Homelands: War, Population and Statehood in Eastern Europe and Russia, 1918-1924 (Anthem Series on Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies,Anthem ... Studies in Peace, Conflict and Development)

War, population displacement and state formation in the Russian borderlands, 1914-1924 / Peter Gatrell -- Latvian refugees and the Latvian nation state during and after World War One / Aija Priedite -- In search of national support : Belarusian refugees in World War One and the People's Republic of Belarus / Valentina Utgof -- In search of a native realm : the return of World War One refugees to Lithuania, 1918-1924 / Tomas Balkelis -- Population displacement and citizenship in Poland, 1918-24 / Konrad Zielinski -- The repatriation of Polish citizens from Soviet Ukraine to Poland in 1921-2 / Kateryna Stadnik -- 'Sybiraki' : Siberian and Manchurian returnees in independent Poland / Łucja Kapralska -- Refugees in the Urals region, 1917-1925 / Gennadii Kornilov -- Armenia : the 'nationalization', internationalization and representation of the refugee crisis / Peter Gatrell and Jo Laycock -- Conclusions : On living in a 'new country' / Peter Gatrell and Nick Baron. Front Matter 2 Half Title 2 Anthem Studies in Population Displacement and Political Space 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of Maps 8 List of Tables 9 Acknowledgements 11 Contributors 12 Main Body 20 Introduction, by Nick Baron and Peter Gatrell 20 Note on Terminology 27 1. War, Population Displacement and State Formation in the Russian Borderlands, 1914-24, by Peter Gatrell 29 1.1 World War One: Humanity Uprooted 30 1.2 Revolution, Peacemaking, and the Onset of Civil War in Russia 35 1.3 The Framework of Resettlement and Relief 42 1.4 Towards a Refugee-Centred Perspective: Narrating and Negotiating Displacement 48 1.5 Concluding Remarks: 'War After the War' 52 2. Latvian Refugees and the Latvian Nation State during and after World War One 54 2.1 Introduction 54 2.2 The Development of the Idea of a Latvian State During World War One 56 2.3 The Institutional Framework of the Latvian National Movement 59 2.4 Representations of Latvian Refugees in the Russian Interior 62 2.5 Beyond World War One 64 2.6 Conclusions 69 3. In Search of National Support: Belarusian Refugees in World War One and the People's Republic of Belarus, by Valentina Utgof 72 3.1 Introduction 72 3.2 War and the Origins of Refugee Relief in Belarus 73 3.3 Educational and Cultural Work 75 3.4 Revolution and Belarusian Refugeedom During 1917 78 3.5 Population Displacement and Political Uncertainty in Belarus After October 1917 81 3.6 Refugees and the Future of Belarus 86 3.7 Conclusions 91 4. In Search of a Native Realm: The Return of World War One Refugees to Lithuania, 1918-24, by Tomas Balkelis 93 4.1 Introduction 93 4.2 The Chronology of Repatriation 94 4.3 The First Phase: 1918 to Mid-1920 95 4.4 Phase Two: The Politics of Organized Return (Mid-1920-1924) 100 4.5 Shifting Borders and Political Loyalties: Refugees from Vilno and Grodno 106 4.6 Refugees' Ethnicity and the 'Jewish Question' 110 4.7 Conclusions 114 Tables 116 5. Population Displacement and Citizenship in Poland, 1918-24, by Konrad Zielinski 117 5.1 Migration and Nationality Politics in the New Poland 117 5.2 The Legal Framework 120 5.3 Regulations and Practice 124 5.4 The 'Character' of the Refugee 129 5.6 Russians in Polesie: At Home or in Exile? 133 5.7 Conclusions 135 6. The Rapatriation of Polish Citizens from Soviet Ukraine to Poland in 1921-2, by Kateryna Stadnik 138 6.1 Introduction 138 6.2 The Institutional Framework 139 6.3 Labelling Returnees 141 6.4 Counting Re-Evacuees 145 6.5 The Decision to Migrate 147 6.6 Abandoned Children 148 6.7 Welfare, Politics and Decision-Making by Refugees 149 6.8 Conclusions 155 7. 'Sybiraki': Siberian and Manchurian Returnees in Independent Poland, by Lucja Kapralska 157 7.1 Introduction 157 7.2 Poles in Siberia and the Far East Before and During the Russian Revolution 158 7.3 Returning Home 161 7.4 The Association of Siberian Deportees (Zwaiazek Sybirakow) 165 7.5 The Role of 'Sybirak' 168 7.6 Conclusions 173 8. Refugees in the Urals Region, 1917-25 by Gennadi Kornilov 175 8.1 Introduction 175 8.2 Three Phases of Migration and the Institutional Context 176 8.3 The First Phase and its Implications 178 8.4 The Second Wave Joins the First 185 8.5 'Famine Refugees' 187 8.6 Coming to Terms with Population Displacement 193 8.7 Conclusions 196 9. Armenia: the 'Nationalization', Internationalization and Representation of the Refugee Crisis, by Peter Gatrell and Jo Laycock 198 9.1 Introduction 198 9.2 World War One, 'Genocide', and the Mobilization of International Opinion 199 9.3 Territorial Reconfiguration and Population Displacement, 1918-20 202 9.4 Humanitarian Intervention, 1918-25 207 9.5 Internationalization: The League of Nations, and the Resettlement of Refugees 212 9.6 The Image of the Armenian Refugee 213 9.7 Conclusions 217 Conclusions: On Living in a 'New Country' by Peter Gatrell and Nick Baron 220 End Matter 228 Notes 228 Notes: Introduction 228 Notes: Chapter 1 231 Notes: Chapter 2 238 Notes: Chapter 3 241 Notes: Chapter 4 248 Notes: Chapter 5 252 Notes: Chapter 6 261 Notes: Chapter 7 266 Notes: Chapter 8 270 Notes: Chapter 9 272 Notes: Conclusion 279 Index 280 The topic of state-building has acquired a new actuality in recent years, following the collapse of the USSR and the 'Soviet bloc' and in view of the complex, often violent, territorial and ethnic conflicts whith have ensued. Many of the current dilemmas and tragedies of the region have their origins in the aftermath of World War I, when newly independent nation states, struggling to emerge from the rubble of the former Russian empire, first sought to define themselves in terms of population, territory and citizenship.

The sudden reconfiguration of power in Eastern Europe after 1918 was characterized by extreme flux, in the form of massive population movements, shifting territorial borders and cultural boundaries, and new political and social formations taking shape. Acknowledging the chaotic and destructive nature of involuntary migration and the intensity of human suffering involved, the current volume also explores the extent to which refugees and returnees played an active role in negotiating their status in the new states of Eastern Europe. Based on original research in recently opened East European and Russian archives, it includes detailed case studies on Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, the Urals region of Soviet Russia and Armenia.

Homelands examines the interactions of forced migration, state construction and myriad emerging forms of social identity. It opens up a fresh perspective on twentieth-century history and throws new light on present-day political, humanitarian and scholarly issues of crucial concern to political scientists, sociologists, geographers, refugee welfare workers, policymakers and others.

"The topic of state-building has acquired a new actuality in recent years, following the collapse of the USSR and the 'Soviet bloc' and in view of the complex, often violent, territorial and ethnic conflicts which have ensued. Many of the current dilemmas and tragedies of the region have their origins in the aftermath of World War I, when newly independent nation states, struggling to emerge from the rubble of the former Russian empire, first sought to define themselves in terms of population, territory and citizenship." "Homelands examines the interactions of forced migration, state construction and myriad emerging forms of social identity. It opens up a fresh perspective on twentieth-century history and throws new light on present-day political, humanitarian and scholarly issues of crucial concern to political scientists, sociologists, geographers, refugee welfare workers, policymakers and others."--BOOK JACKET.

This new volume, by a team of international scholars, explores aspects of population displacement and statehood at a crucial juncture in modern European history, when the entire continent took on the aspect of a 'laboratory atop a mass graveyard' (Tomas Masaryk).