Moscow: RSUH Publ., 2008, 296 p.

The study of the history of Russian emigration, this phenomenon of national and world history of the XX century, as an integral part of the history of Russia began in the 1990s. Understanding the historical and cultural heritage of the Russian emigration, which was rejected in the homeland for seven decades, is not only of scientific, but also of practical importance: it is important for the further development of Russia's foreign policy and cultural ties.

Various aspects of the history of the white emigration of the "first wave" in North Africa, mainly in Egypt and Tunisia, which in 1920 received more than 6 thousand exiles from Russia each, are given attention in the works of many modern Russian historians: V. V. Belyakov, V. I. Ryabova, G. V. Goryachkin, N. L. Krylova and others. etc. A great contribution to the study of the problem was made by the compilers of the collections " The Russian Diaspora in Africa "(Moscow, 2001) and "Africa through the eyes of emigrants" (Moscow, 2002), A. B. Letnev, V. P. Khokhlova and Yu. V. Lukonin, as well as V. V. Lobitsyn (Bizerta Marine Collection, Moscow, 2003), S. Vlasov (The prisoners of Bizerte. Documentary stories about the life of Russian sailors in Africa in 1920-1925 (Moscow, 1998) and K. V. Makhrov (Russian colony in Tunis. 1920-2000. Moscow, 2008), which were published in the last decade.

The appearance of the book "Russians in Tunisia" is an extraordinary phenomenon, largely connected with the unique life situation of the author. M. A. Panova is a Russian historian, specialist in the historical and cultural heritage of the Russian diaspora, who has been living in Tunis for the last ten years and teaches at the Tunisian Higher Institute of Languages. Her book, devoted to the history of the Russian emigration of the "first wave" in Tunisia, is by far the most complete, comprehensive, comprehensive and weighty study of this problem. The fate of the" white " Russian emigration in Tunisia ceases to be a little-studied problem in Russian science. Covering the period from the 1920s to the 1980s, the book covers a whole range of issues, some of which are being raised for the first time. If the tragic fate of the Russian Squadron, the history of the Russian Orthodox community, the cultural life and contribution of representatives of the diaspora to the socio-cultural life of the country that sheltered them have attracted the attention of historians before, then such aspects as the problem of integration of Russian emigrants in Tunisian society, analysis of the social composition of the community, evidence of pro-Soviet sentiments Defining the advantages and disadvantages of Tunis as a haven sounds like a new word. Combining the analysis of historical facts with a story about the fate of specific people, about whom we first learn in such detail, the author creates a complete, full-blooded, vivid picture of emigrant life.

The structure of the book is optimal, which combines the thematic division of the material into three chapters - the history of the Russian Diaspora in Tunisia, the history of the Orthodox community and essays on the cultural life of Russian emigrants - with a chronological order of presentation. The periodization proposed by the author, which includes three characteristic segments, looks logical and convincing: 1920-1924 - the period of "temporality" and the dissolution of the Russian Squadron in 1924; 1925-1956-the diaspora found its social niche among other European colonies of Tunisia, the most fruitful period in its history; 1956-1980 - gradual reduction of the Russian diaspora in Tunisia.

M. A. Panova has used archival funds of various countries: in Russia (GARF, Central Archive of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, RGVIA, RGVA, RGIA, Archive of the Library-Fund "Russian Abroad", etc.), in France (Archives de la Marine de Vincennes, Archives de Nantes), in Tunis (Archives Nationales de Tunisie a Tlnstitut du

Mouvement National de Tunisie a Manouba). Having a unique opportunity to work with documents from such different sources, M. A. Panova comes to a reasonable conclusion that many of them are biased in covering the problems associated with the squadron and Russian refugees in Tunisia. If sources of Soviet origin, especially the materials of the special services, seek to portray the situation of refugees in a "black light", then the documents of the organizational structures of the" white " Russian emigration are often dominated by the desire to embellish reality. That is, the documentary materials reflected the struggle between the two countries.

Official documents are successfully supplemented with materials from the personal archives of A. A. Manshtein-Shirinskaya (Bizert), K. V. Makhrov and T. V. Lagodovskaya-Kambuliv (Paris), and the Ben Hamid family (Tunis). It is necessary to recognize the great merit of the author in collecting unique oral testimonies of emigrant eyewitnesses, their descendants, Tunisians. Materials of personal origin (memoirs, interviews) are skillfully combined with the analysis of the press of those years, both emigrant, Tunisian and French. The church archives of Russian Orthodox churches in Tunis and Bizerte, as well as metric books based on which M. A. Panova compiled the "Summary Table of civil Registration of the Russian colony of Tunis for 1920-1969" (pp. 261-262), served as a valuable source for reconstructing a reliable picture of the life of the Russian Diaspora.

The author's analysis of the peculiarities of the Russian emigrant community in Tunisia is convincing. Its characteristic feature at the first stage was the predominance of the military: Tunis was the most efficient detachment of Russian military emigration-the remnants of the Russian Imperial Navy (sailors, officers and members of their families), as well as the Sevastopol Marine Corps (cadets, midshipmen, teachers) and a company from Vladivostok. It is not surprising that the colony was distinguished by a high degree of politicization, a special patriotic attitude, and socio-political activity. Only with the liquidation of the Russian Squadron in 1924 did the system-forming factor disappear from the life of the Russian military emigrant community. Some of the sailors left Bizerte, moved to Europe and other continents in search of a better life, and some were looking for work both in the neighboring Maghreb countries and in other regions of Africa. Thus, Tunisia was not only a haven for Russian refugees, but also a base for subsequent migrations. After the social decline of the first years of emigration, the remaining Russians in Tunisia by the early 1930s. We managed to occupy a worthy professional niche among the European diaspora of the country due to the high level of education (many of them were more or less fluent in French), social mobility. The Russian colony gradually merged into the European segment of colonial society and by the middle of the 20th century was integrated into the European colony of Tunis. M. A. Panova's remark that the relations between Russian refugees and the local Arab population, although they were formed within the framework of good neighborly living, did not have any integration aspect is significant. That is why, after Tunis gained national independence, almost all Russians left the country together with the former colonialists.

"Not in every country in Africa you will find familiar Russian silhouettes in the outlines of buildings," N. A. Sologubovsky and S. V. Filatov noted in their work " Tunisia. A Thousand and One stories told in the Hammamat " (m. 2003), describing two Orthodox churches in Tunis - the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in the capital and the Alexander Nevsky Church in Bizerte, which emigrants of the" first wave " left as a legacy to their descendants. These churches have been restored and are still in operation, since 1992 the Tunisian Russian Orthodox community came under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Naturally, M. A. Panova devoted a separate chapter to the history of the Russian Orthodox community in Tunis, identifying the Orthodox faith as the main indicator of the national and cultural identity of Russian emigrants and a powerful unifying factor. The first Russian Orthodox traditions on Tunisian soil were laid in difficult conditions - on ships, in refugee camps, in casemates, in private apartments. When the emigrants realized that their stay in Tunis was far from temporary, they began to think about building a real temple. The construction of Orthodox churches and the concomitant creation of Orthodox associations were important milestones in the history of the Russian diaspora in Tunisia. Russian spiritual and socio-cultural life has been concentrated around Orthodox churches for many years. Orthodox parishes played an important role in rallying compatriots based on the preservation of national traditions, spiritual and cultural values, and the native language.

A detailed study of the cultural life of the Russian diaspora leads M. A. Panova to the fair conclusion that as an independent cultural and ethnic community, Russians carefully preserved their cultural traditions and made a certain contribution to the enrichment of various cultural traditions.

areas of local culture: music, dance, painting, architecture. The artist A. A. Rubtsov, the composer G. N. Gorchakov, the architect M. F. Kozmin and others left their mark on the culture of the Russian diaspora and the history of Tunisia. But the author's attention is drawn not only to the biographies of such famous personalities, but also to the activities of less noticeable, but no less worthy representatives of the diaspora: teachers of the Marine Corps and the first Russian schools, botanists and soil scientists, journalists who managed to organize a fairly active literary and journalistic activity. According to M. A. Panova, the result of such high activity was the fact that the socio-cultural life of Tunisia in the 1920s and 1950s bore the imprint of the Russian presence.

Another important and interesting topic - the process of interaction between the emigrant community and the host country - runs through the entire narrative. M. A. Panova carefully records the responses of the Tunisian press to all significant events related to the stay of Russian emigrants in this country. And if in the first years the attitude was wary and critical, then gradually the Russian diaspora earned the right to a good name. Based on the materials of personal archives of emigrants and the testimonies of A. A. Shirinskaya, K. V. and G. A. Makhrov, M. A. Panova concludes that Tunisia as a haven for Russians had, along with obvious disadvantages (a country of a different culture and religion with a low level of development and quality of life), and important positive aspects: there was no social humiliation, As was the case in France, the local authorities, as part of the naturalization policy, provided certain benefits to Russian refugees, jobs, and study scholarships. An important step in strengthening good relations between the Russian community and the Tunisian authorities was the assistance provided by the latter in the construction of Orthodox churches in Bizerte and Tunis. Associations of Russian Orthodox Christians received from the authorities bills of sale and a donation for land plots, confirmed by the decree of the first President of Tunisia, H. Bourguiba, after the country's independence in 1956.

Together with the author, we can state that the cultural legacy left by the "white" Russian emigration in bilateral Russian-Tunisian relations has become a solid basis for their further development and mutual sympathies of the Russian and Tunisian peoples.

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