Chemakin A. A. “White Makhnovists”: Peasant rebels in Northern Taurida and Russian Army in 1920 // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №4. P. 92-115.

EDN: JXPIEV

Annotation

The article considers the interaction of the Russian Army of General P. N. Wrangel with Makhnovist detachments in Northern Tavria in the summer and autumn of 1920. Although Wrangel’s contacts with various insurgent groups (gangs) (mentioned in the movie “Wedding in the village of Malinovka”) are known to wider circles of the population, information about the “White Makhnovists” has not been systematized. The author revealed the names of about 15 atamans who went over to the Whites, and provides information about the most important of them (Volodin, Prochan, Grishin, Savchenko, Kravchaty, Ishchenko, Chaly) and Makhnovites who had contacts with the Russian Army (Chernyak), focusing on the number of the “White Makhnovists”, their appearance and symbols; examining the propaganda campaign of the Whites, who printed huge copies of proclamations on behalf of the Makhnovist atamans. The article mentions the betrayal of the majority of the detachments, their defection to the side of the Reds, the Makhnovists’s alliance with them, and the fate of the “White Makhnovists” atamans. The author concludes that, on the one hand, the “White Makhnovists” ensured the Russian Army relative peace in the rear and loyalty of the peasants in Northern Tavria; on the other hand, the very fact of the alliance between the Whites and the “bandits” demonstrated the weakness of the Wrangelists.

Keywords

Civil War, Russian army, “White Makhnovists”, Makhnovshchina, rebels, partisans, Northern Tavria, P. N. Wrangel, N. I. Makhno, V. G. Volodin, N. Chaly, V. F. Belash.  

About the author

Anton A. Chemakin, PhD (History), Associate Professor, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Neb. 7–9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia. 
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Ivanov A. A., Chemakin A. A. “Revolutionary revolt” of the Black-Hundred peasantry: The 1914 unrest in Podolia // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №2. P. 61-78.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-2-61-78

Annotation

The article considers the peasant riot that spread to several villages of the Podolsk Province in the spring of 1914. Those events were special, because the “troublemakers” were monarchist peasants influenced by the Black-Hundred Pochaev Union of the Russian People led by the Archimandrite Vitaly (Maksimenko). The fact that the peasant strike, protests against the zemstvo and other “revolutionary” manifestations were the result of the right-wing political agitation attracted special attention of local and central authorities. Based on the documents of Russian and Ukrainian archives and pre-revolutionary periodicals, the authors reconstruct in detail the peasant unrest in Podolia, its causes and consequences, focusing on the reaction of the provincial authorities, government bodies and special services, their attitude to the awakening peasant political activity. The authors argue that these issues, despite being particular cases, are vivid illustrations of complex relationship between the authorities and the Black Hundreds and allow to understand representations and moods of the peasantry in Right-Bank Ukraine, which joined en masse the Union of the Russian People in the early 20th century. This episode from the history of the peasant movement in the Podolsk Province explains why the former Black-Hundred peasants began to join the left-wing radical political movements and Ukrainian rebel groups during the 1917 Revolution and civil war.

Keywords

Russian Empire, peasant unrest, Right-Bank Ukraine, Podolia, Pochaev Union of the Russian People, Black Hundreds, Vitaly (Maksimenko).

About the authors

Andrey A. Ivanov, DSc (History), Professor, Institute of History, Saint Petersburg State University. Universitetskaya Nab., 7–9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia.
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Anton A. Chemakin, PhD (History), Senior Lecturer, Institute of History, Saint Petersburg State University. Universitetskaya Nab., 7–9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia.
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