Register to the Rossiĭskoe natsional'noe ob"edinenie records
Processed by Natasha Porfirenko
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Phone: (650) 723-3563
Fax: (650) 725-3445
Email: archives@hoover.stanford.edu
© 2008
Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Register to the Rossiĭskoe natsional'noe ob"edinenie records
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, California
- Processed by:
- Natasha Porfirenko
- Date Completed:
- 2008
- Encoded by:
- ByteManagers using OAC finding aid conversion service specifications and Elizabeth Konzak
© 2008 Hoover Institution Archives. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Rossiĭskoe natsional'noe ob"edinenie records
Dates: 1929-1981
Collection number: 82066
Creator:
Rossiĭskoe natsional'noe ob"edinenie
Collection Size:
7 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box
4.6 linear feet)
Repository:
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Abstract: Russian émigré community in Belgium and other European countries over the time of the Russian Civil War, World War II, and
cold war period includes correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, printed and other material
Physical location: Hoover Institution Archives
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
Russian
French
English
Administrative Information
Access
The collection is open for research
The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to
copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives
at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see
or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.
Publication Rights
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Rossiĭskoe natsional'noe ob"edinenie records, [Box no.], Hoover Institution Archives
Acquisition Information
Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives in 1982
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find
the collection in Stanford University's online catalog at
http://searchworks.stanford.edu/ . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in the online catalog is larger than the number
of boxes listed in this finding aid.
Historical Note
Historical Background
After the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, Russia plunged into a bloody Civil War waged between the Red and White Armies.
In the fall of 1920 the White Army was defeated, and some 100,000 demoralized White Army troops and 50,000 civilians boarded
ships of the former Imperial Black Sea Fleet and fled the Crimea for Constantinople and exile. General Piotr Nikolaevich Vrangel,
Chief Commander of the White Army in Crimea, negotiated with the Ottoman Empire and the French who occupied Constantinople
at the end of the First World War for permission to settle the fully armed White Army in several camps in Turkey, Yugoslavia,
and the Aegean island of Lemnos. The principal camp was at Gallipoli in Turkey. There General Vrangel prepared his army for
a military campaign against the Bolshevik government.
By the year 1923 it became clear that the Bolsheviks had consolidated their control in Russia and hopes of a military campaign
against them vanished. The White Army troops had to be reintegrated into civilian life.
In 1924 Vrangel formed the Russian General Military Union (
Russkii Obshche-Voinskii Soiuz). This organization preserved the army structure of the demilitarized White Army and played an important role in the very
survival of military refugees. At the same time many regimental associations and societies of First World War and Civil War
veterans started to form in émigré communities.
Historical Note
Russian National League was founded in 1948 due to the extremely difficult situation of the Russian émigré community and its
desire to unify the majority of the Russian organizations in Belgium. The main purpose of the organization was the representation,
unification and protection of Russian émigrés living in Belgium. It was based on unconditional devotion to Russia (not the
USSR), loyalty to the national ideal, and adherence to Christian culture and civilization.
The organization supported a wide range of legal and social assistance to its members, established contact with all Russian
national organizations inside and outside Belgium, provided assistance in founding a Russian Foreign National Center and supported
all national-patriotic forces. It was not a political organization, because its main purpose was serving to their Motherland
and preserving memory of the heroes of the White movement.
In 1964 the Russian National League initiated a celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the Russian State. It also commemorated
the anniversary of the founding of Saint Petersburg, and organized various art and book exhibits, opera concerts, and other
events in Brussels and provinces. It built a cathedral-monument to the martyred Russian Tsar and other victims of Bolshevism.
By resolution of the Russian National League Council of February 21, 1982, the existence of the Russian House and Library
came to an end due to financial difficulties. The last information bulletin, Number 292, was issued in April 1982.
Scope and Content of Collection
Russian National League papers contain information about the activities of this organization and Russian émigré community
in Belgium after World War II. Materials were divided into six series.
The Office Files document the history, statute, purpose and objectives of the organization. The papers show the connections
between the Russian National League with the Russian Union (ROVS -
Russkii Obshche-Voinskii Soiuz), formed by General Peter Vrangel in 1924, which played an important role in the survival of the military refugees. Scattered
across the globe, often without property or a steady source income, many émigrés faced a life of poverty and destitution.
They did not have easy access to government institutions, local charity organizations, or in family host countries. Correspondence
file includes letters to the state and governmental officials regarding Russian émigrés and their needs, and to members of
the Principal Headquarters of the Russian National League with discussion of the issues on the pages of
Chasovoi magazine. The minutes of meetings of the Russian National League cover period 1948-1979. Of special interest in this collection
are the testimonials on the kidnapping in Paris of Russian Generals Evgenii Miller and Aleksandr Kutepov. Oversize Materials
contain fabric banners and advertisements about Russian book exhibits in Brussels.
The Publications File contains a collection of various émigré publications and monthly bulletins of Russian workers in Belgium.
Vasilii Orekhov was the editor of
Chasovoi magazine – the most prominent anti-Bolshevik émigré "white" magazine reflecting the ROVS position. In 1936 after the magazine
openly supported General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War, V. Orekhov was forced to relocate this publication from
France to Belgium. After World War II Vasilii Orekhov founded the Russian National League and continued his publication of
Chasovoi magazine and the monthly bulletin of Russian workers in Belgium.
The Radio Broadcasts include transcripts of the Russian section, Spanish radio, Madrid. At the time General Franco started
his fight for liberation of Spain from communism, Soviet leaders initiated creation of international brigades and sent them
to Spain. As a result, General Franco allowed Russian officers (from the Russian Imperial Army) to join the Spanish Army.
Vasilii Orekhov started the first Russian émigré independent radio station in Spain.
Printed matter file includes newspapers, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks covering period 1926-1980.
Cultural life depicts various art and book exhibits, opera performances, and reflects other events in Brussels and the provinces,
connecting the materials in the collection with the events of the Russian émigré community in Belgium.
Photographs commemorate significant events in the life of the Russian émigré community abroad
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in Stanford University's online catalog
Subjects
Vooruzhennye Sily na IUge Rossii
Refugees
Russians-—Belgium
Russians in foreign countries
Soviet Union
Soviet Union—-History-—Revolution, 1917-1921—-Refugees
Soviet Union—-Social conditions
World War, 1914-1918
Related Material
David Davidovich Grimm papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Collection Contents
Box/Folder: 1
Office file,
1920-1979.
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence, notes, memoranda, reports, newsletters, and minutes of meetings, arranged by subject
Box/Folder: 1 : 1
Statute of the Organization,
undated
Box/Folder: 1 : 2
Purpose and objectives of the organization,
undated
Box/Folder: 1 : 3
Russian National League in Belgium, memorandum,
undated
Box/Folder: 1 : 4
Glavnokomanduiushchii Vooruzhennymi Silami na IUge Rossii generala Vrangelia, prikaz
O Zemle ot 25 maia 1920 goda (Order of General Vrangel, Commander in Chief of the Russian Army stationed in Southern Russia, 1920
May 25)
Box/Folder: 1 : 5
Russian émigrés killed while serving for the French Foreign Legion, list,
1921-1933
Box/Folder: 1 : 6
Russkii Obshchevoinskii Soiuz, prikaz Generala Vrangelia number 35 ob obrazovanii (Order number 35 issued by General Peter
Vrangel on formation of the Russian All Military Union),
1924 September 1
Box/Folder: 1 : 7
Soiuz Gallipoliitsev vo Frantsii, Prikaz number 40 Predsedatelia (Order number 40 of the Chairman of the [Russian] Gallipoli
Union in France),
1929 May 25
Box/Folder: 1 : 8
Obshchestvo Gallipoliitsev, postanovlenie Soveta (Resolution of the Council of the Gallipoli Union),
1929 September 8
Box/Folder: 1 : 9
Vasilii Orekhov, Chairman of the Russian National League in Belgium, membership cards,
1937-1959
Box/Folder: 1 : 10
Appeals, declarations, leaflets, open letters, and resolutions (in Russian and French),
1942-1967
Russian National League, list of members.
Scope and Content Note
Includes addresses
Box/Folder: 1 : 13
Russian émigrés, reunion, Brussels,
1960 July 31
Box/Folder: 1 : 16
Chasovoi (Watchman) magazine editor's office,
1929-1956
Box/Folder: 1 : 17-20
Correspondence regarding Russian émigrés and press (media),
1932-1977.
Scope and Content Note
Include letters from Russia
Box/Folder: 1 : 21-22
Official correspondence with state and governmental officials,
1937-1977
Box/Folder: 2 : 1
Official correspondence with state and governmental officials,
1937-1977
Box/Folder: 2 : 4
Strictly confidential with the members of the Principal Headquarters of the Russian National League,
1956-1971
Box/Folder: 2 : 5-6
Congress of the Russian National League,
1952
Box/Folder: 3 : 3
Material from the First Congress of the Russian National League, Brussels,
1951 April 15
Box/Folder: 3 : 8-9
Second Congress of the Russian National League,
1956 September 13-16.
Scope and Content Note
Includes list of delegates, program, resolution, communiqué, and correspondence
Materials of the Congress on Rights and Freedom in Russia, Hague,
1957 April 25-27
Box/Folder: 3 : 13
Congrès pour l'instauration de la libertè et des droits en Russie, compte-rendu analytique.
Box/Folder: 3 : 14
Kongress
Za prava i svobodu v Rossii, sbornik materialov Kongressa (Congress
For the Rights and Freedom in Russia, compiled documents).
Box/Folder: 4 : 10-11
1967.
Scope and Content Note
Includes list of events (in Brussels and Paris) commemorating 50th anniversary of the victory of the Russian revolution, 1967.
Includes extensive correspondence and minutes of meetings
Box/Folder: 4 : 23-24
Reports for meetings,
Mostly undated.
Scope and Content Note
Includes reports dated 1956 and 1970
Russian émigré community, materials on unification.
Box/Folder: 5 : 2
League of Russian Veterans, subsidies,
1958-1967
Box/Folder: 5 : 3
Oppression of religion in the USSR,
1961
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence and resolution
Box/Folder: 5 : 4
Petition to free families of Agatov and Soitu from the USSR,
1975
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence
Box/Folder: 5 : 5
Chasovoi (Watchman) magazine, materials on financial hardship of publication and distribution,
1974-1981
Box/Folder: 5 : 6-8
Kidnapping in Paris of Russian Generals Evgenii Miller and Aleksandr Kutepov,
1937-1962.
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence and testimonials
Publications,
1945-1982.
Scope and Content Note
Booklets, reports, information bulletins, press releases, and surveys, arranged chronologically by physical form
Box/Folder: 5 : 9
Russkii korpus (Russian Corps), promotion booklet,
undated
Box/Folder: 5 : 10
Za prava i svobodu v Rossii, (For the Rights and Freedom in Russia),
undated.
Scope and Content Note
Printed matter
Box/Folder: 5 : 11
Kto on? (Who is He?),
undated
Box/Folder: 5 : 12
Baikalov, A. V.,
Programma meropriiatii na perekhodnyi period – v poriadke obsuzhdeniia (Program of Action for the Transition Period – as a
matter of discussion)
,
undated
Box/Folder: 5 : 13
Likhnovskii, Duke,
Kto viniovnik voiny 1914 goda? (Who is responsible for the War of 1914?),
undated
Box/Folder: 5 : 14
George, Thomas,
Decision Will be in Asia, excerpts from his book, translated into Russian,
undated.
Scope and Content Note
Typescript
Box/Folder: 5 : 15
Arian, A.,
Le Problème Ukrainien,
undated
Box/Folder: 5 : 16
White, William L.,
Reportage sur les Russes (Report on the Russians, unique revelation of life in the Soviet Union,
The Reader's Digest,
1945 February
Box/Folder: 5 : 17
Press releases,
1956-1970
Box/Folder: 5 : 18
Vestnik Rossiiskogo Natsional'nogo Ob'edineniia v SHvetsii (Bulletin of the Russian National League in Sweden), Stockholm, 1957, number 16
Box/Folder: 5 : 19
Cinquante ans de communisme en Russie, 1917-1967, èditè par Comitè de l'Emigration Nationale Russe en Belgique,
1967
Box/Folder: 5 : 20
100e anniversaire de la naissance de Lenine, publiè par le Comitè de l'Emigration Nationale Russe en Belgique,
1970
Sviaz' (Connection), monthly bulletin of Russian workers in Belgium
Box/Folder: 5 : 21
1949,
Scope and Content Note
number 1, December
Box/Folder: 5 : 22
1950,
Scope and Content Note
number 2-8; number 1-3
Box/Folder: 5 : 23
1951,
Scope and Content Note
number 4-14
Box/Folder: 5 : 24
1952.
Scope and Content Note
number 15-26 Includes two special issues on the Congress of the Russian National League
Box/Folder: 6 : 1
1953,
Scope and Content Note
number 27-36
Box/Folder: 6 : 2
1954,
Scope and Content Note
number 37-46
Box/Folder: 6 : 3
1955,
Scope and Content Note
number 47-55
Box/Folder: 6 : 4
1956,
Scope and Content Note
number 56-65
Box/Folder: 6 : 5
1957,
Scope and Content Note
number 66-71
Box/Folder: 6 : 6
1958,
Scope and Content Note
number 72-79
Box/Folder: 6 : 7
1959,
Scope and Content Note
number 80-87
Box/Folder: 6 : 8
1960,
Scope and Content Note
number 88-95
Box/Folder: 6 : 9
1961,
Scope and Content Note
number 96-105
Box/Folder: 6 : 10
1962,
Scope and Content Note
number 106-114
Box/Folder: 6 : 11
1963,
Scope and Content Note
number 116-121
Box/Folder: 6 : 12
1964,
Scope and Content Note
number 122-133
Box/Folder: 6 : 13
1965,
Scope and Content Note
number 134-142
Box/Folder: 6 : 14
1966,
Scope and Content Note
number 143-152
Box/Folder: 6 : 15
1967,
Scope and Content Note
number 153-163
Box/Folder: 6 : 16
1968,
Scope and Content Note
number 164-175
Box/Folder: 6 : 17
1969,
Scope and Content Note
number 176-184
Box/Folder: 6 : 18
1970,
Scope and Content Note
number 185-195
Box/Folder: 6 : 19
1971,
Scope and Content Note
number 196-204
Box/Folder: 6 : 20
1972,
Scope and Content Note
number 205-216
Box/Folder: 6 : 21
1973,
Scope and Content Note
number 217-228
Box/Folder: 6 : 22
1974,
Scope and Content Note
number 229-240
Box/Folder: 6 : 23
1975,
Scope and Content Note
number 241-252
Box/Folder: 6 : 24
1976,
Scope and Content Note
number 255-260
Box/Folder: 6 : 25
1977,
Scope and Content Note
number 261-266
Box/Folder: 6 : 26
1978,
Scope and Content Note
number 269-273
Box/Folder: 6 : 27
1979,
Scope and Content Note
number 274-280
Box/Folder: 6 : 28
1980,
Scope and Content Note
number 281-290
Box/Folder: 6 : 29
1981,
Scope and Content Note
number 291-296
Box/Folder: 6 : 30
1982,
Scope and Content Note
Number 297, January-February
Box/Folder: 6 : 31
Bulletin of the Russian National League in Japan,
1957
Box/Folder: 6 : 32
Information Bulletin of the Russian National League in Great Britain,
1956-1957.
Scope and Content Note
Includes statute and news
Box/Folder: 6 : 33
Radio broadcasts, Russian section, Spanish radio, Madrid,
1937,
1961
Box/Folder: 7
Printed matter,
1926-1980.
Scope and Content Note
Newspapers, newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks, arranged by physical form
Box/Folder: 7 : 1
Newspapers.
Raduga (Rainbow), Brussels (Belgium), 1946, numbers 1-8.
Clippings.
Scope and Content Note
Includes two scrapbooks
Cultural life of the Russian émigré community in Belgium,
1949-1979.
Scope and Content Note
Concert programs, advertisements, leaflets, invitations, arranged chronologically by physical form
Box/Folder: 7 : 11
General. Concert programs, advertisements, leaflets, invitations,
1949-1962
Box/Folder: 7 : 12
Russian opera performance,
1951 October 16
Russian book exhibits, Brussels
Box/Folder: 7 : 13
1972-1973.
Scope and Content Note
Includes extensive correspondence
Russian National League member's portraits, 5 prints,
undated
Russian émigrés' group portraits, 7 prints,
undated.
Scope and Content Note
2 of them dated 1949
Russian house in Brussels (Belgium), 2 prints,
undated
Monument to the unknown soldier, 4 prints,
undated
Memorial services to the Russian soldiers, 4 prints,
undated
First Congress of the Russian National League, 3 prints,
1951
Second Congress of the Russian National League, 2 prints,
1956
Children's life in the Russian émigré community, 5 prints,
undated
Russian soldiers in Spanish Army of General Franko, 2 prints,
circa late 1930th
Finno-Russian War, scenes from, 4 prints,
1939
Miscellany (Financial records),
1955-1977
No one has the right to excuse you from executing your duty to the Motherland,
undated
Only in fighting do we obtain our freedom,
undated
Russian book exhibits, advertisements,
undated
