AGAINST THEIR WILL AGAINST THEIR WILL The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR by Pavel Polian Central European University Press Budapest New York © 2004 by Pavel Polian First published in Russian as Ne po svoyey vole… Istoriya i geografiya prinuditel’nykh migratsii v SSSR by OGI–Memorial in 2001 Published in 2004 by Central European University Press An imprint of the Central European University Share Company Nádor utca 11, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary Tel: +36-1-327-3138 or 327-3000 Fax: +36-1-327-3183 E-mail:
[email protected] Website: www.ceupress.com 400 West 59th Street, New York NY 10019, USA Tel: +1-212-547-6932 Fax: +1-212-548-4607 E-mail:
[email protected] Translated by Anna Yastrzhembska All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publisher. ISBN 963 9241 68 7 Cloth ISBN 963 9241 73 3 Paperback Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Polian, P. M. [Ne po svoyey vole. English] Against their will : the history and geography of forced migrations in the USSR / by Pavel Polian. p. cm. “First published in Russian as Ne po svoyey vole—istoriya i geografiya prinuditelnykh migratsii v SSSR by OGI Memorial, in 2001.” Translated by Anna Yastrzhembska. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 963 9241 68 7 (cloth)—ISBN 963 9241 73 3 (pbk.) 1. Migration, Internal—Soviet Union—History. 2. Forced migration—Soviet Union—History. 3. Political persecution—Soviet Union—History. 4. Deportation—Soviet Union—History. 5. World War, 1939–1945—Forced repatriation. I. Title: History and geography of forced migrations in the USSR. II. Title. HB2067.P6513 2003 325—dc22 2003019544 Printed in Hungary by Akaprint Nyomda The builders of Egypt treat the human mass as building material in abundant supply, easily obtainable in any quantity. OSIP MANDELSHTAM [1923] [tr. Jane Gary Harris, 1991]. There is no way communism can be founded on permanent domicile: neither is there any joy for it, nor an enemy. ANDREY PLATONOV [193?] The peasants keep disappearing from the countryside, and those employed in manufacturing are not genuine “muzhiks” any longer. Where are those millions? It seems right to say: the peasants, the real ones, are now on trains. MIKHAIL PRISHVIN [1935?] To Comrade Beria: We must crush them into oblivion. JOSEF STALIN [1940?] Dedicated to Robert Conquest and Alexander Nekrich, the first researchers of Soviet deportations. Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii FOREWORD TO THE ENGLISH EDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv INTRODUCTION ................................. FORCED MIGRATIONS: PREHISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forced migrations before Hitler and Stalin: Historical excursus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forced migrations and the Second World War . . . . . . . . . . . . Classification of forced migrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PART I FORCED MIGRATIONS WITHIN THE USSR 1 17 17 28 43