Count V. N. Kokovtsov on the problems of social and legal status of Russian emigrants (to the history of one speech)

The publication presents a transcript of the speech of count V. N. Kokovtsov at a general meeting of representatives of public organizations and emigrant associations, which took place on March 5, 1933 in Paris. The document contains information on activities of the Emigrant Committee in Paris, on the work of the Russian Committee of united organizations, on solution of the refugee issue in the institutions of the League of Nations. The Emigrant Committee was founded in 1924 in Paris, after the USSR was recognized diplomatically by France. It was headed by a former ambassador to France, V. A. Maklakov (1869-1957). The Emigrant Committee was assembled from among the «right wing» represented by the Russian Committee of united organizations (RCUO) and the «left wing» represented by the Council of public organizations (CPO). The Emigrant Committee could consistently solve challenging issues and protect the rights of refugees. The Russian Committee of the united organizations served as a center of gravity of «right-wing forces». Count V. N. Kokovtsov was its leader and ideological inspirer since its founding in 1924. The document reflects the intermediate results of activities dealing with the problems of Russian immigrants and the institutionalization of their legal status. The speech material covers a wide time period, starting from the 1920s, and allows us to trace the development of the immigrant communities in Europe and particularly in France. The use of the Intergovernmental Agreement (Arrangement), signed in June, 1918, concerning the legal status of Russian and Armenian refugees, is extensively explored in the speech. V. N. Kokovtsov noted the contribution of the emigration representatives, such as lawyers Gulkevich and Rubinstein, to the work of the intergovernmental commission concerning affairs of Russian refugees. The document conforms to the original, which is stored in the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The text is published strict as to original spelling and punctuation.