New Russian Emigres Seek Revival of Two Ideas from the 1920s

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 20 – Some in the new Russian emigration from Putin’s Russia are seeking the revival of two ideas from the 1920s, one, the distribution of Nansen Passports to the members of this group to regularize their status and make it easier for them to protest; and the second, the formation of a Russian nation abroad that would distinguish them as “good” Russians.

            The Nansen passports, named for the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, were distributed to those who fled Bolshevik Russia and were deemed stateless. Such documents regularized the legal status of their bearers although they did not give them social benefits (newizv.ru/news/politics/20-05-2022/rossiyskie-emigranty-prosyat-zapad-vozrodit-pasporta-nansena).

            Having such documents meant that they could appeal directly to the governments of the countries of their residence rather than having to work with Soviet embassies or those of third countries willing to take up their cause. Most of the most famous Russian emigres in Europe carried these between 1922 and 1938.

            Now, some in the new Russian emigration want to revive this practice so that Russians abroad will be independent of the Russian embassies in European countries and thus will be more ready and able to protest the Putin regime and its aggression in Ukraine. There is as yet no indication that Europeans are open to this idea.

            Some in the Russian Emigration, especially those involved in the Free Russia Forum, have called for the revival of an idea that never took off after the Bolshevik revolution but which may be more possible in the age of the Internet, the opening of a portal at which Russians abroad can declare themselves “good” Russians” as opposed to the “bad” ones supporting Putin.

            Such a census in the thinking of the Free Russia Forum would become the basis for the formation of embassies representing this community and ultimately the formation of a Russian government in exile that would return to Russia once the Putin regime is overthrown. Again, there is no indication Europeans back this approach (graniru.org/Politics/Russia/m.285191.html).