Special Foreign Intelligences and the Life of Russian Immigrants in Serbia in 1941. Cover Image

STRANE SPECIJALNE SLUŽBE I ŽIVOT RUSKIH EMIGRANATA U SRBIJI 1941.
Special Foreign Intelligences and the Life of Russian Immigrants in Serbia in 1941.

Author(s): Aleksej J. Timofejev
Subject(s): History
Published by: Institut za noviju istoriju Srbije
Keywords: Russian immigrants residing in Yugoslavia; Belgrade; Moscow; Gestapo;

Summary/Abstract: Immediately after the April War, most of Russian immigrants residing in Yugoslavia demonstrated to the Government of Yugoslavia, through their representatives metropolitan Anastasije and V. Strandtman, their loyalty and readiness to pay their patriotic debt to Yugoslavia. A number of immigrants had been killed during bombings due to the fact that they mainly lived in urban areas. However, considerable part of Russian immigration in Yugoslavia felt resentment towards their former allies from the First World War: the United Kingdom and France. In early 1941 the status of Russian immigrants was already severe enough due to an agreement made between official Belgrade and Moscow. Some Russian immigrants were recruited by the GPU, French and American Intelligence, and particularly by the British Intelligence and German intelligences. After German occupation, an organisation of Russian refugees was set up, according to Gestapo instructions. It was under the leadership of M. F. Skorodumov, and later on it was led by general V. V. Kreiter. The thirst for combat at Eastern front and numerous attacks to Russian refugees made them to form special military formation – Russian Corpus. This decision had extremely negative consequences for immigrants since German politics was not solely anticommunist, but above all antislavic, antiserbian and antirussian. A large number of Russian immigrants – Nazi regime enemies, was killed in the persecutions initiated by the Gestapo and special police leading to disappearance of Russian immigrants from the territory of Serbia during the war and first postwar years.

  • Issue Year: 2006
  • Issue No: 1-2
  • Page Range: 172-192
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Serbian