The idea of Bolshevism overtakes the Red Ukrainian Army” White intelligence report on the state of the Ukrainian Soviet troops. 1919

Abstract

This is a publication of the report of a white scout on the situation of the Ukrainian Soviet troops by the summer of 1919. The published document was found in the collection of the Hoover archives in the United States. The report is undoubtedly of interest to researchers, as it reflects the difficult process of creating the Red army in Ukraine. The report also testifies about the difficult relationship between the senior Soviet military officials. A knowledgeable White agent provided the command of the anti-Bolshevik Armed forces in the South of Russia with detailed information that can generally be considered reliable. The data sent by the agent is characterized by considerable accuracy, since it was compiled basing on true combat schedules of the troops on the Ukrainian Soviet front. The access to such information testified that, apparently, the agent served in the People’s Commissariat for Military Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR or in the headquarters of the Ukrainian Soviet front. The high awareness of the White scout gives special value to his report, including the personal characteristics of various Soviet officials, the description of complex and contradictory relationships between them, as well as an assessment of the general situation in the field of Soviet military construction in Ukraine in 1919.