Yevgeniya Svatukhina on waves of political emigration from Russia in the 19th and early 20th century on Vesti FM

Speaking about the history of the emergence of the Russian-speaking communities in Western Europe, it is necessary to turn to such a phenomenon as the Russian political emigration. The history of resettlement of compatriots, as a result of which the Russian diaspora was formed abroad, counts several centuries, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza, Yevgeniya Svatukhina said in the National Question Program on Vesti FM, talking about the history of the Russian-speaking communities in Western Europe.

"Turning to the issue of the emergence and existence of the Russian emigration, we note that this is an extremely complex phenomenon, as the modern historiography contains many examples of periodization of this phenomenon. Historian N.L. Pushkareva presented the entire history of the Russian emigration in the form of waves. Our presentation is based on her research,’’ the expert drew attention.

First of all, it should be noted that the Russian-speaking communities in Europe were formed not only from the political emigrants. People were leaving the country on the religious and economic motives as well.

Of course, the October Revolution of 1917 is a milestone in the history of the political, religious and economic migration. "This a separate big topic, but I want to draw your attention to two important factors: firstly, I note the extremely diverse social composition, for example, Zinaida Gippius noted that the country was abandoned by the representatives of all classes, estates and positions. And the second, the Russian intelligentsia fled the country.

As for the geography of emigration, it was formed primarily due to the hopes of an early return to the homeland. Hence the popularity of the border states - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Poland. After it became obvious that the Bolsheviks in Russia were going to stay for long, the borders expand to central Europe, Germany, Belgium, and France. The centers of the political life of the Russian emigration, except Paris, were Berlin, Prague, Belgrade, Sofia, Riga, " the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza concluded.