Social and Public Life of Austro-Hungarian War Prisoners in Western Siberia and Turkestan (1914–1917)

Abstract

First World War contributed to the formation of the destinies of Austro-Hungarian subjects in a new historical and geographical environment. In the West Siberian and Turkestan territories, which were considered distant provinces of the Russian Empire, their fate was checked as prisoners of war. The politicalideological and socio-legal aspects of prisoners of war in Western Siberia are among the historical issues widely discussed in historiography. Recently, researchers have been interested in the situation with the adaptation of prisoners of the First World War in the new regions where they were placed. And the issues of the national composition, socio-public and medical-sanitary situation of Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war placed in concentration camps and cities of Western Siberia and Central Asia (Turkestan) are becoming increasingly important in modern history. In Russian studies, one of the topics discussed at a high level is the aspects of ethnicity, labor conscription of prisoners of war in Turkestan and Western Siberia. But the social and everyday issues of the situation of refugees from the European part of Russia to Central Asia in 1915– 1916, concerning prisoners of war, still require comprehensive consideration. Due to the arrival of refugees, the conditions of detention of prisoners of war in the camps and cities of Turkestan were complicated. In addition, scientific consideration of the socio-social status of prisoners of war in Turkestan is among the topical topics. This article examines the social and social levels of Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in Western Siberia and Turkestan in 1914-1917 on the basis of archival data. Also, the research paper provides an objective assessment of the positions and views on the study of the history of prisoners of war.