The Interwar Russian Émigré Press on the Independence of Poland and Belarus

Abstract

This article examines Russian émigré perspectives during the interwar period on national independence and territorial sovereignty in the aftermath of revolution and imperial collapse, focusing on the neighbouring Slavic cases of Poland and Belarus. Situating émigré discourse within the political and ideological dislocations produced by the Russian Revolution and the redrawing of Eastern Europe, the study analyses the émigré press as a key arena in which competing visions of the post-imperial order were articulated. Through a comparative analysis of Polish and Belarusian cases, the article highlights the asymmetrical recognition of national self- determination and explores the ideological, cultural, and historical factors underlying these divergences. It further demonstrates how Russian émigré interpretations of self-determination remained shaped by enduring imperial frameworks embedded in Russian political culture. Although émigré actors exerted limited direct influence on political developments, their debates provide a valuable lens into the intellectual reconfiguration of Russian political thought in the revolutionary era and its engagement with the emerging international order.