Political Sentiments of White Émigrés in the Far East in the 1920s

Abstract

Based on the documents from the Central Archives of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation and the State Archives of the Russian Federation, analysed in line with the anthropological approach, this article describes in broad outline the sentiments of white émigrés in the Far East during the 1920s. The archival documents include informant reports from the Beijing and Shanghai residencies of the Foreign Department of the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU), summaries and analytical reports of the Counterintelligence Department of the OGPU, reports of operational officers of the Foreign Department of the OGPU, official and personal letters, reports and correspondence of top White Guard leaders, and reports from Chinese newspapers. The paper specifies the total number and location of exiles in the Far East. Further, it dwells on the reasons for Russian citizens’ emigration to China and mentions their peacetime occupations in Russia. Moreover, the article describes the attempts of foreign adversaries to involve white émigrés in anti-Soviet activities and the reasons for their failures. It is shown that white émigrés formed organizations for the purpose of cultural and other communication in a kindred environment and for mutual moral and material support. A conclusion is substantiated that the dogma of the irreconcilability of class interests influenced the tendentious selection of information about white émigrés, about their general “hostility” towards the Soviet Union. In addition, it is alleged here that the majority of white émigrés, including some of their leaders, wanted to return to their homeland. This conclusion is based not only on analytical information reports compiled by secret agents of the GPU-OGPU, but also on surveys initiated by top white émigré leaders and carried out abroad in the 1920s.