Resettlement Question in National Periodicals of Western Outskirts of the Russian Empire (1905-1914)

The article studies the reflection of the problem of mass migration from the western provinces of the Russian Empire in Belarusian, Moldavian and Ukrainian journalistic discourse of the early 20th century. The research is based on the set of publications in national newspapers and magazines published between 1905 and the beginning of the First World War. Most authors negatively assessed the phenomenon of mass migration of their "compatriots" to Asian Russia and the New World. Trying to reduce the spread of resettlement movement, they adopted both economic arguments (the difficulties of running a household in a new place, the misfortune of most settlers, alternatives to agricultural practices, etc.) and "patriotic" ones, including an appeal to the concepts of "homeland", "home", "land given by God and ancestors" etc. Belarusian and Moldavian authors agreed that the main reason for the peasants' outcome was the lack of education in their native language. Ukrainian journalists discussed the consequences of resettlement and the fate of the migrants in terms of national identity. Some considered them "lost to the nation", while others saw the prospect of creating a "New Ukraine" in the areas of compact settlement in the Russian Far East.

resettlement question, migration, national press, national identity, Belarusians, Moldovans, Ukrainians