Camp Fremont, from postcard
Siberia and California: Connections during the Russian Revolution and Civil War
Late in 1917 (25 October according to the Old Style calendar, 7 November according to the New Style), shortly after the US entered World War I and began sending troops to France on the side of the Allies, Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd and the Kerensky “provisional government” fell. So began the Russian Revolution. By May 1918 civil war broke out, with the newly formed Red Army and the “White Army” engaged in attack and counter attack in several regions, including Siberia. The war continued in some parts of Siberia into 1922.
California figures in part of this history. The majority of troops that formed the American Expeditionary Force–Siberia (in Russia from September 1918 to April 1920) were trained at Camp Fremont, located in Menlo Park. Many of the participants of the White forces and refugees leaving Russia via Siberia settled in California in the 1920s and 1930s. (So did some of the Americans after their sojourn in the AEF.)
The Institute for Historical Study and the Merced Branch of the San Francisco Public Library are hosting an evening of four presentations by independent scholars: “The Russian Civil War — A Quick Overview,” “Civil War-Related Collections at the Hoover Institution Archives and the Museum of Russian Culture,” “The Russian Civil War through the Camera of a Young Officer,” and “The Refugee Experience through Siberia.” Images from local archives and private collections will illustrate the talks. The speakers are Richard Robbins, professor emeritus, and Maria Sakovich from the Institute; Yves Franquien from the Museum of Russian Culture and Hoover Institute Archives; and Lada Tremsina, author of three books on the civil war.
When: Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Merced Branch, San Francisco Public Library
155 Winston Drive, San Francisco
