Physics
The first year of emigration. White emigration is a Russian tragedy. Dissolving in a foreign environment

The first year of emigration. White emigration is a Russian tragedy. Dissolving in a foreign environment

The above-described processes of new land development and expansion of Russian state borders relate to internal migration (one of the main types of migration movement is a combination of human movements carried out within the territorial borders of states. Usually it significantly exceeds international migration in scale). And now let's touch on the international (interstate) migration and emigration of Russian citizens.

Migration and emigration in the pre-revolutionary period.

The history of international (interstate) migration and emigration of Russian citizens dates back several centuries, if we take into account the forced flight of political figures abroad during the Middle Ages. For example: salvation from the persecution of the Orthodox Church and Moscow’s princely power in Lithuania and “among the Germans” at the beginning of the 16th century. Novgorod-Moscow heretics, as well as the transition in 1564 to the side of the Poles, Prince Andrei Kurbsky. His step was dictated by fears for his life related to the conflict between the prince and Ivan the Terrible on the basis of choosing the main paths of political development of Russia. Kurbsky’s political concept consisted in developing the principles of combining the power of the monarch, institutions of the command apparatus and further development of estate-representative bodies, both in the center and in the localities. The point of view advocated by Ivan the Terrible consisted in affirming the principle of unlimited monarchy, "autocracy", with the parallel establishment of a tough, power regime. Subsequent developments showed that the point of view of Ivan IV prevailed.

In the “Petrine” era, religious ones were added to the political motives for leaving abroad. The process of economic migration, so characteristic of the countries of Central and Western Europe, practically did not affect Russia until the second half of the nineteenth century, although there are references to Russian immigrants of the XVI - XVIII centuries. to America, China and Africa. However, these migrations were insignificant in number and were associated with the “call of the distant seas” or the search for happiness. At the end of the XVIII century. Russian settlers appeared in European countries: in France (1774), Germany (in the cities of Halle, Marburg, Jena, etc.) where since the middle of the XVIII century. Russian noble youth began to study.

The main center of Russian political emigration of the second quarter of the XIX century. was Paris, and after the revolution of 1848 it became London, where the "first free Russian printing house" founded by A.I. Herzenim, thanks to which, Russian emigration has become a significant factor in the political life of Russia. A characteristic feature of the "noble emigration" from Russia in the second quarter of the 19th century, which left quite legally, was a relatively high standard of living.

In the second half of the 19th century, after the Polish uprising of 1863-1864. a number of political "criminals" fled from Russia, who settled mainly in London, Bern, Heidelberg, Tulz, Geneva, Berlin. This new emigration has expanded the social composition of Russian political emigration. Petty bourgeoisie, commoners, and intelligentsia were added to the nobility.

A special stream of Russian political emigration that arose after the assassination of Alexander II and the internal political crisis of the 80s of the XIX century covered almost a quarter of a century. The appearance of one of the first political organizations in exile - the Marxist Union of Russian Social Democrats Abroad — dates back to this time.

Speaking of Russians who were abroad in the last quarter of the XIX - early XX centuries. First of all, the economic "settlers" should be mentioned. The reason for their departure was higher wages abroad. Until the beginning of the 80s, the number of people who left Russia for economic reasons did not exceed 10 thousand people, later it began to grow and in 1891 reached its “peak” - 109 thousand people. In 1894, it fell sharply, which was associated with a trade agreement between Russia and Germany, which facilitated the border crossing and allowed for a short trip abroad and return. Labor or economic emigration in the pre-revolutionary period was the most massive. It was composed mainly of landless peasants, artisans, unskilled workers. In total, since 1861 By 1915, 4.200.500 people left Russia, of which 3.978.9 thousand people emigrated to the New World, mainly to the United States, which is 94%. It should be noted that most of the emigrants from Russia were not ethnic Russians. More than 40% of the emigrants were Jews. According to the qualification of 1910, 1732.5 thousand natives of Russia were registered in the USA, and persons of “Russian origin” - 2781.2 thousand. Among the natives of Russia: 838 thousand Jews, 418 thousand Poles, 137 thousand Lithuanians, 121 thousand Germans and only 40.5 thousand Russians. Thus, it turns out that by 1910 no more than 3% of all people of Russian origin lived in the United States in Russia. Pinpoint ethnic composition labor emigration of the late XIX - early XX centuries. does not seem possible. So, in the United States, Ukrainians, Carpathians, mainly immigrants from the western and southern provinces of the Russian Empire, from Austria-Hungary (Galicia, Bukovina), Transcarpathia, were registered as Russian or Rusyns. They identified themselves with the Russians and, broadly speaking, with East Slavic culture. Their descendants have largely preserved this continuity to our time. So, most of the 10 million parishioners of the Russian Church in America (the American Metropolis), numerous Ukrainian and Carpathian churches are descendants of labor emigrants. In the late XIX - early XX centuries. Russian peasants in America united mainly around church parishes and peasant fraternities, mutual aid societies. Among this category of emigrants there were few educated and literate people: they did not write books and memories, but through generations they carried love and respect for Russia, preserving the traditions of Orthodoxy, as evidenced by dozens of Russian Orthodox churches built by their hands.

One cannot but mention the mass emigration abroad of representatives of national minorities of Tsarist Russia in the 19th century. First of all, Tatars, Germans, Poles and Jews. In many ways, this emigration was caused by religious reasons. But these flows of emigration are not the subject of study of this work. Since, with a big stretch, emigration of the Mennonite Germans, Crimean Tatars, Poles, most of the Jews and others, although they emigrated from Russia, can be considered Russian or Russian emigration. We do not consider such groups in our work, because they very quickly lost any connection with Russia and Russian culture. Although the scale of such emigration from pre-revolutionary Russia were significant, but it was more correct for her to use the term “resettlement from Russia”. It would hardly be justifiable to consider, as the descendants of Russian emigrants, the Tatar population of Turkey, and even they themselves identify themselves not even with the Tatars, but with the Turks. Also, how incorrect it would be to consider the American director S. Spillerberg and magician D. Copperfield as representatives of the Russian diaspora on the American continent, only on the grounds that their ancestors were from Odessa. It would be very problematic to detect any influence of Russian culture among the descendants of German immigrants from Russia of the 19th century in Germany and the USA

The originality and unusualness of Jewish emigration from Russia is due to the fact that it includes all possible typologies of emigration: political, labor, religious, national, often mutually intertwined and difficult to separate. Another feature of part of the Jewish emigration is that part of it has for over 150 years retained elements of Russian culture and the Russian language. Evidence of this is the large number of Russian-language newspapers, magazines and organizations created by it that use the Russian language as a means of communication. The beginning of mass Jewish emigration dates back to the 70s of the 19th century. Moreover, more than 90% of Jewish emigrants were sent to the United States. In the 70s, of all Russian emigrants who arrived in the United States, 42% were Jews, in the 80s they amounted to 58.2%. The absolute number of Jewish emigrants continues to increase throughout XIX beginning XX centuries. This was largely due to the restriction of the rights of Jews in the 80s. In particular, the enactment in 1882 of the "Provisional Rules" of Jewish residence in rural areas. They forbade Jews to settle outside cities, to acquire property, to rent land. In 1887, Jews were forbidden to settle in Rostov-on-Don and in the Taganrog district, in 1891 in Moscow and the Moscow region. In 1886-1887, decrees were issued restricting the right of Jews to enroll in gymnasiums and real schools throughout Russia. In the United States, Jewish emigrants settled mainly in the states of the North Atlantic, primarily New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In the years 1891-1900. 234.2 thousand Russian Jews left for the USA, which made up 36.5% of all Russian emigrants who arrived in the USA. Jewish emigration reaches its peak at the beginning of the 20th century. In the years 1901-1910. 704.2 thousand Jews arrived in the USA, which made up 44.1% of all Russian immigrants. Jewish emigration cannot be classified as labor or temporary. There were practically no re-emigrants among the Jews, i.e. they deliberately tried to find a new homeland in the country of entry. This is partly due to the peculiarities of Russian legislation of that period. In tsarist Russia, emigration was prohibited - only temporary travel abroad was allowed. An exception to this rule was only Jews who received, according to the "Rules" of May 8, 1892, the right to officially leave the country, without the right to return.

A significant episode in the history of Russian political emigration was the activity of Herzen's friend, a high-ranking opposition figure, Prince P.V. Dolgorukov. Dolgorukov collaborated with the Herzen's Bell, providing information compromising the ruling strata of tsarist Russia from its illegal exported archive. Dolgorukov also published his periodicals “Future”, “Leaf”, “True”, etc. These are just some of the publications of Prince Dolgorukov: “The current state of affairs at court”, “Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich. His character and lifestyle. His wife Maria Alexandrovna ”,“ About what is happening in the Ministry of Finance ”,“ Career of Mina Ivanovna ”, etc.

The beginning of the second or “proletarian” stage of the formation of Russian political emigration until 1917 was associated with the creation in 1883 in Geneva of the Emancipation of Labor group. Its origins were former leaders of the populist movement: G. V. Plekhanov, a member of the organization “Earth and Freedom” and the leader of the “Black Redistribution”, P. B. Axelrod, Plekhanov’s colleague in the “Black Redistribution”, former editor-in-chief of the Bakunin newspaper “Community” the farmer V, N. Ignatov and others. The group laid the foundation for the Marxist trend in the history of political emigration. Abroad, members of the Emancipation of Labor group published the Library of Modern Socialism and the Work Library. The activities of the Emancipation of Labor group also prepared the education in 1898 and the final execution in 1903 of the RSDLP, with Plekhanov, Axelrod, Zasulich, members of the Emancipation of Labor group, playing a large role in the formation of the RSDLP. The RSDLP has created the largest, compared with other emigrant parties and associations, the infrastructure of party organizations and groups abroad. In particular, the RSDLP overseas groups worked in Geneva, Bern, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Karsruhe, Freiburg, Boston, Budapest, Lviv, Leipzig, Mannheim, Brussels, Nice, San Remo, Hamburg, Lausanne, Bremen, Liere, Antwerp, Ghannes , Davos, Kopeng gene, Toulouse, Chicago, New York and many other cities in Europe and America. The most famous press organs of the RSDLP are the newspapers Iskra, Zarya, Vperyod, Proletary, Pravda, Social Democrat and others. In 1908, the center of Russian political emigration moved from Geneva to Paris.

As already mentioned above, emigration, especially emigration of the 19th and early 20th centuries, is a complex, diverse phenomenon that does not fit into the Procrustean bed of any classification and systematization. The division of emigrants into political, economic, who left their homeland due to religious oppression and so on does not far cover all the components of emigration. Motives, reasons that prompted a person to become an emigrant are often very individual. And each person has his own story. The only thing that unites this community, a group of people called emigrants, is that they all left their homeland for a long time, and sometimes for life.

During the second half of the 19th, beginning of the 20th centuries, many figures lived abroad russian science, cultures and just rich nobles. N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev lived for a long time abroad. K.P. Bryullov, I.I. Mechnikov and many others. The reasons for their emigration are very diverse. Often this is a search for more favorable conditions for creativity and scientific work, personal reasons. These diverse motifs are often intertwined.

From 1847 until his death in 1883, I.S. Turgenev lived abroad mainly in France. In 1877, a historian, geographer, member of the Russian Geographical Society, correspondent of the magazine Bell, M. I. Venyukov emigrated to France. In the early 30s of the XIX century, mother and daughter of Vereshchagins, Elizaveta Arkadevna and Alexandra Mikhailovna, went abroad for permanent residence. A.M. Vereshchagin, cousin of Lermontov, was friends with him during his life in Moscow and was in correspondence. In 1837 A.M. Vereshchagin married Baron Karl von Hugel and since then has not returned to Russia, living mainly in Paris and Stuttgart.

Russian microbiologist, laureate Nobel PrizeI.I. Mechnikov lived in France from 1888 until his death in 1916. In 1888, Mechnikov accepted the offer of Louis Pasteur and headed the largest laboratory of the bacteriological institute in Paris; since 1903, he was also the deputy director of this institution.

The centers of the Russian pre-revolutionary foreign countries were also numerous Russian libraries, which are available in many cities of Europe. One of the first Russian emigrant libraries was the "Slavic Library in Paris", founded in 1855 by Russian Jesuits at the initiative of Prince I. Gagarin. Significant cultural center of the Russian colony in Paris was the "Russian Library. I. S. Turgenev. " It opened in January 1875. Its founders were I.S. Turgenev and G.A. Lopatin. In 1883, after the death of Turgenev, the library was named after him. In Rome in 1902, the “Russian Library named after N.V. Gogol ". The first entries in the library were from the club of Russian artists in Rome that had ceased to exist. Thus, the library received several thousand volumes. The library often hosted readings, concerts, debates. The lecturers were P.D. Boborykin, S.M. Volkonsky, V.F. Ern, S.M. Soloviev, and others. On Wednesdays, weekly meetings were organized for Russian emigrants in Rome. Library named after Gogol was a non-partisan institution and sought to be equally accessible to all Russian emigrants regardless of their political views. The membership fee for members of the library was 15 francs. Since 1912, in Rome, there was also the “Society of the Russian Library and Reading Room named after Leo Tolstoy.” Any Russian emigrant who had lived in Rome for at least three months could be a member of the Society.

The largest book collection of Russian books outside of Russia was owned by the Slavika Library at Alexander University in Helsinki. From 1828 until 1917, regularly receiving, by decree of Nicholas I, mandatory copies of all books published in the Russian Empire. In addition, it was replenished not only due to mandatory copies, but also due to donations and nominal gifts. The most valuable of them was the “Alexander Gift”, received from the son of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, Pavel Konstantinovich Alexandrov. He donated 24,000 volumes from two libraries to the Slavika Library - the Bolshoi Gatchinskaya and the Marble Palace libraries, which consist mainly of old books from the XYII and XYIII centuries. By 1917, there were about 350,000 book titles in the library.

One cannot fail to mention another large group of Russian people who became involuntary immigrants. These are Russian people living in Alaska who became emigrants in captivity - after the sale of Alaska to America in 1867. The parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church also involuntarily ended up in exile.

The Russian Orthodox Church in America dates back to the first Orthodox mission in Alaska in 1794. Since the sale of Alaska to America in 1867, the Russian Church in America has been on the territory of another state - the United States. Since that time, her parishioners have been replenished mainly due to converted Americans. In fact, since 1867, the Russian Orthodox Church in America has become Local The Orthodox Church, i.e. Having found "its place", it is in canonical dependence on the Russian Orthodox Church. Gradually, churches of the Russian Orthodox Church appear in the ancestral territory of the United States, San Francisco 1867, New York in 1870, and their parishioners include all Orthodox living in the United States: Serbs, Greeks, Syrians, immigrants from Austria-Hungary, etc. d. In 1903, the Russian Church in America had 52 temples, 69 chapels. The number of registered parishioners reached 32,000, and people from Russia were only 876. In order not to embarrass the parishioners who did not have Russian citizenship, the Holy Synod, by decree of January 27, 1906, permitted the practice of commemoration at services not of Emperor Nicholas II, but of the President of the United States. By 1917, there were already about a hundred thousand registered parishioners and 306 churches and chapels in the American Church. In addition, the Syro-Arab Mission, the Serbian and Albanian Missions belonged to the Russian Church.

Summing up the analysis of Russian emigration in pre-revolutionary Russia, we can draw the following conclusions. Emigration, as a phenomenon, a subject of study for historians, demographers, and other specialists, appears in Russia only from the middle of the 19th century. It is from the middle of the 19th century that one can speak of such concepts as the Russian emigrant press and literature of the Russian diaspora. During the second half of the last century, the beginning of the present, a fairly large Russian diaspora was formed in Europe and America, with its infrastructure of emigrant institutions, newspaper and magazine editorial offices, archives and libraries. It should be noted that the pre-revolutionary emigration of the 19th and early 20th centuries was the most significant in size, compared with subsequent emigrations, the number of emigrants from Russia in this period exceeds 7 million people. This is largely due to the fact that pre-revolutionary emigration was longer in time and was not caused by any political cataclysms, in contrast to subsequent emigrations. Moreover, in tsarist Russia, emigration was not regulated by law. The transfer of Russian citizens to another citizenship was prohibited, and the period of stay abroad was limited to 5 years, after which it was necessary to apply for an extension of the term, otherwise the person was considered to have lost citizenship, and his property passed to the guardian board, and he, having returned to Russia, was subject eternal link. Thus, until 1917, emigration from Russia was semi-legal in nature and in fact was not officially regulated in any way ...

The February Revolution of 1917 put an end to "anti-czarist" political emigration. In March 1917, the majority of revolutionaries of various political shades returned to Russia. To facilitate their repatriation, even Homecoming Committees were created. They acted in France, Switzerland, England, USA. But already in November 1917, the opposite phenomenon began to develop - emigration, bearing an anti-Soviet, anti-Bolshevik and anti-communist character. She received the name "White emigration" or "The first wave of Russian emigration." It should be discussed in more detail, since it was the “First Emigration” that played a significant role in the development and preservation of Russian national culture its spiritual roots.

In modern historical science, a generally accepted periodization has developed, including pre-revolutionary, post-revolutionary (after 1917), called the "first" wave; post-war, called the "second" wave of emigration; "Third" within the period of 1960-1980s; and the “fourth” - the modern (after 1991) wave, coinciding with the post-Soviet period in the history of our country. At the same time, a number of domestic researchers hold a different point of view on the problem of periodization. First of all, among American historians it is customary to consider mass pre-revolutionary emigration across the ocean, mainly labor, as the first wave.

Russian emigration toXIX - beginningXX at.

The flows of Russian emigrants during the XIX - XX centuries. are intermittent, pulsating in nature, and are closely related to political and economic development Of Russia. But, if at the beginning of the XIX century. individual individuals emigrated, then already from the middle of the century we can observe certain patterns. The most significant components of the pre-revolutionary migration flow from Russia in the second half of the 19th-beginning of the 20th centuries, which determined the face of the Russian foreign countries of the pre-revolutionary era, were political, revolutionary emigration to Europe, taking shape around university centers, labor migration to the USA and national (with religious elements) emigration . In the 1870-1880s, Russian emigrant centers were formed in most countries of Western Europe, the USA, and Japan. Russian labor migrants contributed to the colonization of the New World (USA, Canada, Brazil and Argentina) and Far East outside of Russia (China). In the 80s. XIX century they were supplemented by numerous representatives of national emigration from Russia: Jews, Poles, Finns, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians. A sufficiently large group of Russian intelligentsia left their homeland forever after the events of the 1905 revolution. According to official statistics, from 1828 until the outbreak of World War I, the number of Russians who left the empire amounted to 4.5 million people.

The "first" wave.

The revolutionary events of 1917 and the ensuing Civil War led to the emergence of a large number of refugees from Russia. Accurate data on the number of those who left their homeland did not exist. Traditionally (since the 1920s), it was believed that about 2 million of our compatriots were in exile. It should be noted that the mass outflow of emigrants went until the mid-1920s, then it stopped. Geographically, this emigration from Russia was primarily directed to the countries of Western Europe. The main centers of Russian emigration of the first wave were Paris, Berlin, Prague, Belgrade, Sofia. A significant part of the emigrants also settled in Harbin. In the USA, inventors and scientists, and others, were able to realize their outstanding talents. "Russian gift to America" \u200b\u200bwas called the inventor of television. The emigration of the first wave is a unique phenomenon, since the majority of emigrants (85-90%) did not subsequently return to Russia and did not integrate into the society of their country of residence. Separately, it is worth mentioning the well-known action of the Soviet government in 1922: the two famous “” delivered from Petrograd to Germany (Stettin) about 50 outstanding Russian humanities (together with their families - about 115 people). After the decree of the RSFSR of 1921 on the deprivation of their citizenship, confirmed and supplemented in 1924, the door to Russia was closed for them forever. But most of them were confident in their imminent return to their homeland and sought to preserve the language, culture, traditions, and everyday life. The intelligentsia was no more than a third of the stream, but it was she who made up the glory of the Russian Diaspora. The post-revolutionary emigration claimed quite successfully the role of the main bearer of the image of Russia in the world, the ideological and cultural confrontation of the Russian foreign countries and the USSR for many decades ensured this perception of emigration by a significant part of the Russian foreign and foreign community.

In addition to the White emigration, the first post-revolutionary decade also included fragments of ethnic (and, at the same time, religious) emigration - Jewish (about 100,000, almost all to Palestine) and German (about 20-25 thousand people), and the most massive type of emigration is labor , so characteristic of Russia before the First World War, after 1917 was discontinued.

The "second" wave.

Compared to the post-revolutionary emigration, the social section was completely different from forced emigrants from the USSR during the Second World War. These are residents of the Soviet Union and annexed territories who, as a result of World War II, left the Soviet Union for one reason or another. Among them were collaborators. In order to avoid forced repatriation and obtain refugee status, some Soviet citizens changed their documents and surnames, hiding their origin. Together, the total number of Soviet citizens outside the USSR amounted to about 7 million people. Their fate was decided at the Yalta Conference of 1945, and at the request of the Soviet Union they were supposed to return to their homeland. For several years, large groups of displaced persons lived in special camps in the American, British and French zones of occupation; in most cases, they were sent back to the USSR. Moreover, the allies handed over to the Soviet side the former Russians who found themselves on opposite side front (as, for example, several thousand Cossacks in Lienz in 1945, who were in the English zone of occupation). In the USSR they were repressed.

At least 300 thousand displaced persons never returned to their homeland. The bulk of those who escaped return to the Soviet Union, or fled from Soviet troops from Eastern and Southeast Europe, went to the United States and Latin America. A large number of scientists left for the United States - they were helped, in particular, by the famous Tolstoy Foundation, created by Alexandra Lvovna Tolstoy. And many of those whom the international authorities classified as collaborators, left for Latin America. The mentality of these people for the most part was significantly different from the Russian emigrants of the “first” wave, mainly they feared reprisals. On the one hand, there was a certain rapprochement between them, but the merger into a single whole did not happen.

The "third" wave.

The third wave of Russian emigration came in the era of "". movement and cold war became the reason that many people voluntarily left the country, although everything was pretty much limited by the authorities. In total, this wave involved more than 500 thousand people. Its ethnic composition was formed not only by Jews and Germans, who were the majority, but also by representatives of other peoples having their own statehood (Greeks, Poles, Finns, Spaniards). Also among them were those who fled the Soviet Union during business trips or trips or were forcibly expelled from the country, the so-called "Defectors." That’s how they fled: the outstanding ballet soloist M. Baryshnikov, and hockey player A. Mogilny. The signing of the USSR should be highlighted. It was from this moment that the citizens of the Soviet Union had legal reasons to leave the country, justifying this not with family or ethnic motives. Unlike the emigrants of the first and second waves, representatives of the third traveled legally, were not criminals in the eyes of the Soviet state, and could correspond and call back relatives and friends. However, the principle was strictly observed: a person who voluntarily left the USSR subsequently could not come even to the funeral of his closest relatives. An important incentive for many Soviet citizens who left for the United States in the 1970-1990s was the myth of the "great American dream." AT popular culture such an emigration was assigned the ironic name of “sausage”, but there were representatives of the intelligentsia in it too. Among its most prominent representatives are I. Brodsky, V Aksenov, N. Korzhavin, A. Sinyavsky, B. Paramonov, F. Gorenstein, V. Maksimov, A. Zinoviev, V. Nekrasov, S. Davlatov. In addition, prominent dissidents of that time, primarily A.I., entered the third wave of emigration. Solzhenitsyn. Figures of the third wave devoted much effort and time to expressing, through publishers, almanacs, and magazines, which they directed, various points of view on the past, present, and future of Russia that did not have the right to express themselves in the USSR.

The "fourth" wave.

The last, fourth stage of emigration is associated with politics in the USSR and the entry into force of new exit rules in 1986, which greatly simplify the emigration procedure (Decree of the USSR Council of Ministers of 08.08.1986 No. 1064), as well as the adoption of the law “On the procedure for leaving the USSR and entering USSR citizens of the USSR ”, which entered into force on January 1, 1993. Unlike all three previous emigrations, the fourth did not (and does not) have any internal restrictions on the part of the Soviet, and subsequently, the Russian government. Between 1990 and 2000, approximately 1.1 million people left Russia alone, of which not only representatives of different ethnic groups, but also the Russian population. This migration flow had a clear geographical component: from 90 to 95% of all migrants went to Germany, Israel and the United States. This direction was set by the presence of generous repatriation programs in the first two countries and programs for the reception of refugees and scientists from the former USSR in the latter. Unlike the Soviet period, people no longer burnt bridges behind them. Many can generally be called expatriates with a stretch, since they plan to return or live "in two houses." Another feature of the last emigration is the absence of any noticeable attempts on its part to political activities in relation to the country of origin, in contrast to previous waves.

In the second half of the 1990s and early 2000s, there was a process of re-emigration of scientists and specialists who had left their homeland to the Russian Federation.

In the 2000s, a new stage in the history of Russian emigration began. Currently, this is mainly economic emigration, which is subject to global trends and is governed by the laws of those countries that accept migrants. The political component no longer plays a special role. In total, the number of emigrants from Russia from 2003 to the present has exceeded 500 thousand people.

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

Stages of emigration

The first emigrants, more far-sighted and wealthy, began to leave Russia in early 1917. They were able to get a good job, having the funds to execute various documents, permits, choosing a convenient place of residence. By 1919, white emigration was a mass character, more and more resembling flight.

Historians decided to divide it into several stages. The beginning of the first is associated with the evacuation of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia from Novorossiysk in 1920 together 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, who was leaving the Crimea. The final third stage - the defeat of the Bolsheviks and the shameful flight of troops of Admiral V.V. Kolchak in 1921 from the territory of the Far East. The total number of Russian emigrants is from 1.4 to 2 million people.

Composition of emigration

Most of the total number of citizens who left their homeland was military emigration. These were mainly officers, Cossacks. Only in the first wave left Russia according to rough estimates of 250 thousand people. They hoped to return soon, left for a short while, but it turned out that forever. The second wave hit officers fleeing the Bolshevik persecution, who also hoped for a speedy return. It was the military that made up the backbone of white emigration in Europe.

Also emigrants became:

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

Most of them left the country with their entire families.

Initially taking over the main stream of Russian emigration, were the neighboring states: Turkey, China, Romania, Finland, Poland, 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 the country.

Most of the emigrants did not fight against it. They 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. To those who did not fight, the Soviets had no complaints. More than 800 thousand people returned to their homeland.

Russian military emigration

Wrangel’s army was evacuated on 130 ships of various types, both military and civilian. A total of 150 thousand people were taken to Constantinople. Vessels with people stood on the roads for two weeks. Only after lengthy negotiations with the French occupation command, it was 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 was defined as a camp near Gallipoli, which is located on the northern shore of the Dardanelles. Here they located the 1st Army Corps under the command of General A. Kutepov.

In two other camps located in Chalataj, not far from Constantinople and on the island of Lemnos, Don and Kuban were placed. By the end of 1920, 190 thousand people were included in the lists of the Registration Bureau, of which the military amounted to 60 thousand, civilians - 130 thousand.

Gallipoli seat

The most famous camp for A. Kutepov's 1st Army Corps evacuated from Crimea was 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 — boys from 10 to 12 years old — in the camp.

The Gallipoli seat 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 old barracks. These buildings were completely unsuitable for winter residence. Diseases began, which weakened, half-naked people suffered with difficulty. In the first months of residence, 250 people died.

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

Thanks to the General of the White Army A. Kutepov, further demoralization of people who fell into unbearable conditions did not go. He understood that only discipline, the daily employment of his subordinates could save them from moral decay. Has begun military trainingparades were held. The alignment and appearance of the Russian military more and more surprised the French delegations visiting the camp.

Concerts, competitions were held, newspapers were published. Military schools were organized in which 1,400 cadets studied, a fencing school, a theater studio, two theaters, choreographic circles, a gymnasium worked, kindergarten and much more. Conducted services of 8 temples. For guardians of discipline 3 guardhouses worked. The local population was sympathetic to the Russians.

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

Creation of the “Russian Military Union”

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

To obtain material assistance from the Allied Entente.
Prevent disarmament of the army.
In the shortest possible time to 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 the army on their territory. To which a positive response was received with a promise of maintenance at the expense of the treasury, with payment of officers a small salary and ration, with the provision of contracts for work. In August, the export 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 on the creation of the “Russian Military Union” (ROVS). His purpose was to unite and rally all parts, military societies and unions. Which was done.

He, as the chairman of the union, became commander in chief, the head of the ROVS took over his headquarters. It was an expatriate organization that became the successor of the Russian main task. Wrangel set the preservation of old military personnel and the education of new ones. But, sadly, it was from these cadres during the Second World War that the Russian Corps was formed, which fought against the partisans of Tito and the Soviet army.

Russian Cossacks in exile

Cossacks were also exported from Turkey to the Balkans. They settled, as in Russia, the villages, at the head of which were the village councils with atamans. The “Joint Council of the Don, Kuban and Terek” was created, as well as the “Cossack Union”, to which all the villages were subordinate. Cossacks led a familiar lifestyle, worked on the land, but did not feel like real Cossacks - the support of the king and the Fatherland.

Nostalgia for native land - The fat chernozems of the Kuban and Don, according to the abandoned families, 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 did not have forgiveness in the homeland for the brutal massacres that were being committed, for the fierce resistance to the Bolsheviks.

Most of the villages were in Yugoslavia. Famous and originally numerous was the Belgrade village. Different Cossacks lived in it, and she 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 in it. Gradually, the villages in Yugoslavia and Bulgaria entered the ROVS, under the command of Ataman Markov.

Europe and white emigration

The bulk of Russian emigrants fled to Europe. As mentioned above, the countries that accepted the main stream of refugees were: France, Turkey, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Latvia, Greece. After the closure of 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 was partly due to the fact that labor was needed to rebuild the countries that took part in the First World War. There were more than 200 thousand Russians in Paris. In second place was Berlin. But life made its own adjustments. Many emigrants left Germany and moved to other countries, in particular to neighboring Czechoslovakia, because of the events taking place in this 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. An important place in the life of Russian communities abroad was played by Paris, 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 the New World - the USA and Latin American countries.

Russians in China

Before the Great October 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 fell within the scope of its laws. As the Red Army moved east, the flow of refugees to China increased, and they all rushed to Manchuria, where the Russians made up the majority of the population.

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

First, the fall of the Omsk Directory in early 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 the army of Ataman Semenov, who crossed the border, were first disarmed and deprived of their freedom of movement and exit outside the country, that is, they were interned in Tsitskarsky camps. After that they 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 was up to 400 thousand people. The abolition of the status of extraterritoriality in Manchuria, overnight, turned thousands of Russians into ordinary migrants. However, people continued to live. In Harbin opened a university, a seminary, 6 institutes, which operate to this day. But the Russian population did their best to leave China. More than 100 thousand returned to Russia, large flows of refugees rushed to Australia, New Zealand, 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 were outside the homeland. For the most part, it was the color of a nation that their own people could not understand. General Wrangel, did a lot for his subordinates outside the homeland. He managed to maintain a combat-ready army, 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 with your own country.

Meanwhile, a serious company flared up around Wrangel’s army, which pursued the goal of drawing it into the political struggle. On the one hand, the liberal liberals headed by P. Milyukov and A. Kerensky pressed on the leadership of the white movement. On the other hand, right-wing monarchists led by N. Markov.

The left completely defeated in attracting the general to his side and avenged him by starting to split the white movement, cutting off the Cossacks from the army. Possessing sufficient experience in “undercover games”, they, using tools mass media, managed to convince the governments of the countries where the emigrants were to stop financing the White Army. They also secured the transfer to them of the right to dispose of the assets of the Russian Empire abroad.

This sadly affected the White Army. The governments of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, for economic reasons, delayed the payment of contracts for the 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 conclude contracts with the deduction of part of their earnings in the EMRO.

White movement and monarchism

Realizing that most officers were disappointed in the monarchy due to the defeat on the fronts of the Civil War, General Wrangel decided to attract the grandson of Nicholas I to the side of the army. The Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich 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 the leadership of the White Army.

The situation of emigrants

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

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

The life of emigrants was not easy. Many fell, unable to withstand difficult trials. But most of them, preserving the memory of Russia, were building a new life. People learned to live a new life, worked, raised children, believed in God and hoped that someday they would return to their homeland.

Only in 1933, 12 countries signed the Convention on the Legal Rights of Russian and Armenian Refugees. They were equated in fundamental rights with the locals of the states that have 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 civil war, hardships and tribulations in exile, left their mark on the minds of people. It is clear that to Soviet Russia they did not harbor tender feelings; they saw in her an implacable enemy. Therefore, many pinned their hopes on Nazi Germany, which will open their way home. But there were those who saw in Germany an ardent enemy. They lived in love and sympathy for their distant Russia.

The outbreak of war and the subsequent invasion of Nazi troops on the territory of the USSR divided the emigrant world into two parts. Moreover, as many researchers consider unequal. Most met German aggression against Russia enthusiastically. The officers of the White Guard served in the Russian Corps, the ROA, the Russland division, the second time sending weapons against their people.

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

Emigration in Russia: history and modernity

1. Emigration from the Russian Empire

It is customary to count Russian emigration from the 16th century, from the time of Ivan the Terrible. It is established that the first widely known political emigrant can be considered Prince Andrei Kurbsky. In the XVII century. "defectors" appeared - young nobles whom Boris Godunov sent to Europe to study, but they did not return to their homeland. However, until the mid-19th century, cases of emigration were rare. And only after the Peasant Reform of 1861, travel outside of Russia became a mass phenomenon.

For all that, there was no such legal concept as “emigration” in pre-revolutionary Russian legislation. The transfer of Russians to another citizenship was forbidden, and the time spent outside the country was limited to five years, after which they should apply for an extension of time. If the refusal and non-return followed, then the person lost his citizenship and was subjected to arrest, exile until the end of his days and deprivation of property.

Pre-revolutionary emigration is more correctly divided not by chronology, but by typological groups: labor (or economic), religious, Jewish and political (or revolutionary). Emigrants first three groups mostly went to the USA and Canada, and the fourth to Europe.

Labor or economic emigration in the pre-revolutionary period was the most massive. It was composed mainly of landless peasants, artisans, unskilled workers. In total for 1851 - 1915 4.200.500 people left Russia, of which 3.978.9 thousand people emigrated to the New World, mainly to the United States, which is 94%. It is noteworthy that the vast majority of pre-revolutionary emigrants were, as a rule, natives of other countries living in Russia: Germany (more than 1,400 thousand people), Persia (850 thousand), Austria-Hungary (800 thousand) and Turkey (400 thousand )

The number of Russian emigrants who left for religious reasons is approximately 30 thousand. The largest flows of emigration until 1917 were members of various religious groupspersecuted for religion: Dukhobors (sect of spiritual Christians; rejects Orthodox rites and sacraments, priests, monasticism), Molokans (sect of spiritual Christians; reject priests and churches, perform prayers in ordinary houses) and Old Believers (part of Orthodox Christians who departed from the dominant in Russian Church after the reforms of the Moscow Patriarch Nikon). In the 1890s, the Dukhobor movement intensified with the aim of relocating to America. Part of the Dukhobors was sent to Yakutia, but many obtained permission to resettle in America. In 1898-1902 about 7, 5 thousand Dukhobors moved to Canada, many of them then moved to the USA. In 1905, they obtained permission to resettle in Canada and some Dukhobors from Yakutia. In the first decade of the 20th century, more than 3, 5 thousand Molokans left for the USA, they settled mainly in California. The Dukhobors, Molokans, and Old Believers largely determined the nature of Russian emigration to America at the beginning of the 20th century. In particular, in 1920 in Los Angeles, out of 3,750 Russians living there, only 100 were Orthodox, the remaining 97% were representatives of various religious sects. The Dukhobors and Old Believers on the American continent, thanks to a fairly separate way of life, were able to preserve to this day Russian traditions and customs to this day. Despite the significant Americanization of life and expansion of English language they even now continue to remain islands of Russia abroad

More than 40% of the emigrants were Jews. The emigration of Jews increased significantly after the assassination of the reformer Tsar Alexander II and the subsequent Jewish pogroms. Regarding the departure of the Jews, Permission was issued to the Jews ... (1880), which allowed them to leave the empire, but punished them with the deprivation of the right to return. Jews began to leave mainly to the New World, and many settled in the United States. This choice is not accidental: according to the American constitution, Jews had the same civil and religious rights as Christians. The peak of Jewish emigration from Russia to the USA occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. - More than 700 thousand people left the country.

Political emigration from the Russian Empire was quite a few and was a diverse and complex phenomenon, since it included all the colors of public life in pre-revolutionary Russia. It is very conditionally possible to divide the history of political emigration until 1917 into two periods: 1. People’s, starting from the emigration in 1847 of the Russian publicist, writer and philosopher A.I. Herzen and ending in 1883 with the formation in Geneva of the Marxist group Emancipation of Labor "; 2. Proletarian (or socialist) from 1883 to 1917. The first period is characterized by the absence of political parties with a clearly defined structure and a small number of emigrants (mainly “representatives of the second stage of the revolutionary movement”). The second period of political emigration is much more massive and more structured, characterized by a huge number of diverse groups, societies and parties (the most real) of political emigrants. By the beginning of the 20th century, more than 150 Russian political parties were operating outside the borders of Russia. The main feature of the formation order of these parties was the design of the parties, first socialist orientation, then liberal and, finally, conservative. Russian government tried to different ways prevent political emigration, nip or impede its "subversive" activities abroad; with a number of countries (in particular, with the USA), it concluded agreements on the mutual extradition of political emigrants, which made them virtually illegal.

The most famous Russian emigrants of the pre-revolutionary time are, perhaps, Herzen, Gogol, Turgenev (France and Germany, 1847-1883), Mechnikov (Paris, 1888-1916), Lenin, Pirogov and Gorky.

The First World War led to a sharp decline in international migrations, primarily labor and especially intercontinental ones (but internal migrations also increased sharply, which was primarily due to the flows of refugees and evacuated fleeing the advancing enemy troops: their subsequent return was like usually only partial). It greatly accelerated the revolutionary situation and thereby made its “contribution” to the victory of the Bolsheviks and Left Social Revolutionaries. Massive political emigration began after the October Revolution. The country was left by people who did not agree with the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, who had no reason to equate themselves with the class whose power had been proclaimed.

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