RATUSHNYAK O.V. Cossack Emigrants in Czechoslovakia in 1921–1939
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2023.5.11
Oleg V. Ratushnyak
Doctor of Sciences (History), Associate Professor, Professor,
Department of World History and International Relations, Kuban State University,
Stavropolskaya St, 149, 350040 Krasnodar, Russian Federation
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9285-3649
Abstract. Introduction. The purpose of this study is to analyze key aspects of the lives and details of Cossack emigrants in the Czechoslovak Republic (ČSR). Methods and materials. Within the research process, the author relied mainly on the following methods: narrative, historical-genetic, comparative-historical, and the method of analogies. The sources used were regulatory legal acts and office documents of the government and several ministries of the Czechoslovak Republic, speeches by individual representatives of the Czechoslovak ruling circles, documents of various organizations and societies, orders and decrees of army atamans, periodical press materials, and sources of private origin.
Analysis. Most Cossacks moved to Czechoslovakia from Turkey and Greece, where they ended up after the evacuation from Crimea. The organization of the Cossacks’ move to Czechoslovakia was carried out mainly by public associations and societies. The first part of the Cossacks arrived in Czechoslovakia in June 1921. By the beginning of 1922, about 3,000 Cossacks were stationed on the territory of Czechoslovakia. The Cossacks received great support as part of the campaign to help Russian refugees. Within Czechoslovakia, the Cossacks formed public associations in the form of villages and khutors, as well as workers’ artels, in order to obtain and perform various jobs. Most Cossacks living in Czechoslovakia were involved in agriculture. Atamans of Cossack troops tried in every possible way to counteract the assimilation of Cossacks. Many Cossacks, after getting an education, were trying to leave Czechoslovakia for other states, mainly for France.
Results. A comparative analysis showed that the Cossacks generally adapted more easily to the conditions of life in the position of an emigrant than most representatives of other parts of the Russian emigration. At the same time, the problem of assimilation among the Cossacks was sometimes quite acute and required the adoption of effective measures by their leaders. One of these measures was the popularization among the Cossacks of facts from their historical past and the preservation of historical memory. Not least, it was contributed by the Cossack historical commissions and archives.
Key words: Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak Republic, Cossacks, Cossackdom, emigration.
Citation. Ratushnyak O.V. Cossack Emigrants in Czechoslovakia in 1921–1939. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations], 2023, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 137-147. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2023.5.11.
Cossack Emigrants in Czechoslovakia in 1921–1939 by Ratushnyak O.V. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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