Preface

Summary

I first became aware of the existence of the Russian Liberation Movement from the vivid recollections of Igor Novosiltsev. I am more than grateful to him for inspiring me to embark on further research on this subject.

The controversies and strongly held opinions surrounding this subject have continued to hold my attention and I hope that I have shown, at least, that even though forty years have elapsed since the end of the Second World War, many areas of the conflict, especially on the Eastern Front, not only provoke strong reactions but also raise questions which have not always been answered satisfactorily.

The question of the link between the ideology of the Russian Liberation Movement and political trends within the emigration allowed me to examine the hypothesis that the Russian émigrés after 1917 should not be regarded simply as an outmoded irrelevance but that sometimes they had valuable insights into developments within the USSR and must be treated as a part of the social history of their country.

This work would not have been possible without all those who agreed to be interviewed, who corresponded with me and who clarified many areas of the Russian Liberation Movement and who so generously gave me of their time and shared their knowledge with me. My heartfelt thanks are due to them. This book is a revised version of my doctoral thesis for Cambridge University and I would like once again to express my sense of great obligation to all who advised and helped me.