The Partisan Movement of Eastern Transbaikalia in the «White» periodical press (1919–1920)

Abstract

This article examines the coverage in the White Guard press of events related to the actions of the partisans of Eastern Transbaikalia against the regime of ataman G.M. Semenov. The research was based on the issues of the newspaper «Zabaikalskaya Nov», published in Chita in 1919 and 1920, as well as the newspaper «Far East», published in Vladivostok. Many of the materials of these newspapers devoted to the actions of the East Trans-Baikal partisans are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. As a result of the analysis of newspaper publications, it was found that on the pages of these newspapers there are practically no pronounced propaganda materials directed against the actions of the partisans or their leaders. At the same time, the newspaper issues contain a large number of published reports reflecting the fighting of the Semenov troops against the partisans. A large amount of this data allows to trace the actions of the warring parties with high accuracy and is a good basis for further study of the Civil War in the territory of Transbaikalia. Of particular interest are publications devoted to the Bogdatsky Battle, the largest battle of the Civil War in Eastern Transbaikalia. These materials make it possible to reconstruct the details of the battle with high accuracy, significantly complementing the memoir sources available on this issue.