Russian-American relations

This article is an attempt to consider the history of humanitarian assistance to German and Austrian prisoners of war, provided by the YMCA organization during the WWI: to summarize the results of the activities of organization’s secretaries in the camps located in the Kiev, Irkutsk, and Turkestan military districts, to identify the features, nature and mechanisms of their work. The article is based on materials from the American periodical press and archival sources stored in the funds of the Russian State Historical Archive and the Russian State Military Historical Archive. The author conclusion is, that in a short period of time, the YMCA has achieved significant success in providing assistance to prisoners of war. This success was entirely due to the tireless work of the YMCA secretaries in the field, which was sometimes complicated by the significant extent of the territories entrusted to them, the lack of railway service, and severe weather conditions. The implementation of the YMCA program depended entirely on the personal qualities of the secretaries, their involvement in problem solving and diplomacy, which ensured effective contact with both prisoners of war and the military commandant’s office. YMCA’s work in Russia constituted the largest and most extensive international initiative to assist prisoners of war, providing both material support and opportunities for intellectual and cultural development. The article also analyzes the impact of this work on Russian-American relations and on the humanitarian policy of the United States during the war period.