"White" and "Red" movement. Red whites: Soviet political terms in historical and cultural context

Civil War Soldiers

Years of the Civil War 1917 - 1922

Beginning of the Civil War

In all honesty, one should, however, admit that the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks and the several months after that were a relatively peaceful time. Three or four hundred who died in the uprising in Moscow and several dozen during the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly are small things compared to the millions of victims of the “real” Civil War. So there is confusion about the start date of the Civil War. Historians call different

— 1917, October 25-26 (old style) - Ataman Kaledin announced non-recognition of the Bolshevik power

On behalf of the “Don Military Government” he dispersed the councils in the Don Army Region and declared that he did not recognize the usurpers and did not submit to the Council of People’s Commissars. Many dissatisfied with the Bolsheviks rushed to the Don Army Region: civilians, cadets, high school students and students..., generals and senior officers Denikin, Lukomsky, Nezhentsev...

The call sounded “to everyone who is ready to save the Fatherland.” On November 27, Alekseev voluntarily handed over command of the Volunteer Army to Kornilov, who had experience in combat operations. Alekseev himself was a staff officer. From that time on, the “Alekseevskaya Organization” officially received the name of the Volunteer Army

The Constituent Assembly opened on January 5 (Old Art.) in the Tauride Palace in Petrograd. The Bolsheviks had only 155 votes out of 410, so on January 6 Lenin ordered not to allow the opening of the second meeting of the Assembly (the first ended on January 6 at 5 a.m.)

Since 1914, the Allies have supplied Russia with weapons, ammunition, ammunition, and equipment. Cargoes traveled the northern route by sea. The ships were unloaded into warehouses. After the October events, the warehouses required protection so that they would not be captured by the Germans. When the World War ended, the British went home. However, March 9 has since been considered the beginning of the intervention - the military intervention of Western countries in the Civil War in Russia

In 1916, the Russian command formed a corps of 40,000 bayonets from captured Czechs and Slovaks, former soldiers of Austria-Hungary. In 1918, the Czechs, not wanting to participate in the Russian showdown, demanded to be returned to their homeland in order to fight for the independence of Czechoslovakia from the power of the Habsburgs. Austria-Hungary's ally Germany, with which peace had already been signed, objected. They decided to send Chekhov to Europe via Vladivostok. But the trains moved slowly, or stopped altogether (50 of them were needed). So the Czechs rebelled, dispersed the councils along their route from Penza to Irkutsk, which was immediately taken advantage of by the forces opposing the Bolsheviks

Causes of the Civil War

— Dispersal by the Bolsheviks of the Constituent Assembly, the work and decisions of which, in the opinion of the liberal-minded public, could send Russia along a democratic path of development
— Dictatorial policies of the Bolshevik Party
— Change of elite

The Bolsheviks, putting into practice the slogan of destroying the old world to the ground, willingly or unwillingly, set about destroying the elite of Russian society, which had ruled the country for 1000 years since the time of Rurik.
After all, these are fairy tales that history is made by the people. The people are brute force, a stupid, irresponsible crowd, expendable material that is used for their own benefit by certain movements.
History is made by the elite. She comes up with an ideology, shapes public opinion, and sets the vector of development for the state. Having encroached on the privileges and traditions of the elite, the Bolsheviks forced it to defend itself and fight

— Economic policy of the Bolsheviks: establishment of state ownership of everything, monopoly of trade and distribution, surplus appropriation
— Elimination of civil liberties proclaimed
— Terror, repression against the so-called exploiting classes

Civil War participants

: workers, peasants, soldiers, sailors, part of the intelligentsia, armed detachments of national outskirts, mercenary, mainly Latvian, regiments. Tens of thousands of officers of the tsarist army fought as part of the Red Army, some voluntarily, some mobilized. Many peasants and workers were also mobilized, that is, they were forcibly drafted into the army
: officers of the tsarist army, cadets, students, Cossacks, intellectuals, and other representatives of the “exploiting part of society.” The Whites also did not hesitate to establish mobilization laws on the conquered territory. Nationalists advocating the independence of their peoples
: gangs of anarchists, criminals, unprincipled lumpen people who robbed and fought in a specific territory against everyone.
: defended against surplus appropriation

The Russian Civil War had a number of distinctive features with internal confrontations that occurred in other states during this period. The civil war began virtually immediately after the establishment of Bolshevik power and lasted for five years.

Features of the Civil War in Russia

Military battles brought the people of Russia not only psychological suffering, but also large-scale human losses. The theater of military operations did not go beyond the borders of the Russian state, and there was also no front line in the civil confrontation.

The cruelty of the Civil War lay in the fact that the warring parties did not seek a compromise solution, but the complete physical destruction of each other. There were no prisoners in this confrontation: captured opponents were immediately shot.

The number of victims of the fratricidal war was several times higher than the number of Russian soldiers killed on the fronts of the First World War. The peoples of Russia were actually in two warring camps, one of which supported communist ideology, the second tried to eliminate the Bolsheviks and recreate the monarchy.

Both sides did not tolerate the political neutrality of people who refused to take part in hostilities; they were sent to the front by force, and those who were especially principled were shot.

Composition of the anti-Bolshevik White Army

The main driving force of the White Army were retired officers of the imperial army, who had previously taken an oath of allegiance to the imperial house and could not go against their own honor by recognizing Bolshevik power. The ideology of socialist equality was also alien to the wealthy sections of the population, who foresaw the future predatory policies of the Bolsheviks.

The large, middle bourgeoisie and landowners became the main source of income for the activities of the anti-Bolshevik army. Representatives of the clergy also joined the right, who could not accept the fact of the unpunished murder of “God’s anointed,” Nicholas II.

With the introduction of war communism, the ranks of the whites were replenished with peasants and workers dissatisfied with state policy, who had previously sided with the Bolsheviks.

At the beginning of the revolution, the White Army had a high chance of overthrowing the communist Bolsheviks: close ties with major industrialists, rich experience in suppressing revolutionary uprisings and the undeniable influence of the church on the people were impressive advantages of the monarchists.

The defeat of the White Guards is still quite understandable; the officers and commanders-in-chief placed their main emphasis on a professional army, without accelerating the mobilization of peasants and workers, who were ultimately “intercepted” by the Red Army, thus increasing its numbers.

Composition of the Red Guards

Unlike the White Guards, the Red Army did not arise chaotically, but as a result of many years of development by the Bolsheviks. It was based on the class principle, access of the noble class to the ranks of the Reds was closed, commanders were elected among ordinary workers, who represented the majority in the Red Army.

Initially, the army of the left forces was staffed by volunteers, soldiers who took part in the First World War, the poorest representatives of peasants and workers. There were no professional commanders in the ranks of the Red Army, so the Bolsheviks created special military courses where they trained future leadership personnel.

Thanks to this, the army was replenished with the most talented commissars and generals S. Budyonny, V. Blucher, G. Zhukov, I. Konev. Former generals of the tsarist army V. Egoryev, D. Parsky, P. Sytin also went over to the side of the Reds.

It is very difficult to reconcile the “whites” and “reds” in our history. Each position has its own truth. After all, only 100 years ago they fought for it. The fight was fierce, brother went against brother, father against son. For some, the heroes will be the Budennovites of the First Cavalry, for others - the Kappel volunteers. The only people who are wrong are those who, hiding behind their position on the Civil War, are trying to erase a whole piece of Russian history from the past. Anyone who draws too far-reaching conclusions about the “anti-people character” of the Bolshevik government denies the entire Soviet era, all its accomplishments, and ultimately slides into outright Russophobia.

***
Civil war in Russia - armed confrontation in 1917-1922. between various political, ethnic, social groups and state entities in the territory of the former Russian Empire, following the Bolsheviks' rise to power as a result of the October Revolution of 1917. The Civil War was the result of the revolutionary crisis that struck Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, which began with the revolution of 1905-1907, aggravated during the world war, economic devastation, and a deep social, national, political and ideological split in Russian society. The apogee of this split was a fierce war throughout the country between the Soviet and anti-Bolshevik armed forces. The civil war ended with the victory of the Bolsheviks.

The main struggle for power during the Civil War was waged between the armed formations of the Bolsheviks and their supporters (Red Guard and Red Army) on the one hand and the armed formations of the White movement (White Army) on the other, which was reflected in the persistent naming of the main parties to the conflict as “Reds”. " and "white".

For the Bolsheviks, who relied primarily on the organized industrial proletariat, suppressing the resistance of their opponents was the only way to maintain power in a peasant country. For many participants in the White movement - officers, Cossacks, intelligentsia, landowners, bourgeoisie, bureaucracy and clergy - armed resistance to the Bolsheviks was aimed at returning lost power and restoring their socio-economic rights and privileges. All these groups were the top of the counter-revolution, its organizers and inspirers. Officers and the village bourgeoisie created the first cadres of white troops.

The decisive factor during the Civil War was the position of the peasantry, who made up more than 80% of the population, which ranged from passive wait-and-see to active armed struggle. The fluctuations of the peasantry, which reacted in this way to the policies of the Bolshevik government and the dictatorships of the white generals, radically changed the balance of forces and, ultimately, predetermined the outcome of the war. First of all, we are, of course, talking about the middle peasantry. In some areas (Volga region, Siberia), these fluctuations raised the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks to power, and sometimes contributed to the advancement of the White Guards deeper into Soviet territory. However, as the Civil War progressed, the middle peasantry leaned towards Soviet power. The middle peasants saw from experience that the transfer of power to the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks inevitably leads to an undisguised dictatorship of the generals, which, in turn, inevitably leads to the return of the landowners and the restoration of pre-revolutionary relations. The strength of the middle peasants' hesitation towards Soviet power was especially evident in the combat effectiveness of the White and Red armies. White armies were essentially combat-ready only as long as they were more or less homogeneous in class terms. When, as the front expanded and moved forward, the White Guards resorted to mobilizing the peasantry, they inevitably lost their combat effectiveness and collapsed. And vice versa, the Red Army was constantly strengthening, and the mobilized middle peasant masses of the village staunchly defended Soviet power from counter-revolution.

The base of the counter-revolution in the countryside was the kulaks, especially after the organization of the poor committees and the beginning of a decisive struggle for bread. The kulaks were interested in the liquidation of large landowner farms only as competitors in the exploitation of the poor and middle peasantry, whose departure opened up broad prospects for the kulaks. The struggle of the kulaks against the proletarian revolution took place in the form of participation in the White Guard armies, and in the form of organizing their own detachments, and in the form of a broad insurrectionary movement in the rear of the revolution under various national, class, religious, even anarchist, slogans. A characteristic feature of the Civil War was the willingness of all its participants to widely use violence to achieve their political goals (see “Red Terror” and “White Terror”)

An integral part of the Civil War was the armed struggle of the national outskirts of the former Russian Empire for their independence and the insurrectionary movement of broad sections of the population against the troops of the main warring parties - the “Reds” and the “Whites”. Attempts to declare independence provoked resistance both from the “whites,” who fought for a “united and indivisible Russia,” and from the “reds,” who saw the growth of nationalism as a threat to the gains of the revolution.

The civil war unfolded under conditions of foreign military intervention and was accompanied by military operations on the territory of the former Russian Empire by both troops of the countries of the Quadruple Alliance and troops of the Entente countries. The motives for the active intervention of the leading Western powers were to realize their own economic and political interests in Russia and to assist the Whites in order to eliminate Bolshevik power. Although the capabilities of the interventionists were limited by the socio-economic crisis and political struggle in the Western countries themselves, the intervention and material assistance to the white armies significantly influenced the course of the war.

The civil war was fought not only on the territory of the former Russian Empire, but also on the territory of neighboring states - Iran (Anzel operation), Mongolia and China.

Arrest of the emperor and his family. Nicholas II with his wife in Alexander Park. Tsarskoye Selo. May 1917

Arrest of the emperor and his family. Daughters of Nicholas II and his son Alexei. May 1917

Lunch of the Red Army soldiers by the fire. 1919

Armored train of the Red Army. 1918

Bulla Viktor Karlovich

Civil War Refugees
1919

Distribution of bread for 38 wounded Red Army soldiers. 1918

Red squad. 1919

Ukrainian front.

Exhibition of Civil War trophies near the Kremlin, timed to coincide with the Second Congress of the Communist International

Civil War. Eastern front. Armored train of the 6th regiment of the Czechoslovak Corps. Attack on Maryanovka. June 1918

Steinberg Yakov Vladimirovich

Red commanders of a regiment of rural poor. 1918

Soldiers of Budyonny's First Cavalry Army at a rally
January 1920

Otsup Petr Adolfovich

Funeral of the victims of the February Revolution
March 1917

July events in Petrograd. Soldiers of the Samokatny Regiment, who arrived from the front to suppress the rebellion. July 1917

Work at the site of a train crash after an anarchist attack. January 1920

Red commander in the new office. January 1920

Commander-in-Chief of the troops Lavr Kornilov. 1917

Chairman of the Provisional Government Alexander Kerensky. 1917

Commander of the 25th Rifle Division of the Red Army Vasily Chapaev (right) and commander Sergei Zakharov. 1918

Sound recording of Vladimir Lenin's speech in the Kremlin. 1919

Vladimir Lenin in Smolny at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars. January 1918

February revolution. Checking documents on Nevsky Prospekt
February 1917

Fraternization of soldiers of General Lavr Kornilov with the troops of the Provisional Government. 1 - 30 August 1917

Steinberg Yakov Vladimirovich

Military intervention in Soviet Russia. Command staff of White Army units with representatives of foreign troops

The station in Yekaterinburg after the capture of the city by units of the Siberian Army and the Czechoslovak Corps. 1918

Demolition of the monument to Alexander III near the Cathedral of Christ the Savior

Political workers at the headquarters car. Western Front. Voronezh direction

Military portrait

Date of filming: 1917 - 1919

In the hospital laundry. 1919

Ukrainian front.

Sisters of mercy of the Kashirin partisan detachment. Evdokia Aleksandrovna Davydova and Taisiya Petrovna Kuznetsova. 1919

In the summer of 1918, the detachments of the Red Cossacks Nikolai and Ivan Kashirin became part of the combined South Ural partisan detachment of Vasily Blucher, who carried out a raid in the mountains of the Southern Urals. Having united near Kungur in September 1918 with units of the Red Army, the partisans fought as part of the troops of the 3rd Army of the Eastern Front. After the reorganization in January 1920, these troops became known as the Army of Labor, whose goal was to restore the national economy of the Chelyabinsk province.

Red commander Anton Boliznyuk, wounded thirteen times

Mikhail Tukhachevsky

Grigory Kotovsky
1919

At the entrance to the building of the Smolny Institute - the headquarters of the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution. 1917

Medical examination of workers mobilized into the Red Army. 1918

On the boat "Voronezh"

Red Army soldiers in a city liberated from the whites. 1919

Overcoats of the 1918 model, which came into use during the Civil War, initially in Budyonny’s army, were preserved with minor changes until the military reform of 1939. The cart is equipped with a Maxim machine gun.

July events in Petrograd. Funeral of the Cossacks who died during the suppression of the rebellion. 1917

Pavel Dybenko and Nestor Makhno. November - December 1918

Workers of the supply department of the Red Army

Koba / Joseph Stalin. 1918

On May 29, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR appointed Joseph Stalin responsible in the south of Russia and sent him as an extraordinary commissioner of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the procurement of grain from the North Caucasus to industrial centers.

The Defense of Tsaritsyn was a military campaign by “red” troops against “white” troops for control of the city of Tsaritsyn during the Russian Civil War.

People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of the RSFSR Leon Trotsky greets soldiers near Petrograd
1919

Commander of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, General Anton Denikin, and Ataman of the Great Don Army, African Bogaevsky, at a solemn prayer service on the occasion of the liberation of the Don from the Red Army troops
June - August 1919

General Radola Gaida and Admiral Alexander Kolchak (from left to right) with officers of the White Army
1919

Alexander Ilyich Dutov - ataman of the Orenburg Cossack army

In 1918, Alexander Dutov (1864–1921) declared the new government criminal and illegal, organized armed Cossack squads, which became the base of the Orenburg (southwestern) army. Most of the White Cossacks were in this army. Dutov's name first became known in August 1917, when he was an active participant in the Kornilov rebellion. After this, Dutov was sent by the Provisional Government to the Orenburg province, where in the fall he strengthened himself in Troitsk and Verkhneuralsk. His power lasted until April 1918.

Street children
1920s

Soshalsky Georgy Nikolaevich

Street children transport the city archive. 1920s

At the first stage of the Civil War of 1917 - 1922/23, two powerful opposing forces took shape - “red” and “white”. The first represented the Bolshevik camp, whose goal was a radical change in the existing system and the construction of a socialist regime, the second - the anti-Bolshevik camp, striving for a return to the order of the pre-revolutionary period.

The period between the February and October revolutions is the time of formation and development of the Bolshevik regime, the stage of accumulation of forces. The main tasks of the Bolsheviks before the outbreak of hostilities in the Civil War: the formation of a social support, transformations in the country that would allow them to gain a foothold at the top of power in the country, and the defense of the achievements of the February Revolution.

The Bolsheviks' methods in strengthening power were effective. First of all, this concerns propaganda among the population - the slogans of the Bolsheviks were relevant and helped to quickly form the social support of the “Reds”.

The first armed detachments of the “Reds” began to appear during the preparatory stage - from March to October 1917. The main driving force of such detachments were workers from industrial regions - this was the main force of the Bolsheviks, which helped them come to power during the October Revolution. At the time of the revolutionary events, the detachment numbered about 200,000 people.

The stage of the establishment of Bolshevik power required the protection of what was achieved during the revolution - for this, at the end of December 1917, the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission was created, headed by F. Dzerzhinsky. On January 15, 1918, the Cheka adopted a Decree on the creation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and on January 29, the Red Fleet was created.

Analyzing the actions of the Bolsheviks, historians do not come to a consensus about their goals and motivation:

The most common opinion is that the “Reds” initially planned a large-scale Civil War, which would be a logical continuation of the revolution. The fighting, the purpose of which was to promote the ideas of the revolution, would consolidate the power of the Bolsheviks and spread socialism throughout the world. During the war, the Bolsheviks planned to destroy the bourgeoisie as a class. Thus, based on this, the ultimate goal of the “reds” is world revolution.

V. Galin is considered one of the fans of the second concept. This version is radically different from the first - according to historians, the Bolsheviks had no intention of turning the revolution into a Civil War. The goal of the Bolsheviks was to seize power, which they succeeded in during the revolution. But continuation of hostilities was not included in the plans. Arguments of fans of this concept: the transformations that the “Reds” planned demanded peace in the country; at the first stage of the struggle, the “Reds” were tolerant of other political forces. A turning point regarding political opponents occurred when in 1918 there was a threat of losing power in the state. By 1918, the “Reds” had a strong, professionally trained enemy - the White Army. Its backbone was the military of the Russian Empire. By 1918, the fight against this enemy became purposeful, the army of the “Reds” acquired a pronounced structure.

At the first stage of the war, the actions of the Red Army were not successful. Why?

Recruitment into the army was carried out on a voluntary basis, which led to decentralization and disunity. The army was created spontaneously, without a specific structure - this led to a low level of discipline and problems in managing a large number of volunteers. The chaotic army was not characterized by a high level of combat effectiveness. Only in 1918, when Bolshevik power was under threat, did the “Reds” decide to recruit troops according to the mobilization principle. From June 1918, they began to mobilize the military of the tsarist army.

The second reason is closely related to the first - the chaotic, unprofessional army of the “Reds” was opposed by organized, professional military men who, at the time of the Civil War, participated in more than one battle. The “Whites”, with a high level of patriotism, were united not only by professionalism, but also by an idea - the White movement stood for a united and indivisible Russia, for order in the state.

The most characteristic feature of the Red Army is homogeneity. First of all, this concerns class origin. Unlike the “whites,” whose army included professional soldiers, workers, and peasants, the “reds” accepted only proletarians and peasants into their ranks. The bourgeoisie was subject to destruction, so an important task was to prevent hostile elements from joining the Red Army.

In parallel with military operations, the Bolsheviks implemented a political and economic program. The Bolsheviks pursued a policy of “red terror” against hostile social classes. In the economic sphere, “war communism” was introduced - a set of measures in the internal policy of the Bolsheviks throughout the Civil War.

The Reds' biggest wins:

• 1918 – 1919 – establishment of Bolshevik power in the territory of Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia.
• Beginning of 1919 - The Red Army launches a counteroffensive, defeating Krasnov’s “white” army.
• Spring-summer 1919 - Kolchak’s troops fell under the attacks of the “Reds”.
• Beginning of 1920 - the “Reds” ousted the “Whites” from the northern cities of Russia.
• February-March 1920 - defeat of the remaining forces of Denikin’s Volunteer Army.
• November 1920 - the “Reds” ousted the “Whites” from Crimea.
• By the end of 1920, the “Reds” were opposed by disparate groups of the White Army. The civil war ended with the victory of the Bolsheviks.

The White movement in Russia is an organized military-political movement that was formed during the Civil War in 1917-1922. The White movement united political regimes that were distinguished by common socio-political and economic programs, as well as recognition of the principle of individual power (military dictatorship) on a national and regional scale, and a desire to coordinate military and political efforts in the fight against Soviet power.

Terminology

For a long time, the White movement was synonymous with the historiography of the 1920s. the phrase "general's counter-revolution". In this we can note its difference from the concept of “democratic counter-revolution”. Those belonging to this category, for example, the Government of the Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly (Komuch), the Ufa Directory (Provisional All-Russian Government) proclaimed the priority of collegial rather than individual management. And one of the main slogans of the “democratic counter-revolution” became: leadership and continuity from the All-Russian Constituent Assembly of 1918. As for the “national counter-revolution” (Central Rada in Ukraine, governments in the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, the Caucasus, Crimea), then they, unlike the White movement, put the proclamation of state sovereignty in the first place in their political programs. Thus, the White movement can rightfully be considered as one of the parts (but the most organized and stable) of the anti-Bolshevik movement on the territory of the former Russian Empire.

The term White Movement during the Civil War was used mainly by the Bolsheviks. Representatives of the White movement defined themselves as bearers of legitimate “national power”, using the terms “Russian” (Russian Army), “Russian”, “All-Russian” (Supreme Ruler of the Russian State).

Socially, the White movement proclaimed the unification of representatives of all classes of Russian society at the beginning of the twentieth century and political parties from monarchists to social democrats. Political and legal continuity from pre-February and pre-October 1917 Russia was also noted. At the same time, the restoration of previous legal relations did not exclude their significant reform.

Periodization of the White movement

Chronologically, 3 stages can be distinguished in the origin and evolution of the White movement:

First stage: October 1917 - November 1918 - formation of the main centers of the anti-Bolshevik movement

Second stage: November 1918 - March 1920 - Supreme Ruler of the Russian State A.V. Kolchak is recognized by other White governments as the military-political leader of the White movement.

Third stage: March 1920 - November 1922 - activity of regional centers on the outskirts of the former Russian Empire

Formation of the White Movement

The White movement arose in conditions of opposition to the policies of the Provisional Government and the Soviets (the Soviet “vertical”) in the summer of 1917. In preparation for the speech of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Infantry General L.G. Kornilov, both military (“Union of Army and Navy Officers”, “Union of Military Duty”, “Union of Cossack Troops”) and political (“Republican Center”, “Bureau of Legislative Chambers”, “Society for the Economic Revival of Russia”) structures took part.

The fall of the Provisional Government and the dissolution of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly marked the beginning of the first stage in the history of the White movement (November 1917-November 1918). This stage was distinguished by the formation of its structures and gradual separation from the general counter-revolutionary or anti-Bolshevik movement. The military center of the White movement became the so-called. “Alekseevskaya organization”, formed on the initiative of Infantry General M.V. Alekseev in Rostov-on-Don. From the point of view of General Alekseev, it was necessary to achieve joint actions with the Cossacks of the South of Russia. For this purpose, the South-Eastern Union was created, which included the military (“Alekseevskaya organization”, renamed after the arrival of General Kornilov in the Volunteer Army on the Don) and civil authorities (elected representatives of the Don, Kuban, Terek and Astrakhan Cossack troops, as well as the “Union mountaineers of the Caucasus").

Formally, the first white government could be considered the Don Civil Council. It included generals Alekseev and Kornilov, the Don ataman, cavalry general A.M. Kaledin, and among political figures: P.N. Milyukova, B.V. Savinkova, P.B. Struve. In their very first official statements (the so-called “Kornilov Constitution”, “Declaration on the Formation of the South-Eastern Union”, etc.) they proclaimed: an irreconcilable armed struggle against Soviet power and the convening of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly (on new elective grounds). The resolution of major economic and political issues was postponed until its convening.

Unsuccessful battles in January-February 1918 on the Don led to the retreat of the Volunteer Army to Kuban. Here the continuation of armed resistance was expected. During the 1st Kuban (“Ice”) campaign, General Kornilov died during the unsuccessful assault on Ekaterinodar. He was replaced as commander of the Volunteer Army by Lieutenant General A.I. Denikin. General Alekseev became the Supreme Leader of the Volunteer Army.

During the spring-summer of 1918, centers of counter-revolution were formed, many of which later became elements of the all-Russian White movement. In April-May, uprisings began on the Don. Soviet power was overthrown here, elections of local authorities were held and cavalry general P.N. became the military ataman. Krasnov. Coalition inter-party associations were created in Moscow, Petrograd and Kyiv, providing political support for the White movement. The largest of them were the liberal “All-Russian National Center” (VNTs), in which the majority were cadets, the socialist “Union of the Revival of Russia” (SVR), as well as the “Council of the State Unification of Russia” (SGOR), from representatives of the Bureau of Legislative Chambers of the Russian Empire , Union of Trade and Industrialists, Holy Synod. The All-Russian Scientific Center enjoyed the greatest influence, and its leaders N.I. Astrov and M.M. Fedorov headed the Special Meeting under the Commander of the Volunteer Army (later the Special Meeting under the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (VSYUR)).

The issue of “intervention” should be considered separately. The assistance of foreign states and the Entente countries was of great importance for the formation of the White movement at this stage. For them, after the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace, the war with the Bolsheviks was seen in the prospect of continuing the war with the countries of the Quadruple Alliance. Allied landings became centers of the White movement in the North. In Arkhangelsk in April, the Provisional Government of the Northern Region was formed (N.V. Tchaikovsky, P.Yu. Zubov, Lieutenant General E.K. Miller). The landing of allied troops in Vladivostok in June and the appearance of the Czechoslovak Corps in May-June became the beginning of the counter-revolution in the East of Russia. In the Southern Urals, back in November 1917, the Orenburg Cossacks, led by ataman Major General A.I., opposed Soviet power. Dutov. Several anti-Bolshevik government structures emerged in the East of Russia: the Ural Regional Government, the Provisional Government of Autonomous Siberia (later the Provisional Siberian (regional) Government), the Provisional Ruler in the Far East, Lieutenant General D.L. Croatian, as well as the Orenburg and Ural Cossack troops. In the second half of 1918, anti-Bolshevik uprisings broke out on the Terek, in Turkestan, where the Socialist Revolutionary Transcaspian regional government was formed.

In September 1918, at the State Conference held in Ufa, a Provisional All-Russian Government and a socialist Directory were elected (N.D. Avksentyev, N.I. Astrov, Lieutenant General V.G. Boldyrev, P.V. Vologodsky, N. .V. Tchaikovsky). The Ufa Directory developed a draft Constitution that proclaimed continuity from the Provisional Government of 1917 and the disbanded Constituent Assembly.

Supreme Ruler of the Russian State Admiral A.V. Kolchak

On November 18, 1918, a coup took place in Omsk, during which the Directory was overthrown. The Council of Ministers of the Provisional All-Russian Government transferred power to Admiral A.V. Kolchak, proclaimed the Supreme Ruler of the Russian State and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army and Navy.

Kolchak’s coming to power meant the final establishment of a regime of one-man rule on an all-Russian scale, relying on the structures of executive power (the Council of Ministers headed by P.V. Vologodsky), with public representation (the State Economic Conference in Siberia, Cossack troops). The second period in the history of the White movement began (from November 1918 to March 1920). The power of the Supreme Ruler of the Russian State was recognized by General Denikin, Commander-in-Chief of the North-Western Front, Infantry General N.N. Yudenich and the government of the Northern region.

The structure of the white armies was established. The most numerous were the forces of the Eastern Front (Siberian (Lieutenant General R. Gaida), Western (Artillery General M.V. Khanzhin), Southern (Major General P.A. Belov) and Orenburg (Lieutenant General A.I. Dutov) army). At the end of 1918 - beginning of 1919, the AFSR was formed under the command of General Denikin, troops of the Northern Region (Lieutenant General E.K. Miller) and the Northwestern Front (General Yudenich). Operationally, they were all subordinate to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Kolchak.

Coordination of political forces also continued. In November 1918, the Political Meeting of the three leading political associations of Russia (SGOR, VNTs and SVR) was held in Iasi. After the proclamation of Admiral Kolchak as Supreme Ruler, attempts were made to internationally recognize Russia at the Versailles Peace Conference, where the Russian Political Conference was created (chairman G.E. Lvov, N.V. Tchaikovsky, P.B. Struve, B.V. Savinkov, V. A. Maklakov, P.N. Milyukov).

In the spring and autumn of 1919, coordinated campaigns of the white fronts took place. In March-June, the Eastern Front advanced in diverging directions towards the Volga and Kama, to connect with the Northern Army. In July-October, two attacks on Petrograd by the North-Western Front were carried out (in May-July and in September-October), as well as a campaign against Moscow by the Armed Forces of Southern Russia (in July-November). But they all ended unsuccessfully.

By the fall of 1919, the Entente countries abandoned military support for the White movement (in the summer, a gradual withdrawal of foreign troops from all fronts began; until the fall of 1922, only Japanese units remained in the Far East). However, the supply of weapons, the issuance of loans and contacts with white governments continued without their official recognition (with the exception of Yugoslavia).

The program of the White movement, which was finally formed during 1919, provided for an “irreconcilable armed struggle against Soviet power”, after the liquidation of which, it was planned to convene an All-Russian National Constituent Assembly. The assembly was supposed to be elected in majoritarian districts on the basis of universal, equal, direct (in large cities) and two-stage (in rural areas) suffrage by secret ballot. The elections and activities of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly of 1917 were recognized as illegitimate, since they occurred after the “Bolshevik revolution”. The new Assembly had to resolve the issue of the form of government in the country (monarchy or republic), elect the head of state, and also approve projects of socio-political and economic reforms. Before the “victory over Bolshevism” and the convening of the National Constituent Assembly, the highest military and political power belonged to the Supreme Ruler of Russia. Reforms could only be developed, but not implemented (the principle of “non-decision”). In order to strengthen regional power, before the convening of the All-Russian Assembly, it was allowed to convene local (regional) assemblies, designed to be legislative bodies under individual rulers.

The national structure proclaimed the principle of “Unified, Indivisible Russia,” which meant recognition of the actual independence of only those parts of the former Russian Empire (Poland, Finland, the Baltic republics) that were recognized by the leading world powers. The remaining state new formations on the territory of Russia (Ukraine, the Mountain Republic, the Caucasus republics) were considered illegitimate. For them, only “regional autonomy” was allowed. The Cossack troops retained the right to have their own authorities and armed formations, but within the framework of all-Russian structures.

In 1919, the development of all-Russian bills on agrarian and labor policy took place. Bills on agrarian policy boiled down to the recognition of peasant ownership of land, as well as “the partial alienation of landowners’ land in favor of peasants for ransom” (Declaration on the land issue of the governments of Kolchak and Denikin (March 1919)). Trade unions, the right of workers to an 8-hour working day, to social insurance, and to strikes were preserved (Declarations on the Labor Question (February, May 1919)). The property rights of former owners to city real estate, industrial enterprises and banks were fully restored.

It was supposed to expand the rights of local self-government and public organizations, while political parties did not participate in elections, they were replaced by inter-party and non-party associations (municipal elections in the south of Russia in 1919, elections of the State Zemstvo Council in Siberia in the fall of 1919).

There was also “white terror”, which, however, did not have the character of a system. Criminal liability was introduced (up to and including the death penalty) for members of the Bolshevik Party, commissars, employees of the Cheka, as well as workers of the Soviet government and military personnel of the Red Army. Opponents of the Supreme Ruler, “independents,” were also persecuted.

The White movement approved all-Russian symbols (restoration of the tricolor national flag, the coat of arms of the Supreme Ruler of Russia, the anthem “How Glorious is Our Lord in Zion”).

In foreign policy, “loyalty to allied obligations”, “all treaties concluded by the Russian Empire and the Provisional Government”, “full representation of Russia in all international organizations” (statements of the Supreme Ruler of Russia and the Russian Political Conference in Paris in the spring of 1919) were proclaimed.

The regimes of the White movement, in the face of defeats at the fronts, evolved towards “democratization”. So, in December 1919 - March 1920. the rejection of dictatorship and an alliance with the “public” were proclaimed. This was manifested in the reform of political power in the south of Russia (dissolution of the Special Conference and the formation of the South Russian government, responsible to the Supreme Circle of the Don, Kuban and Terek, recognition of the de facto independence of Georgia). In Siberia, Kolchak proclaimed the convening of the State Zemstvo Council, endowed with legislative powers. However, it was not possible to prevent the defeat. By March 1920, the Northwestern and Northern fronts were liquidated, and the Eastern and Southern fronts lost most of their controlled territory.

Activities of regional centers

The last period in the history of the Russian White movement (March 1920 - November 1922) was distinguished by the activities of regional centers on the outskirts of the former Russian Empire:

- in Crimea (Ruler of the South of Russia - General Wrangel),

- in Transbaikalia (Ruler of the Eastern Outskirts - General Semenov),

- in the Far East (Ruler of the Amur Zemsky Territory - General Diterichs).

These political regimes sought to move away from the no-decision policy. An example was the activity of the Government of the South of Russia, headed by General Wrangel and former agricultural manager A.V. Krivoshein in Crimea, in the summer-autumn of 1920. Reforms began to be implemented, providing for the transfer of “seized” landowners’ land into ownership to the peasants and the creation of a peasant zemstvo. Autonomy of the Cossack regions, Ukraine and the North Caucasus was allowed.

The government of the Eastern outskirts of Russia, headed by Lieutenant General G.M. Semenov pursued a course of cooperation with the public by holding elections to the Regional People's Conference.

In Primorye in 1922, elections were held for the Amur Zemsky Council and the Ruler of the Amur Region, Lieutenant General M.K. Diterichs. Here, for the first time in the White movement, the principle of restoring the monarchy was proclaimed through the transfer of power of the Supreme Ruler of Russia to a representative of the Romanov dynasty. Attempts were made to coordinate actions with the rebel movements in Soviet Russia (“Antonovschina”, “Makhnovshchina”, Kronstadt uprising). But these political regimes could no longer count on all-Russian status, due to the extremely limited territory controlled by the remnants of the white armies.

Organized military-political confrontation with Soviet power ceased in November 1922 - March 1923, after the occupation of Vladivostok by the Red Army and the defeat of the Yakut campaign of Lieutenant General A.N. Pepelyaev.

Since 1921, the political centers of the White movement moved to Abroad, where their final formation and political demarcation took place (“Russian National Committee”, “Meeting of Ambassadors”, “Russian Council”, “Parliamentary Committee”, “Russian All-Military Union”). In Russia, the White movement is over.

Main participants of the White movement

Alekseev M.V. (1857-1918)

Wrangel P.N. (1878-1928)

Gayda R. (1892-1948)

Denikin A.I. (1872-1947)

Drozdovsky M.G. (1881-1919)

Kappel V.O. (1883-1920)

Keller F.A. (1857-1918)

Kolchak A.V. (1874-1920)

Kornilov L.G. (1870-1918)

Kutepov A.P. (1882-1930)

Lukomsky A.S. (1868-1939)

May-Maevsky V.Z. (1867-1920)

Miller E.-L. K. (1867-1937)

Nezhentsev M.O. (1886-1918)

Romanovsky I.P. (1877-1920)

Slashchev Ya.A. (1885-1929)

Ungern von Sternberg R.F. (1885-1921)

Yudenich N.N. (1862-1933)

Internal contradictions of the White movement

The white movement, which united in its ranks representatives of various political movements and social structures, could not avoid internal contradictions.

The conflict between military and civilian authorities was significant. The relationship between military and civil power was often regulated by the “Regulations on Field Command of Troops,” where civil power was exercised by the governor-general, dependent on the military command. In conditions of mobility of the fronts, the fight against the insurgent movement in the rear, the military sought to exercise the functions of civilian leadership, ignoring the structures of local self-government, resolving political and economic problems by order (the actions of General Slashchov in the Crimea in February-March 1920, General Rodzianko in Northwestern Front in the spring of 1919, martial law on the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1919, etc.). Lack of political experience and ignorance of the specifics of civil administration often led to serious mistakes and a decline in the authority of white rulers (the power crisis of Admiral Kolchak in November-December 1919, General Denikin in January-March 1920).

The contradictions between the military and civilian authorities reflected the contradictions between representatives of various political trends that were part of the White movement. The right (SGOR, monarchists) supported the principle of unlimited dictatorship, while the left (the Union of the Revival of Russia, Siberian regionalists) advocated “broad representation of the public” under military rulers. Of no small importance were disagreements between the right and the left on land policy (on the conditions for the alienation of landowners' land), on the labor issue (on the possibility of trade union participation in the management of enterprises), and on local self-government (on the nature of the representation of socio-political organizations).

The implementation of the principle of “One, Indivisible Russia” caused conflicts not only between the White movement and new state formations on the territory of the former Russian Empire (Ukraine, the Caucasus republics), but also within the White movement itself. Serious friction arose between Cossack politicians who sought maximum autonomy (up to state sovereignty) and white governments (the conflict between Ataman Semenov and Admiral Kolchak, the conflict between General Denikin and the Kuban Rada).

Controversies also arose regarding foreign policy “orientation.” Thus, in 1918, many political figures of the White movement (P.N. Milyukov and the Kiev group of cadets, the Moscow Right Center) spoke about the need for cooperation with Germany to “eliminate Soviet power.” In 1919, a “pro-German orientation” distinguished the Civil Administration Council of the Western Volunteer Army regiment. Bermondt-Avalov. The majority in the White movement advocated cooperation with the Entente countries as Russia's allies in the First World War.

Conflicts that arose between individual representatives of political structures (leaders of the SGOR and the National Center - A.V. Krivoshein and N.I. Astrov), within the military command (between Admiral Kolchak and General Gaida, General Denikin and General Wrangel, General Rodzianko and General Yudenich, etc.).

The above contradictions and conflicts, although they were not irreconcilable and did not lead to a split in the White movement, nevertheless violated its unity and played a significant role (along with military failures) in its defeat in the Civil War.

Significant problems for the white authorities arose due to the weakness of governance in the controlled territories. So, for example, in Ukraine, before the occupation of the Armed Forces of the South by troops, it was replaced during 1917-1919. four political regimes (the power of the Provisional Government, the Central Rada, Hetman P. Skoropadsky, the Ukrainian Soviet Republic), each of which sought to establish its own administrative apparatus. This made it difficult to quickly mobilize into the White Army, fight the insurgent movement, implement the laws adopted, and explain to the population the political course of the White movement.