The Russian Squadron in 1920–1924: People and Fates in Documents from the Military-Historical Archive in Vincennes

Abstract

The article describes the fate of the unique archives of the headquarters of the Russian Squadron, which was located at the port of Bizerte from 1921 to 1924. After evacuating of the Crimea and spending a short time in Constantinople, the Russian military fleet was sent to this distant colonial port, where the squadron existed until France recognized Soviet Russia in October 1924. After the liquidation of the squadron as a separate military unit, archival documents were stored in Bizerte for several years, and in 1935 were transported to the Military-Historical Archive in Toulon. However, only in 1981, after the transfer of the archives for permanent storage to the Historical Service of the French Army in Vincennes, was this documentary collection officially included in the archive. The author raises questions about the creation and description of the collection and analyzes reference materials available for contemporary scholars. Special attention is devoted to an in-depth description of the collections along chronological and thematic principles, including a detailed classification of documents. In addition, the author describes a collection of various French-language sources related to the history of the Russian Squadron, which are stored in various collections of the Defense Historical Division at the Château de Vincennes.