Nepski Prospekt and the Russian Oxford
Berlin and Prague as destinations for ‘Russian’ exile
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Karl Schlögel and Lukáš Babka look back at emigration from the Russian Empire. Of the approximately two million people who turned their backs on their homeland due to the 1917 Revolution and persecution by the Bolsheviks, 360,000 alone sought refuge in Berlin, and tens of thousands in Prague, where they formed vibrant cultural and political communities. However, neither Berlin nor Prague was able to permanently integrate the members of this large wave of emigration; many moved on to France and the USA. The millions of war refu-gees from Ukraine and those politically persecuted from Russia who now reside in the EU lend the themes of flight, emigration and exile immense relevance today. Once again, Berlin and Prague are centres of emigration. Yet the differences between then and now are considerable.
(Osteuropa 5-6/2026, pp. 31–44)