WAR BEYOND THE FRONTLINE: REFUGEES IN INTERNAL GOVERNORATES OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24919/2519-058X.18.226510Abstract
The purpose of the research is to discover the causes and character of mass migration and refugees at the territory of the Russian Empire during World War I, as well as to analyze the state policy in the field of refugees’ care and to define the role of community and national aid organizations in it. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, system-formation, and the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, retrospective, perspective, generalization) and special historical (historical genetic, historical typological, historical systemic, historical comparative) methods. The scientific novelty of the article is that the number of refugees, the legislative regulation of the organization of help to these victims of war, the conditions and effectiveness of the work of the state, community and national committees in the field of refugee care, and some individual components of their daily lives were determined on the basis of previously unknown archival and printed documents. The Conclusions. The consequences of the mass and forced evacuation of the population from Western provinces of the Russian Empire were tragic. The authorities themselves initiated the local residents eviction, explaining it by the demands of the war, and then took responsibility to provide them with aid and financed it. The counting on their quick return home after several successful military operations turned out to be wrong, and millions of people turned into refugees remained helpless and in need of help for a long time. The situation required not only state institutions to be involved in the work, because the state alone could not cope with the problem. Refugee care was held by the Russian community organisations and national committees of aid to the victims of the war (Ukrainian, Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, etc.). Despite the work undertaken by the Russian authorities in the field of providing comprehensive social support to refugees, cooperation between the authorities and various aid organizations has been complicated, but not only by incomprehensible legislation. The cumbersome bureaucratic apparatus of the Russian Empire, the crisis of the authorities hampered promptness, while the refugees demanded immediate assistance.
Key words: refugees, aid organizations, the Russian Empire, World War I, state, community and national committees.
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