The article dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Exodus of the Russian Black Sea squadron to Tunisia from revolutionary Russia examines the gender aspect of this historical event.

Gender interpretation of well-known and little-studied sources and materials, aimed at identifying a wide range of opinions about the role of women in the history of emigration from Russia in general, illustrates the nature of relationships between men and women both within the emigrant community itself, and in relations with the outside world.

Russian emigration to Africa is a gender-based approach to the study of this episode that allows us to better understand the true place of women in the phenomenon of emigration, since the array of Russian emigrants - wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters of compatriots who left the revolutionary homeland-is described and studied more modestly. At the same time, their place in the life of Russian communities and their role in the process of adaptation to the new environment are significant and deserve no less research attention.

The heroism and asceticism inherent in the nature of the Russian woman, innate nobility and culture were combined in the conditions of emigration with conscious and thoughtful efforts to preserve and protect the community that, due to circumstances, was subjected to the hardships of life in a foreign land.

The article uses unique materials "from the first person" - memories and interviews of participants of the events of that time. It is these sources that allow us to bring to the surface the nuances and touches of everyday reality that were "buried" under many heroic and dramatic versions of the same events.