"White Russians, Red Peril": A Cold War History of Migration to Australia

by Sheila Fitzpatrick

Overview

Over 20,000 ethnic Russians migrated to Australia after World War II – yet we know very little about their experiences. Some came via China, others from refugee camps in Europe.

Many preferred to keep a low profile in Australia, and some attempted to ‘pass’ as Polish, West Ukrainian or Yugoslavian. They had good reason to do so: to the Soviet Union, Australia’s resettling of Russians amounted to the theft of its citizens, and undercover agents were deployed to persuade them to repatriate. Australia regarded the newcomers with wary suspicion, even as it sought to build its population by opening its door to more immigrants.

Making extensive use of newly discovered Russian-language archives and drawing on a lifetime’s study of Soviet history and politics, award-winning author Sheila Fitzpatrick examines the early years of a diverse and disunited Russian-Australian community and how Australian and Soviet intelligence agencies attempted to track and influence them. While anti-Communist ‘White’ Russians dreamed a war of liberation would overthrow the Soviet regime, a dissident minority admired its achievements and thought of returning home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000432220
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/12/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	807 KB

About the Author

Sheila Fitzpatrick is the multi-award-winning author of My Father’s Daughter, Mischka’s War, On Stalin’s Team and The Russian Revolution, among other titles. She is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ix

A note on transliteration xiii

Introduction 1

Part I. Displaced persons in Europe

Chapter 1. Displacement 25

Chapter 2. Australia’s selection procedures 50

Part II. Russians in China

Chapter 3. Manchuria 75

Chapter 4. Shanghai 100

Chapter 5. Departure 124

Part III. Resettlement in Australia

Chapter 6. Arrival 151

Chapter 7. White Russians 174

Chapter 8. Red Russians 199

Chapter 9. ASIO and the Cold War 223

Conclusion 247

White Russians Red Peril

Statistical note 263

Abbreviations used in notes 273

Notes 274

Bibliography 339

Index 351

Tables

Table 1. Population of Harbin by nationality/citizenship, 1913–40 77

Table 2. Russians, Ukrainians and ‘stateless’ among mass resettlement migrants arriving in Australia, 1947–51 264

Table 3. Russian arrivals from China, 1951–60 268

Table 4. Australian census data on people born inRussia (USSR) and Ukraine, or giving Russian or Ukrainian as their nationality, 1933–61 269

Editorial Reviews

Cette rétrospective dense et compliquée, qui combine une réflexion sur les identités dans leur environnement à la fois extérieur et dans la fabrication du lien communautaire, les suivant dans le mouvement des bouleversements locaux et de la grande histoire, sources de nouveaux déplacements et refondations, relève in fine d’une véritable performance. L’analyse est affranchie de tout jugement sur un sujet comportant pourtant une part d’abîme, tant elle est mobilisée par l’intention primordiale de reconstituer l’univers mental, culturel qui a animé les grands perdants de l’histoire. Elle est le fait d’une spécialiste de l’histoire sociale de l’URSS qui, finalement, est allée explorer, à l’encontre de ses affinités personnelles, souligne-t-elle, les destins de ceux que la révolution avait rejeté sur l’autre bord, les scrutant avec la même impartialité, la même exigence et les mêmes nuances qu’elle avait mises dans ses investigations au cœur du xxe siècle soviétique. White Russians, Red Peril représente une contribution substantielle à l’histoire du monde de l’exil russe dans sa longue durée où s’exprime comme un enseignement la grande voix historienne de Sheila Fitzpatrick.

From the Publisher