Preservation of zemstvo traditions in Russian emigration in 1917–1939: The Russian Zemstvos and Towns Relief Committee of Russian Citizens Abroad (Zemgor)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the activities of emigrant zemstvo organizations in the context of their preservation of the traditions of the pre-revolutionary Russian zemstvo. The Russian post-revolutionary emigration caused by the October Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent Civil War numbered up to two million refugees who settled mainly in the countries of Central Europe, Slavic countries, newly formed border states, and the Far East. Many of the former zemstvo officials of various levels who had significant experience in organizing humanitarian assistance to refugees and the wounded during the First World War and the Civil War also emigrated. The article traces the continuity of emigrant zemstvo organizations, primarily the Russian Zemstvos and Towns Relief Committee of Russian Citizens Abroad and its branches, in relation to pre-revolutionary zemstvo institutions, such as the All-Russian Zemstvo Union. Russian emigrant organizations continued their former zemstvo activities, focusing on education (secondary and higher education), employment of Russian refugees (labor exchanges), medical care, and preservation of Russian culture in the new conditions, among other things, by means of organizing and holding the days of Russian culture as well as founding archives and libraries. To prove the idea of continuity of zemstvo organizations, the author considers the structure and composition of the Russian Zemstvos and Towns Relief Committee of Russian Citizens Abroad and its most significant offices in Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Bulgaria, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The article is mainly based on the materials from the Russian Historical Archive Abroad (RZIA) stored in the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Archives of the Prefecture of Police of Paris, and publications of the Zemgor.