During the Soviet era, any information about the existence of the Russian fleet in the Bay of Biscay was the strictest taboo. But after 199 1 year, the pendulum turned sharply in the other direction. Some journalists and writers spoke and spoke about the "heroic deeds" of these Russian officers and men who refused to lower the flag of St. Andrews and how he fulfilled their "loyalty oath." The motivation for creating these new myths is nothing more than public relations and money factors under the situation of "democratic social order" promoted by Russia at that time.

Another strange problem has arisen. For some reason, no one asked this basic question-what is the basis of the existence of the Russian fleet in Cyprus?

Why has Vrangel been trying to arm thousands of White Guards soldiers for years? He and the commander of the fleet, Major General Bachrens, knew very well that it was technically impossible for the White Guards and ships to reach the Soviet-Russian border.

Obviously, "22 is 4". White immigrants can only take part in the war when any European country or group attacks the Soviet Union, because these exiles are always ready.

Let's look at this situation from the perspective of common sense and international law. Volunteers who participated in the Russian civil war, whether good or bad, are all a matter of political preference. But when he was not disarmed in a foreign country, these "good soldiers" became mercenaries who needed to find experts to attack his home.

International law has never recognized such mercenaries as belligerents, so the Soviet government can regard all armed White Guards as bandits according to international law and punish them accordingly.

At the same time, Vrangel has another way. He can order an end to the war in Constantinople, that is, admit what happened "legally" and "in fact", and then dissolve the army and navy.

Interestingly, in the month of 1920+0 1, not only ordinary Cossacks and soldiers, but also senior officers of the Russian army knew little about the major changes that have taken place in Vrangel and Europe in the past three years. On the other hand, Vrangel and his staff should have contacted many Soviet and foreign media, collected a lot of information about western soldiers and civilians, and even the information of the tsar's ambassadors in most European countries.

So, why didn't Vrangel tell the story of taking people to a foreign country completely and truly? It is obviously impossible to ride a white horse back to Russia, and there is little chance to return to the enemy camp with the members of the translation punishment team. Therefore, it is a good idea to let those who have always dreamed of returning to China as soon as possible work in foreign intelligence departments instead of putting on the drama of "Russian army" and "Russian fleet" all day.

Those who want to return to Russia legally should understand the political and economic situation there as soon as possible and integrate into local life as soon as possible. However, most of him found it difficult to adapt to life in France, Germany, most parts of Europe and the United States. There is no other way, but, alas, Vrangel has deprived thousands of immigrants of their normal lives for decades. For1events in the late 1920s and 1930s, the rest are irreplaceable.

Of course, we can have a completely unimaginable assumption, such as a military coup in Soviet Russia in the 1920s. Trotsky, Sklyanski, Kamenev, Zinoviev and other red commanders will come to power, and they will allow free trade and so on. But even with such an unrealistic choice, Vrangel's army and navy cannot influence the situation in Russia in any way. A typical example is that it was only after the Klang incident that we learned about the crackdown in Paris and Dalian.

Why can't there be a new military plot after Russia defeated Vrangel for a few months? So after 1920, 1 1 month, there is no choice for the rest of Budweiser. There is only one way to continue to fight the Soviet Union, and that is to serve the Japanese and then Hitler. Many white guards generals tried to do this, and his results were well known. Vrangel and his confidants have no chance to really destroy the Soviet regime, which is not good for the former czar officers who stayed in the Soviet Union.

The special collection of the Russian National Library is the military periodical Sentinel published by white army soldiers in exile. This magazine was first published in Paris on 1929. Looking through the magazines from 1930 to 1933, you will feel a little overlapping. After the end of the Civil War 12, the magazine was not published in Paris, but more like 1920 was published in North Tafroya. The article in the magazine says that a new movement is going on and the Bolsheviks are becoming less and less popular.

Letters received "from there" will be published in each issue, mostly letters from Red Army commanders. The content of the letter is that everyone is tired of Bolshevik, who is actively planning to hold a big uprising, just waiting for the signal of "coming from abroad". Of course, the editor of the magazine will explain to readers that what was expected did not happen in Soviet Russia, because "it is not difficult to guess that Lubyanka is a' loyal reader' of this magazine, so the news that 0 10 -300 was strictly sealed has suppressed the Red Army commander's pursuit of democracy and yearning for immigrants in many ways."

Although this fleet no longer exists, its fate has left a painful memory in the minds of Russian immigrants, not just sailors. The original fleet members who stayed there decided to build an Orthodox church and carve the names of those ships on stone tablets as an eternal memorial. Under the auspices of Major General Vorozhkin, a special committee was set up to make preparations for the church, the most important of which was to raise funds. They actively used the Navy magazine in Prague (published in 1927- 1942) and the Sentinel magazine in Brussels to continuously publish the progress of church construction and the list of donors, with donations from all over the world.

Kolyadin, an engineer and businessman who used to supply the fleet, donated 65,438+07,000 francs during the construction of the church, and also paid for the chandeliers, anchors and marble slabs under construction. The construction of the whole church was led by the military engineer Colonel Suhorzhievsky. Many images and murals were created by artist Chapega. On September 1938 and 10, alexander nevsky Memorial Church was grandly completed, and Johnny bolger Tower became the first pastor of the church. There are portraits of Christ and the Virgin Mary on the front of the main entrance of the church, and banners of St. Andrew and St. George on the back wall. During World War II, the church was seriously damaged in the air raid in Piseta. ?

1949，Igumen？ Fio Docia? Organize fund-raising activities for reconstruction. 1950, a marble plaque was installed in the church, which was engraved with the names of all the largest ships from 1920 to 192 1. The French government allocated 975,000 francs for repairs, and the remaining 6,543.8+0.5 million francs were collected by believers. The preservation of the church so far reflects the spiritual connection between Russian immigrants and Russia.

Some fleet officers and their families stayed in Tunisia. Before World War II, the Russian Naval Association was established under the auspices of Major General Bachrens, and was led by Lieutenant Colonel A from 65438 to 0930. But with the passage of time, the number of Russians gradually decreased, some left North Africa and some went to another world. 1956 after Tunisia's independence, until the first half of 1960s, many Russians left Bicesa and became French citizens.

As for Bigtan, it has always been the largest French naval base in North Africa. From 1952 to 1, Tunisia launched a national liberation struggle for independence and freedom. 1956 On March 20th, the French recognized Tunisia's independence, but there were still heavy troops stationed in Virseda. After continuous negotiations, the French army finally retreated in June 1963+ 10/5.