JÓZEF PIŁSUDSKI’S EASTERN POLICY IN THE PERCEPTION OF THE RUSSIAN ÉMIGRÉ COMMUNITY, 1919 – 1921

Abstract

The article examines the response of the Russian anti-Bolshevik émigré community to Józef Piłsudski’s Eastern policy. The analysis focuses on the question of Ukrainian independence as a central component of Piłsudski’s strategy. Despite their opposition to Bolshevism, the majority of White émigrés firmly rejected the idea of supporting an independent Ukrainian People’s Republic. Poland was viewed as a potential ally only insofar as it did not challenge the territorial integrity of a future united Russia. The article explores public debates in Russian émigré press, the positions of key political figures (including P. Struve, V. Burtsev, B. Bakhmetev, A. Kerensky, and S. Sazonov), and attempts to create an alternative to the UPR in the form of pro-Russian Ukrainian federalists. Drawing upon a range of primary sources – including émigré newspapers, political brochures, private correspondence, and memoir literature – the article analyzes how Piłsudski’s strategy was portrayed within various segments of the Russian émigré press and political thought. While the alliance between Poland and the Ukrainian People's Republic was short-lived in practice, it had profound symbolic and ideological consequences for the Russian émigré milieu, as it was widely interpreted as a direct threat to the idea of a united, indivisible Russia. The study highlights the consistency with which White émigré intellectuals and publicists rejected any attempts to legitimize Ukrainian independence. The article sheds light on the intersection of memory, ideology, and national identity in Russian émigré discourse, while also contributing to a better understanding of the political and symbolic importance of the Polish-Ukrainian alliance held beyond its immediate historical context. Ultimately, this case study offers insight into the broader dynamics of post-imperial rivalry and the long-lasting antagonisms between the Polish and Russian political traditions in the interwar period.