Failed return: Germans in the Volga region. 1955–2010

Abstract

The article examines the attempts to return the Volgagermans, deported in 1941, to their places of pre-war residence. The author gives a periodization of these processes and reveals the features of each period. Attempts to relocate to the Volga from Siberia and Kazakhstan began to be undertaken since 1956 after the abolition of the special settlement regime for the Germans (1955). Until the end of 1972, they were illegal, the settlers faced many difficulties, since there was a ban on the return of the Germans to the places of the pre-war accommodation. Subsequently, untilthe end ofthe 1980sthe state did not interfere inthese processes,the well-being ofthe settlers was determined bythe attitude of the local authorities towards them. During the years of perestroika, the inconsistent and contradictory policy of the country’s leadership on the rehabilitation of the Germans contributed to the emergence of resistance to their return to the Volga region. Meanwhile, an alternative to returning to the Volga appeared and emigration to Germany began. Public statement by President B. N. Yeltsin in January 1992 that there would be no German autonomy on the Volga was a turning point. An avalanche-like departure to Germany began. Belated attempts by the central and local authorities to attract the Germans to the Volga region by socio-economic measures had a weak short-term effect.

Keywords

• germans
• volga region
• number of germans
• all-union population censuses
• deportation
• return of germans
• compact settlements in the volga region
• migration processes