Humanitarian aid to Russian citizens during and after the First World War. The role of the Norwegian society and public figures

Abstract

The thesis is devoted to the humanitarian assistance of Norwegian public figures to Russian citizens in the period 1914 – 1923. The period covered such important historical events as the First World War, the October revolution, and the Great Famine in Russia. Several international humanitarian organizations were involved in the relief campaign in Russia at that time. The charitable work of Norwegian organizations and public figures is one of the little-known aspects of the international humanitarian aid to Russian citizens. The thesis examines the area and ways of assistance to Russian POWs, refugees, and starving people. The author focuses on personal efforts of Norwegian public figures and their interaction with Russian intellectuals. The attitude and official rhetoric of the Soviet authorities to the Western assistance is also analyzed in the thesis. The main sources of the analysis are the archive of Olaf Broch, the first Norwegian Professor of Slavic languages and public figure, and the daily newspaper Rul’ (in Rus. Руль) published by Russian emigrants in Berlin.