The attitude of the USSR to the policy of repatriation at the final stage of the WWII and in the first post-war years

Abstract

This article highlights the participation of the USSR in solving the international problem of refugees and displaced persons in the post-war period; shows the attitude of the Soviet government to the policy of repatriation of Soviet citizens to their homeland, reveals the participation of the USSR in international organizations on the issue of refugees and displaced persons (UNRRA, IRO, UN) at the final stage of the Second World War and after its end, the ways of interaction of the allied countries on these world platforms are fixed. To study the activities of the USSR in the development of the principles of repatriation policy, as well as to resolve the problems of refugees and displaced persons, such methods as historicism, objectivity, as well as the method of comparative analysis together with a comprehensive analysis of documents were used. Based on the present research, we can conclude that the Soviet Union conducted active foreign policy activities to achieve the main goals of the repatriation policy, establishing international cooperation and protecting the interests of its citizens. The bulk of Soviet people who found themselves in difficult conditions of the post-war period were forced to lead their lives in camps for displaced persons, awaiting the decision of the authorities regarding their fate. Despite the active assistance to the return of refugees and social protection from the Soviet Union, the generous amount of the repatriates were tested in filtration camps, especially military ones, in order to identify traitors. In addition, the solution of the problem was complicated by the ardent anti-Soviet propaganda in camps for refugees and displaced persons by representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States, which was gaining momentum in connection with the beginning of the implementation of the means of conducting the cold War.