The struggle against denationalisation: The Russian emigration in Europe and education in the 1920s

White, Elizabeth

Abstract

This article examines the attempts made by Russian émigré activists in inter-war Europe to educate Russian refugee children in a network of national Russian schools. This formed an important aspect of the émigré elite's mission of saving Russian culture abroad as well as their attempts to prevent assimilation. It is argued that although these schools gave the opportunity of education to thousands of vulnerable and marginalised children, the network thrived mainly due to support from outside actors, in particular the Czechoslovak state. The evidence does not support the argument that the majority of Russian refugees in the 1920s shared an obsession with Russianness, but instead could often be flexible and pragmatic where their children were concerned. © 2013 Taylor and Francis.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2013
• Journal: Revolutionary Russia
• Print ISSN: 0954-6545
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-7873
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 128-146
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09546545.2013.856076
• Keywords: Europe, Russia, emigration, education, 1920's
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/925770
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546545.2013.856076