Archives West Finding Aid

Aside from communications with U. S. officials and the applications and histories of the membership, the collection contains much of General Elshin's personal and official correspondence with branches and officers of the veterans society, as well as with other emigre leaders. A folder of speeches and writing contains several studies written by Elshin, while a clippings folder holds obituaries for significant members of the society including that of General Elshin.

A separate grouping was created for Elshin's correspondence with the Evergreen Cemetery Co. In 1928 a special agreement was made with the president of that corporation, C. S. Harley, establishing the Orthodox Brotherly Graveyard of St. Nicholas (Pravoslavnoe bratskoe kladbishche Cv. Nikolai) in what is now known as the Evergreen Washelli Cemetery. Although the graveyard was open to all Orthodox Russians, the Russian Veterans Society of the World War administered the cemetery and worked on improvements to the grounds. In 1936 a large structure in honor of the Russian war dead was dedicated. (See Seattle Times November 11, 1949.) A special ledger (kniga) for those interred in the cemetery was kept by the veterans until 1949. This book was then continued, presumably by St. Spiridon's Orthodox Church, until 1955. The ledger includes the dates of birth and death, grave plat number and often some personal history of the deceased.

Nearly all the records of the two veterans organizations, and most of General Elshin's rough notes preparatory to replying to Mr. Hartley of the Evergreen Cemetery Co. are in Russian. The early correspondence of the Russian Veterans Society of the World War was originally in two stitched numbered letterbooks and thus in chronological order. Later records of the society were less well organized, but have been maintained in their original order in an effort to show the relationships of the material; for instance, most of the applications for the disabled veterans section were filed together, but in instances where other correspondence accompanied the application it had been filed by the society with the general correspondence. All correspondence in the Evergreen Cemetery grouping is in chronological order. Some newspaper clippings are interspersed throughout the collection.