The Russian Legion (1917–1918). According to the documents of the Historical Service Archives of the French Defense Ministry

Abstract

The Russian Legion (1917–1918) was a unit of the disbanded Russian Special Brigades at the Western Front. The interest in that military unit has never faded since its creation. The Russian historiography of the Russian Legion is based on the Russian documents and the personal reminiscences of the participants. The results of the research carried out by the French scholars have not been translated into Russian.

The present studies the organization, history and the combat experience of the Russian Legion at the Western Front. The documentary sources are kept in the Historical Service Archives of the French Defense Ministry, located in the Château de Vincennes, Paris. Those documents have become available to researchers since 2014.

We introduce the sources of the General Staff of France into scientific circulation and raise the following questions in our study: the assessment by the French command of the combat qualities of Russian soldiers and officers; the differences between the Russian Legion and the Foreign Legion; the signing of the service contracts by Russian soldiers and officers after the Brest Peace Treaty between Russia and Germany; the post-war and post-revolutionary fate of Russian soldiers.

The publication is intended to attract all those who are not indifferent to the issue of the Russian Legion. The aim is to create a list of the participants of that unit.