A Whole Empire Walking: Refugees in Russia during World War I

Appendix 2. Questionnaire Issued by the Tatiana Committee, January 1917

APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE ISSUED BY THE TATIANA COMMITTEE, JANUARY 1917 1. Point of departure. 2. Type of place: village, town, or hamlet. 3. Living conditions of refugees prior to their departure. 4. Circumstances of departure. Did refugees leave of their own free will, or were they forcibly removed for some reason? Were there any instances of refusal to obey the order to evacuate, and if so, what were the consequences? 5. How did refugees occupy themselves at home, and what was their economic status? 6. The composition of the refugee’s family before departure from the permanent place of residence, and its present composition. The causes and circumstances of the separation of family members. If the refugee subsequently found members of his family, by what means and under what circumstances? 7. By what means did the refugee travel, how long did the journey take, and what stops were made? 8. Who accompanied the refugees? Were they organized into groups with a guide? What feeding points did they pass? Which organizations offered help, and what were the sanitary conditions en route? 9. How did the local population relate to refugees as they passed through, and how did refugees relate to the local population? 10. Did any memorable events happen to the refugees during their ®ight, and if so, what were they? 11. Did the refugees settle immediately in a given place? If not, why did they have to move on? 12. In what condition were the refugees when they arrived at their ¤nal destination ? Were they able to salvage any of their property? If so, what precisely? 13. What losses did refugees suffer in terms of the destruction of sown area, buildings , movable property? Did they receive any compensation, and from whom? 14. The attitude of local authorities to refugees. 15. The attitude of the local population to refugees. 16. The relationship of refugees to one another; relationships between refugees of different nationalities. 17. Do the refugee and his family earn any money, and from what source? 18. If the refugee has no earned income or it is insuf¤cient, who assists the family? And of what kind and amount is such help? 19. In what kind of housing do the refugees live? 20. Have there been any epidemic diseases among the refugees, and what is their current state of health? Have they received any medical care, and if so, from what source? 21. How do the refugees satisfy their religious needs? 22. Do the refugee’s children attend school? If so, of what kind? What is the language of instruction? What arrangements are made for those children who have lost their relatives or do not live with them? 23. Facts concerning the moral condition and the family and social life of the refugee’s family. 24. Do the refugees intend to return to their homeland [rodina] at the end of the war? Does anyone wish to remain in their new place of residence or move to a new home? Source: Izvestiia KTN, 15, 1 January 1917, pp. 10–11. Questionnaire Issued by the Tatiana Committee 217 ...