Russian emigrants began arriving in Egypt in the early 1920s, evacuating through Novorossiysk on ships. Cadet Nikita Vorobyov recalled that the elderly, women, children, the wounded, and the sick filled every corner, while food was scarce, and the biscuits were infested with worms. Emigrants were landed in Et-Tel-el-Kebir, where the English authorities organized a tent camp for refugees, as Egypt had been under British protectorate since 1914.

Writer Alexander Yablonovsky described the life of the emigrants, noting that the general poverty no longer surprised anyone, and everyone engaged in menial work. The famous artist I.Ya. Bilibin, rolling up his sleeves, along with a colonel from the general staff, carried firewood to the kitchen. Soon, an Orthodox church and a gymnasium appeared in the camp, which the refugees set up in sheds with thatched roofs. In 1922, England recognized Egypt's independence and ceased funding the camp, after which the emigrants moved to large cities like Alexandria and Cairo.

In 1920, Professor Konrad Wagner founded the "Polyclinic of Russian Specialist Doctors" in Cairo, where nearly nine thousand patients were treated in the first year. An Orthodox church was opened at the hospital, and the iconostasis for it was created by famous emigrant artists: Ivan Bilibin, Vladimir Strekalovsky, and Nikolai Savin. Soon, the Egyptian Medical Society emerged, offering courses in obstetrics and massage. Doctor Vladimir Bellin recalled the kind communication among all members of the Russian colony in Egypt. To assist those in need, the "Russian Charitable Society" was established, which financed the construction of the "Russian House" for sick and elderly emigrants.

Scholar Vladimir Vikentyev lectured on the history of the Middle East at Cairo University, and in 1924, Professor Vladimir Goleniщev headed the department of Egyptology, speaking 13 languages and creating a catalog of papyri in the Cairo Museum. Emigrants sought to maintain Russian culture in Egypt. Illustrator Ivan Bilibin opened a workshop and painted houses, while the works of painter Vladimir Strekalovsky were exhibited in the Cairo Egyptian Museum. Antonina Strekalovskaya, the artist's daughter-in-law, opened a ballet school in Cairo. Soon, a fencing club and a literary society appeared in the capital, where amateur performances were staged.