Ostrovsky Leonid K.,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Novosibirsk State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (Sibstrin), Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Activity of Polish Public Organizations in Siberia in 1917–1920
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2019-5-13
Polish public organizations started emerging in Russia after the February Revolution of 1917. In 1918, the Polish National Committee for Siberia and Russia (PNC) and the Polish Military Committee in Russia (PMC) were established. The PMC and the PNC sought to divide the spheres of activity between them, but there was serious disagreement between Polish organizations and unions in Siberia at the very beginning of their work. In October 1918, Novonikolaevsk hosted the first all-Siberian Congress of Poles. The main goal of the Congress delegates was to contribute to organizing a powerful Polish army in Russia and in this regard they discussed the relationship of the Poles with the Temporal Siberian Government. In 1918, the Polish social movement promoted the idea of uniting PNC and PMC, but contradictions between the Polish committees in Siberia accrued. PMC sought to create Polish military formations and defend the rights of the Polish population, and thereby gained the authority of a significant part of the Polish population in Siberia, while the PNC tried to seize the initiative in these matters. PNC and PMC were engaged in registration of the Polish population and issued certificates of belonging to the Polish nationality, carried out preparation to return Poles home. A controversial issue in the relationship between the Polish organizations and A.V. Kolchak’s government was Poles’ call for military service. The delegates of the PMC in Siberia began to accept applications for withdrawal from Russian citizenship of persons, who faced with mobilization in Kolchak’s army. The analysis of sources not yet introduced into scientific circulation allowed us to show that both Polish committees carried out great work among Siberian population to distribute documents on the Polish citizenship, Poles’ evacuation to homeland, formation of the Polish military units. Thay were engaged in guardianship over the Polish population. Giving to PMC and PNC for the organization of the Polish population in Siberia, the author draws attention to the constant conflicts between the committees, which they were unable to resolve. As a result of the Bolshevik victory, the Polish public organizations in Siberia ceased their work.
Publishing: 31/10/2019
How to cite: Ostrovsky L.K. Activity of Polish Public Organizations in Siberia in 1917–1920 // Historical Courier, 2019, No 5 (7), pp. 164–175. [Available online:] http://istkurier.ru/data/2019/ISTKURIER-2019-5-13.pdf
Links: Issue 5 2019
Keywords: Civil War; polish diaspora; polish non-governmental organizations; Siberia