Count de Lubersac: Mission in Russia, 1916–1919

Abstract

The author examines the activities of Count Jean de Lubersac, a member of the French military mission in Russia, and demonstrates how the main stages of his activities in that position vividly illustrate the evolution of French policy towards Russia in the critical years of Franco-Russian relations. Published in August 1918, “A Letter to American Workingmen” by Vladimir Lenin mentions his meeting with two French officers in February of the same year. One of them, Jacques Sadoul, is fairly well known, while the personality and area of activity of the other has not yet attracted the same degree of research interest. Meanwhile, his name, Jean de Lubersac, is mentioned in the memoirs of many French and Russian military and political figures when describing the events of 1916–1919 in Russia. Arriving in Russia as a mere second lieutenant on an air mission, this highly enterprising man quickly took up a position in the Russian Fifth Army, then in the French military mission and finally in the ranks of the interventionists in northern Russia. It was a most unusual feat for a junior officer, especially one from abroad. The primary sources for the study include the memoirs of those French and Russian nationals who knew de Lubersac personally, as well as documents from French and Russian archives. Although these sources contain only sketchy accounts, together they provide a fairly complete picture of what Jean de Lubersac was doing in Russia, not only in 1916–1919, but also later, in 1922.