Cultural and educational work in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army during the front-line Civil War: early Soviet historiography (a brief review of the history of the problem)

Abstract

The author made an attempt to develop (in the format of a lapidary historiographical review) the problem of the history of cultural and educational work in the Workers and Peasants Red Army (Red Army) during the front-line Civil War (19181920). The problem under review is of increased interest because in 19181920 there was a unique process of the Soviet historical science birth. It was designed to comprehend, and in hot pursuit, the historical phenomenon of the party and political work in the armed forces of the young Soviet state, which had no analogues in the history of world civilizations. This is the historical phenomenon in which cultural and educational work in the Red Army was born and strengthened. At the same time, it should be emphasized that the unique process of the birth of Soviet historical science took place against the background of the escalation of the fratricidal Russian Civil War (in its front-line stage). At this time, interesting sources, primarily historical, as well as some historiographical sources were published on the problem that is considered in this paper. It is they that are subjected to a historiographical review. Naturally, the author does not claim to cover the topic that falls within the scope of his research interests, which, in fact, cannot be achieved in the format of a historiographic review, especially in the format of a lapidary one.