White Russians Crossing the Black Sea: Fridtjof Nansen, Constantinople and the First Modern Repatriation of Refugees Displaced by Civil Conflict, 1922-23

Abstract

Fridtjof Nansen was appointed High Commissioner for Russian Refugees by the League of Nations in summer 1921. At once he was confronted with an urgent humanitarian crisis in and around Constantinople. His response included the attempt to repatriate Cossack refugees, formerly of White armies led by Denikin and Wrangel, to Don, Kuban and Terek. To ensure their well-being, and with the agreement of Moscow, Nansen deployed assistants (including a British civil servant) to supervise their treatment by Soviet authorities at their port of arrival and in their villages. This care for the welfare of returnees defines the operation as the first modern repatriation of refugees from civil conflict. Its premature termination heralded a fundamental change in the way the League of Nations managed refugee issues.