Against Their Will: The History and Geography of Forced Migrations in the USSR

by Павел Полян, Pavel Polian

During his reign over the former Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin oversaw the forced resettlement of six million people - a maniacal passion that he used for social engineering. The Soviets were not the first to thrust resettlement on its population - a major characteristic of totalitarian systems - but in terms of sheer numbers, technologies used to deport people and the lawlessness which accompanied it, Stalin's process was the most notable.Six million people of different social, ethnic, and professions were resettled before Stalin's death. Even today, the aftermath of such deportations largely predetermines events which take place in the northern Caucasus, Crimea, the Baltic republics, Moldavia, and western Ukraine.Polian's volume is the first attempt to comprehensively examine the history of forced and semi-voluntary population movements within or organized by the Soviet Union. Contents range from the early 1920s to the rehabilitation of repressed nationalities in the 1990s, dealing with internal (kulaks, ethnic and political deportations) and international forced migrations (German internees and occupied territories).An abundance of facts, figures, tables, maps, and an exhaustively-detailed annex will serve as important sources for further researches.

Genres: History, Soviet Union, Politics, Nonfiction, Russia

444 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Kraychik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for those who are interested in Soviet history. Mass population transfer worked in concert with network of Gulag Archipelago, feeding the system with fresh labour. The history of these forced migrations is infinitely more important than, say, the evolution of architectural motifs in St. Petersburg universities during the 40s. The author has put in his time, is honest and competent, and it shows on every page.

[Elizabeth Burgess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll begin this review with a quote from the afterword - "It seems to me that, all in all, the author managed to produce a book designed for a broad audience, and not merely an academic 'monograph' - although valuable - intended for a relatively narrow circle of experts." For me, this could not seem further from the truth. This book does indeed seem like 'an academic monograph ... intended for a relatively narrow circle of experts.'

I will admit that history was always my worst subject, I typically have very little interest in historical non-fiction, especially military/political historical non-fiction, and I started with pretty much zero background knowledge on 'forced migrations in the USSR.' If you fall into a similar category I am going to say this book is definitely not for you.

I found this account leaning much farther toward geography than history - filled with endless figures, maps, percentages, charts of the 'forced migration' efforts and patterns of the many different peoples involved. Very well researched and thorough in this regard. However, what was lacking for me (and what I desperately needed to hold my interest) was the real substance - the meat of the story behind the numbers and figures. I wanted a deeper account of why these different groups were forced/coerced off of their home lands, what were their journeys like, what were their new lives like once they were transitioned. I'm not saying these bits were completely absent from the work - I just wish they were expanded upon ten-fold.

In conclusion, if you are looking for population figures and patterns for a USSR research paper this is the perfect resource. If you are inexperienced with the topic and just want some background knowledge, I would look elsewhere first.

[Gabriele Goldstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover illustration says it all. Masses of people were shuffled around during the Soviet era like toys. I appreciated all the numbers in this book along with the bibliography. What a lot of research! My parents and other family members belonged to Polian's statistics. This book, however, is also very dry. So while I appreciated the numbers, reflecting the meticulous research, it was a struggle to read. This might also be because it's a translation. However, I'll refer to this book in the future and recommend it for anyone interested in Soviet history. These forced migrations continue to have effects on current populations. I'd like to read more books on this subject.

[Jindřich Zapletal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rather encyclopedic treatment of forced population transfers in USSR from 1917 to 1990. The emphasis is on the period right after WWII. We also get a view of forced migrations from occupied parts of Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union at that time, and the story of populations returning to their original places of residence in post-Stalinist times. These preferences reflect previous research interests of the author.

It is a book written by a Russian author for primarily Russian audience, and this has fairly profound consequences for a Western reader. First of all, the incredible geographic, ethnic, and ecological diversity of that part of the world is taken for granted. I previously spent quite some time studying early modern tsarist Russia with emphasis on these topics, and it paid off here. Without this background, you will be lost pretty much immediately. There is also a rather impersonal, statistician's tone to the whole treatment. I hoped to get some idea what re-settlers did in their destinations. Some of them went to definite construction or agricultural projects, others not, but there is little in the book that addresses it. The impression one may get is that of large numbers wandering about without particular aim in a featureless landscape, and that is an incomplete impression.

I must agree with a previous reviewer. If you want to study details of Soviet high culture, and it is a deserving topic, pretty please read this book (or an equivalent) first and draw at least basic conclusions.

[Claire]

Makes for a very dry read.