Civil War In Siberia Research Articles

The head of Defense of the Okhotsk district of the Siberian Volunteer Squad is Captain Boris Mikhailovich Mikhailovsky

The article is devoted to the military biography of the participant of the First World War, the civil war in Siberia, the governor of the Tomsk province during the reign of Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, the organizer of the Yakut campaign and the chief of defense of the Okhotsk district of the Siberian Volunteer squad, Captain Boris Mikhailovich Mikhailovsky, whose biography is currently incomplete and focuses on the events when B. M. Mikhailovsky held the position of manager The province. Meanwhile, all that is known about B. M. Mikhailovsky as the chief of defense of the Okhotsk district of the Siberian Volunteer squad is that he disobeyed the order of the commander of the squad A. N. Pepelyaev on the transfer of civil power to representatives in Okhotsk and usurped power in the Okhotsk region. The work was carried out in compliance with the basic scientific principles of objectivity, historicism and multifactoriality. Within the framework of the problems of intellectual history, it is considered justified to apply an approach based on microhistoric analysis. The author pays special attention to the period of Mikhailovsky's participation in the organization and implementation of Lieutenant General Pepelyaev's campaign in Yakutia, as a poorly illuminated area in the biography of a white officer. Documents from the National Archive of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are introduced into scientific circulation, which contain orders, proclamations, letters from participants in the events of 1922-1923. Special attention is paid to the situation of the city of Okhotsk during the civil war in Yakutia, the cold confrontation between Mikhailovsky, as a representative of the Siberian Volunteer Squad and the Provisional Yakut Regional People's Government. The author concludes that Captain Mikhailovsky was not the last officer in the Civil War and the Yakut campaign, and played an important role in the events under consideration. This work is important for a comprehensive and objective coverage of the events of the civil war in Russia, filling in the white spots in the biography of Mikhailovsky, who is widely known as the governor of the Tomsk province during the Kolchak government, but remains unknown during the years of the campaign of the squad in Yakutia, one of the organizers of which he was. In addition, this work allows you to get to know Lieutenant General Pepelyaev's entourage better through studying his associates. The article is a continuation of the study of the biography of the command staff of the Siberian Volunteer squad.

Работа омских чекистов в отношении бывших белых контрразведчиков: казус Гудимова–Горского

Modern Russian academic science pays close attention to the history of national state security agencies, noting that studying their experience is of high importance for understanding the functioning of state and society institutions, especially in the era of social cataclysms. The article presents previously unknown episode from the work of the Omsk Chekists at the final stage of the Civil War in Siberia concerning opposition of the Soviet state security agencies to the activities of the White counterintelligence and physical neutralization of its employees and agents in the RSFSR. The article is to analyze forms and methods of the special services opposing one another at the end of the Civil War in the East of Russia, using the example of the final stage in the biography of Lieutenant Colonel Gudimov-Gorsky. The studied issue is connected to the general historiography of the problem, emphasizing the relevance of research. The study draws on a complex of unpublished sources from Gudimov-Gorsky’s archival criminal case, which was in closed departmental storage during the Soviet period. The theoretical basis is anthropological and systematic approaches, problem-chronological and comparative-historical methods, which permits to trace the described military and political processes in the general context of functioning of state and society, attempting to comprehend, among other things, the influence of human factor and random element on the outcome of some precedents in the work of regional bodies of the Cheka. The final part of the article underscores debatable problematic points related to the limited source base and complexity of biographical identification of Gudimov-Gorsky. Thus, the study is deemed uncompleted, however, it opens a way to further development of the designated broad issue. The publication may be of interest to the specialists studying the Civil War in the East of Russia, activities of national state security agencies in the era of social cataclysms, existence of officers during the revolutionary processes, as well as socio-political life in the early Soviet society.

К историческим образам интервентов в Белой Сибири 1918-1919 гг.

This article is a review of the monograph “The Image of Foreign Allies of the Anti-Bolshevik Movement in the Periodicals of Western Siberia (May 1918 – December 1919),” prepared by the famous Siberian historian-archivist, candidate of historical sciences Maksim Maksimovich Stelmak. The book was printed in Omsk. Its was presented to the general scientific community on June 20, 2023 at the Center for the Study of the History of the Civil War of the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region. The monograph was prepared on the basis of his dissertation research, substantially revised and supplemented to include new sources, identified by M. M. Stelmak, and historiography developments of the last six years. This final version can be rightfully called a valuable comprehensive study on the history of the Civil War in Siberia and of the life of the region and its population in the era of social cataclysms. Historical-anthropological approach and imagology served as theoretical basis for the monograph and, accordingly, for this review. Principles of consistency and determinism permit to call the book a phenomenon in scientific life, reflecting subjective and original assessments of the author, not detaching, however, from the generality of historical knowledge. The review overviews specific features of the source base of M. M. Stelmak’s research. It highlights key features of the monograph and its relevance, characteristic for flamboyant development of the historical science in a regional state archive. The review concludes with speculative passages on the impact of the monograph on potential development of the historiography on the issue: further study of the history of images, military-political history, comparative historical studies of the image of the Civil War participants and foreign military intervention in Russia in 1918–22 based on periodicals.

ПЕРВАЯ ЗАДАЧА ОСВАЛЬДА ПЛИЧЕ

The work is an archeographic publication of a source of personal origin — the memoirs essay «The First Task», written by Osvald Yuryevich Pliche (1893–1982), an ethnic Latvian. The author of the memoirs was one of the active figures who established Soviet power in Omsk, was a participant in the Civil War in Siberia, and subsequently, until 1957, held administrative posts in various Soviet structures involved in financial, economic, diplomatic and economic work. The published source is permanently stored in the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region, in the found «Foreign Citizens — Participants of the Revolution and the Civil War». The original of the memoirs is a typewritten authorized manuscript. These notes about the episode of the revolutionary events in Omsk in December 1917 — countering the sabotage of bank employees — O.Yu. Pliche was specially prepared in 1964 at the request of researchers from the archives of the Omsk Regional Committee of the CPSU. Memoirs are distinguished by a very detailed narration and ease of presentation. The memoirs were planned for publication in one of the collections of historical journalism, which were actively published in the 1950s–1970s. But for some unknown reason, the memories were never made public. The relevance of the publication is associated with an increased interest in the ego-sources of representatives of the academic community who study the events of the Russian Revolution. The plot described in the memoirs did not find a detailed description in historiography. The principles of consistency and determinism are the theoretical basis of the study, which made it possible to analyze the source, which is considered as a manifestation of the general Soviet reflection and, at the same time, a result of the well-coordinated motivating activity of archival workers. The publication of the source is preceded by an introductory commentary by the author-publisher. The title of the article was given by the publisher. The work is aimed at a wide range of readers, primarily researchers of the Russian Revolution, the social democratic movement, the establishment of Soviet power, the participation of foreign citizens in the socio-political processes in those years.

Памятник жертвам взрыва 1 августа 1918 г. в Омске: история частной коммеморации в городском мемориальном пространстве

The study presented to the readers is devoted to an unstudied Siberian monument associated with the period of the Civil War and long since lost. The relevance of the study is due to a rather weak scientific understanding of specifics of the development of memorial culture in Siberia at this difficult historical stage and of its ongoing influence on the modern memorial processes. The emergence and existence of the monument to the victims of an ammunition explosion on August 1, 1918 in Omsk has been traced within the frameworks of development of the Russian memorial culture and memorial space in the Siberian cities. The authors establish the monument’s origin and its fate up to its disappearance. To interpret these events, general trends in the Soviet era state policy of memory and peculiarities of the urban environment of the period are taken into account. The main sources are valuable and mostly unpublished documents and photos (including those from private collections), which are being thus introduced into scientific use. The study is oriented to the problem field of memory studies; it addresses problems of cultural memory, its formation, development, and transformations under the influence of various factors. It also uses biographical and problem-historical methods. This theoretical complex permits to interpret the half century existence in Omsk of a monument erected on a private initiative, while linking its appearance to the particular historical situation. The publication may be of interest to specialists in the field of cultural and historical memory, researchers of urban cultural space, Civil War in Siberia, urban everyday life and Omsk local history.

Авантюрист в рядах спецслужб? К биографии Петра Васильевича Глинко–Апина

The article deals with the problem of embedding foreigners in the early Soviet society in the conditions of the end of the Civil War in Siberia. For this purpose, on the basis of the anthropological approach, theories of social adaptation and social identity, the biography of the representative of the Czech intelligentsia Pyotr Vasilyevich Glinko–Appin is analyzed. The final stage of his life was associated with work in the special services of anti-Bolshevik and pro-Soviet authorities, being in custody, participating in the Soviet underground, and working as a civil engineer. The basis for the study is a complex of unpublished forensic and investigative materials that are part of the archival criminal case against the hero of the story. In conclusion, it is emphasized that a foreign officer with an anti-Bolshevik past could not count on successful social adaptation in the conditions of Soviet Russia.

Автопародия в творчестве Всеволода Иванова

The paper considers self-parody as a kind of self-reflection in the works of Vsevolod Ivanov in the 1910s-1920s. The most striking and well-known self-parody example is the image of the Chinese Shin-Bin-Wu in the adventurous novel “Iprit” that comically reinterprets one of the plot twists and the same type of character in the famous story about the Civil War “Bronepoezd 14-69”. The origins of the self-parody are not due to external reasons: the social order for the “Krasny Pinkerton,” communication between Ivanov, as a member of the “Serapionov Brothers” group, and theorists and practitioners of literary parody. Ivanov’s self-parody is conditioned by internal sources. The works of the 1910s reveal the young writer’s tendency to embody the main topics and motifs of his work almost simultaneously in tragic and comic variants. It is suggested that the writer’s self-parodies of 1918s-1919s originate from his awareness of the illusory nature of his aspirations and ideals and the impossibility of their realization. Also, a parody autobiography of 1922, in the spirit of “The Three Musketeers,” interpreting the tragic events of the Civil War in Siberia, self-parodies of the 1920s (the peasant revolution, the “secret secrets” of the human soul, the ideals of the “hearth-house” and the “mother and comforter of sorrows” destroyed during the revolutionary period) are assumed to be the author’s attempt to renounce some facts of his real or artistic biography, his desire to internally confirm for himself the correctness of his new path in life and art.

Алтайский губернский Союз увечных воинов (1918–1920 гг.)

The development of charity in Russia is increasingly reflected in contemporary Russian historiography. The military-revolutionary period of 1914–1920, associated with large-scale social cataclysms, in this respect it is especially relevant. The study of regional specifics is important for the disclosure of the problem. The purpose of the study is to reveal, using the example of the Altai provincial of war crippled (AlthrovUC), the peculiarities of the formation and activity of public associations under the conditions of the Russian Civil War in Siberia that provided support to disabled people of the First World War (training, employment, social care and adaptation, etc.). The source base of the work is the unpublished sources from the collections of the State Archives of the Altai Territory and materials of the West Siberian press, which are first introduced into scientific circulation. The anthropological approach and the theory of social adaptation became the methodological basis of the work. The author concludes that, despite the difficult conditions of the Russian Civil War (general financial and social crisis), AlthrovUC employees made a significant contribution to supporting the disabled of the First World War.

ЮНКЕРА ОМСКИХ ШКОЛ ПРАПОРЩИКОВ В ГРАЖДАНСКОЙ ВОЙНЕ НА ВОСТОКЕ РОССИИ

This publication is an attempt to trace the collective fate of students (cadets) and the commanding staff of the 1st and 2nd Omsk schools for the training of infantry warrant officers in the period from November 1917, that is, from the moment the schools were disbanded in October and November and the anti-Bolshevik uprising 2nd Omsk school of warrant officers on November 1–3, 1917, until mid-1918, when the so-called “Detachment at the 2nd school of warrant officers” was formed in Omsk. The fates of individual officers are traced up to the mid-20s. The methodological concept of publication is a combination of an anthropological approach and a descriptive-narrative method. The source base in relation to the judicial privates and officers of the Omsk schools was made up of the published memoirs of M.M. Basov, materials of the Siberian periodicals of the period under review, the published office documentation of the organs of the OGPU of the Ukrainian SSR. Regarding the Detachment at the 2nd (Omsk) school of ensigns, new data was found in unpublished sources stored in the Russian State Military Archive (RGVA), in particular, fund no. 39498 “Office of the 2nd separate steppe Siberian corps” and fund no. 39617 “Headquarters of the Siberian army”. As a result of the study, it was possible to establish that a significant part of the students (cadets), graduates (warrant officers) and individual officers of Omsk schools by the beginning of the full-scale Civil War in Siberia in June 1918 were on the territory of Western Siberia, in particular, in Omsk. They formed the “core” of the so-called “Detachment at the 2nd school of ensigns”, on the basis of which the 3rd Steppe Siberian Rifle Regiment was formed in June 1918, which was later renamed the 15th Kurgan Siberian Rifle Regiment. Some participants in the events of November 1–3, 1917 in Omsk were subjected to investigation and trial in May 1918. In the conclusion, it is emphasized that for Omsk, the formation of the summer of 1918, the 2nd Omsk school for training infantry warrant officers became one of the army symbols of the anti-Bolshevik struggle. The publication is addressed to a wide range of readers, including specialists in the history of the Russian (imperial) army, the First World War and the Civil War, the white movement, and local historians.

Jonathan Smele, Admiral Kolchak and the Civil War

This article discusses the writings of Dr Jonathan D. Smele, in particular his research on the Civil War (or civil wars) fought on the territory of the former Russian Empire. It does this in the context of the development of western historiography since the 1930s. The author of this article worked in the same field for many years and has known Smele since he was a postgraduate at the University of Glasgow. Smele's first major book was Civil War in Siberia, and this article pays particular attention to Smele's view of developments in that region, and to his assessment of the local counter-revolutionary leader, Admiral A. V. Kolchak. The article stresses that Smele's work has latterly included an imaginative overview of the Russian crisis of the first quarter of the twentieth century, with insights into historical contingency. Smele's most recent interpretation takes in a longer period than just the three years after the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 and goes back to the 1916 uprising in Turkestan and forward to the suppression of the Bas'machi movement in Central Asia in 1926. It assesses Smele's view that what happened cannot be seen simply as ‘one’ civil war or confined to the years 1917-1921. The article also emphasises Smele's unique contribution to the study of these events, however defined, by providing invaluable and comprehensive reference tools, notably his annotated bibliography and his historical dictionary.

“Twice Crowned” (Leonid Yuzefovich – Laureate of the Big Book)

The article discusses the two-aspect nature of the contribution of L.A. Yuzefovich into Russian culture, as a reflection of the specifics of his gift. The criterion for the writer’s achievements was chosen to be a double leader in the national literary prize «Big Book» (a unique case in its history). The purpose of the article is to show the genre specificity of the individual style of Yuzefovich, which doubled the significance of his works for Russian literature and culture in general. The well-known Bulgakovʼs metaphor is applicable to the work of this writer completely. In this case, the right and left hand of the pianist can be considered fiction and documentary proze. A writer’s achievements in each of these areas greatly contribute to his success in the other. The leading place in the work of Yuzefovich the fiction writer is occupied by a large epic form. His novels with criminal plot, as a rule, have a pronounced detective line. The action takes place in different eras in different locations. These are Moscow and Western Europe of the 17th century, imperial Petersburg of the late 19th – early 20th centuries, Perm in the 1920s., etc. Specific historical details are reproduced in detail, the atmosphere of the era is recreated. Critics have repeatedly noted the writer’s ability to convey the spirit of the times in artistic form. The documentary prose of this author is a continuation of his scientific career (he is PhD in historical sciences). The beginning of this direction in his work was laid by the artistically revised dissertation research of the scientist. Subsequently, the main interest of Yuzefovich as the author of documentary proze focused on the events of the Civil War in Siberia and the Far East. The writer’s historical books have a fascinating plot and are written in good literary language. The best (to date) works of Yuzefovich of each of the named directions were awarded the Big Book Prize (the 1st place), awarded for a significant contribution to Russian culture and increasing the social significance of Russian literature. These are the novel «Cranes and the Dwarfs» (prize 2009) and the documentary novel «Winter Road» (prize 2015). Both works reveal important stages in Russian history and, at the same time, deserve high praise for their artistic form.

Historical Symbols of Revolution and Civil War in the Public
 Space of Siberian Cities: the Twists of Memory Politics (1920s – 2010s)

The article is devoted to the trends of memorializing in monumental forms the memory of heroes and victims of the Civil war in the cities of Siberia on the examples of Past and Present. The subjects of memory politics, who were behind the memorializing processes in this area at different stages of history, are revealed. The political meanings reflected in memorializing acts and discussions connected to them are explicated. There is proposed the periodization of the processes of memorializing victims and heroes of the Civil war in Siberia.

100‐летие Гражданской войны в Сибири: научно‐просветительская рефлексия в Омске (2019)

100‐летие Гражданской войны в Сибири: научно‐просветительская рефлексия в Омске (2019)

Всеволод Иванов. Корреспонденции из газеты «Вперед» (август – сентябрь 1919 года)

The article precedes the publication of 14 newly found correspondences of the classic of Russian literature of the 20 th century Vsevolod Ivanov (1895–1963). All of them were published in August – September 1919 in the mobile front-line newspaper “Vperyod” and are connected with the history of plots and stories of the writer about the Civil War in Siberia, first of all, with his famous story “Armored Train 14-69”. The publication fills in the gap associated with the incompleteness of the set of the newspaper “Vperyod” in the repositories of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The gap was filled thanks to the newspaper fund of the Scientific Library of Tomsk State University. The political and literary contexts of Ivanov’s work in the newspaper “Vperyod” are recreated, his relationship with the editor of the newspaper V. G. Yanchevetsky (1875–1954), known as the writer Vasily Yan, is described. An explanation of the changes in the views of the writer in 1919 is proposed. The poetics and genre of the published correspondence is preliminary characterized.

Provincial Echo of the Russian Civil War

The gap between post­Soviet Russia and the communist past was demonstrated by a decree of the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin’s “Establishing the Day of Agreement and Reconciliation” (1996), according to which the 7 th of November remained a public holiday, but the essence of the celebration that was intended to symbolize the victory of the working classes over their exploiters, was changed to the reconciliation and unity of various layers of the Russian society. Later, the holiday of the 7 th of November was cancelled completely; instead, President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin in 2004, by his decree, approved a new holiday ­ the Day of National Unity, which is timed to events that were much more remote and date back to 1612. For the first time, Russia celebrated a new public holiday on the 4 th of November 2005. In contrast to the historical victory of the USSR over fascist Germany, the February and October revolutions of 1917, the Civil War, foreign intervention, the role of V.I. Lenin, I.V. Stalin and other revolutionary leaders continue to provoke heated debates in Russian society, serving as a source of controversy and conflict. Conscious of the potential danger of this subject, the authorities prefer to refrain from potentially dangerous and threatening political stability actions (burial of the body of VI Lenin, etc.), prefer to put everything off and pass on a solution of painful problems to society to future generations. The indistinct position of the federal center on the events of Russian history of the twentieth century, its silence on the themes of the October Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War in Russia led to numerous scandals with new monuments (Mannerheim, Kolchak, Krasnov, etc.) and other contradictory and diverse in their form consequences. In the rural areas, the situation is often determined by the level of education, character traits and psychological characteristics of representatives of the local administration, as well as their sympathies or antipathies of the parties to the Civil War. The article provides several examples of various manifestations of the current “provincial echo” of the Civil War in Siberia (Nizhneingashsky district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Baikal region) and in the Urals (the city of Okhansk, Perm Territory).

Mass Media as an Instrument of Propaganda Policy During the Civil War in Siberia

The article studies information systems of the main political centres operating in Siberia during the Civil War. The Soviet government, the White movement, the allied forces of the Entente were developing a large-scale propaganda in their struggle for power. The articles studies the methods and forms of confrontation of the political centres, their strong and weak points, as well as the channels of information transfer and means of information dissemination. The role of the information aspect during the Civil War in Siberia has not been studied properly so far. One does not have a complete scientific notion of how mass media were related to different political regimes and allies in Siberia. Therefore, the history of the political centres’ struggle for power needs to be widely researched applying interdisciplinary synthesis. It is necessary to consider the information-propaganda policy of the political centres as a specific activity of the governments of Siberia and allies, and as a significant instrument of implementing a new state ideology. In addition, the article discusses the information propaganda policy of the foreign countries participating in the Civil War, revealing the ideological views imposed by the government propaganda of the political centres. Studying the press, telegraph and printing has allowed to define the specific features of the information policy of the political centres. Controlling mass media, effectively set political propaganda contributed to the government stability. The First World War and, then, the Civil War became the pivot point that helped the political centres realise that mass media are the main allies in a crisis as the role and significance of information in society increases profoundly.

Влияние начального периода Гражданской войны в Сибири на умеренно-социалистическую периодику региона ноября 1917 - мая 1918 г.

Влияние начального периода Гражданской войны в Сибири на умеренно-социалистическую периодику региона ноября 1917 - мая 1918 г.

Siberian bukharans in the first post-revolutionary decade

The article deals with the problems of the Siberian Bukharans’ community in the first decade after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Bukharans played an important role in the history of Western Siberia for several centuries. But the significance of the Bukhara community in the economic life of Siberia decreased steadily; there took place rapprochement in the form of assimilation with Siberian Tatars. In the early twentieth century, the reforms, revolutionary changes and war became an ordeal for Siberian Bukharans. As a result of the state policy, both imperial and Soviet, the most important factor in preserving the Bukhara identity - the Bukhara volost - was destroyed. After the end of the civil war in Siberia, the Bukharans in the bulk were in opposition to the Soviet power. In many areas of Siberia in the early twentieth century there was a drop in the population of Bukharans. The largest and most organized community of the Siberian Bukharans in Soviet Russia was preserved in the Tarsky district of the Siberian territory - more than 11 thousand people. In the focus of the research there are problems of the economic, political and cultural development of the Bukharans in the Tarsky district in the mid-1920s. The documents found by the author indicate the degradation of the Siberian Bukharans’ economy. It was caused by the fact that after the victory of the Soviet government, a significant part of them did not connect their future with Siberia anymore, the Bukharans expected permission to leave the USSR, mainly to Turkey. The article introduces new scientific archival documents which reflect the policy of the state in connection with the desire of the Bukharans to leave the USSR. The central Soviet government did not allow this, but ordered to improve the work with this group of the population. Despite the fact that the Soviet leaders in Siberia tried to improve the economic and cultural situation of the Bukharans, they failed to completely eliminate the “resettlement sentiments”. From 1927, the Soviet government ceased to recognize the Bukharans as a separate ethno-social group, including them in the number of Siberian Tatars or for some time using the name “Tatar-Bukharans”.

ЧЕХОСЛОВАЦКИЙ КОРПУС И ВОЕННОПЛЕННЫЕ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ В ПЕРИОД ГРАЖДАНСКОЙ ВОЙНЫ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ СИБИРИ (1918–1920 гг.)

ЧЕХОСЛОВАЦКИЙ КОРПУС И ВОЕННОПЛЕННЫЕ ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ В ПЕРИОД ГРАЖДАНСКОЙ ВОЙНЫ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ СИБИРИ (1918–1920 гг.)

“A Dirty Place for Americans to Be”: Images of the Russian Civil War in Siberia from the Robert L. Eichelberger Collection at Duke University Libraries

The article describes the contents of a substantial and little‐known collection of Russian Civil War photographs currently held at the Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Special Collections Library, Duke University. The images come from the personal archive of General Robert L. Eichelberger (1886–1961), Assistant Chief of Staff, Operations Division, and Chief Intelligence Officer with the American Expeditionary Forces in eastern Siberia, 1918–1920. The article analyzes the scholarly research value of this collection, which has been scanned as part of the Duke University Libraries digital collections project called Americans in the Land of Lenin: Documentary Photographs of Early Soviet Russia.