RUSSIAN MILITARY EMIGRATION OF THE FIRST WAVE ON THE EXAMPLE OF OFFICERS OF THE 199TH INFANTRY KRONSTADT REGIMENT

Terentev Viacheslav Olegovich

The phenomenon of refugees and forced migrants is actual for any historical epoch. The Russian emigration of the twentieth century turned out to be one of the greatest in human history. Its first wave, the emigration of 1917 – 1920-s, formed a significant part of the process. The Civil war divided Russia into two hostile parties and caused a large military emigration. Not all of them confronted the Soviets ideologically and (or) in the battlefields; there were people among them who found themselves abroad under various circumstances and stayed there. The article analyzes the reasons and motives of the Russian ‘white’ emigration on the example of the emigrant officers of the 199th Infantry Kronstandt Regiment, a typical infantry unit of the Great war. A systematization of the officer personnel is given basing on their attitude towards the military profession, the army, the Motherland, the Revolution and the Soviet rule. The first group consisted of aged distinguished officers with mostly commanding functions; the second included young, ambitious, emotional and vigorous ‘field leaders’. The third group was formed with nationalists, confronting the idea of a united and indivisible Russia. The two last categories were the wartime officers promoted from the non-commissioned officers and from the literate lower sections of the society. From 25 to 30 from 265 officers of the 199th Kronstadt Infantry Regiment, who had participated in the World War I, emigrated after the Revolution. The article analyzes the cases of all the emigrant commanders of the Regiment that survived by the end of the Civil war; the two battalion commanders, the two of nine company commanders and the three junior officers who also emigrated.

Keywords:Great War, Civil war in Russia, 199th Infantry Regiment, Kronstadt Regiment, emigration, officers