History of Refugees as Fugitive from Gulag
- Bon Habler
- Feb 17, 2025
- 8 min read
Origin of Refugees - "Russian and Armenians"
Today, I try to trace origin and path of the fugitive from Gulag. In the past article, I wrote about the 1951 Refugee Convention which contain the definition of "Refugees" by UNHCR. I will quote them here again.
In the aftermath of the First World War (1914 - 1918), millions of people fled their homelands in search of refuge. Governments responded by drawing up a set of international agreements to provide travel documents for these people who were, effectively, the first recognized refugees of the 20th century. Their numbers increased dramatically during and after the Second World War (1939-1945), as millions more were forcibly displaced. The process, which began under the League of Nations in 1921, culminated in the 1951 Convention which consolidated and expanded on previous international instruments relating to refugees and continues to provide the most comprehensive codification of the rights of refugees at the international level.
So, it implies that the origin of refugees are the people who were purged by Russian Revolution and Armenian Genocide/ Battle of Gallipoli in Ottoman Empire in 1910s. And then, the League of Nation was stablished in 1920 to help such people (mainly "Russians" - including Greek immigrants in Russia, Armenians and Assyrians etc.)
The first Gulag style jail was established in Solovetsky island in 1920, however, this island had been functioned as a jail or a penal colony for a long time since 16th century (the era of Ivan the Terrible). Ivan the Terrible was an Tsar of Russia who conducted a great purge of aristocrats. After the death of Ivan the Terrible, the House of Romanov gained the power. Romanov was also one of the major factions who were killed by the Russian Revolution. Thus, assumingly, Ivan the Terrible suppressed the emergence of Romanov by the Great Purge of "aristocrats", and Russian Revolution (Trotsky) and the Great Purge by Stalin fought against the enemy of Ivan the Terrible. The name "Ivan the Terrible" shows how he was cruel for the Romanov faction. Also, such cyber terrorists describe Ivan the Terrible in the "terrible way" and stigmatize him. It shows how Ivan the Terrible is important to fight against the cyber information control gangs.
Also, Ivan the Terrible fought against Sokollu Mehmed Pasha of Ottoman Empire (Russo-Turkish War (1568–1570)). However, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was born in Serbian origin Orthodox Christian family, and he was a part of Janissary (the crypto-Christian military unit of Ottoman empire, mainly navy). In addition, he started the Volga-Don Canal project in 1569. So, the construction of Volga-Don Canal by Hydroproject and Gulag workers in 1920s as a part of Lenin's GOELRO was a revival of this Janissary Pasha's plan. GOELRO (Electrification of Russia) was posed by Lenin, and it is regarded as a first industrialization project in Russia. Namely, Lenin was not a "communist" revolutionist, but an "industrial revolutionist" (who is considered as one of the main enemy of communists).
Ivan the Terrible served as Tsar in 1647 - 1584, and Prussia (Germany) was established in 1525. Perhaps, Ivan the Terrible was an ally of Prussia. Perhaps, the war between Ivan the Terrible/ Trotsky/ Stalin and Romanov/ Lenin/ Khrushchev are the proxy war of Prussia Germany and Habsburg Austria.
White Sea - Baltic Canal as Lifeline for Fugitives
In any case, the League of Nations wanted to help such Romanov/ Industrial Revolutionists (Lenin and Khrushchev) who were arrested and sent to Solovetsky or Solovki Special camps since 1920. Such people were the core of the "refugees" defined by LN and the Refugee Conventions. In 1931-1933, White Sea- Baltic Canal Project was conducted, and many prisoners ran away from the jail by pretending as a part of work. Here is the location of Solovetsky Island, White Sea - Baltic Canal, and Volga- Baltic Waterway (another Gulag project with Hydroproject, and it was already started in 1922). Perhaps, the "Baltic Vikings" may have been them (Gulag fugitives) or they cooperated with the viking to run away from the jail.
Since then, water related infrastructure projects were mostly used a way to run away from Gulag. They have many "death" numbers in the statistical data. However, I am not sure if such prisoners were really dead, or they pretended as death and ran away.
Destination of Gulag Fugitives
Sadly, the refugee data is available only since 1951 (by UNHCR) and 1960 (by World Bank). So, I only can assume the possible destination of Gulag fugitives since then. As for the early "refugees" who purged by Russian Revolution and Armenian Genocide, it is also a big research theme.
Some people moved to Canada and US as it shows in the state statistics.
Others went to Turkey, Europe (Especially France) etc.
Also, such people are called "White Émigré".
However, assumingly, such emigrants contain both of pro-Leninist (industrial revolution, or Romanov) and pro-Stalin (military regime, or Prussia). So, it is very difficult to assume the nature of such people. One good point of the data by UNHCR is that they solely help "Romanov type emigrants" as refugees, and they exclude pro-Stalin side (Good as a data, but terrible as a self-declared humanitarian organization).
UNHCR's Data in 1950s - 1960s
Here is the graph about top countries which accepted refugees until the end of Khrushchev era (1953-1964). Obviously, the top recipient country is US in the era, followed by France, Austria and Germany (maybe West Germany). One more important fact is that US experienced the leap of refugees in 1952 (one year before the emergence of Khrushchev regime), and then it stayed at 500000 for more than 10 years. In statistics, if the data is too beautiful (the number is ending in 0000...), it is mostly an "estimation" or the actual number is concealed for the political reason. You can find that all countries except Canada had such unnaturally beautiful numbers in 1951 in the following table, and all refugees were "origin unknown" in 1951. It is likely that US conceal the fact that they accepted refugeed a lot in Khrushchev era. Also, perhaps, the liberated Gulag prisoners (liberated by Khrushchev) may not have been counted as "refugees" in Khrushchev era, because Khrushchev did not persecute them in Russia.
(Table: Refugee Acceptance in 1951, source = UNHCR)
Country of asylum | Country of origin | Refugees under UNHCR's mandate |
United States of America | Unknown | 350000 |
France | Unknown | 290000 |
Austria | Unknown | 282000 |
Germany | Unknown | 265000 |
United Kingdom | Unknown | 208000 |
Australia | Unknown | 180000 |
Canada | Unknown | 168511 |
Unknown | Unknown | 158800 |
Belgium | Unknown | 55000 |
Sweden | Unknown | 44000 |
China, Hong Kong SAR | Unknown | 30000 |
Italy | Unknown | 26500 |
Greece | Unknown | 18000 |
Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | Unknown | 14200 |
Switzerland | Unknown | 10000 |
Morocco | Unknown | 3000 |
Türkiye | Unknown | 2700 |
Norway | Unknown | 2500 |
Denmark | Unknown | 2000 |
Spain | Unknown | 2000 |
Tunisia | Unknown | 2000 |
Luxembourg | Unknown | 1800 |
The next table is top 20 countries which accepted refugees in 1960-1967, based on the data from World Bank. UNHCR's data does not include refugees under the UNRWA's mandate (mainly in the middle east). So, Jordan, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Lebanon, Syria kind of countries appear in this table. The "beautiful" numbers are still very mysterious in this data too, and only France, Canada and countries in the middle east have realistic numbers. Perhaps, after the fall of Khrushchev in 1964, Khrushchev faction in Russia may have counted as refugees again.
Country Name | Country Code | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 |
Jordan | JOR | 623660.0 | 633197.0 | 644940.0 | 662525.0 | 678985.0 | 697658.0 | 714763.0 | 668453.0 |
United States | USA | 500000.0 | 500000.0 | 500000.0 | 500000.0 | 500000.0 | 510000.0 | 500000.0 | 480000.0 |
West Bank and Gaza | PSE | 258165.0 | 265430.0 | 273038.0 | 283782.0 | 293024.0 | 301879.0 | 311846.0 | 295040.0 |
France | FRA | 245935.0 | 253375.0 | 259740.0 | 174057.0 | 175861.0 | 177665.0 | 179468.0 | 177200.0 |
Germany | DEU | 197000.0 | 190000.0 | 185000.0 | 182000.0 | 180000.0 | 180000.0 | 140000.0 | 112000.0 |
United Kingdom | GBR | 167000.0 | 164000.0 | 160000.0 | 157000.0 | 160000.0 | 170000.0 | 167000.0 | 164000.0 |
Congo, Dem. Rep. | COD | 150000.0 | 203000.0 | 223000.0 | 237000.0 | 236000.0 | 265000.0 | 357100.0 | 434100.0 |
Lebanon | LBN | 137884.0 | 142670.0 | 146969.0 | 152747.0 | 158584.0 | 163069.0 | 164692.0 | 122967.0 |
Syrian Arab Republic | SYR | 116778.0 | 120577.0 | 124626.0 | 129010.0 | 133366.0 | 138081.0 | 142206.0 | 127304.0 |
Belgium | BEL | 55000.0 | 53000.0 | 51000.0 | 50000.0 | 47000.0 | 47000.0 | 40000.0 | 34000.0 |
Canada | CAN | 48629.0 | 44492.0 | 12282.0 | 10946.0 | 10178.0 | 9980.0 | 10225.0 | 9991.0 |
Austria | AUT | 39000.0 | 34000.0 | 30000.0 | 27000.0 | 25000.0 | 25000.0 | 24500.0 | 24000.0 |
Sweden | SWE | 26000.0 | 26000.0 | 26000.0 | 26000.0 | 24000.0 | 22000.0 | 20000.0 | 18000.0 |
Switzerland | CHE | 20000.0 | 20000.0 | 20000.0 | 20000.0 | 20000.0 | 20000.0 | 20500.0 | 21000.0 |
Italy | ITA | 15500.0 | 14500.0 | 14300.0 | 14600.0 | 14000.0 | 15000.0 | 14000.0 | 13000.0 |
Greece | GRC | 15500.0 | 15200.0 | 15700.0 | 15400.0 | 16000.0 | 15560.0 | 15300.0 | 12270.0 |
Netherlands | NLD | 12000.0 | 10000.0 | 10000.0 | 9500.0 | 9500.0 | 9000.0 | 8500.0 | 8000.0 |
Norway | NOR | 3000.0 | 3000.0 | 3000.0 | 3000.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Morocco | MAR | 2700.0 | 2900.0 | 2900.0 | 3200.0 | 3000.0 | 2360.0 | 2180.0 | 3000.0 |
Denmark | DNK | 2300.0 | 2200.0 | 2200.0 | 2200.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
The next is the countries which experienced a leap of refugees between 1964 and 1963. They are the countries which accepted Kennedy/ Khrushchev factions.
df_rec["gap btw 1964/1963"] = df_rec["1964"] - df_rec["1963"]
df_rec = df_rec.sort_values(by = "gap btw 1964/1963", ascending = False)
df_rec[["Country Name", "Country Code", "gap btw 1964/1963"]].head(15)Country Name | Country Code | gap btw 1964/1963 |
Hong Kong SAR, China | HKG | 1120000.0 |
Macao SAR, China | MAC | 80000.0 |
Uganda | UGA | 54000.0 |
India | IND | 44000.0 |
Burundi | BDI | 44000.0 |
Senegal | SEN | 24000.0 |
Jordan | JOR | 16460.0 |
Tanzania | TZA | 13000.0 |
Spain | ESP | 12000.0 |
Cambodia | KHM | 10000.0 |
West Bank and Gaza | PSE | 9242.0 |
Nepal | NPL | 7000.0 |
Lebanon | LBN | 5837.0 |
Syrian Arab Republic | SYR | 4356.0 |
Central African Republic | CAF | 3300.0 |
Here, I've reached to the same topic I wrote in the past article (the mysterious mass emigration in 1964,
Refugee Data and Emigrant Crisis in 1964). Maybe the refugees emerged due to the end of Kennedy and Khrushchev regime. Perhaps, many of them may have hidden in China, just like recent situation via Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. And such people were purged by Maoism (the Great Cultural Revolution in China since 1966.
Recently, the USAID/ foreign development faction tries to stop the crisis (dissolution of USAID) only within US. And such spies said that "USAID is already very corrupted, now it is the time of Chinese Belt and Road Initiative" etc. However, the terrorism has spread mainly via Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (modern silk Road) in 2010s.
China was also one of the places of ancient civilization around Yellow River. So, China has a strong anti-communist faction too (survivors of Ming Dynasty of China). Seemingly, there is a dam (Sanmenxia Dam) constructed by Japanese empire in 1930s around Yellow River.
I was constructed by the Japanese imperialists. And Japanese construction company Kashima Construction has an old webpage about this dam. It says that the Sanmenxia Dam was constructed in 1960, by cooperating with the past Soviet Union. In this context, of course, the "Soviet Union" was the Khrushchev Soviet (1953-1964). Also, Kashima cooperated to construct the dam with Khrushchev although Japanese language often eliminate subject from a sentence.
** When I wrote the part of Sanmenxia Dam and its relation with Japanese empire in this article, there was a severe technical problem happened suddenly. The editing page became very heavy and froze several times, and my typing did not function for a while only for this page. I refreshed this window but it did not solve the technical issue. So, I restarted my computer. This incident also implies that the cyber stalking/ illegal censorship is mainly conducted by Japanese empire faction. Also, my cyber space was severely hijacked by terrorists in 2010s, and such people mentioned about the flood terrorism by Sanmenxia Dam. Namely, the terrorist group was Japanese empire origin. Was the flood terrorism by Dam originated in Japanese empire?
One Concrete Example - Egypt
I found that Egypt had a "refugees" whose origin were "Russian Federation" (although there was no "Russian Federation" kind of country in 1964) in the UNHCR's data. Soviet cooperated to construct the Aswan High Dam since 1958(Plan) or 1960 (Construction) in Khrushchev era. So, after the fall of Khrushchev regime in Soviet, some Khrushchev faction exiled to Egypt and participated in the construction.
However, Egypt was under the military regime (junta) since 1952 who fought against the British colonists. And such military suspected this Aswan High Dam construction as a hidden invasion. This could be the reason why only Egypt has such accurate data which identifies the origin of the refugee (Russia, Armenia etc.) in 1964.
Year | Country of origin | Country of asylum | Refugees under UNHCR's mandate |
1964 | Albania | Egypt | 100 |
1964 | Armenia | Egypt | 170 |
1964 | Russian Federation | Egypt | 120 |
1964 | Unknown | Egypt | 80 |
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