A unique complex of mass sources on the history of emigration in the fonds of the Prague Archive (RZIA)

The article is devoted to the history of the formation of a unique set of sources on the history of emigration of the first wave, created by emigrants and stored in the fund R-5820 of the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the study is due to the unflagging interest in the study of the Russian Abroad. The history of the study of this topic began with the formation of the Russian Abroad and covers the most diverse aspects of the life of emigrants in different host countries. It is all the more important to discover new issues and new sources in a thoroughly studied topic, to tell about the history of the creation of one of the source complexes and the prospects for its scientific use. Fund R-5820 was formed as a result of a survey conducted in 1929-1930 by the Prague Committee for the Preparation of the 175th Anniversary of Moscow University. Commemorations were widespread in the Russian abroad, as they helped to preserve the identity and integration of emigrants. By 1929, a standard scenario of commemorative celebrations had already been formed. However, the initiative of the Prague Committee represented something new. Members of the Prague Committee, headed by the former rector of Moscow University M. M. Novikov, planned, in addition to publishing an anniversary collection, to form scholarships “in the name of Moscow University” for students studying in foreign universities, and conducted a survey among former students. Graduates of 50 Russian and 33 foreign educational institutions took part. The organizers addressed the survey to all graduates of Russian and foreign educational institutions. They were asked to answer five questions about their education and occupations in Russia and abroad. Information about the survey was disseminated through emigrant organizations and institutions; no additional information about the survey could be found in the press. The survey resulted in the formation of a unique “mass source of personal origin” consisting of emigrants' letters and postcards to the Prague Committee. The weakly formalized nature of the questionnaire gave the authors a certain freedom in choosing the format for their answers. The respondents sent both brief answers to the questionnaire and detailed letters, autobiographies, and fragments of memoirs. Perhaps for this reason, despite the Prague Committee's attempts to systematize the information received, it was never summarized and published in the jubilee collection. However, today this little-studied collection provides researchers with valuable information on both the first wave emigration and the history of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.