The eviction of German and Austro-Hungarian subjects from the Baltic provinces of the Russian empire in 1914

Based on new archival data, the article is the first attempt to research into the internship of civilians carried out by the Russian administration during the World War I. It dwells upon the forced deportation of German and Austro-Hungarian subjects from the Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire in 1914. The author analyzes the decrees of military and civil authorities on the deportation of “enemy citizens” to the depth of the country. It is shown how the criteria for being “enemy citizens” subject to deportation changed from July 1914 to early January1915. Attention is paid to the changes in the measures against the “enemy citizens” ranging from the attempts of total deportation in July and early August 1914 to be carried out by military administration to allowing “loyal and reliable” German and Austro-Hungarian citizens to stay in the places of their residence. The author analyzes the statistical data indicating the amount of foreign subjects in the Baltic provinces as well as the data concerning the German and Austro-Hungarian citizens who were deported and left in the places of their residence. It is concluded that there was no uniform policy for “enemy subjects” in the Baltic region. It could not be implemented due to certain specific factors. The considerable part of the German and Austro-Hungarian subjects who lived there were closely connected with Russia, either born in Russia or entitled to Russian citizenship by the time the war started. Moreover, their deportation was likely to damage the economy of the region, with many of them being valuable experts in industry, agriculture, commerce, etc.