The Daily Routine of Prisoners of War of the World War I in the Conditions of Asian Russia

Abstract

In the article, the authors view the issues of the history of the World War I, namely the stories associated with the deployment of prisoners of war of the German and Austro-Hungarian armies in Asian Russia, within the administrative-territorial boundaries of the Steppe, Turkestan General Governorship. Based on archival materials from the funds of the Central State Archives of Kazakhstan the special state archive of the Police Department introduces new facts that allow us to view the daily routine of prisoners of war, the resolving of social and housing issues, as well as placement and employment, including fragments of oral history that demonstrate how the prisoners of war themselves perceived the captivity, and the photographs discovered accidentally reveal previously unknown facts of visual history. Despite their deployment on the territory of Steppe and Turkestan Governorate-General of the Russian Empire, the issue of prisoners of war of the World War I did not receive an active research impetus due to a larger event, such as the national liberation movement of 1916. The work provides statistical data on prisoners of war placed in the specified territory, including the cities. Problems with accommodation of arriving prisoners of war and their resolution have been viewed, along with internal contradictions and confrontation among prisoners of war on the basis of ethnicization and the formation of a "Slavic community of prisoners of war" not without the help of public organizations of the Russian Empire. The authors revealed the structures of the everyday life of prisoners of war, showing the everyday concerns of captured officers and enlisted personnel. The military situation determined special conditions and legal norms in relation to the rules of residence and employment of prisoners of war, the regulation of which was controlled by additionally adopted orders and instructions of the governor-general. It should be noted that the everyday life of prisoners of war has been viewed through the prism of interaction with the host society, where patriotism was intertwined with empathy and support for arriving prisoners of war.