RUSIN PRISONERS OF WAR IN LEBEDYN DISTRICT OF KHARKIV PROVINCE DURING WORLD WAR I

The article dwells on the prisoners of war of different nationalities on the territory of Russian Empire during WWI, with special focus on the Rusins. The object of this study is Rusin war prisoners, used as labour force in Lebedyn District of Kharkiv Province during World War I, their living and working conditions and perculiarities of supervision. The author aims at analyzing the situation when Rusin prisoners of war were in Ukraine on the example of one districts in Kharkiv province in 1915-1917. Using materials from Lebedyn District Zemstvo Administration from the State Archive of Sumy Region, the author argues that the war prisoners' labour was an important economic factor under the shortage of work force in the wartime and concludes that the Russian policy towards prisoners of war during WWI implied their highest possible use as work force at the lowest cost of their maintenance.