The book provides a detailed analysis of the humanitarian activities of the Russian Foreign Ministry during the First World War to return to their homeland and provide assistance to compatriots deported from the warring countries of Europe, as well as civilians of military age and prisoners of war detained in them. This experience acquires particular relevance today, when countering international terrorism requires clear, professional protection of compatriots. Little-known facts from the history of Russian diplomacy are being introduced into scientific circulation based on materials from the State Archives of Russia, which have been closed until recently, as well as information and reference publications of the Russian Foreign Ministry for internal use.