The American Red Cross Activity in Eastern Siberia during the Russian Civil War (1918–1920)

Abstract

In mid-1918, the Siberian Commission of the American Red Cross was formed, headed by an American missionary doctor who worked in Japan, Rudolf Teusler. After Admiral Kolchak came to power, the Siberian Commission concluded an agreement to expand the scope of its activities, supply volumes, and payments. The main focus was on the front, which made the Red Cross akin to a White Army supply service, which was contrary to the principles of this organization. Americans drew attention to Eastern Siberia only in the summer of 1919, when Kolchak’s army retreated, and the incidence of typhus was rapidly growing in the rear regions. Two hospitals operated by the staff of the American Red Cross were opened in Irkutsk and Verkhneudinsk; gifts were distributed periodically in the form of first-aid items. At the end of 1919, in connection with the approach of the front line to Eastern Siberia, the Americans left the region, transferring medical facilities and supplies of medicines to local authorities. In early 1920, the Siberian Commission was given the opportunity to establish contacts with the Bolshevik authorities, which controlled territories west of Lake Baikal. Members of the commission began to prepare for a new humanitarian mission that would allow for the settlement of Soviet-American relations, return to the original tasks of the Red Cross, and help thousands of needy Siberians and refugees. However, the headquarters of the American Red Cross refused to authorize this activity and by mid-1920 evacuated the remaining personnel and cargo.