246 - A collection of correspondence and financial records relating to Gallipoli, Serbia, Bulgaria, and other centers of the “White” émigré movement

A collection of correspondence and financial records relating to Gallipoli, Serbia, Bulgaria, and other centers of the “White” émigré movement A group of correspondence and financial records relating to Gallipoli, Serbia, Bulgaria, and other centers of the White émigré movement Correspondence and accounting records, comprising letters to and from individuals and organizations in Gallipoli, Serbia, Bulgaria, and other countries associated with the White émigré movement. The material includes financial accounts, statements, receipts, and related documentation, along with personal and administrative correspondence. Dating primarily from the interwar period and comprising material in Russian and French, the collection provides a record of the activities, financial affairs, and networks of the Russian émigré community across Europe and the Balkans. Various sizes Footnotes: Provenance Private Collection, France. The Gallipoli Association was established by veterans of General Pyotr Wrangel’s White Army who were evacuated from Crimea following the Bolshevik victory in November 1920. Around 25,000 soldiers and civilians were temporarily interned at Gallipoli, in Turkey, where they endured difficult conditions while maintaining military discipline, Orthodox religious practices, and the traditions of the Imperial Army. This shared experience became known as the “Gallipoli spirit” and symbolized loyalty, sacrifice, and devotion to the cause of a non-Bolshevik Russia. Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, former Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Russian Army during World War I, emerged in exile as a respected symbolic leader of the White émigré community and a figure around whom many monarchists hoped to unite. The Balkans—especially the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia) and Bulgaria—became important centers of Russian emigration. With the support of local governments, Russian refugees founded cadet corps, Orthodox parishes, charitable organizations, and veterans’ associations, preserving the political, religious, and cultural traditions of pre-revolutionary Russia throughout the interwar period. For further information on this lot, please visit Bonhams.com