Russia Abroad A Cultural History of the Russian Emigration, 1919-1939

A remarkable feature of the Great Russian Emigration which followed the Revolution is how the Russian communities abroad preserved a flourishing Russian culture. This is a comprehensive cultural history of this phenomenon.



The dramatic events of the twentieth century have often brought about the mass migration of intellectuals, professionals, writers, and artists. One of the first such migrations occurred in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, when more than a million Russians were forced into exile. What distinguishes this emigration from other such episodes in European history is the extent to which the émigrés succeeded in reconstituting and preserving their cultural creativity in the West. Marc Raeff has written the first comprehensive cultural history of the `Great Russian Emigration'. He concludes with an assessment of the Russian emigration's impact on the development of modern Western culture.