Between Monarchism and Nazism: the career of General Vasily Biskupsky in exile (1919-1945)

• Authors: Zbyněk Vydra , Tomáš Jiránek
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This study examines General Vasily Viktorovich Biskupsky’s (1878–1945) career in exile. Biskupsky was part of the first wave of Russian emigrants after the 1917 Revolution and Civil War, and he permanently settled in Germany in 1919. As a radical right-wing monarchist, he aimed to create connections between Russian emigrants, German far-right circles, and German conservative monarchists. His ultimate goal was to build a coalition of conservative and far-right forces, restore the monarchy in Russia, and strengthen the Russian-German alliance. However, due to his questionable contacts and suspected involvement in various affairs, such as the Kapp Putsch in 1920 and the Munich Putsch in 1923, Biskupsky acquired a negative reputation. He played a significant role in the monarchist-legitimist movement centred around Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, a pretender in exile to the Russian imperial throne. After 1933, Biskupsky collaborated closely with the Nazi regime, seeing them as the best ally for his political plans. In 1936, he was appointed head of Russische Vertrauensstelle (the Russian Commission for Germany), a position he held until the end of World War II. This study provides the first biographical sketch of Biskupsky’s life in English.

Keywords

EN

Vasily Biskupsky (1878-1945); White Emigration; Russian Radical Right; Russo-German Relations; 1919-1945

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Slovanský přehled: historická revue pro dějiny střední, východní a jihovýchodní Evropy (Slavonic Review: Review for Central, Eastern and Southeastern European history)
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 110
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 159-204
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Zbyněk Vydra

• Slovanský přehled, redakce, Historický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Prosecká 76, 190 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic

author

Tomáš Jiránek

• Slovanský přehled, redakce, Historický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Prosecká 76, 190 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic