St Andrew’s Flag over Tunisia: Memory of the Russian Squadron’s Stay in Bizerte in the Early 1920s

This article is devoted to the “places of memory” associated with the stay of the Russian squadron in Tunisia in the early 1920s. Methodologically, the study is based on the theoretical constructs characteristic of the founders of the concept of historical memory (M. Halbwachs, J. Assmann, etc.). The author shows the need to take them into account when forming the “politics of memory” in modern Russia, concerning the events of the era of the Great Upheavals of 1914–1922. Particular importance is attached to the role of representatives of the Russian diaspora. The article proves that it was the phenomenon of the Russian diaspora that largely contributed to the elimination of the gap in the history of our country caused by the events of the revolution and the Civil War. The author believes that a similar mission is fulfilled by the “places of memory” associated with the history of the Russian diaspora itself. One of its key pages is the functioning of the Russian squadron in the Tunisian port of Bizerte in the early 1920s. The article substantiates the conclusion about the uniqueness of Tunisia as a country in which significant memorial complexes dedicated to Russian participants in the First World War and the Civil War are preserved and maintained in good condition. It is shown that the most important contribution to this is made by the members of the Tunisian Association “Russian Heritage”. The author characterizes the key “places of memory” associated with the stay of Russian soldiers in Tunisia, i.e. Christian cemeteries in the cities of Tunis and Menzel-Bourguiba, a cemetery in Bizerte, the Orthodox churches of Alexander Nevsky in Bizerte and the Resurrection of Christ in Tunis, and the House-Museum of Anastasia Shirinskaya in Bizerte. It is demonstrated that the preservation of historical memory about the phenomenon of the Russian diaspora continues to play a consolidating role, uniting the Russian public in a difficult geopolitical situation.