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ACTIVITY OF REPRESENTATION OF THE MIXED COMMISSION IN SIBERIA TO THE REPATRIATION OF THE POLISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN 1921 // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2015. Issue 3 (9). P. 120-127

After completion of the Soviet-Polish war and the conclusion of the Riga peace treaty the exchange of prisoners of war began. For the control of the process of repatriation to Siberia there arrived the representation of the Mixed commission as a part of the Polish and Russian-Ukrainian delegations. All prisoners had to be subject to mandatory registration. A special commission of the Soviet leaders of Polish origin had set belonging to Polish nationality of persons who had no documents. Re-evacuation took place in difficult conditions of post-war time: lack of material resources, bad work of railway transport and epidemic of typhus. Politics of Soviet power which wasn't interested in mass departure of Poles to motherland became a serious obstacle for re-evacuation of prisoners of war. Soviet officials refused to dismiss service professionals, as well as returnees who were involved in the forced labor. Violations of provisions of the Agreement on repatriation from the Soviet power were explained by ideological approach. According to the opinion of members of the Soviet government potential agents of the Soviet power had to return to Poland and class enemies had to remain in Russia.

Keywords: The Riga peace treaty, repatriation, Polish prisoners of war