Tambov Governorate Research Articles

Actions of the Italian government regarding prisoners of war of Italian nationality of the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I

Importance. From 1915 to 1917, a camp for Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war of Italian nationality functioned in Kirsanov, Tambov Governorate, who accepted the offer of the Italian government to send them to Italy and subsequently join the ranks of its armed forces. The Italian government decided to carefully select prisoners of war based on their political and national trustworthiness, thereby delaying repatriation. Prisoners of war began to write to irredentist associations in Italy and the national press, thereby putting pressure on the Italian government. As a result of these actions, the Italian government changed course to send prisoners of war as soon as possible. The activities of prisoners of war are insufficiently covered in modern historiography. The purpose of the study is the impact of the media on the Italian government, which was provided by prisoners of war of the Austro-Hungarian army of Italian nationality in Tambov Governorate during World War I, aimed at accelerating repatriation to the Italian Kingdom.Materials and Methods. The source base is archival materials, as well as a number of published studies. The retrospective method is used, which allows to recreate, in individual details and later sources, the actions of the Italian government in relation to Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war of Italian nationality.Results and Discussion. It is shown that the sending of prisoners of war to Italy was delayed at the initiative of the Italian government. The prisoners of war who were in the Kirsanov camp were able to put pressure on the Italian government with the help of the media. In the spring of 1916, the government, realizing the possible negative consequences, agreed in favor of all prisoners of war who agreed to join the Italian armed forces, rather than limiting it to a few officers who could pay for the trip.Conclusion. While waiting to be sent to Italy, a group of soldiers and officers, being prisoners of war, contacted the national press and irredentist associations. The purpose of these appeals was to put pressure on the Italian government, which was supposed to speed up the repatriation of prisoners of war.

Организации побегов из мест заключения Тамбовской губернии в начале XX века

Importance. The relevance of the chosen research topic is due to the scientific study of the effectiveness of the ongoing penitentiary policy at the beginning of the 20th century in Tsarist Russia and Russia during the Civil War. Materials and methods. The historical and systemic approach made it possible to consider the penitentiary policy of the “two Russias” at the beginning of the 20th century and to trace the effectiveness in the fight against escapes from detention facility. The statistical method showed the number of escapes from detention facility in Tsarist Russia and in forced labor camps during the Civil War. The use of the comparative historical method showed the level of organization of places of detention of different historical eras. Results and Discussion. The statistics and scale of escapes from detention facility in the Tambov governorate at the beginning of the 20th century are studied. The level of organization of detention facility is studied, taking into account the factor of revolutionary events, the Civil War and the peasant uprising in the Tambov governorate. A comparative analysis of the number of prisoner escapes from detention facility in Tsarist Russia and detention facility in Soviet Russia is carried out on the example of the Tambov governorate. Conclusion. The practical significance of the study is expressed in the local history study of the penitentiary systems of two eras in Russia with the aim of further compiling a generalized work on a given topic.

«И на крымском побережье свой закончили исход»: судьбы офицеров-однополчан в конце «Большой» Гражданской войны

Importance. The life trajectories of the Russian Imperial Army officers group who stayed in the Crimea at the final stage of the “Great” Civil War are considered. The importance of the research lies in the fact that the sample is based on fates of the officers who served in various units in the Tambov governorate on the eve of the World War I and were subsequently plunged into the abyss of the national strife. Materials and Methods. The research is based on the materials of archival sources, Memory Books and electronic databases. The work is based on the prosopographical research method, which allowed to establish the life trajectories of the studied characters. Results and Discussion. It is found that of all the participants of the sample, only the revolution opponents were in Crimea. It is interesting that they were in each of the consideredunits. It is not found any mention of fellow soldiers who enlisted in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and fought on the peninsula. Conclusions. The denouement of the “Crimean Epopoeia” for most of them also looks typical in many respects. Someone was able to leave the peninsula, and for some it became “final residence”. In some cases it is also possible to trace the emigrant path of mentioned characters, which, has a very serious significance.

Крестьянская кооперация Тамбовской губернии в первой половине 1920-х гг.

Importance. The focus is on peasant cooperation that is determined by the role of small peasant production in the agriculture of the region under study. Consideration of cooperatives as the most unique phenomenon in Russia and the most common economic models is deyermined by the relevance of modern social production and consumption. Materials and methods. The study used published and unpublished sources. Along with general scientific methods, this study widely used a quantitative method for analyzing quantitative indicators and constructing numerical characteristics of phenomena and processes. Results and Discussion. The position of the Tambov peasant cooperatives during the transition to the new economic policy is shown. The main types and tendencies of its development, features of the organization and directions of activity are determined. The mechanisms of interference of party bodies in the economic activity of the cooperatives are revealed. Conclusion. In the Tambov governorate, the agricultural cooperation was the economic organization that provided considerable support to the peasantry. In the early 1920s there was a slow and difficult process of restoring of the main types of peasant cooperatives in the Tambov province. Along with the improvement of the work of the cooperatives, there was an intensification of the interference of Party organs in its work, in its long-term planning and operational activities.

“Kirsanov movement” of the Austro-Hungarian army Italian nationality prisoners of war during the World War I

Importance. From 1915 to 1917, a camp for Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war of Italian nationality functioned in Kirsanov in Tambov Governorate, who accepted the offer of the Italian government to send them to Italy and then join the ranks of its armed forces. In the period preceding the dispatch, a group of prisoners of war who shared irredentist ideas organized a number of patriotic events in the camp with the aim of national cohesion of future volunteers. Their activity was called the “Kirsanov movement”, which is insufficiently covered in modern historiography. Materials and methods. The main sources for the research were archival materials, as well as a number of published researches. The historical and genetic method was used, which allowed tracing the origins and evolution of the Italian national movement (irredentism) in the territories belonging to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Results and Discussion. It is shown that the goal achievement of prisoners of war national cohesion was hampered both by the social and economic conditioned worldview and pre-war mutual perception stereotypes by natives of Habsburg monarchy’s various territories with the Italian population, and by the former loyalty preservation of some prisoners of war to the Habsburg Empire, fueled by possible repressions of the Austrian authorities in relation to themselves and their relatives. Conclusion. In waiting for sent to Italy, a group of patriotic prisoners of war in the Kirsanov camp organized a number of events, which was called the “Kirsanov movement”. Its purpose was to involve politically wounded prisoners of war in patriotic activities.

Дореволюционные сады и ясли: из истории становления дошкольных образовательных учреждений в Тамбовском крае

In the context of reforming the domestic education system, including preschool, as its first stage, the problem of the formation and development of preschool educational institutions is becoming urgent again. The domestic historical and pedagogical experience of the functioning of pre-revolutionary children’s institutions can become an important reference point in the modernization of the system of preschool educational organizations at the present stage. The process of formation of preschool educational institutions in the Tambov region is considered; Main types of pre-revolutionary preschool institutions that have become widespread in the Tambov region are identified: nurseries-orphanages for peasant children, city nurseries and orphanages, private kindergartens and playgrounds. The emphasis is placed on the cultural and educational significance of the activities of children’s institutions of the public charity system, which made it possible to consider them as a prototype of public kindergartens. The reasons for the slow development of the network of preschool institutions in Russia and in the Tambov governorate in particular are revealed. The role and degree of participation in the organization of preschool educational institutions of state, as well as private and public initiatives are clarified. Mainly published and archival sources have been analyzed, which allowed us to identify the regional features of the formation of preschool educational institutions in the Tambov region at the governorate and county levels in the specified chronological period through the prism of the demand for estate-social, professional and ethno-confessional groups of the population and conclude that the formation of preschool educational institutions in the Tambov region began at the end of the 19th century – beginning of the 20th century.

Условия труда почтово-телеграфных служащих Тамбовской губернии во второй половине XIX – начале XX века

Introduction. The article deals with the problems of working conditions of postal and telegraph employees in the Tambov governorate in the second half of the XIX - early XX century. The relevance of the study is determined by the significant role of communication tool in the life of society and the state.Materials and methods. The research is based on a wide range of archival and published sources. The research is based on the materials from the funds of the State Archive of the Tambov region. A significant part of the archival documents used in the work is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The following methods of scientific research were used: comparative-historical, statistical, analysis, synthesis etc.Results. We study the material position of postal and telegraph employees, content of professional duties, working hours, the system of fines and benefits. The influence of working conditions on the revolutionary activity of communication workers is considered. The author comes to the conclusion that during the period under study, the socio-economic position of postal and telegraph employees was not easy. A long working day, a large number of work duties, the absence of leave for a number of categories of employees, the wage system – all this contributed to the involvement of signalmen in revolutionary activities. Nevertheless, even during the revolution of 1905-1907, the majority of postal and telegraph workers of the Tambov governorate as a whole remained loyal to the state authorities.

Участие тамбовской губернской милиции в борьбе с крестьянским повстанчеством. 1918–1922 гг.

Importance. The scientific problem is to study the activities of the Tambov governorate militia of the period 1918–1922 as a repressive body of the Soviet management system. The purpose of the research is to analyze the participation of county police departments in the suppression of peasant protest during the Civil War. Materials and methods. The activity of the governorate militia during the Civil War was studied through a historical and systematic approach, which made it possible to consider the studied object as an integral part of the Soviet management system. The analysis of the participation of rural policemen in the fight against peasant protest is carried out through the prism of the generation of the “revolutionary turning point”. Results and Discussion. Based on the content of the reports of rural policemen, the causes of peasant discontent, as well as the course of village “rebellions”, were clarified. The forms and nature of the measures used by the governorate militia to counteract the anti-government protests of rural residents have been established. The facts of official crimes and even treason of Tambov policemen were revealed by studying the sentences of the revolutionary military tribunal. It is concluded that during the Tambov uprising of 1920–1921 detachments of the governorate militia, along with units of the Red Army, were involved in the implementation of repressive measures and punitive operations in “rebellious” villages. Conclusion. The practical significance of the work lies in the use of its results to study the role of the “generation of the revolutionary turning point” in the events of the Civil War. The prospects of the study are seen in the establishment of “hidden” forms of peasant protest during the period of the new economic policy and the role of the governorate militia in countering them.

Деятельность члена Тамбовской губернской земской управы А.Д. Брюхатова (1898–1904 гг.) в контексте становления гражданского общества в России

Importance. The history of zemstvo autonomy in the all Russian plan has been studied extensively. The contribution to the history of prominent representatives of the zemstvo has been studied much less on local, in particular, Tambov material. The purpose of the study is to examine the views of the Zemstvo radical intelligentsia in the context of the formation of civil society in Russia using the example of Lev Dmitrievich Bryukhatov, a member of the Tambov Governorate Zemstvo Board. Research methods. Based on the theoretical analysis of the documentation of the Tambov Governorate Zemstvo, an objective assessment of the socio-political activities of a member of the board L.D. Bryukhatov is given. Results and Discussion. The struggle of Lev Dmitrievich for the unification of zemstvos on a national scale and the expansion of the rights of zemstvo institutions, their democratization is analyzed. His activity in defending freedom of speech and publicity, as well as the protection of zemstvo rights, is shown. Special attention is paid to the efforts of a member of the Tambov Governorate Zemstvo Board to increase the zemstvo representation in local institutions. Conclusion. In general, the example of L.D. Bryukhatov showed the evolution of the views of the zemstvo radical intelligentsia from calls for the protection and expansion of the rights of zemstvo institutions to the recognition of the right of the zemstvos to address issues of national importance.

PROBLEMS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HOUSING POL ICY OF THE SOVIET AUTHORITY IN RESPECT OF THE "FORMER" IN 1917-1921 (ON THE MATERIALS OF THE CITIES OF THE TAMBOV PROVINCE)

The article deals with the problems of regional peculiarities of housing policy at the initial stage of the formation of the Soviet state in 1917-1921 in relation to the so-called representatives of the "exploitative" strata of the urban population. The processes of nationalization and municipalization of housing property of the "former peole" in the cities of the Tambov province, the problems of implementing the new Soviet housing policy were investigated. The basis of the research source base consists of materials from the archives of the Tambov region, a significant part of which is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.The study led to the conclusion that the large owners of urban real estate in the governorate have lost their rights to their property. At the same time, the issue of alienation of immovable property of the "bourgeoisie" in the cities of the Tambov governorate during the study period could not be fully resolved. In the course of municipalization and nationalization, the authorities faced a number of problems. In some cases, during the implementation of the new housing policy, they were forced to be guided not only by class, but also by pragmatic motives. Representatives of the "exploitative" classes in the cities of the province during the revolution and the Civil War tried to use various mechanisms to avoid eviction and consolidation, while maintaining more comfortable housing conditions in comparison with other social groups of the provincial urban population.

Создание сети дошкольных образовательных учреждений в Тамбовской губернии в первое десятилетие советской власти (1918–1928 гг.)

In the context of reforming the domestic education system, including preschool, as its first stage, the problem of the formation and development of preschool educational institutions is becoming urgent again. Domestic historical and pedagogical experience of creating a network of kindergartens, hearths, summer and winter nurseries, orphanages, playgrounds, and so on. it can become an important reference point in the modernization of the system of preschool educational organizations at the present stage. The creation of a preschool network in the Tambov governorate takes place in the first decade of Soviet regime (1918–1928). In the course of the study, the concept of a “network of preschool institutions” and the types of organizations that make up it were defined. It reflects the socio-economic conditions in which the network of preschool education institutions was formed, analyzes the impact of the new economic policy of the state on a sharp reduction in the number of kindergartens and hearths, as well as a number of other reasons, taking into account regional peculiarities. The study of archival materials, published sources, analysis of statistical data allowed us to build a growth curve of the network of preschool educational institutions in the Tambov region, to identify and characterize three stages of development. And also to conclude that, despite all the efforts made by the state and local authorities aimed at creating and maintaining a network of preschool institutions, the number of kindergartens and hearths in the Tambov governorate in the first decade of Soviet regime was clearly insufficient.

Продразверстка в Тамбовской губернии в 1920 г. на примере Борисоглебского уезда: дело товарища А.И. Пенькова

The topic of the food policy of the authorities during the Civil War in Russia, in the context of the continuous attraction by researchers of new documents and memoirs, continues to remain relevant today. The Antonov’s uprising in the Tambov Governorate, as part of the Civil War, also does not cease to be a controversial topic among researchers. Already 100 years have passed since these events, but among historians there is still no consensus on a number of issues, one of which is the causes of peasant unrest in the governorates of Central Russia. The importance of this study is due to the involvement of new information on Bolshevik’s food policy, the relationship between the authorities and the population and within the Soviet employees of the Tambov Governorate themselves. In the early 1920, the food issue remained the main one in the policy of the Bolsheviks. Abuse by food detachments in the southern districts and drought in the Tambov Governorate in 1920 contributed significantly to conflicts between the peasantry and the central government. We focus on the Borisoglebsk food agent A.I. Penkov’s story, who witnessed the abuses of the local district authorities in relation to the peasants and was even able to send a telegram to the capital addressed to V.I. Lenin. We also describe in detail the conflict between A.I. Penkov and the district authorities, as well as the subsequent arrest of A.I. Penkov due to the wide publicity of the activities of local food detachments. We reveal that the food issue and conflicts between local food detachments, district party members and the rural population in the southern districts of the governorate are quite acute. Events of this kind cannot be ignored as one of the possible reasons for the peasant uprising of 1920–1921.

The raw material problem as a major hindrance to development of cottage industry in Tambov Governorate from the second half of the 19th till the first third of the 20th century

We discuss the negative impact of the raw material problem on the development of the cottage industry in the late imperial period, military communism time and the New Economic Policy in Tambov Governorate. The availability of the raw material base was of great importance for craft activities, since in the absence of the required materials, the craftsmen would not be able to start their work. Craftsmen could obtain the raw materials necessary for their work either on the personal, communal lands or in local markets. In the first situation, dependence on natural and climatic conditions increased. In the second, everything depended on the buyers, who understood the demand and sought to extract the maximum profit from trade, therefore put the craftsmen at unfavourable conditions. The state authorities of both late imperial and the Soviet Union tried to solve the raw material problem in their own way. In Tambov Governorate of the late imperial period, craft storage houses were organized to help the craftsmen. Also, the government offered large credits. The Soviet Union leadership hoped for mass cooperation of the craftsmen. The article provides the examples of the fact that the difficulties faced by craftsmen have not disappeared despite the actions of the authorities. The cottage industry gave way to the manufactured goods after industrialization.

Развитие почтовой связи в Тамбовской губернии во второй половине XIX – начале XX века

The issues of postal communication development in the Tambov governorate in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century are analyzed. The relevance of the study is determined by the significant role of information and communication infrastructure in the life of society and the state. The following methods were used: comparative-historical, statistical, historical-typological, analysis, synthesis. The research is based on a wide range of archival and published sources, in particular, on the materials of the State Archive of the Tambov region. A significant part of the archival materials used in the work is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The development of urban and rural post offices, the organization of postal communication at the expense of the government and zemstvos, the management structure of postal and telegraph institutions are studied. It is concluded that during the period under study, the postal exchange among the people of the Tambov governorate significantly increased, the network of communication institutions expanded, and the revenues of the postal and telegraph department increased. In the Tambov governorate in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century, along with individual achievements in the development of postal communication, there were a number of unresolved problems, primarily in the functioning of rural mail. The study may be of interest to students of the history of communications, specialists working in the field of communications.

To the issue of the historiographic systematization (on the materials of dissertations on the history of the Tambov Governorate and region)

For the first time, a variant of the historiographic systematization of scientific works (dissertations) on the history of the Tambov Governorate and region has been developed. The definition of historiography as the history of historical science is taken as a basis, which removes the discrepancy in the interpretation of the category. Due to the presence of different methodological approaches of individual researchers to the construction of analysis, a need has arisen for systematizing the work of historiographers, which seems appropriate in studying the development of historiography proper as a science. Actual, in the light of the increase in the number of studies of local lore, is the historiography of historical regional studies. The purpose of this research is to determine some of the foundations of the historiographic systematization of scientific research on the history of the Tambov Region. The object of the study is dissertations as a mass historiographic source, the most significant in a detailed study of the phenomena and processes of work, prepared by professional historians. The chronological framework of published works is the second half of the 20th – early 21st century. The main direction is the analysis of quantitative historiographic indicators. A content analysis technique was used, which involves a selection of sources according to specified criteria. The analysis carried out allows us to identify the range of issues that aroused the greatest interest of the authors, promising areas of historical research. It also serves as the initial stage for continuing the systematization of the historiography of the Tambov region, the basis for the analysis of specific works.

Специфика становления системы региональной печати в начале ХХ века (на примере Тамбовской губернии)

The relevance of the study lies in the necessity of analyzing and recording the various stages of the making of the information picture of the regions. The purpose of the article is to characterize the pre-revolutionary periodical press system of the Tambov Governorate, which developed during the first two decades of the twentieth century, using modern methods of studying the mass media, in particular, comparative and typological methods, content analysis. The background for the formation of the printed media in the region are identified, the regional specificity of the pre-revolutionary information space is defined, various types of provincial and district newspapers and magazines are reflected, the importance of the media covering the problems of local autonomy is noted. We conclude that the further development of the media system of this territory, the continuity of ways to satisfy the information needs of the audience. The study results can be used to build a model of regional media, highlight their typological features.

Из Карай-Салтыково в Вяжли: письма Г.Ф. и Н.А. Петрово-Соловово к Баратынским

The work is a commentary on the publication of several letters, which obviously constituted the regular correspondence that existed in the 1840–1880s between the owners of two estates in the Kirsanovsky County of the Tambov Governorate – G.F. and N.A. Petrovo-Solovovo, whose estate was in the Karay-Saltykovo Village, and S.A. and S.M. Baratynsky, who lived in the Mara (Vyazhli). Several letters preserved in the Baratynsky Foundation at the Institute of Russian Lite-rature (Pushkin House), Russian Academy of Sciences (IRLI RAS) represent friendly correspon-dence in Russian and French, covering a large number of topics of everyday life in a country es-tate. The fact of this correspondence is interesting in the historical and literary aspect. First of all, letters are bilingual texts, the choice of language in which gives rise to reflection on the nature of the relationship in the nobility of the neighboring community that developed in one of the central Russian counties in the middle of the 19th century. This acquires special significance in cases when documents not only reveal the fact of existing social connections in general, but also, based on observation of the language, style, and emotional mode of letters, make it possible to judge the nature and duration of such connections in the community. Being one of the main historical sources, correspondence materials supplement the evidence of other documents about the past of two noble estates. In particular, this applies to historical information about the estates’ owners. And if there was always a steady interest in Mara (Vyazhli) in connection with the large-scale fig-ure of E.A. Baratynsky, then the history of the Karay-Saltykovsky estate and several generations of its inhabitants today suffers from incompleteness, contradictions in the structure of local history narrative, extreme limited archival material and the absence of introducing new sources into the research field. The publication of letters from the first generation of the inhabitants of the estate in Karay-Saltykovo partly fills this gap. We use textual methods, classical historical study principles of external and internal criticism of the source.

Директор Белгородского учительского института Дьяконов Петр Александрович – педагог, историк и общественный деятель Курской, Тамбовской и Харьковской губерний

Reconstruction of the biography is a form of historical analysis. Based on the tools of the historical and biographical method, an attempt is made to restore the biography of the historian, teacher, public figure and director of the Belgorod Teachers Institute from 1913 to 1918 – Petr Alexandrovich Dyakonov (1857 – after 1918). Based on the results of research work with published statistical and reference-legal and unpublished historical sources from the funds of the Russian State Historical Archive, State Archive of the Russian Federation, Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg, State Archive of the Belgorod Region, scientific biography and main stages of professional development of P.A. Dyakonov are reconstructed. Data are restored and his activity in educational and public institutions is analyzed: Tambov Governorate, work in a position of the ruler of Affairs of the Tambov Scientific Archive Commission, Volchansk Teacher Seminary of the Kharkiv Governorate, Directorate of Public Schools of the Don Army Region and Tambov Governorate and Belgorod Teacher Institute of the Kursk Governorate is considered in detail. We analyze the activity of the Belgorod Teachers Institute in the pre-revolutionary years. The list of teachers of the Teachers Institute in Belgorod for 1916 is restored. According to the re-sults of research activities with the funds of the Belgorod State Museum of Local History, a por-trait image of P.A. Dyakonov is identified.

Кустарная промышленность в Тамбовской губернии: от военного коммунизма к нэпу

We consider the peculiarities of the development of handicraft industry in Tambov Governorate during the military communism and NEP. A decrease in fishing activity is noted during the period of military communism, especially in northern counties. The leather, cobbler and textile industries that were able to meet military needs developed during this period. The process of cooperation between the handicraftsmen began. However, while the original field cooperation was based on local government principles, in 1920 it was transferred to the management of the consumer cooperative society. An interesting phenomenon was the departure of workers from factories to handicraftsmen. During the NEP’s years, there was a revival in the handicraft industry. According to statistics, the number of handicraftsmen in the governorate almost doubled by 1925, but was still smaller than in the pre-reform period. The textile industry was the most developed in the NEP’s years. In 1921, trade cooperation was introduced from the consumer sector and merged into the governorate union of handicraft industry. There was an active work of governorate instructors, who trained handicraftsmen in new production technologies, identified problem areas of cooperation, and strengthened the ties between artels and the county union of handicraft industry. Master classes were also organized for handicraftsmen, and handicraft exhibitions were held. However, the cooperative movement has also faced a number of major problems – lack of sufficient raw materials, delays in supplying goods, poor quality, and disorganized government orders.

Участие солдат-фронтовиков в погромах помещичьих имений в Тамбовской губернии в первые месяцы 1918 г.

On the basis of various materials, we describe the process of pogroming landlord estates in the Tambov Governorate in the first months of 1918, the role of front-line soldiers in this process. The collapse of the army, the withdrawal of Russia from the First World War, the weakening and collapse of the old state, the unresolved agrarian issue, pushed the peasants to solve the problem of land shortages by force. The agrarian riots of 1917, often instigated by deserters, were a very serious problem for the Provisional Government. In addition, the very phenomenon of the revolution, partly provoked by the lack of land, war and poor living conditions for servicemen, forced them to resort to violent actions. The events in the Tambov village in the first months of 1918 were a continuation of the next stage of the agrarian revolution, which began in 1917. Another surge in the pogrom movement was associated with the massive return from the front of soldiers called up from the ranks of the peasants. The “democratic organs” of the province, which remained in the leadership of the region until March 1918, tried to resist the pogroms, but did not have the strength to do so. The Bolsheviks who came to power in early 1918 could not resolutely suppress the pogroms, for they had to rely on former soldiers as allies in the struggle for Soviet power in the countryside.