“Better let Germans come to ruin than let them spy”: German colonists and Russian public in the years of World War I

The article based on little known sources examines the gradual change in the attitude of Russian government, military command and general public towards the German colonists and their land ownership during the World War I. Main attention is paid to the deprivation of the German colonists of their lands that were then given to Galician refugees and army veterans. The response of the Russian population, liberals, nationalists, and the German diaspora representatives to the deportation of the Germans from the front-line area is also considered. A conclusion is made that the amotion policy and anti-German propaganda did not yield expected results. In particular, the hopes for the patriotic upsurge were not justified on the front and in the rear.