The Russian colony in France (January 24th, 1941)

Abstract

The article presents the publication of the review «The Russian colony in France» made by the Don ataman in exile M. Grabbe in January 1941 and sent to prefect of police in Paris. The text was written in French and revealed in the State Archive of the Russian Federation. It is an important source on the history of the first-wave post-revolutionary Russian emigration during the Second World War. The document enlightens on the following subjects: the making process of the Russian colony in France; its number and social, ethnic, professional and confessional structure; political movements and parties among the Russian refugees in France; institutional structure of the colony; its legal status; Russian combatants in France during the Second World War. The text characterises repeatedly the living conditions of the Russian refugees as lacking civil rights, especially in war time. Undoubtedly, the author of the review hopes to solve a range of questions under the new circumstances with the support of the occupation authorities.