ABSTRACT
The introduction sketches out the historical context of the evacuation of Soviet civilians during the Second World War from Ukraine, Belarus, and Western Russia to Central Asia, Siberia, and the Urals. It also discusses the main arguments of the book and the theoretical approaches utilized. The author lays out the claim that at sites of resettlement the lives of evacuees and local residents were necessarily intertwined and interdependent. By looking at these encounters and relationships and the tensions that emerged between these groups, we can learn a great deal about the impact of the evacuation on individuals, communities, and the relationship between citizens and the state. The author discusses the main sites/arenas of encounter, specifically shared housing, the marketplace, and workspaces, covered in the book and specific constituencies among the evacuated population, such as Leningrad evacuees, orphaned children, and Soviet Jewish evacuees, that are given particular attention. The introduction includes a brief discussion of the existing historical scholarship on the topic and explains key terms used.
