik government. However, the anti-communist groups in Veliky Ustyug did not have enough strength for this action. And Sorokin and his comrades found themselves in a difficult situation - security officers were on his heels and were arrested. In prison, Sorokin wrote a letter to the North-Dvina provincial executive committee, where he announced his resignation as a deputy, leaving the Socialist Revolutionary Party and his intention to devote himself to work in the field of science and public education. In December 1918 P.A. Sorokin was released from prison, and he never returned to active political activity. In December 1918, he again began teaching in Petrograd, in September 1922 he went to Berlin, and a year later he moved to the USA and never returned to Russia.

2. IDEOLOGICAL THOUGHT OF “RUSSIAN ABROAD”

The First World War and the revolution in Russia immediately found deep reflection in cultural thought. The most vivid and at the same time optimistic understanding of the new era that has come historical development culture became the ideas of the so-called “Eurasians”. The largest figures among them were: philosopher and theologian G.V. Florovsky, historian G.V. Vernadsky, linguist and cultural scientist N.S. Trubetskoy, geographer and political scientist P.N. Savitsky, publicist V.P. Suvchinsky, lawyer and philosopher L.P. Karsavin. The Eurasians had the courage to tell their compatriots expelled from Russia that the revolution was not absurd, not the end of Russian history, but a new page full of tragedy. The response to such words was accusations of collaborating with the Bolsheviks and even collaborating with the OGPU.

However, we are dealing with an ideological movement that was in connection with Slavophilism, pochvennichestvo and especially with the Pushkin tradition in Russian social thought, represented by the names of Gogol, Tyutchev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Leontyev, with an ideological movement that was preparing a new, updated view of Russia, its history and culture. First of all, the formula “East - West - Russia” developed in the philosophy of history was rethought. Based on the fact that Eurasia represents that endowed natural boundaries geographical area, which in a spontaneous historical process was ultimately destined to be mastered by the Russian people - the heir of the Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths, Huns, Avars, Khazars, Kama Bulgarians and Mongols. G.V. Vernadsky said that the history of the spread of the Russian state is, to a large extent, the history of the adaptation of the Russian people to their place of development - Eurasia, as well as the adaptation of the entire space of Eurasia to the economic and historical needs of the Russian people.
G. V. Florovsky, who left the Eurasian movement, argued that the fate of Eurasianism is a story of spiritual failure. This path leads nowhere. We need to go back to the starting point. The will and taste for the accomplished revolution, love and faith in the elements, in the organic laws of natural growth, the idea of ​​history as a powerful force process blinds Eurasians to the fact that history is creativity and feat, and that what has happened and accomplished must be accepted only as a sign and judgment God as a formidable call to human freedom.

The theme of freedom is the main one in the work of N. A. Berdyaev, the most famous representative of Russian philosophical and cultural thought in the West. If liberalism is at its core general definition- is the ideology of freedom, then it can be argued that the work and worldview of this Russian thinker, at least in his “Philosophy of Freedom” (1911), clearly acquires a Christian-liberal overtones. From Marxism (with which he began his passion) creative path) his worldview retained a belief in progress and a Eurocentric orientation that was never overcome. A powerful Hegelian layer is also present in his cultural constructs.
If, according to Hegel, movement world history is carried out by the forces of individual peoples, affirming in their spiritual culture (in principle and idea) various aspects or moments of the world spirit in an absolute idea, then Berdyaev, criticizing the concept of “international civilization,” believed that there is only one historical path to achieving the highest inhumanity, towards the unity of humanity - the path of national growth and development, national creativity. All humanity does not exist on its own; it is revealed only in the images of individual nationalities. At the same time, the nationality and culture of the people are conceived not as a “mechanical shapeless mass”, but as an integral spiritual “organism”. The political aspect of the cultural and historical life of peoples is revealed by Berdyaev with the formula “one - many - all,” in which Hegelian despotism, republic and monarchy are replaced by autocratic, liberal and socialist states. From Chicherin, Berdyaev borrowed the idea of ​​“organic” and “critical” eras in the development of culture.
The “intelligible image” of Russia, which Berdyaev strived for in his historian-cultural reflection, received complete expression in “The Russian Idea” (1946). The Russian people are characterized in it as a “highly polarized people”, as a combination of the opposites of statism and anarchy, despotism and freedom, cruelty and kindness, the search for God and militant atheism. Berdyaev explains the inconsistency and complexity of the “Russian soul” (and the Russian culture that grows from this) by the fact that in Russia two streams of world history collide and come into interaction - East and West. The Russian people are not purely European, but they are not Asian people either. Russian culture connects two worlds. It is the “huge East-West”. Due to the struggle between Western and Eastern principles, the Russian cultural and historical process reveals a moment of intermittency and even catastrophism. Russian culture has already left behind five independent periods-images (Kiev, Tatar, Moscow, Peter the Great and Soviet) and, perhaps, the thinker believed, “there will be a new Russia.”
In G. P. Fedotov’s work “Russia and Freedom,” created simultaneously with Berdyaev’s “Russian Idea,” the question of the fate of freedom in Russia, posed in a cultural context, is discussed. The answer to it can be obtained, according to the author, only after clarifying whether Russia “belongs to the circle of peoples of Western culture” or to the East (and if to the East, then in what sense)? The thinker believes that Russia knew the East in two guises: “filthy” (pagan) and Orthodox (Christian). At the same time, Russian culture was created on the periphery of two cultural worlds: East and West. Relations with them in the thousand-year cultural and historical tradition of Russia have taken four main forms.

Kiev Russia freely accepted the cultural influences of Byzantium, the West and the East. Time Mongol yoke- a time of artificial isolation of Russian culture, a time of painful choice between the West (Lithuania) and the East (Horde). Russian culture in the era of the Muscovite kingdom was significantly connected with socio-political relations of the eastern type (although already from the 17th century there was a clear rapprochement between Russia and the West). A new era comes into its own in the historical period from Peter I to the revolution. It represents the triumph of Western civilization on Russian soil. However, the antagonism between the nobility and the people, the gap between them in the field of culture, predetermined, Fedotov believes, the failure of Europeanization and the liberation movement. Already in the 60s. In the 19th century, when the decisive step in the social and spiritual emancipation of Russia was taken, the most energetic part of the Westernizing liberation movement went along the “illiberal channel.” As a result, the entire recent social and cultural development of Russia has appeared as a “dangerous race at speed”: what will prevent it - liberating Europeanization or the Moscow riot, which will drown and wash away young freedom with a wave of popular anger? The answer is known.
By the middle of the 20th century. Russian philosophical classic, formed in the context of disputes between Westerners and Slavophiles and under the influence of the creative impulse of Vl. Solovyova, has come to its end. A special place in the last segment of classical Russian thought is occupied by I. A. Ilyin. Despite his enormous and deep spiritual heritage, Ilyin is the least known and studied thinker of the Russian diaspora. In the respect that interests us, the most significant is his metaphysical and historical interpretation of the Russian idea.
Ilyin believed that no people had such a burden and such a task as the Russian people. Russian task, which has found comprehensive expression in life and thought, in history and culture, is defined by the thinker as follows: the Russian idea is the idea of ​​the heart. The idea of ​​the contemplative heart. A heart that contemplates freely in an objective manner, transmitting its vision to the will for action and thought for awareness and speech. The general meaning of this idea is that Russia historically took over from Christianity. Namely: in the belief that “God is love.” At the same time, Russian spiritual culture is the product of both the primary forces of the people (heart, contemplation, freedom, conscience), and secondary forces grown on their basis, expressing will, thought, form and organization in culture and in public life. In the religious, artistic, scientific and legal spheres, Ilyin reveals a freely and objectively contemplating Russian heart, i.e. Russian idea.
General view The development of the Russian cultural and historical process was determined by Ilyin’s understanding of the Russian idea as the idea of ​​Orthodox Christianity. The Russian People as a subject of historical life appears in its descriptions (concerning both the initial, prehistoric era, and the processes of state building) in a characteristic quite close to the Slavophile. He lives in conditions of tribal and communal life (with a veche system under the authority of princes). He is the bearer of both centripetal and centrifugal tendencies; his activity reveals a creative, but also destructive principle. At all stages of cultural and historical development, Ilyin is interested in the maturation and establishment of the monarchical principle of power. The post-Petrine era is highly valued, giving a new synthesis of Orthodoxy and secular civilization, strong super-class power and the great reforms of the 60s. XIX century Despite the establishment of the Soviet system, Ilyin believed in the revival of Russia.

The emigration of more than a million former Russian subjects was experienced and interpreted in different ways. Perhaps the most widespread point of view by the end of the 20s was the belief in the special mission of the Russian diaspora, called upon to preserve and develop all the life-giving principles of historical Russia.
The first wave of Russian emigration, having experienced its peak at the turn of the 20s and 30s, came to naught in the 40s. Its representatives proved that Russian culture can exist outside of Russia. The Russian emigration accomplished a real feat - it preserved and enriched the traditions of Russian culture in extremely difficult conditions.
The era of perestroika and reorganization of Russian society, which began in the late 80s, opened a new path in solving the problem of Russian emigration. For the first time in history, Russian citizens were granted the right to freely travel abroad through various channels. Previous estimates of Russian emigration were also revised. At the same time, along with the positive aspects in this direction, some new problems in the matter of emigration have appeared.
When predicting the future of Russian emigration, we can state with sufficient certainty that this process will continue, acquiring new features and forms. For example, in the near future a new “mass emigration” may appear, that is, the departure abroad of entire groups of the population or even nations (like the “Jewish emigration”). The possibility of “reverse emigration” - the return to Russia of persons who previously left the USSR and did not find themselves in the West - cannot be ruled out. The problem with “nearby emigration” may worsen, for which it is also necessary to prepare in advance.
And finally, most importantly, it is necessary to remember that 15 million Russians abroad are our compatriots who share the same Fatherland with us - Russia!

The revolutionary events of 1917 and the subsequent civil war became a disaster for a large part of Russian citizens, who were forced to leave their homeland and find themselves outside its borders. The centuries-old way of life was disrupted, family ties were severed. White emigration is a tragedy. The worst thing was that many did not realize how this could happen. Only the hope of returning to my homeland gave me the strength to live on.

Stages of emigration

The first emigrants, more far-sighted and wealthy, began to leave Russia at the beginning of 1917. They were able to get a good job, having the funds to obtain various documents, permits, and choosing a convenient place of residence. Already by 1919, white emigration was on a massive scale, increasingly resembling flight.

Historians usually divide it into several stages. The beginning of the first is associated with the evacuation in 1920 from Novorossiysk of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia along with its General Staff under the command of A.I. Denikin. The second stage is the evacuation of the army under the command of Baron P. N. Wrangel, which was leaving Crimea. The final third stage - defeat from the Bolsheviks and the shameful flight of the troops of Admiral V.V. Kolchak in 1921 from the territory Far East. The total number of Russian emigrants ranges from 1.4 to 2 million people.

Composition of emigration

The majority of the total number of citizens who left their homeland was military emigration. These were mostly officers, Cossacks. In the first wave alone, an estimated 250 thousand people left Russia. They hoped to return soon, they left for a short time, but it turned out that they left forever. The second wave included officers fleeing Bolshevik persecution, who also hoped for a quick return. It was the military that formed the backbone of the white emigration in Europe.

The following also became emigrants:

• prisoners of war of the First World War who were in Europe;
• employees of embassies and various representative offices Russian Empire who did not want to enter the service of the Bolshevik government;
• nobles;
• civil servants;
• representatives of business, clergy, intelligentsia, and other residents of Russia who did not recognize the power of the Soviets.

Most of them left the country with their entire families.

Initially, the neighboring states that received the main flow of Russian emigration were Turkey, China, Romania, Finland, Poland, and the Baltic countries. They were not ready to receive such a mass of people, most of whom were armed. For the first time in world history, an unprecedented event was observed - the emigration of a country.

Most of the emigrants did not fight against. These were people frightened by the revolution. Realizing this, on November 3, 1921, the Soviet government declared an amnesty for the rank and file of the White Guards. The Soviets had no complaints against those who did not fight. More than 800 thousand people returned to their homeland.

Russian military emigration

Wrangel's army was evacuated on 130 ships various types, both military and civilian. In total, 150 thousand people were taken to Constantinople. The ships with people sat in the roadstead for two weeks. Only after lengthy negotiations with the French occupation command was it decided to place people in three military camps. Thus ended the evacuation of the Russian army from the European part of Russia.

The main location of the evacuated military personnel was determined to be a camp near Gallipoli, which is located on the northern shore of the Dardanelles Strait. The 1st Army Corps was stationed here under the command of General A. Kutepov.

The Don and Kuban soldiers were placed in two other camps, located in Chalataj, near Constantinople and on the island of Lemnos. By the end of 1920, 190 thousand people were included in the lists of the Registration Bureau, of which 60 thousand were military personnel and 130 thousand were civilians.

Gallipoli seat

The most famous camp for A. Kutepov’s 1st Army Corps evacuated from Crimea was located in Gallipoli. In total, over 25 thousand military personnel, 362 officials and 142 doctors and orderlies were stationed here. In addition to them, there were 1,444 women, 244 children and 90 pupils in the camp - boys from 10 to 12 years old.

The Gallipoli sitting went down in the history of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. The living conditions were terrible. Army officers and soldiers, as well as women and children, were housed in the old barracks. These buildings were completely unsuitable for winter living. Diseases began, which weakened, half-naked people endured with difficulty. During the first months of residence, 250 people died.

In addition to physical suffering, people experienced mental anguish. The officers who led regiments into battle, commanded batteries, and soldiers who fought through the First World War were in the humiliating position of refugees on foreign, deserted shores. Having no normal clothes, being left without a means of subsistence, not knowing the language, and having no other profession other than the military, they felt like homeless children.

Thanks to the general of the White Army A. Kutepov, further demoralization of people who found themselves in unbearable conditions did not occur. He understood that only discipline and the daily work of his subordinates could protect them from moral decay. Military training began and parades were held. The bearing and appearance of the Russian military increasingly surprised the French delegations visiting the camp.

Concerts, competitions were held, newspapers were published. Military schools were organized, in which 1,400 cadets trained, there was a fencing school, a theater studio, two theaters, choreographic clubs, a gymnasium, kindergarten and much more. 8 churches held services. There were 3 guardhouses for violators of discipline. The local population treated the Russians with sympathy.

In August 1921, the export of emigrants to Serbia and Bulgaria began. It continued until December. The remaining military personnel were stationed in the city. The last "Gallipoli prisoners" were transported in 1923. The local population has the warmest memories of the Russian military.

Creation of the "Russian All-Military Union"

The humiliating position in which the white emigration found itself, in particular the combat-ready army, consisting of practically officers, could not leave the command indifferent. All efforts of Baron Wrangel and his staff were aimed at preserving the army as a combat unit. They faced three main tasks:

• Obtain material assistance from the Allied Entente.
• Prevent the disarmament of the army.
• At the very short term reorganize it, strengthen discipline and strengthen morale.

In the spring of 1921, he appealed to the governments of the Slavic states - Yugoslavia and Bulgaria with a request to allow the deployment of an army on their territory. To which a positive response was received with a promise of maintenance at the expense of the treasury, with the payment of small salaries and rations to the officers, with the provision of contracts for work. In August, the removal of military personnel from Turkey began.

On September 1, 1924, an important event took place in the history of white emigration - Wrangel signed an order to create the “Russian All-Military Union” (EMRO). Its purpose was to unite and unite all units, military societies and alliances. Which was done.

He, as chairman of the union, became commander-in-chief, and his headquarters took over the leadership of the EMRO. It was an emigrant organization that became the successor to the Russian one. Wrangel’s main task was to preserve old military personnel and train new ones. But, sadly, it was from these personnel that the Russian Corps was formed during the Second World War, fighting against Tito’s partisans and the Soviet army.

Russian Cossacks in exile

Cossacks were also taken from Turkey to the Balkans. They settled, as in Russia - in villages, headed by village boards with atamans. The “United Council of Don, Kuban and Terek” was created, as well as the “Cossack Union”, to which all the villages were subordinated. The Cossacks led a familiar way of life, worked on the land, but did not feel like real Cossacks - the support of the Tsar and the Fatherland.

Nostalgia for the native land - the rich black soils of the Kuban and Don, for the families left behind, for the usual way of life, did not give rest. Therefore, many began to leave in search of a better life or return to their homeland. There remained those who were not forgiven in their homeland for the brutal massacres committed and for their fierce resistance to the Bolsheviks.

Most of the villages were located in Yugoslavia. The Belgrade village was famous and initially numerous. Various Cossacks lived in it, and it bore the name of Ataman P. Krasnov. It was founded after returning from Turkey, and over 200 people lived here. By the beginning of the 30s, only 80 people remained living in it. Gradually, the villages in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria became part of the EMRO, under the command of Ataman Markov.

Europe and white emigration

The bulk of Russian emigrants fled to Europe. As mentioned above, the countries that received the main flow of refugees were: France, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Greece. After the closure of the camps in Turkey, the bulk of the emigrants concentrated in France, Germany, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia - the center of emigration of the White Guard. These countries have traditionally been associated with Russia.

The emigration centers were Paris, Berlin, Belgrade and Sofia. This happened in part because labor was needed to rebuild countries that had taken part in the First World War. There were more than 200 thousand Russians in Paris. Berlin was in second place. But life made its own adjustments. Many emigrants left Germany for other countries, particularly neighboring Czechoslovakia, due to events taking place in that country. After the economic crisis of 1925, out of 200 thousand Russians, only 30 thousand remained in Berlin; this number was significantly reduced due to the Nazis coming to power.

Instead of Berlin, Prague became the center of Russian emigration. Paris played an important place in the life of Russian communities abroad, where the intelligentsia, the so-called elite and politicians of various stripes flocked. These were mainly emigrants of the first wave, as well as Cossacks of the Don Army. With the outbreak of World War II, most of the European emigration moved to New World- USA and Latin American countries.

Russians in China

Before the Great October Revolution Socialist revolution in Russia, Manchuria was considered its colony, and Russian citizens lived here. Their number was 220 thousand people. They had the status of extraterritoriality, that is, they remained citizens of Russia and were subject to its laws. As the Red Army advanced to the East, the flow of refugees to China increased, and they all rushed to Manchuria, where Russians made up the majority of the population.

If life in Europe was close and understandable to Russians, then life in China, with its characteristic way of life and specific traditions, was far from the understanding and perception of European people. Therefore, the path of a Russian who ended up in China lay in Harbin. By 1920, the number of citizens who left Russia here was more than 288 thousand. Emigration to China, Korea, China-East railway(CER) is also usually divided into three streams:

• First, the fall of the Omsk Directory at the beginning of 1920.
• The second, the defeat of the army of Ataman Semenov in November 1920.
• Third, the establishment of Soviet power in Primorye at the end of 1922.

China, unlike the Entente countries, was not connected with tsarist Russia by any military treaties, therefore, for example, the remnants of Ataman Semenov’s army that crossed the border were first disarmed and deprived of freedom of movement and exit outside the country, that is, they were interned in the Tsitskar camps. After that, they were moved to Primorye, to the Grodekovo region. Border violators, in some cases, were deported back to Russia.

The total number of Russian refugees in China numbered up to 400 thousand people. The abolition of extraterritoriality status in Manchuria overnight turned thousands of Russians into simple migrants. Nevertheless, people continued to live. A university, a seminary, and 6 institutes were opened in Harbin, which are still in operation today. But the Russian population tried with all its might to leave China. More than 100 thousand returned to Russia, large flows of refugees flocked to Australia, New Zealand, and the countries of South and North America.

Political intrigue

The history of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century is full of tragedy and incredible upheavals. More than two million people found themselves outside their homeland. For the most part, it was the flower of the nation, which could not understand its own people. General Wrangel did a lot for his subordinates outside the homeland. He managed to maintain a combat-ready army and organized military schools. But he failed to understand that an army without a people, without a soldier, is not an army. You can't fight your own country.

Meanwhile, a serious campaign flared up around Wrangel’s army, with the goal of involving it in the political struggle. On the one hand, the leadership of the white movement was put under pressure by left-wing liberals led by P. Milyukov and A. Kerensky. On the other side are the right-wing monarchists led by N. Markov.

The left was completely defeated in attracting the general to their side and took revenge on him by beginning to split the white movement, cutting off the Cossacks from the army. Having sufficient experience in “undercover games”, they, using means mass media, managed to convince the governments of the countries where the emigrants were located to stop funding the White Army. They also achieved the transfer to them of the right to dispose of the assets of the Russian Empire abroad.

This had a sad effect on the White Army. The governments of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, due to economic reasons, delayed payment of contracts for work performed by officers, which left them without a livelihood. The General issues an Order in which he transfers the army to self-sufficiency and allows unions and large groups of military personnel to independently enter into contracts with a portion of their earnings being transferred to the EMRO.

White movement and monarchism

Realizing that most of the officers were disappointed in the monarchy due to defeat at the fronts civil war, General Wrangel decided to bring the grandson of Nicholas I to the side of the army. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich enjoyed great respect and influence among emigrants. He deeply shared the general’s views on the White movement and not involving the army in political games and agreed to his proposal. On November 14, 1924, the Grand Duke in his letter agreed to lead the White Army.

The situation of emigrants

On December 15, 1921, Soviet Russia adopted a Decree in which most of the emigrants lost their Russian citizenship. Remaining abroad, they found themselves stateless - stateless persons, deprived of certain civil and political rights. Their rights were protected by consulates and embassies Tsarist Russia, who continued to work on the territory of other states until Soviet Russia was recognized in the international arena. From that moment on, there was no one to protect them.

The League of Nations came to the rescue. The League Council created the position of High Commissioner for Russian Refugees. It was occupied by F. Nansen, under whom in 1922 passports began to be issued to emigrants from Russia, which became known as Nansen passports. With these documents, the children of some emigrants lived until the 21st century and were able to obtain Russian citizenship.

Life for the emigrants was not easy. Many sank, unable to withstand difficult trials. But the majority, preserving the memory of Russia, built new life. People learned to live in a new way, worked, raised children, believed in God and hoped that someday they would return to their homeland.

In 1933 alone, 12 countries signed the Convention on the Legal Rights of Russian and Armenian Refugees. They were equal in fundamental rights to the local residents of the states that signed the Convention. They could freely enter and leave the country, receive social assistance, work and much more. This made it possible for many Russian emigrants to move to America.

Russian emigration and the Second World War

Defeat in the civil war, hardships and hardships in emigration left their mark on people's minds. It is clear that they had no tender feelings for Soviet Russia and saw it as an implacable enemy. Therefore, many pinned their hopes on Hitler's Germany, which will open the way for them home. But there were also those who saw Germany as an ardent enemy. They lived with love and sympathy for their distant Russia.

The beginning of the war and the subsequent invasion of Hitler's troops into the territory of the USSR divided the emigrant world into two parts. Moreover, as many researchers believe, they are unequal. The majority greeted Germany's aggression against Russia with enthusiasm. White Guard officers served in the Russian Corps, ROA, and the Russland division, turning their weapons against their people for the second time.

Many Russian emigrants joined the Resistance movement and desperately fought the Nazis in the occupied territories of Europe, believing that by doing this they were helping their distant homeland. They died, died in concentration camps, but did not give up, they believed in Russia. For us they will forever remain heroes.

The main reasons for leaving the Motherland, stages and directions of the “first wave” of Russian emigration; attitude towards emigration as a “temporary evacuation”;

Mass emigration of Russian citizens began immediately after the October Revolution of 1917 and continued intensively to various countries until 1921-1922. It is from this moment that the number of emigration remains approximately constant in general, but its share in different countries is constantly changing, which is explained by internal migration in search of education and better material living conditions.

The process of integration and socio-cultural adaptation of Russian refugees in various social conditions of European countries and China went through several stages and was basically completed by 1939, when the majority of emigrants no longer had the prospect of returning to their homeland. The main centers of dispersion of Russian emigration were Constantinople, Sofia, Prague, Berlin, Paris, Harbin. The first place of refugee was Constantinople - the center of Russian culture in the early 1920s. In the early 1920s, Berlin became the literary capital of Russian emigration. The Russian diaspora in Berlin before Hitler came to power amounted to 150 thousand people. When the hope for a quick return to Russia began to fade and an economic crisis began in Germany, the center of emigration moved to Paris, from the mid-1920s - the capital of the Russian diaspora. By 1923, 300 thousand Russian refugees settled in Paris. Eastern centers of dispersion - Harbin and Shanghai. Scientific Center of Russian Emigration for a long time was Prague. The Russian People's University was founded in Prague, and 5 thousand Russian students studied there for free. Many professors and university teachers also moved here. Important role The Prague Linguistic Circle played a role in the preservation of Slavic culture and the development of science.

The main reasons for the formation of Russian emigration as a stable social phenomenon were: the First World War, Russian revolutions and civil war, the political consequence of which was the redistribution of borders in Europe and, above all, a change in the borders of Russia. The turning point for the formation of emigration was the October Revolution of 1917 and the civil war it caused, which split the country's population into two irreconcilable camps. Formally, legally, this provision was enshrined later: on January 5, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars published a decree of December 15, 1921, depriving certain categories of persons abroad of citizenship rights.

According to the decree, citizenship rights were deprived of persons who had been abroad continuously for more than five years and had not received a passport from the Soviet government before June 1, 1922; persons who left Russia after November 7, 1917 without permission from the Soviet authorities; persons who voluntarily served in armies that fought against Soviet power or participated in counter-revolutionary organizations.

Article 2 of the same decree provided for the possibility of restoring citizenship. In practice, however, this opportunity could not be realized - persons wishing to return to their homeland were required not only to apply for citizenship of the RSFSR or the USSR, but also to accept Soviet ideology.

In addition to this decree, at the end of 1925, the Commissariat of Internal Affairs issued rules on the procedure for returning to the USSR, according to which it was possible to delay the entry of these persons under the pretext of preventing increased unemployment in the country.

Persons intending to return to the USSR immediately after obtaining citizenship or an amnesty were advised to attach to their application documents on the possibility of employment, certifying that the applicant would not join the ranks of the unemployed.

The fundamental feature of Russian post-revolutionary emigration and its difference from similar emigrations of other major European revolutions is its wide social composition, including almost all (and not just previously privileged) social strata.

social composition of Russian emigration; adaptation problems;

Among the people who found themselves outside of Russia by 1922 were representatives of practically classes and estates, ranging from members of the former ruling classes to workers: “people living off their capital, government officials, doctors, scientists, teachers, military men and numerous industrial and agricultural workers, peasants."

Their political views were also heterogeneous, reflecting the entire spectrum political life revolutionary Russia. The social differentiation of Russian emigration is explained by the heterogeneity of those who caused it social reasons and methods of recruitment.

The main factors of this phenomenon were the First World War, the Civil War, the Bolshevik terror and the famine of 1921 - 1922.

Connected with this is the dominant trend in the gender composition of the emigration - the overwhelming preponderance of the male part of the Russian emigration of working age. This circumstance opens up the possibility of interpreting Russian emigration as a natural economic factor of post-war Europe, the possibility of viewing it in the categories of economic sociology (as large-scale migration of labor resources various levels professional qualifications, the so-called “labor emigration”).

Extreme conditions the genesis of Russian emigration determined the specifics of its socio-economic position in the structure Western society. It was characterized, on the one hand, by the cheapness of the labor offered by emigrants, which acted as a competitor to national labor resources) and, on the other, by a potential source of unemployment (since during the economic crisis, emigrants were the first to lose their jobs).

Territories of primary settlement of Russian emigrants, reasons prompting a change of place of residence; cultural and political centers Russian emigration;

The fundamental factor determining the position of emigration as a sociocultural phenomenon is its legal insecurity. The lack of constitutional rights and freedoms among refugees (speech, press, the right to associate in unions and societies, join trade unions, freedom of movement, etc.) did not allow them to defend their position at a high political, legal and institutional level. The difficult economic and legal situation of Russian emigrants made it necessary to create a non-political public organization with the aim of providing social and legal assistance to Russian citizens living abroad. Such an organization for Russian emigrants in Europe was the Russian Zemstvo-City Committee for Assistance to Russian Citizens Abroad (Zemgor), created in Paris in February 1921. The first step taken by the Parisian Zemgor was to influence the French government in order to achieve its refusal to repatriate Russian refugees to Soviet Russia.

Another priority task was the resettlement of Russian refugees from Constantinople to the European countries of Serbia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, which were ready to accept a significant number of emigrants. Realizing the impossibility of simultaneously settling all Russian refugees abroad, Zemgor turned to the League of Nations for help. For this purpose, a Memorandum on the situation of refugees and ways to alleviate their situation was submitted to the League of Nations, drawn up and signed by representatives of 14 Russian refugee organizations in Paris, including Zemgor . Efforts Zemgor's efforts turned out to be effective, especially in the Slavic countries - Serbia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, where many educational institutions (both created in these countries and evacuated there from Constantinople) were taken over by the full budget funding of the governments of these states

The central event that determined the psychological mood and composition of this “cultural emigration” was the infamous expulsion of the intelligentsia in August - September 1922.

The peculiarity of this expulsion was that it was an action of state policy of the new Bolshevik government. The XII Conference of the RCP(b) in August 1922 equated the old intelligentsia, who sought to maintain political neutrality, with “enemies of the people”, with the Cadets. One of the initiators of the expulsion, L.D. Trotsky cynically explained that with this action the Soviet government was saving them from execution. Yes, in fact, such an alternative was announced officially: if you return, you will be shot. Meanwhile, on the list of “social aliens” there is only one S.N. Trubetskoy could have been accused of specific anti-Soviet actions.

The composition of the group of expelled “unreliables” consisted entirely of intellectuals, mainly the intellectual elite of Russia: professors, philosophers, writers, journalists. The authorities' decision was a moral and political slap in the face for them. After all, N.A. Berdyaev has already given lectures, S.L. Frank taught at Moscow University, P.A. was engaged in teaching activities. Florensky, P.A. Sorokin... But it turned out that they were thrown away like unnecessary trash.

the attitude of the Soviet government towards Russian emigration; expulsions abroad; re-emigration process;

Although the Bolshevik government tried to present those expelled as people insignificant for science and culture, emigrant newspapers called this action a “generous gift.” It was truly a “royal gift” for Russian culture abroad. Among the 161 people on the lists of this deportation were the rectors of both capital universities, historians L.P. Karsavin, M.M. Karpovich, philosophers N.A. Berdyaev, S.L. Frank, S.N. Bulgakov, P.A. Florensky, N.O. Lossky, sociologist P.A. Sorokin, publicist M.A. Osorgin and many other prominent figures of Russian culture. Abroad, they became the founders of historical and philosophical schools, modern sociology, and important directions in biology, zoology, and technology. The “generous gift” to the Russian diaspora turned out to be the loss of entire schools and directions for Soviet Russia, primarily in historical science, philosophy, cultural studies, and other humanitarian disciplines.

The expulsion of 1922 was the largest state action of the Bolshevik government against the intelligentsia after the revolution. But not the latest one. The trickle of expulsions, departures and simply flight of the intelligentsia from Soviet Russia dried up only by the end of the 20s, when the “iron curtain” of ideology fell between the new world of the Bolsheviks and the entire culture of the old world.

political and cultural life of the Russian emigration.

Thus, by 1925 - 1927. The composition of “Russia No. 2” was finally formed, and its significant cultural potential was identified. In emigration, the share of professionals and people with higher education exceeded the pre-war level. It was in exile that a community was formed. Former refugees quite consciously and purposefully sought to create a community, establish connections, resist assimilation, and not dissolve into the peoples who sheltered them. The understanding that an important period of Russian history and culture had irrevocably ended came to Russian emigrants quite early.

Preface

Emigration is not a new phenomenon in human history. Large-scale events in the internal and foreign political history of a civilizational nature are always accompanied by migration and emigration processes. For example, the discovery of America was associated with the powerful emigration of Europeans from Great Britain, Spain, Portugal and other countries to the countries of the New World; The colonial wars of the 18th-20th centuries were accompanied by the resettlement of the British and French to North America. French revolution XVIII century, the execution of Louis XVI caused aristocratic emigration from France. All these questions have already been covered in previous volumes of the History of Mankind.

Emigration is always a concrete historical phenomenon, colored by the era that gave birth to it, depending on the social composition of the emigrants, respectively, on their way of thinking, the conditions that accepted this emigration, and on the nature of contact with the local environment.

The motives for emigration were different - from the desire to improve their financial situation to political irreconcilability with the ruling power.

Due to these features, one or another emigrant community or diaspora acquires its own individual features characteristic of it.

At the same time, the very nature of emigration, its essence determines the general features inherent in the phenomenon of emigration.

Leaving your home country for varying degrees, but is always associated with reflection, regret, and nostalgia. The feeling of losing the Motherland, the soil under one’s feet, the feeling of a passing away familiar life, its security and prosperity inevitably gives rise to wariness in the perception of the new world and often a pessimistic view of one’s future. These emotional and psychological properties are inherent in the majority of emigrants, with the exception of those few who pragmatically create their own business, their own business or their own political field in emigration.

Important common feature emigration of different times, also manifested in different ways, is the very fact of cultural interaction, the integration of historical and cultural processes inherent in individual peoples and countries. Contact with another culture, with a different mentality and way of thinking leaves an imprint on the interacting parties - on the culture carried by emigrants and on the culture of the country where they settled.<...>

In Russia, population migration practically did not stop. In the 16th-18th centuries there was both a departure from Russia and an influx of foreigners into it. Since the 70s of the 19th century, the tendency for those leaving Russia to predominate over those arriving has become stable and long-term. During the period of the 19th - early 20th centuries (before 1917), from 2.5 to 4.5 million people left Russia. Political reasons for leaving Russia were not the leading ones; they became such only after the October Revolution of 1917.

Russian emigration of the post-revolutionary period is a special kind of emigration, which has its own specific features. The emigrants of this time were people who were forced to find themselves outside their country. They did not set themselves mercantile goals and had no material interest. The established system of beliefs, the loss of familiar living conditions, rejection of the revolution and related transformations, expropriation of property and devastation determined the need to leave Russia. Added to this were persecutions. new government dissent, arrests, prisons and, finally, the forced expulsion of the intelligentsia from the country.

Data on emigration during the Civil War and in the 1920-1930s are contradictory. According to various sources, from 2 to 2.5 million people ended up outside Russia.

Centers of Russian emigration of the 1920s-1930s in Europe

The emigrants settled in European countries. Emigration centers arose in Paris, Berlin, Prague, Belgrade, and Sofia. They were also joined by “small” Russian colonies located in other cities of France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria.

That part of the Russians who, after 1917, were in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Norway, Sweden and other countries did not form such organized emigrant communities: the policy of the governments of these countries was not aimed at creating Russian diasporas.

However, the existence of stable emigrant centers in Europe did not stop the flow of Russian migration. The search for more favorable working conditions and living conditions forced many of them to move from country to country. The flow of migration increased as the humanitarian activities of certain countries were reduced due to economic difficulties and the looming Nazi danger. Many Russian emigrants eventually ended up in the USA, Argentina, Brazil, and Australia. But this applied mainly to the 1930s.

During the 1920s, European emigrant centers were generally at the peak of their activity. But no matter how successful and beneficial this activity was, it was impossible to solve all the emigrant problems. Emigrants had to find housing, work, gain legal status, and adapt to the local environment. Domestic and material difficulties were aggravated by nostalgic moods and longing for Russia.

The emigrant existence was also aggravated by the complexities of the ideological life of the emigration itself. There was no unity in it, it was torn apart by political strife: monarchists, liberals, Socialist Revolutionaries and other political parties revived their activities. New trends have emerged: Eurasianism - about a special path of development of Russia with a predominance of eastern elements; Smenovekhovism, the movement of the Little Russians, which raised questions of possible reconciliation with Soviet power.

The question of ways to liberate Russia from the Bolshevik regime (with the help of foreign intervention or through the internal evolution of Soviet power), the conditions and methods of returning to Russia, the admissibility of contacts with it, the attitude of the Soviet government towards potential returnees, and so on was controversial.<...>

France

Paris has traditionally been a world center of culture and art. The predominant number of Russian emigrants - artists, writers, poets, lawyers and musicians - was concentrated in Paris. This did not mean, however, that there were no representatives of other professions in France. Military men, politicians, officials, industrialists, and Cossacks even outnumbered people in intellectual professions.

France was open to Russian emigrants. It was the only country that recognized Wrangel's government (July 1920), and took Russian refugees under protection. The desire of the Russians to settle in France was therefore natural. Economic reasons also contributed to this. The human losses of France during the First World War were significant - according to various sources, from 1.5 to 2.5 million people. But the attitude of French society towards Russian emigration was not unambiguous. For political reasons, Catholic and Protestant, especially wealthy sections of the population were sympathetic to the exiles from Bolshevik Russia. Right-wing circles welcomed the appearance in France mainly of representatives of the aristocratic nobility and the officer corps. Left parties and their sympathizers treated Russians cautiously and selectively, giving preference to liberal and democratically minded immigrants from Russia.

According to the Red Cross, before the Second World War, 175 thousand Russians lived in France.

The geography of settlement of Russian emigrants in France was quite wide. The Department of the Seine, led by Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, included from 52 to 63 percent of the total number of emigrants from Russia. Four more departments of France were significantly populated by immigrants from Russia - Moselle, Bouches-du-Rhone, Alpe-Maritim, Seine-Oise. More than 80 percent of Russian emigrants were concentrated in the five named departments.

The Seine-Oise department, located near Paris, and the Bouches-du-Rhône department, with its center in Marseille, gave shelter to a significant part of the Russian emigration that arrived from Constantinople and Gallipoli, among whom were military personnel, Cossacks, and peaceful refugees. The Moselle industrial department was especially in need of workers. A special position was occupied by the Alpe Maritim department, which was inhabited by the Russian aristocracy even before the revolution. Mansions, a church, a concert hall, and a library were built here. In the 1920s and 1930s, wealthy residents of this department engaged in charitable activities among their compatriots.

In these departments, unique centers of Russian culture arose, preserving their traditions and behavioral stereotypes. This was facilitated by the construction of Orthodox churches. Even during the reign of Alexander II in 1861, the first Orthodox church was erected in Paris on Rue Daru.<...>In the 1920s, the number of Orthodox churches in France increased to 30. The famous mother Maria (E. Yu. Skobtsova; 1891-1945), who died as a martyr in a Nazi concentration camp, founded the Orthodox Cause society in the 1920s.

The national and religious characteristics of the Russians determined their well-known ethnic integrity, isolation and complex attitude towards Western morality.

The organization of work to provide emigrants with housing, material assistance, and employment was in charge of the Zemstvo-City Union. It was headed by the former chairman of the first Provisional Government, Prince G. E. Lvov, former ministers Provisional Government A. I. Konovalov (1875-1948), N. D. Avksentyev (1878-1943), former mayor of Moscow V. V. Rudnev (1879-1940), Rostov lawyer V. F. Seeler (1874-1954 ) and others. The “Committee for Russian Refugees” was headed by V. A. Maklakov (1869-1957), former ambassador Provisional Government in France, from 1925 until the German occupation of Paris, when he was arrested by the Gestapo and taken to Cherche Midi prison.

Great charitable assistance to emigrants was provided by the Red Cross, created in Paris, which had its own free outpatient clinic, and the Union of Russian Sisters of Mercy.

In Paris in 1922, a unifying body was created - the Central Committee for the Provision of Higher Education Abroad. It included the Russian Academic Union, the Russian Zemstvo-City Committee, the Russian Red Cross Society, the Russian Trade and Industrial Union and others. This centralization was supposed to provide targeted educational process throughout the Russian diaspora in the spirit of preserving Russian traditions, religion and culture. In the 1920s, emigrants trained personnel for the future Russia, liberated from Soviet rule, where they hoped to soon return.

As in other centers of emigration, schools and a gymnasium were opened in Paris. Russian emigrants had the opportunity to study at higher educational institutions in France.

The most numerous of the Russian organizations in Paris was the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS), founded by General P. N. Wrangel. The EMRO united all the military forces of the emigration, organized military education and had its branches in many countries.

The most significant of the military educational institutions Paris recognized the Higher Military Scientific Courses, which served as a military academy. The purpose of the courses, according to their founder, Lieutenant General N. N. Golovin (1875-1944), was “to create the necessary link that will connect the former Russian military science with the military science of the revived Russia.” The authority of N. N. Golovin as a military specialist was unusually high in international military circles. He was invited to give lectures at military academies in the USA, Great Britain, and France. He was an associate member International Institute sociology in Paris, taught at the Sorbonne.

Military-patriotic and patriotic education was also carried out in the scout and Sokol movement, the center of which was also located in Paris. The “National Organization of Russian Scouts”, headed by the founder of Russian scouting O. I. Pantyukhov, the “National Organization of Russian Knights”, “Cossack Union”, “Russian Falcons” and others were active.

A large number of fraternities arose (St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kharkov and others), associations of lyceum students, regimental military, Cossack villages (Kuban, Terets, Donets).

The Union of Russian Drivers was numerous (1200 people). The life of a Parisian driver, a typical phenomenon of emigrant reality, is brilliantly reflected in the novel “Night Roads” by Gaito Gazdanov (1903-1971).<...>One could meet princes, generals, officers, lawyers, engineers, merchants, and writers behind the wheel of a car.

The “Union of Russian Artists”, “Union of Russian Lawyers” worked in Paris, headed by famous St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv attorneys N.V. Teslenko, O.S. Trakhterev, B.A. Kistyakovsky,

V. N. Novikov and others. "Union of former figures of the Russian judicial department" - N. S. Tagantsev, E. M. Kiselevsky, P. A. Staritsky and others.

In 1924, the Russian Trade and Industrial Financial Union was founded, in which N. X. Denisov, S. G. Lianozov, G. L. Nobel participated. The “Federation of Russian Engineers Abroad” worked in France, which included P. N. Finisov, V. P. Arshaulov, V. A. Kravtsov and others; "Society of Russian Chemists" headed by A. A. Titov.

The “Association of Russian Doctors Abroad” (I.P. Aleksinsky, V.L. Yakovlev, A.O. Marshak) organized a “Russian Hospital” in Paris, headed by the famous Moscow medical professor V.N. Sirotinin.

The face of Paris as a center of Russian emigration would be incomplete without a description of the Russian press. Since the early 1920s, two major daily Russian newspapers were published in Paris: Latest News and Vozrozhdenie. The main role in the formation of knowledge about Russia and its history belonged to Latest News. The influence of the newspaper on the formation of public opinion about Russia was decisive. Thus, the head of the foreign department of the newspaper M. Yu. Benediktov testified in 1930: “No one (communists, of course, does not count) no longer identifies the Bolsheviks with the Russian people, no one talks about intervention; no one believes in the socialism of Stalin’s experiments; no one no longer is the revolutionary phraseology of communism misleading."

It is typical that the French helped Latest News with finances, typesetting equipment, and printing presses.

Many foreign newspapers used the information from Latest News, some of them had their own “Russian employees” who had constant contact with the newspaper’s editors.

Germany

The Russian colony in Germany, primarily in Berlin, had its own appearance and was different from other emigrant colonies. The main stream of refugees rushed to Germany in 1919 - here were the remnants of the White armies, Russian prisoners of war and internees; in 1922, Germany sheltered the intelligentsia expelled from Russia. For many emigrants, Germany was a transit destination. According to archival data, in Germany in 1919-1921 there were about 250 thousand, and in 1922-1923 - 600 thousand Russian emigrants, of which up to 360 thousand people were in Berlin. Small Russian colonies were also located in Munich, Dresden, Wiesbaden, and Baden-Baden.

Famous emigrant writer<...>R. Gul (1896-1986) wrote: “Berlin flared up and quickly faded away. Its active emigrant life did not last long, but brightly... By the end of the 20s, Berlin ceased to be the capital of the Russian diaspora.”

The formation of the Russian diaspora in Germany in the early 1920s was facilitated by both economic and political reasons. On the one hand, relative economic prosperity and low prices created conditions for entrepreneurship, on the other, the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Soviet Russia (Rapallo, 1922) stimulated their economic and cultural ties. The opportunity was created for interaction between emigrant and Soviet Russia, which was especially evident in the creation of a large publishing complex abroad.

For these reasons, Berlin was not only a refuge for emigrants, but also a point of contact with Soviet Russia. Soviet citizens now had the opportunity to travel to Berlin on business trips with a Soviet passport and visa; the bulk of them were representatives of the publishing industry. There were so many Russians in Berlin that the famous publishing house Grieben published a Russian guide to Berlin.

The famous writer Andrei Bely, who found refuge in Berlin in the early 1920s, recalled that the Russians called the Charlottenburg district of Berlin Petersburg, and the Germans called Charlottengrad: “In this part of Berlin you meet everyone you haven’t met for years, not to mention acquaintances; here “someone” met all of Moscow and all of St. Petersburg of recent times, Russian Paris, Prague, even Sofia, Belgrade... There is a Russian spirit here: all of Russia smells!.. And you are amazed, occasionally hearing German speech: How? Germans? What do they need it in “our city?”

The life of the Russian colony was concentrated in the western part of the city. The Russians “reigned” here, here they had six banks, 87 publishing houses, three daily newspapers, 20 bookstores.”

The famous German Slavist, author and editor of the book “Russians in Berlin 1918-33. Meeting of Cultures” Fritz Mierau wrote that the relationship between Germans and Russians in Berlin was complex; Russians and Berliners had little in common. Obviously, they did not recognize the rationalistic attitude to life characteristic of the German nation, and after 1923 many left Berlin.

As in other emigrant colonies, numerous public, scientific, professional organizations and unions were created in Berlin. Among them are the “Society for Assistance to Russian Citizens”, “Russian Red Cross Society”, “Union of Russian Journalists and Writers”, “Society of Russian Doctors”, “Society of Russian Engineers”, “Union of Russian Sworn Advocacy”, “Union of Russian Translators in Germany” , "Russian All-Military Union", "Union Russian students in Germany", "Writers' Club", "House of Arts" and others.

The main thing that distinguished Berlin from other European emigrant colonies was its publishing activity. The newspapers "Rul" and "Nakanune" published in Berlin played a large role in the emigration and were ranked next to the Parisian " Latest news". Among the major publishing houses were: "Slovo", "Helikon", "Scythians", "Petropolis", "Bronze Horseman", "Epoch".

Many publishing houses pursued the goal of not losing contact with Russia.

The founder of the magazine “Russian Book” (hereinafter referred to as “New Russian Book”), Doctor of International Law, Professor of St. Petersburg University A. S. Yashchenko (1877-1934) wrote: “To the best of our ability, we sought to create... a bridge connecting foreign and the Russian press." The same idea was pursued by the magazine “Life”, published by V. B. Stankevich, the former high commissioner of General N. N. Dukhonin’s Headquarters. Both emigrants and Soviet writers were published in the magazines. Many publishing houses maintained publishing ties with Soviet Russia at that time.

Of course, emigrants perceived the topic of rapprochement with Russia differently: some with enthusiasm, others with caution and distrust. Soon, however, it became obvious that the idea of ​​the unity of Russian culture “above barriers” was utopian. In Soviet Russia, a strict censorship policy was established that did not allow freedom of speech and dissent and, as it became obvious later, had a largely provocative nature towards emigrants. The Soviet publishing authorities did not fulfill financial obligations, and measures were taken to ruin emigrant publishers. The publishing houses Grzhebin, Petropolis and others suffered financial collapse.

Publishing houses, naturally, bore the imprint of the political views of their creators. In Berlin there were right-wing and left-wing publishing houses - monarchist, Socialist-Revolutionary Social Democratic, and so on. Thus, the Bronze Horseman publishing house gave preference to publications of a monarchist nature. Through the mediation of Duke G.N. of Leuchtenberg, Prince Lieven and Wrangel, it published the collections “White Case”, “Notes” of Wrangel, and so on. However, the professional work of publishers went beyond their political sympathies and preferences. Fiction, Russian classics, memoirs, children's books, textbooks, works of emigrants were published in large quantities - the first collected works of I. A. Bunin, works of Z. N. Gippius, V. F. Khodasevich, N. A. Berdyaev.

The artistic design and printing of books and magazines were at a high level. Masters of book graphics M. V. Dobuzhinsky (1875-1957), L. M Lisitsky (1890-1941), V. N. Masyutin, A. E. Kogan (? -1949) actively worked in Berlin publishing houses. According to contemporaries, German publishers highly appreciated the professionalism of their Russian colleagues.<...>

The book renaissance in Berlin did not last long. Since the end of 1923, a hard currency was introduced in Germany, which was affected by a lack of capital.<...>Many emigrants began to leave Berlin. In the words of R. Gul, “the exodus of the Russian intelligentsia began... Berlin at the end of the 20s - in the sense of Russianness - became completely impoverished.” Emigrants left for France, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia.

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia occupied a special place in the emigrant diaspora. It was not by chance that Prague became an intellectual and scientific emigration center.

The first decades of the 20th century became a new stage in the social and political life of Czechoslovakia. President T. Masaryk (1850-1937) shaped Czechoslovakia’s new attitude towards the Slavic problem and Russia’s role in it. Pan-Slavism and Russophilism as ideological justifications for political life lost their significance. Masaryk rejected theocratism, monarchism and militarism in both Czechoslovakia and Russia; he rejected the monarchical, feudal and clerical foundations of the old Slavic community under the scepter of Tsarist Russia.

Masaryk associated a new understanding of the foundations of Slavic culture with the creation of a pan-European culture, capable of rising above national limitations to a universal human level and not claiming racial selectivity and world domination. According to Miliukov, Masaryk “removed the romantic light of the old Pan-Slavists from Russia and looked at the Russian present and past through the eyes of a European and a democrat.” This view of Russia as a European country, differing from other European countries only in the level of development, “the difference in historical age,” was consonant with Russian liberal democrats. Masaryk’s idea that Russia is a backward country, but not alien to Europe and the country of the future, was shared by the democratically minded Russian intelligentsia.

The general orientation of the political views of the leaders of the Czechoslovak liberation and Russian liberal democrats significantly contributed to the favorable attitude of the Czechoslovak government to emigrants from Bolshevik Russia, which all of them could neither accept nor recognize.

In Czechoslovakia, the so-called “Russian Action” of assistance to emigration was launched. "Russian Action" was a grandiose event both in content and in the scale of its activities. This was a unique experience in creating a foreign, in this case Russian, scientific and educational complex abroad.

T. Masaryk emphasized the humanitarian nature of the “Russian Action”.<...>He was critical of Soviet Russia, but hoped for the creation of a strong democratic federal Russia in the future. The goal of the “Russian Action” is to help Russia for the sake of its future. Moreover, Masaryk, given the median geopolitical situation Czechoslovakia - a new entity on the map of Europe of modern times - realized that his country needed guarantees from both the East and the West. The future democratic Russia could become one of these guarantors.

For these reasons, the problem of Russian emigration became an integral part of the political life of the Czechoslovak Republic.

Of the 22 thousand emigrants registered in Czechoslovakia in 1931, 8 thousand were farmers or people associated with agricultural work. The student body of higher and secondary specialized educational institutions numbered about 7 thousand people. Intellectual professions - 2 thousand, public and political figures - 1 thousand, writers, journalists, scientists and artists - 600 people. About 1 thousand Russian children lived in Czechoslovakia school age, 300 children preschool age, about 600 disabled people. The largest categories of the emigrant population were Cossack farmers, intelligentsia and students.<...>

The bulk of emigrants flocked to Prague, some of them settled in the city and its environs. Russian colonies arose in Brno, Bratislava, Pilsen, Uzhgorod and in the surrounding areas.

Numerous organizations carrying out the “Russian Action” were created in Czechoslovakia.<...>First of all, it was the Prague Zemgor (“Union of Zemstvo and City Leaders in Czechoslovakia”). The purpose of creating this institution was to provide all types of assistance to former Russian citizens (material, legal, medical, and so on). After 1927, due to a reduction in funding for the Russian Action, a permanent structure arose - the Association of Russian Emigrant Organizations (OREO). The role of OREO as a coordinating and unifying center among the Russian emigration intensified in the 1930s after the liquidation of Zemgor.

Zemgor studied the number and living conditions of emigrants, helped in finding work, in protecting legal interests, and provided medical and material assistance. For this purpose, Zemgor organized agricultural schools, labor artels, craft workshops, agricultural colonies, cooperatives for Russian emigrants, opened dormitories, canteens, and so on. Home financial basis Zemgora received subsidies from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. He was helped by banks and other financial institutions. Thanks to this policy, in the early 1920s, numerous specialists from emigrants in Czechoslovakia appeared various areas agriculture and industry: gardeners, gardeners, poultry farmers, butter makers, cheese makers, carpenters, joiners and skilled workers in other specialties. There are bookbinding, shoemaking, carpentry, and toy workshops in Prague and Brno. V.I. Mach's watch shop, perfume shops, and restaurants in Prague became popular.

By the end of the 1920s, when an economic crisis began in Czechoslovakia and there was a surplus of workers, many emigrants were sent to France.

Zemgor carried out enormous cultural and educational work in order to maintain and preserve the connection of Russian emigrants with the culture, language and traditions of Russia. At the same time, the task was set to increase the cultural and educational level of refugees. Lectures, reports, excursions, exhibitions, libraries, and reading rooms were organized. The lectures covered a wide range of socio-political, historical, literary and artistic topics. Of particular interest were reports on modern Russia. Series of lectures were given not only in Prague, but also in Brno, Uzhgorod and other cities. Systematic classes and lectures were conducted on sociology, cooperation, Russian social thought, modern Russian literature, foreign policy, history of Russian music and so on.

Important for Czech-Russian exchange was Zemgor’s organization of a seminar on the study of Czechoslovakia: lectures were given on the constitution and legislation of the Czechoslovakia, on local government bodies.

Zemgor also carried out enormous work on organizing higher education for emigrants in Czechoslovakia.

In the 1930s, OREO included a large number of organizations: the Union of Russian Engineers, the Union of Doctors, student and various professional organizations, and the Pedagogical Bureau of Russian Youth. The gymnasium organized for Russian children in Moravian Trzebow gained great popularity. A.I. Zhekulina, who was in pre-revolutionary Russia a major figure in the Union of Zemstvos and Cities. On the initiative of Zhekulina, “Russian Children’s Day” was held in exile in 14 countries. The money collected from this event was spent on supporting children's organizations.

The emigrant colony in Czechoslovakia, not without reason, was recognized by contemporaries as one of the most organized and comfortable Russian diasporas.

Yugoslavia

The creation of a significant Russian diaspora on the territory of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (since 1919 - Yugoslavia) had its historical roots.

The common Christian religion and constant Russian-Slavic relations traditionally connected Russia with the South Slavic countries. Pachomius Logofet, Croatian Yuri Krizanich (about 1618-1683), a supporter of the idea of ​​Slavic unity, generals and officers of the Russian army of Slavic origin M.A. Miloradovich, J. Horvath and others played their role in Russian history and left a grateful memory of themselves. Russia constantly helped the southern Slavs in defending their independence.

The peoples of Yugoslavia considered it their duty to help Russian refugees who could not come to terms with Soviet power. Added to this were pragmatic considerations. The country needed scientific, technical, medical and teaching personnel. To restore and develop the young Yugoslav state, economists, agronomists, foresters, and chemists were needed, and military personnel were needed to protect the borders.

Russian emigrants were patronized by King Alexander. He had both political sympathies and family ties in common with Imperial Russia. His maternal aunts Milica and Anastasia (daughters of King Nikola I of Montenegro) were married to Grand Dukes Nikolai Nikolaevich and Peter Nikolaevich. Alexander himself studied in Russia in the Corps of Pages and then at the Imperial School of Law.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1923 the total number of Russian emigrants in Yugoslavia numbered about 45 thousand people.

People from different social strata arrived in Yugoslavia: military men, Cossacks who settled in agricultural areas, representatives of many civilian professions; among them were monarchists, republicans, and liberal democrats.

Three Adriatic harbors - Bakar, Dubrovnik and Kotor - received refugees from Russia. Before settling around the country, their specialties were taken into account<...>and were sent to those areas where they were needed most.

At the ports, refugees were given “Temporary certificates for the right of residence in the Kingdom of the CXC” and 400 dinars for the first month; food commissions issued rations, which consisted of bread, hot meat twice a day and boiling water. Women and children received additional food and were provided with clothing and blankets. At first, all Russian emigrants received an allowance - 240 dinars per month (with the price of 1 kilogram of bread being 7 dinars).

To provide assistance to emigrants, a “Sovereign Commission for Russian Refugees” was formed, which included well-known public and political figures of Yugoslavia and Russian emigrants: the leader of the Serbian radical party, Minister of Religion L. Jovanovic, academicians A. Belich and S. Kukic, with the Russian on the part of Professor V.D. Pletnev. M. V. Chelnokov, S. N. Paleolog, as well as representatives of P. N. Wrangel.

The “Sovereign Commission” was assisted by the “Board of State Commissioners for the Placement of Russian Refugees in the Kingdom of the CXC”, the “Office of the Russian Military Agency in the Kingdom of the CXC”, the “Meeting of Representatives of Emigrant Organizations” and others. Numerous humanitarian, charitable, political, social, professional, student, Cossack, literary and artistic organizations, societies and circles were created.

Russian emigrants settled throughout the country. They were needed in the eastern and southern regions, especially those that suffered during the First World War, the northeastern agricultural regions, which were part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy until 1918 and were now subject to migration (Germans, Czechs, and Hungarians were leaving the Kingdom). The central part of the state - Bosnia and Serbia - experienced a great need for workers in factories, factories and industrial enterprises, in the construction of railways and highways, where mainly the military were sent. The border service was also formed from the military contingent - in 1921 it employed 3,800 people.

On the territory of the Kingdom of the CXC, about three hundred small “Russian colonies” arose in Zagreb, Novi Sad, Pancevo, Zemun, Bila Tserkva, Sarajevo, Mostar, Nis and other places. In Belgrade, according to the “Sovereign Committee”, there were about 10 thousand Russians, mostly intellectuals. In these colonies, Russian church parishes, schools, kindergartens, libraries, numerous military organizations, branches of Russian political, sports and other associations arose.

The Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, headed by General Wrangel, was stationed in Sremski Karlovci. The Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, headed by Hierarch Anthony (Khrapovitsky) (1863-1936), was also located here.

Military emigration in Yugoslavia was the most significant in number. P. N. Wrangel considered his main task to be the preservation of the army, but in new forms. This meant the creation of military alliances, maintaining the staff of individual military formations, ready, in a favorable situation, to join the armed struggle against Soviet power, as well as maintaining connections with all military personnel in exile.

In 1921, the “Council of United Officers' Societies in the Kingdom of the SHS” operated in Belgrade, the purpose of which was “to serve the restoration of the Russian Empire.” In 1923, the Council included 16 officer societies, including the Society of Russian Officers, the Society of General Staff Officers, the Society of Artillery Officers, the Society of Military Lawyers, Military Engineers, Naval Officers and others. In total they numbered 3,580 people. Guards military organizations and various types of military courses were created, and efforts were made to preserve the cadet corps. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the First Russian Cadet Corps became a major military educational institution in Russia abroad. A military training museum was opened under him, where the banners of the Russian army taken from Russia were kept. Work was carried out not only to provide material support for the military, but also to improve their military-theoretical knowledge. Competitions were held for the best military theoretical research. As a result, one of them was awarded prizes to the works of General Kazanovich (“The evolution of infantry from the experience of the Great War. The importance of technology for it”), Colonel Plotnikov (“Military psychology, its significance in Great War and civilian") and others. Lectures, reports, and conversations were held among the military.

The intelligentsia occupied the second largest place in Yugoslavia after the military and made great contributions to various fields of science and culture.

In the card file of the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 85 Russian cultural, artistic, and sports societies and associations were registered in the period between the two wars. Among them are the “Society of Russian Lawyers”, “Society of Russian Scientists”, “Union of Russian Engineers”, “Union of Artists”, Unions of Russian Agronomists, Doctors, Veterinarians, Industrial and Financial Figures. The symbol of Russian cultural tradition There was the “Russian House named after Emperor Nicholas II” in Belgrade, which opened in April 1933. The meaning of his activities was to preserve the national emigrant culture, which in the future should return to Russia. The "Russian House" became a monument to the brotherhood of the Yugoslav and Russian peoples. The architect of this building, built in the Russian Empire style, was W. Baumgarten (1879-1962). At the opening of the House, the Chairman of the State Commission for Assistance to Russian Refugees, Academician A. Belich, said that the House “was created for all multilateral branches of emigrant cultural life. It turned out that Russian people can still give a lot to the old world culture even outside their desecrated homeland.”

The House housed the State Commission for Assistance to Russian Refugees, Russian scientific institute, Russian Military Scientific Institute, Russian Library with archive and Publishing Commission, House-Museum of Emperor Nicholas II, Museum of Russian Cavalry, gymnasiums, sports organizations.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria, as a Slavic country historically connected with Russian history, warmly welcomed Russian emigrants. In Bulgaria, the memory of Russia's many years of struggle for its liberation from Turkish rule and the victorious war of 1877-1878 has been preserved.

Mainly military personnel and some representatives of intellectual professions were housed here. In 1922, there were 34-35 thousand emigrants from Russia in Bulgaria, and in the early 1930s - about 20 thousand. For territorially small Bulgaria, which suffered economic and political losses in the First World War, this number of immigrants was significant. Part of the army and civilian refugees were stationed in northern Bulgaria. The local population, especially in Burgas and Plevna, where units of the White Army were located, even expressed dissatisfaction with the presence of foreigners. However, this did not influence government policy.

The Bulgarian government provided medical care Russian emigrants: special places were allocated for sick refugees in the Sofia hospital and the Gerbovetsky Red Cross hospital. The Ministerial Council of Bulgaria provided material assistance to refugees: issuing coal, allocating loans, funds for the resettlement of Russian children, their families, and so on. Decrees of Tsar Boris III allowed the admission of emigrants to the civil service.

However, life for Russians in Bulgaria, especially in the early 1920s, was difficult. Every month the emigrants received: an army private - 50 Bulgarian leva, an officer - 80 (with the price of 1 kilogram of butter being 55 leva, and a pair of men's boots - 400 leva). Emigrants worked in quarries, mines, bakeries, road construction, factories, factories, and cultivating vineyards. Moreover, for equal work, Bulgarians received a salary approximately twice as high as Russian refugees. An oversaturated labor market created conditions for the exploitation of the newcomer population.

In order to help emigrants, public organizations ("Scientific-Industrial Bulgarian Society", "Russian-Balkan Committee of Technical Production, Transport and Trade") began to create profitable enterprises, shops, and commercial firms. Their activities led to the emergence of numerous artels: “Cheap canteen for Russian refugees”, “Russian national community” in the city of Varna, “Apiary in the area of ​​​​the city of Plevna”, “First artel of Russian shoemakers”, “Russian trading artel”, the chairman of which was the former Member of the State Duma, General N. F. Yezersky. Russian gymnasiums, kindergartens, and orphanages were opened in Sofia, Varna and Plevna; courses were organized to study the Russian language, history, and geography of Russia; Russian cultural and national centers were created; Joint Russian-Bulgarian organizations worked, whose activities were aimed at providing assistance to Russian emigrants.

1. First wave.
2. Second wave.
3. Third wave.
4. The fate of Shmelev.

The poet has no biography, he only has destiny. And his fate is the fate of his homeland.
A. A. Blok

The literature of Russian diaspora is the literature of Russian emigrants who, by the will of fate, did not have the opportunity to create in their homeland. As a phenomenon, Russian literature abroad arose after the October Revolution. Three periods - waves of Russian emigration - were stages of expulsion or flight of writers abroad.

Chronologically they are confined to important historical events in Russia. The first wave of emigration lasted from 1918 to 1938, from the First World War and the Civil War to the beginning of the Second World War. It was widespread and forced - about four million people left the USSR. These were not only people who left abroad after the revolution: Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and anarchists emigrated after the events of 1905. After the defeat of the volunteer army in 1920, the White Guards tried to escape in emigration. V. V. Nabokov, I. S. Shmelev, I. A. Bunin, M. I. Tsvetaeva, D. S. Merezhkovsky, Z. N. Gippius, V. F. Khodasevich, B. K. Zaitsev went abroad and many others. Some still hoped that in Bolshevik Russia it would be possible to engage in creativity as before, but reality showed that this was impossible. Russian literature existed abroad, just as Russia continued to live in the hearts of those who left it and in their works.

At the end of World War II, a second wave of emigration began, also forced. In less than ten years, from 1939 to 1947, ten million people left Russia, among them writers such as I. P. Elagin, D. I. Klenovsky, G. P. Klimov, N. V. Narokov, B. N. Shiryaev.

The third wave is the time of Khrushchev's “thaw”. This emigration was voluntary. From 1948 to 1990, just over a million people left their homeland. If earlier the reasons that prompted emigration were political, then the third emigration was guided mainly economic reasons. Those who left were mainly representatives of the creative intelligentsia - A. I. Solzhenitsyn, I. A. Brodsky, S. D. Dovlatov, G. N. Vladimov, S. A. Sokolov, Yu. V. Mamleev, E. V. Limonov, Yu Aleshkovsky, I. M. Guberman, A. A. Galich, N. M. Korzhavin, Yu. M. Kublanovsky, V. P. Nekrasov, A. D. Sinyavsky, D. I. Rubina. Many, for example A.I. Solzhenitsyn, V.P. Aksenov, V.E. Maksimov, V.N. Voinovich, were deprived of Soviet citizenship. They leave for the USA, France, Germany. It should be noted that the representatives of the third wave were not filled with such aching nostalgia as those who emigrated earlier. Their homeland sent them away, calling them parasites, criminals and slanderers. They had a different mentality - they were considered victims of the regime and were accepted, providing citizenship, patronage and material support.

The literary work of representatives of the first wave of emigration has enormous cultural value. I want to dwell in more detail on the fate of I. S. Shmelev. “Shmelev is perhaps the most profound writer of the Russian post-revolutionary emigration, and not only of the emigration... a writer of enormous spiritual power, Christian purity and lightness of soul. His “Summer of the Lord”, “Phygoty”, “The Inexhaustible Chalice” and other creations are not even just Russian literary classics, they seem to be marked and illuminated by the Spirit of God,” the writer V. G. Rasputin highly appreciated Shmelev’s work .

Emigration changed the life and work of the writer, who worked very fruitfully until 1917, becoming famous throughout the world as the author of the story “The Man from the Restaurant.” Terrible events preceded his departure - he lost his only son. In 1915, Shmelev went to the front - this alone came as a shock to his parents. But ideologically they were of the opinion that the son should fulfill his duty to his homeland. After the revolution, the Shmelev family moved to Alushta, where there was hunger and poverty. In 1920, Shmelev, who fell ill with tuberculosis in the army and was undergoing treatment, was arrested by B. Kun’s security officers. Three months later he was shot despite the amnesty. Having learned about this, Shmelev does not return to Russia from Berlin, where he is caught by this tragic news, and then moves to Paris.

In his works, the writer recreates terrible, in their authenticity, pictures of what is happening in Russia: terror, lawlessness, famine. It’s scary to consider such a country as our homeland. Shmelev considers everyone who remained in Russia to be holy martyrs. The life of the emigrants was no less terrible: many lived in poverty, but if they didn’t live, they survived. In his journalism, Shmelev constantly raised this problem, calling on his compatriots to help each other. In addition to hopeless grief, the writer’s family was also weighed down by pressing questions - where to live, how to earn a living. He, a deeply religious person who observed Orthodox fasts and holidays even in a foreign land, began to collaborate in the Orthodox patriotic magazine “Russian Bell”, while caring for others, Ivan Sergeevich did not know how to think about himself, did not know how to ask, to ingratiate himself, therefore he was often deprived of the most necessary of things. In exile, he writes stories, pamphlets, novels, and the best work he wrote in exile is considered “The Summer of the Lord” (1933). This work recreates the way of life and spiritual atmosphere of a pre-revolutionary Russian Orthodox family. In writing the book, he is driven by “love for his native ashes, love for his father’s tombs” - these lines of A. S. Pushkin are taken as an epigraph. “The Summer of the Lord” is a counterweight to the Sun of the Dead,” about what was alive in Russia.

“Maybe this book will be “The Sun of the Living” - that’s for me, of course. In the past, all of us, in Russia, had a lot of LIVING and truly bright things that may have been lost forever. But it WAS. The life-giving, manifestation of the Spirit is Alive, which, killed by its death, must truly trample upon death. It lived - and lives - like a sprout in a thorn, waiting...” - these words belong to the author himself. Shmelev recreates the image of the past, true, imperishable Russia through her faith - he describes the annual circle of worship, church services, holidays through the perception of the boy. He sees the soul of his homeland in Orthodoxy. The life of believers, according to the author, should become a guideline for raising children in the spirit of Russian culture. It is noteworthy that at the beginning of his book he set the holiday of Lent and spoke about repentance.

In 1936, a new blow overtook the writer - the death of his wife. Shmelev, blaming himself for the fact that his wife cared too much about him, goes to the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. The Summer of the Lord was completed there, two years before the writer’s death. Shmelev was buried in the Russian cemetery in Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois, and fifty years later the writer’s ashes were transported to Moscow and buried in the Donskoy Monastery, next to the grave of his father.