Register of the Constantin W. Boldyreff papers

Finding aid prepared by Lyalya Kharitonova

Hoover Institution Library and Archives

434 Galvez Mall

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305-6003

hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu

URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives

Title: Constantin W. Boldyreff papers

Date (bulk): 1910-1995

Collection Number: 96012

Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives

Language of Material: In English and Russian

Physical Description: 29 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box (12.0 Linear Feet)

Abstract: The collection consists of speeches and writings, correspondence, radio scripts, identification documents, biographical data, printed matter, sound recordings, and photographs relating to the settlement of displaced persons at the end of World War II, Russian émigré affairs, communism and conditions in the Soviet Union, and activities of the Narodno-Trudovoi Soiuz and other anti-communist organizations.

Creator: Boldyreff, Constantin W., 1909-1995

Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Acquisition Information

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1996.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Constantin W. Boldyreff papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Biographical/Historical Note

Constantin Boldyreff (1910-1995) was born in Gatchina, not far from St. Petersburg. After the Russian revolution in 1917, he emigrated with his mother to China and then Yugoslavia, where he studied at the Russian Cadet School in Sarajevo. In 1935, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in engineering and worked for British and American mining companies in Yugoslavia.

As a university student, Boldyreff joined the newly formed émigré anticommunist party, the Narodno-Trudovoi Soiuz (NTS) or National Alliance of Russian Solidarists. Its activities were directed against the communist regime in the Soviet Union.

At the beginning of World War II, Boldyreff joined the Yugoslav army. During the German occupation, which followed the Yugoslav army's capitulation, he was arrested twice by the Gestapo and taken as a slave laborer to Germany. He was able to escape from the labor camp. In 1944, he and other members of the NTS began underground anticommunist activity in the German-occupied territories of the Soviet Union.

After the leadership of the NTS was almost annihilated by the Gestapo, Boldyreff escaped to Austria and organized a work brigade composed of Russian refugees, including prisoners of war that had been brought to Germany as slave laborers.

The end of the war found the Boldyreff family and their fellow refugees escaping west from the approaching Soviet armies. The greatest threat these displaced persons faced was forcible repatriation, a fate suffered by more than two million Russian refugees, who were returned to the Soviet Union by the Allies. Boldyreff was able to save not only his group but also thousands of others threatened with repatriation and subsequent death or imprisonment in Soviet concentration camps. They found refuge in the American-occupied zone in the Mönchehof displaced persons (or DP) camp. Boldyreff was instrumental in making the camp economically self-sufficient, providing housing and schools and organizing religious and cultural activities. Fear of repatriation forced displaced people to emigrate as soon as possible from Europe. In 1947, after carefully researching the economic opportunities for educated professionals, Boldyreff arranged for the Mönchehof group of DPs to emigrate to Morocco.

In 1947, the Boldyreff family emigrated to the United States, and Constatin Boldyreff was appointed as a professor at Georgetown University, where he established the Institute of Languages and Linguistics in the School of Foreign Service. Boldyreff continued his anticommunist activities on behalf of NTS, testifying before the Senate and House about conditions in the Soviet Union and advising the government on foreign policy. He made use of the American media to publicize his anticommunist campaign, publishing articles on political subjects in the American periodical press, addressing interested groups, and appearing on television.

He died in 1995.

Scope and Content of Collection

The papers of Constantin Boldyreff, founder and organizer of the Russian underground Natsional'no Trudovoi Soiuz (NTS), American professor, and former head of the Russian Department at Georgetown University School of Languages and Linguistics, consist of documents relating to the settlement of displaced persons at the end of World War II, Russian émigré affairs, communism and conditions in the Soviet Union, and activities of the Narodno-Trudovoi Soiuz and other anti-communist organizations.

The materials describing the history of Russian refugees in the post-World War II period can be found in ten series of the collection. The Biographical File and Family Files include identification documents, photographs, and memoirs. Correspondence and Speeches and Writings consist of Boldyreff's papers spanning the course of his career. A Subject File is arranged topically and contains materials documenting Boldyreff's work in specific capacites. Writings by Others include other Russian refugees' memoirs. The Oversize File consists of material that is distinctive because of its physical format. The Sound Recordings file includes sound tape reels documenting the activities of the organizations in which Boldyreff was involved.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

World War, 1939-1945 -- Refugees

Soviet Union -- Emigration and immigration

Refugees

International relief

Anti-communist movements

Soviet Union

Narodno-trudovoĭ soi͡uz

Biographical File 1927-1995

Scope and Contents

Consists of identification documents, immigration and travel papers, official files, and clippings. Arranged chronologically. See also: Family File and Oversize Materials.

box 1, folder 1

Russkiĭ Kadetskiĭ Korpus: student report card, grade VI 1927

box 1, folder 2

Transcription and certificate of completion Russian gymnasium in Yugoslavia 1930

box 1, folder 3

Identification documents (IDs) issued in Yugoslavia 1935-1942

box 1, folder 4

IDs issued by German military government 1944-1946

box 1, folder 5

IDs issued by United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration 1945-1946

box 1, folder 6

U.S. Embassy in Paris, applications for visa and travel documents 1942-1947

box 1, folder 7-8

Copies of declassified material to prove the falsehood of accusations leveled against NTS and Boldyreff 1945-1988

box 1, folder 9-10

U.S. Department of State file 1947-1989

box 1, folder 11-12

U.S. immigration documents and passport, 1948-1986

box 1, folder 13

Federal Bureau of Investigation file 1948-1990

box 2, folder 1-4

Clippings on Constantin Boldyreff 1948-1995

box 2, folder 5-12

Event logs and calling cards 1950-1973

box 3, folder 1

Biography, resume, and job applications, 1955-1976

box 3, folder 2

Travel documents, 1955-1978

box 3, folder 3

Central Intelligence Agency file 1980-1990

box 3, folder 4

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Group Achievement Award to SAPSAT Team in recognition of the personal dedication, correspondence, certificate and photographs 1983

box 3, folder 5-6

Obituaries and death certificate, 1995

Scope and Contents

Includes sympathy correspondence, biographical writings, and clippings.

Family File 1887-2001

Scope and Contents

Includes memoirs, photographs, genealogy charts, and clippings. Arranged in alphabetical order by family member names, then by physical form.

Boldyreff, Antonina (wife), 1941-2000

box 3, folder 7-9

Passports and other identity documents 1941-1995

box 3, folder 10

Immigration file 1948-1956

box 3, folder 11-17

Correspondence 1929-1997

box 4, folder 1-4

Correspondence 1929-1997

box 4, folder 5-6

Career file 1946-1979

box 4, folder 7

Writings circa 1955

box 4, folder 8

Will 1996

box 4, folder 9

Obituary, 2000

Scope and Contents

Includes photographs.

Boldyreff, Liubov' Vital'evna (mother), 1910-1933

box 4, folder 10

Writings 1910

box 4, folder 11

Correspondence 1927-1933

Boldyreff, Vasiliĭ Ceorgievich (father) 1917-1993

box 4, folder 12-13

Military career file 1917-1923

box 4, folder 14

Clippings 1921-1973

box 4, folder 15

Correspondence, 1929-1933

box 4, folder 16

Photographs, 1929-1933

Scope and Contents