Положение русских комбатантов во Франции после Первой мировой войны (по материалам солдатских писем)
The Situation of Russian Combatants in France after the First World War (Based on Materials from Soldiers Letters)

Summary/Abstract: The article based on the correspondence of Russian combatants in France after the end of the First World War. The basis of the study was the correspondence of military personnel with the editorial board of the newspaper “Russian soldier-citizen in France” (then “Luch”) with the sub-department on pow and internees of the Executive Commission of the meeting of members of the Constituent Assembly (Paris) in 1921, etc. At such epistolary legacy reflects both the discourse of the era and the fate of soldiers who found themselves outside their homeland, and often without the support of commanders and the fatherland. The public and private, the macro- and micro-historical course of life intersect here. The article shows the situation of pow, officers of the Russian expeditionary force in France, and the people who passed through the French Foreign Legion after the end of the Great War. The fall of the tsarist regime and the Provisional Government in Russia, then the conclusion of the Brest Peace, became the basis for France to review its allied obligations and remove responsibility for the fate of military officials stationed in the country. The French government has done a lot to support the combatants (the allocation of loans by the French parliament for sending to Russia, the payment of pensions to disabled members of the Russian expeditionary corps, employment), but not enough to make them feel protected. Based on this circumstance, Shmelev said that the great democracies had forgotten the sacrifices that Russia made for the world cause. Owing them, it was possible to establish communication with the French authorities, involve the international community in organizing assistance, orient the combatants in the rapidly changing situation both in Europe and in Russia, and expand the information space for them.

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