Nestor Ivanovich

Battles and victories

"Father", Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Revolutionary Workers 'and Peasants' Army of the Yekaterinoslavsky District, commander of the Red Army brigade, commander of the 1st rebel division, commander of the “Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine”.

Makhno himself considered himself a military commander, not a leader of the population of the occupied territory.

Nestor Ivanovich Makhno was born on October 26, 1888 in the village of Gulyai-pole, Yekaterinoslav province, into a peasant family. It was a large village, which even had factories, in one of which he worked as a foundry worker.

Terrorist, union boss, chairman of the Council

The revolution of 1905 captivated the young worker, he joined the Social Democrats, and in 1906 he joined the group of "free grain growers" - the anarchist communists, participated in the raids and propaganda of the principles of anarchy. In July-August 1908 the group was discovered, Makhno was arrested and in 1910, together with his accomplices, was sentenced to death by a military court. However, many years before that, Makhno's parents changed his date of birth for a year, and he was considered a minor. In this regard, the execution was replaced by indefinite hard labor.

In 1911 Makhno ended up in Moscow Butyrki. Here he was engaged in self-education and met with more "savvy" in the anarchist doctrine Peter Arshinov, who would later become one of the ideologists of the Makhnovist movement. In prison, Makhno fell ill with tuberculosis, and his lung was removed.

February revolution 1917 she opened the prison doors for Makhno, and in March he returned to Gulyai-Pole. Makhno gained popularity as a fighter against autocracy and an orator at meetings of the population, was elected to the local authority - the Public Committee. He became the leader of the Gulyai-Polish group of anarcho-communists, which subordinated the Public Committee to its influence and established control over the network of public structures of the region, which included the Peasant Union (since August - the Soviet), the Council of Workers' Deputies and the trade union. Makhno headed the Volost Executive Committee of the Peasant Union, which actually became the authority in the region.

After the start of the Kornilov protest, Makhno and his supporters created the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution under the Soviet and confiscated weapons from the landlords, kulaks and German colonists in favor of their detachment. In September, the volost congress of Soviets and peasant organizations in Gulyai-Polye, convened by the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, proclaimed the confiscation of the landowners' lands, which were transferred to peasant farms and communes. So Makhno got ahead of Lenin in implementing the slogan "Land for the peasants!"

On October 4, 1917, Makhno was elected chairman of the board of the trade union of metalworkers, woodworkers and other professions, which united virtually all workers of Gulyai-field and a number of surrounding enterprises (including mills). Makhno, who combined leadership of a trade union with leadership in the largest local armed political group, forced entrepreneurs to comply with the demands of the workers. On October 25, the union's board decided: "Workers who are not members of the union must be obliged to immediately join the Union, otherwise they risk losing the support of the Union." A course was taken towards the universal introduction of the eight-hour working day. In December 1917, Makhno, busy with other affairs, transferred the chairmanship of the trade union to his deputy A. Mishchenko.

Makhno was already faced with new tasks - a struggle for power between supporters and opponents of the Soviets began to boil around. Makhno stood for the power of the Soviets. Together with a detachment of Gulyai-Polye, commanded by his brother Savva, Nestor disarmed the Cossacks, then took part in the work of the Alexander Revolutionary Committee, and headed the Revolutionary Committee in Gulyai-Pole. In December, on the initiative of Makhno, the II Congress of Soviets of the Gulyai-Polye region convened, which adopted the resolution "Death to the Central Rada". The Makhnovsky District was not going to submit to either the Ukrainian, Red or White authorities.

At the end of 1917, a daughter was born to Makhno from Anna Vasetskaya. Makhno lost contact with this family in the military maelstrom of the spring of 1918. After the conclusion of the Brest Peace in March 1918, the advance of German troops into the Ukraine began. The inhabitants of Gulyai-Polye formed a "free battalion" of about 200 soldiers, and now Makhno himself took command. He went to the headquarters of the Red Guard to obtain weapons. In his absence, on the night of April 15-16, a coup was carried out in Gulyai-Pole in favor of Ukrainian nationalists. At the same time, a detachment of nationalists suddenly attacked the "free battalion" and disarmed it.

These events took Makhno by surprise. He was forced to retreat to Russia. At the end of April 1918, at a meeting of the Gulyai-Polish anarchists in Taganrog, it was decided to return to the region in a few months. In April-June 1918 Makhno travels across Russia, visits Rostov-on-Don, Saratov, Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan and Moscow. Revolutionary Russia gives him complex feelings. On the one hand, he saw the Bolsheviks as allies in the revolutionary struggle. On the other hand, they very cruelly crushed the revolution “for themselves”, creating a new, already their own power, and not the power of the Soviets.

In June 1918 Makhno met with the leaders of the anarchists, including P.A. Kropotkin, was among the visitors of V.I. Lenin and Ya.M. Sverdlov. In a conversation with Lenin, Makhno, on behalf of the peasantry, explained to him his vision of the principles of Soviet power as self-government, and argued that the anarchists in the Ukrainian countryside are more influential than the communists. Lenin made a strong impression on Makhno, the Bolsheviks helped the anarchist leader to cross to the occupied Ukraine.

Batko, brigade commander, division commander, army commander

In July 1918, Makhno returned to the vicinity of Gulyai-Polye, then created a small partisan detachment, which in September began military operations, attacking estates, German colonies, occupiers and employees of Hetman Skoropadsky. The first major battle with the Austro-Hungarian troops and supporters of the Ukrainian state in the village of Dibrivki (B. Mikhailovka) was successful for the partisans, earning Makhno the honorary nickname "Batko". In the area of ​​Dibrivok, Makhno's detachment united with F. Shchus' detachment. Then other local detachments began to join Makhno. Successful partisans began to receive the support of the peasants. Makhno emphasized the anti-landlord and anti-kulak character of his actions.

The collapse of the occupation regime after the November Revolution in Germany caused a surge in the insurgency and the collapse of the regime of Hetman Skoropadsky. As the Austro-German troops were evacuated, the detachments coordinated by Makhno's headquarters began to take control of the territory around Gulyai-Pole. On November 27, 1918, Makhno's forces occupied Gulyai-Polye and never left it. The rebels drove the occupiers out of their area, smashed the resisting farms and estates, and established ties with local governments. Makhno fought against unauthorized extortions and robberies. Local insurgents were subordinate to the main headquarters of the insurgent troops named "Batka Makhno". In the south of the region there were clashes with the troops of Ataman Krasnov and the Volunteer Army.

In mid-December, hostilities began between the Makhnovists and supporters of the UPR. Makhno concluded an agreement on joint actions with the Yekaterinoslav Bolsheviks and was appointed as the Governor-in-Chief of the Soviet Revolutionary Workers 'and Peasants' Army of the Yekaterinoslav region. On December 27-31, 1918, Makhno, in alliance with a detachment of the Bolsheviks, recaptured Yekaterinoslav from the Petliurites. But the Petliurists struck a counterstrike and recaptured the city, Makhno and the communists blamed each other for the defeat. Having lost half of the detachment, Makhno returned to the left bank of the Dnieper.

Makhno considered himself a military commander, not a leader of the population of the occupied territory. The principles of organizing political power were determined by the congresses of front-line soldiers and Soviets. The First Congress was held on January 23, 1919 without Makhno's participation and began preparations for the more representative Second Congress.

In January 1919, units of the Volunteer Army launched an offensive on Gulyai-Polye. The Makhnovists suffered from a shortage of ammunition and weapons, which forced them to enter into an alliance with the Bolsheviks on January 26, 1919. On February 19, the Makhnovist detachments entered the 1st Zadneprovskaya division of the Red Army under the command of P.E. Dybenko as the 3rd brigade under the command of Makhno.

Having received ammunition from the Reds, on February 4, Makhno went on the offensive and took Bamut, Volnovakha, Berdyansk and Mariupol, defeating the White group. The peasants, submitting to "voluntary mobilization", sent their sons to the Makhnovist regiments. The villages patronized their regiments, the fighters chose their commanders, the commanders discussed the upcoming operations with the fighters, each soldier knew his task well. This "military democracy" gave the Makhnovists a unique combat capability. The growth of Makhno's army was limited only by the ability to arm the recruits. For 15-20 thousand armed fighters there were more than 30 thousand unarmed reserves.

On February 8, 1919, in his appeal, Makhno put forward the following task: "Building a true Soviet system, under which the Soviets, elected by the working people, would be the servants of the people, executing those laws and procedures that the working people themselves will write at the All-Ukrainian Labor Congress ..."

“Our labor community will have full power in itself and its will, its economic and other plans and considerations, it will conduct through its bodies, which it creates itself, but which does not endow any power, but only certain instructions”, - Makhno and Arshinov wrote in May 1919.

Subsequently, Makhno called his views anarcho-communism of the "Bakunin-Kropotkin kind."

Speaking on February 14, 1919 at the II Gulyai-Polye District Congress of Frontline Soldiers, Soviets and Subdivisions, Makhno said: “I call you to unity, for unity is the guarantee of the victory of the revolution over those who sought to strangle it. If comrades Bolsheviks go from Great Russia to the Ukraine to help us in the difficult struggle against counter-revolution, we must tell them: "Welcome, dear friends!" But if they come here with the aim of monopolizing Ukraine, we will tell them: "Hands off!" We ourselves know how to raise the emancipation of the working peasantry to a height, we ourselves will be able to arrange for ourselves new life- where there will be no lords, slaves, oppressed and oppressors. "

The resolutions of the congress were consonant with anarchist ideas: “The Second District Congress ... persistently calls on the comrades of the peasants and workers to build a new free society without the rulers of the nobles, without subordinate slaves, without the rich, without violent decrees and orders, in spite of the rapists and oppressors of the whole world, and without the poor. " The delegates of the congress spoke sharply against the "parasites of officials" who are the source of "violent instructions."

In February 1919, the policy of the RCP (b) was sharply criticized at the II Congress of Gulyai-Polye Soviets. The resolution of the congress read: “Political and various other commissars, not elected by us, but appointed by the government, observe every step of local councils and mercilessly deal with those comrades from peasants and workers who come out to defend people's freedom against representatives of the central government. Calling itself workers 'and peasants', the government of Russia and Ukraine is blindly following the lead of the Communist Bolshevik Party, who, in the narrow interests of their party, are carrying on a vile and implacable persecution of other revolutionary organizations.

Hiding behind the slogan "dictatorship of the proletariat", the Bolshevik communists declared a monopoly on revolution for their party, considering all dissenting counterrevolutionaries ... the working people are the work of the working people themselves. "

“And who can we blame?

Who can close the window

So as not to see how the gang is cautious

And the peasantry is so fond of Makhno? .. "

S.A. Yesenin, Country of Scoundrels, 1922 - 1923.

At the congress, the political body of the movement, the Military Revolutionary Council (VRS), was elected. The party composition of the VRS was left socialist - 7 anarchists, 3 left Socialist Revolutionaries and 2 Bolsheviks and one sympathizer. Makhno was elected an honorary member of the VRS. Thus, on the territory controlled by the Makhnovists, an independent system of Soviet power arose, autonomous from the central government of the Ukrainian SSR. This caused mutual distrust of Makhno and the Soviet command.

Makhno invited anarchist brigades to the area of ​​operation to promote anarchist views and cultural and educational work. Among the visiting anarchists, the old comrade P.A. Arshinov. In the area where the Makhnovists operated, political freedom existed for the left currents - the Bolsheviks, Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and anarchists. Makhno received the chief of staff, the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Y.V. Ozerov and communist commissars. They were engaged in propaganda, but did not have political power.

The commander of the Ukrainian Front V. Antonov-Ovseenko, who visited the region in May 1919, reported: “children's communes, schools are being established, - Gulyai-Pole is one of the most cultural centers of Novorossia - there are three secondary educational institutions, and so on. Through the efforts of Makhno, ten hospitals for the wounded were opened, a workshop was organized to repair guns and locks for guns were made. "

The Communists tolerated the openly anti-Bolshevik character of the Makhnovist actions while the Makhnovists advanced. But in April the front stabilized, the fight against Denikin's forces went on with varying success. The Bolsheviks embarked on a course to eliminate the special situation of the Makhnovist region. Heavy battles and supply interruptions were increasingly exhausting the Makhnovists.

On April 10, the III regional congress of peasants, workers and insurgents in Gulyai-Pole adopted decisions directed against the military-communist policy of the RCP (b). The chief of the department Dybenko replied with a telegram: "Any congresses convened on behalf of the military revolutionary headquarters disbanded according to my order are considered clearly counter-revolutionary, and the organizers of such will be subjected to the most repressive measures, up to and including outlawing." The congress responded to the division commander with a sharp rebuke, which further compromised Makhno in the eyes of the command.

On April 15, 1919, a member of the RVS of the Southern Front G.Ya. Sokolnikov, with the consent of some of the members of the RVS of the Ukrfront, put before the chairman of the RVS of the Republic L.D. Trotsky the question of removing Makhno from command.

On April 25, an article “Down with the Makhnovshchina” appeared in Kharkov Izvestia, which stated: “The insurrectionary movement of the peasantry accidentally fell under the leadership of Makhno and his“ Military-Revolutionary Headquarters ”, in which both recklessly anarchist and White-Left Socialist-Revolutionaries found a haven for themselves. and other remnants of "former" revolutionary parties that have disintegrated. Having fallen under the leadership of such elements, the movement significantly lost its strength, the successes associated with its rise could not be consolidated by the anarchy of actions ... The outrageousness that occurs in the "kingdom" of Makhno must end. " This article angered Makhno and raised fears that it was a prelude to an attack by the Bolsheviks. On April 29, he ordered some of the commissars to be detained, deciding that the Bolsheviks were preparing an attack on the Makhnovists: "Let the Bolsheviks sit with us as they sit in the casemates of our Cheka."

The conflict was resolved during negotiations between Makhno and the commander of the Ukrainian Front V.A. Antonova-Ovseenko. Makhno even condemned the most harsh provisions of the resolutions of the congress of the district Soviets, promised to prevent the election of the commanders, whom (apparently, due to the infectiousness of the example) they were so feared in the neighboring parts of the Red Army. Moreover, the commanders had already been selected, and no one was going to change them at that time.

But, having made some concessions, Batka put forward a new, fundamentally important idea that could try on two strategies of the revolution: “Before a decisive victory over the Whites, a revolutionary front must be established, and he (Makhno. A.Sh.) seeks to prevent civil strife between the various elements of this revolutionary front ”.

On May 1, the brigade was withdrawn from the subordination of the P.E. Dybenko and is subordinated to the emerging 7th division of the 2nd Ukrainian army, which never became a real formation. In fact, not only the 7th division, but the entire 2nd army consisted of the Makhno brigade and several regiments that were significantly inferior in number to it.

Ataman N.A. Grigoriev, who raised a mutiny on the right bank of Ukraine on May 6. On May 12, under the chairmanship of Makhno, a "military congress", that is, a conference of command personnel, representatives of units and the political leadership of the Makhnovist movement, convened. Makhno and the congress condemned the speech of N.A. Grigoriev, but also criticized the Bolsheviks, who with their policies provoked an uprising. The "military congress" proclaimed the reorganization of the 3rd brigade into the 1st insurgent division under the command of Makhno.

The reason for a new aggravation of relations with the communists was the deployment of the 3rd brigade in the division. The paradoxical situation, when the brigade made up the largest part of the army, interfered with the appropriate supply, and the interaction of the command with a huge "brigade", and the management of its units. The Soviet command first agreed to reorganization, and then refused to create a division under the command of the obstinate opposition commander. On May 22, Trotsky, who arrived in Ukraine, called such plans "the preparation of a new Grigorievshchina." On May 25, at a meeting of the Council of Workers 'and Peasants' Defense of Ukraine, chaired by Kh. Rakovsky, the issue of "Makhnovshchina and its elimination" was discussed. It was decided to "liquidate Makhno" by the forces of the regiment.

Having learned about the intentions of the command, Makhno on May 28, 1919 announced that he was ready to resign, since "he never aspired to high ranks" and "will do more in the future in the lower ranks of the people for the revolution." But on May 29, 1919, the headquarters of the Makhnovist division decided: “1) to urge comrade Makhno to remain with his duties and powers, which comrade Makhno was trying to resign; 2) to transform all the forces of the Makhnovists into an independent insurgent army, entrusting the leadership of this army to Comrade Makhno. The army is operationally subordinate to the Southern Front, since the operational orders of the latter will proceed from the living needs of the revolutionary front. " In response to this step, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front, on May 29, 1919, decided to arrest Makhno and put him on trial at the Revolutionary Tribunal. Makhno did not accept the title of army commander and continued to consider himself a division commander.

This was announced when the Southern Front itself began to fall apart under the blows of Denikin. The Makhnovist headquarters called for the restoration of unity: “We need solidarity, unity. Only with a common effort and consciousness, with a common understanding of our struggle and our common interests, for which we are fighting, will we save the revolution ... Come on, comrades, any party disagreements, they will ruin you. "

On May 31, VRS announced the convocation of the IV Congress of the District Councils. The center regarded the decision to convene a new "unsanctioned" congress as preparation for an anti-Soviet uprising. On June 3, the commander of the Southern Front, V. Gittis, gave the order to begin the liquidation of the Makhnovshchina and to arrest Makhno.

On June 6, Makhno sent a telegram to V.I. Lenin, L.D. Trotsky, L.B. Kamenev and K.E. Voroshilov, in which he offered to "send a good military leader, who, having familiarized himself with the case on the spot, could take command of the division from me."

On June 9, Makhno sent a telegram to V.I. Lenin, L.D. Kamenev, G.E. Zinoviev, L.D. Trotsky, K.E. Voroshilov, in which he summed up his relationship with the communist regime: recent times the offensive behavior of the central government towards insurrection leads with fatal inevitability to the creation of a special internal front, on both sides of which there will be a working mass believing in the revolution. I consider this the greatest, never forgiven crime against the working people and I consider myself obliged to do everything possible to prevent this crime ... I consider my resignation to be the most reliable means of preventing an impending crime by the authorities. "

Meanwhile, the Whites invaded the Gulyai-Polye area. For some time, with a small detachment, Makhno still fought side by side with the red units, but on June 15 with a small detachment he left the front. Its units continued to fight in the ranks of the Red Army. On the night of June 16, seven members of the Makhnovist headquarters were shot on the verdict of the Revolutionary Tribunul of Donbass. Chief of Staff Ozerov continued to fight the Whites, but on August 2, by the verdict of the VUCHK, he was shot. Makhno gave funds to groups of anarchists who went to prepare terrorist attacks against whites (M.G. Nikiforova and others) and the Bolsheviks (K. Kovalevich and others). On June 21, 1919, Makhno's detachment crossed over to the right bank of the Dnieper.

In July, Makhno married Galina Kuzmenko, who became his military friend for many years.

Makhno tried to stay away from the front lines so as not to contribute to the success of the Whites. On July 10, 1919, Makhno's detachment attacked Elisavetgrad. On July 11, 1919, the Makhnovists united with the detachment of the nationalist ataman N.A. Grigoriev. In accordance with the agreement of the two leaders, Grigoriev was declared commander, and Makhno - the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Insurrectionary Army. Makhno's brother Grigory became the chief of staff. Disagreements arose between the Makhnovists and the Grigorievites in connection with the anti-Semitism of N.A. Grigoriev and his unwillingness to fight against whites. July 27 N.A. Grigoriev was killed by the Makhnovists. Makhno sent a telegram on the air: “Everyone, everyone, everyone. Copy - Moscow, Kremlin. We killed the famous chieftain Grigoriev. Signed - Makhno. "

Under pressure from Denikin, the Red Army was forced to retreat from Ukraine. The former Makhnovists, who in June found themselves under the command of the Bolsheviks, did not want to leave for Russia.

... Russian anarchism, which gave rise to the world famous theorists Kropotkin and Bakunin, in the practical activities of the party throughout the Russian Troubles represents one continuous tragic farce. And it would, of course, be thoughtless not to appropriate the only serious movement and not to canonize Makhno as your leader - such a bright figure of timelessness, albeit with a brigand appearance ...

A.I. Denikin. Essays on the Russian Troubles. Paris, 1921.

Most of the Makhnovist units operating as part of the Red Army, as well as part of the 58th Red Division, went over to the side of Makhno. September 1, 1919 at a meeting of the army commanders in the village. Dobrovelichkovka was proclaimed "The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (Makhnovists)", a new Revolutionary Military Council and an army headquarters were elected, headed by commander Makhno.

The superior forces of the Whites pushed the Makhnovists back to Uman. Here the Makhnovists entered into an "alliance" with the Petliurites, to whom they handed over their wagon train with the wounded.

Makhnovia in the white rear

In July-August 1919, the white army advanced in the vastness of Russia and Ukraine to Moscow and Kiev. The officers gazed at the horizon. A few more victorious battles, and Moscow will meet its liberators with a bell ringing. On the flank of Denikin's campaign against Moscow, it was necessary to solve a "simple" task - to finish off the remnants of the Southern group of the Reds, the Makhno gang and, if possible, the Ukrainian nationalist Petliura, who was entangled under the feet of the Russian statehood. After the Whites with a dashing raid drove the Reds out of Yekaterinoslav and thereby overcame the Dnieper barrier, the cleansing of Ukraine seemed to be a done deal. But when, at the beginning of September, the Whites entered the area where Makhno had gathered his forces, difficulties arose. On September 6, the Makhnovists launched a counterattack at Pomoshchnaya. They moved from all directions, and the discordant crowd turned into a dense formation just before the attack. The Whites fought back, but it turned out that Makhno at that time bypassed their positions and captured a wagon train with ammunition. They were what the "dad" needed.

On September 22, 1919, General Slashchev gave the order to put an end to Makhno in the Uman region. How much time can you spend on this gang! Of course, the Makhnovists are numerous, but they are rabble, and the disciplined forces of the Volunteer Army are superior to the bandits in their combat capability. After all, they are chasing the Reds! Parts of Slashchev dispersed in different directions to drive the beast. The Simferopol White Regiment occupied Peregonovka. The trap slammed shut. General Sklyarov's detachment entered Uman and began to wait for the "game" to be driven to him.

Meanwhile, the "game" itself drove the hunters. On September 26, a terrible roar was heard - the Makhnovists blew up their stock of mines, which were still hard to carry with them. It was both a signal and a "psychic attack." The cavalry and mass of infantry rushed at the whites, supported by a multitude of machine guns on carts. The Denikinites could not stand it and began to seek salvation at the heights, thereby opening the way for the Makhnovists to key crossings and forks of roads. At night, the Makhnovists were already everywhere, the cavalry pursued the retreating and fleeing. On the morning of September 27, the Makhnovist cavalry mass crushed the orders of the Lithuanian battalion and chopped up those who did not have time to scatter. This formidable force moved on, destroying whites that came in its way. Rolling up their guns, the Makhnovists began to shoot the battle formations pressed to the river. Their commander, Captain Hattenberger, realizing that defeat was inevitable, shot himself. Having killed the remaining whites, the Makhnovists moved to Uman and drove Sklyarov's forces out of there. Slashchev's regiments were defeated in parts, the Denikin front was broken through on the flank.

The Makhnovist army, plunging into carts, moved along the deep rear of Denikin. Looking at this breakthrough, one of the surviving officers sadly said: "At that moment, great Russia lost the war." He was not so far from the truth. Denikin's rear was disorganized, a hole in the Makhnovia was formed in the center of the white Volunteer. And then the news came - the same force struck a blow at the Bolsheviks almost to the very heart of their regime - on September 25 the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party took off. The anarchists took revenge on the communists for the comrades of Makhno who were shot by the Revolutionary Tribunal. It was the third force of the Civil War, subject to its own will and its own logic.

Makhno's army broke into the operational space in the rear of the Denikinites. Makhno, commanding the central column of the rebels, occupied Aleksandrovsk and Gulyai-Pole in early October. In the area of ​​Gulyai-Polye, Aleksandrovsk and Yekaterinoslav, an extensive insurgent zone arose, drawing off part of the White forces during Denikin's offensive against Moscow.

A congress of peasants, workers and insurgents in Aleksandrovsk was held in the Makhnovsky district from October 27 to November 2. In his speech, Makhno said that “the best volunteer regiments of the gene. Denikin were completely smashed against the insurgent detachments ", but also criticized the Communists, who" sent punitive detachments to "suppress the counter-revolution" and thus interfered with the free insurgency in the fight against Denikin. " Makhno urged to join the army "for the destruction of all violent power and counter-revolution." After the speech of the Menshevik workers' delegates, Makhno again took the floor and sharply opposed the "underground agitation on the part of the Mensheviks", whom, like the Socialist-Revolutionaries, he called "political charlatans", called on "not to give them mercy" and to "drive them out." After that, some of the workers' delegates left the congress. Makhno responded by saying that he did not “stigmatize” all the workers, but only “charlatans”. On November 1, he appeared in the newspaper "Path to Freedom" with an article "It cannot be otherwise": did they hold opposition to the Denikin Constituent Assembly? "

October 28 - December 19 (with a break for 4 days) the Makhnovists held the large city of Yekaterinoslav. The enterprises were transferred into the hands of those who work for them. On October 15, 1919, Makhno turned to the railway workers: “In order to restore normal railway traffic in the liberated area as soon as possible, as well as proceeding from the principle of organizing a free life by the workers and peasants' organizations themselves and their associations, I propose to comrades railway workers and employees to energetically organize and establish the movement itself, establishing in remuneration for its labor a sufficient payment from passengers and cargo, except for the military, organizing its cash desk on a comradely and fair basis and entering into the closest relations with workers' organizations, peasant societies and insurgent units. "

Makhno insisted that the workers should repair weapons free of charge. At the same time, Makhno allocated 1 million rubles for the needs of the health insurance fund. For those in need, the Makhnovists established an allowance. The Military Revolutionary Council was headed by the anarchist V. Volin, who became the leading ideologist of the movement (Arshinov temporarily lost contact with Makhno during the events of the summer of 1919). The activities of left-wing parties were allowed. Counterintelligence was active, authorized to arrest white agents and conspirators. She allowed arbitrariness against civilians. The Makhnovist army grew to several tens of thousands of fighters.

In November 1919, on charges of plotting and poisoning Makhno, counterintelligence arrested a group of communists led by the regiment commander M. Polonsky. On December 2, 1919, the accused were shot.

In December 1919, the Makhno army was disorganized by an epidemic of typhus, and then Makhno fell ill.

Between white and red

Having retreated from Yekaterinoslav under the onslaught of the Whites, Makhno with the main forces of the army withdrew to Aleksandrovsk. On January 5, 1920, units of the 45th division of the Red Army arrived here. At negotiations with representatives of the red command, Makhno and representatives of his headquarters demanded that they allocate a sector of the front to fight the whites and retain control over their area. Makhno and his staff insisted on concluding a formal agreement with the Soviet leadership. January 6, 1920 Commander 14 I.P. Uborevich ordered Makhno to advance to the Polish front. Without waiting for an answer, the All-Ukrainian Revolutionary Committee on January 9, 1920, outlawed Makhno under the pretext of not fulfilling his order to go to the Polish front. The Reds attacked Makhno's headquarters in Aleksandrovsk, but he managed to escape to Gulyai-Pole on January 10, 1920.

At a command staff meeting in Gulyai-Pole on January 11, 1920, it was decided to grant the rebels a month's leave. Makhno declared his readiness to "go hand in hand" with the Red Army, while maintaining independence. At this time, more than two divisions of the Reds attacked, disarmed and partially shot the Makhnovists, including the sick. Makhno's brother Grigory was captured and shot, and in February - another brother Savva, who was engaged in supplying the Makhnovist army. During his illness, Makhno went into an illegal position.

After Makhno recovered in February 1920, the Makhnovists resumed hostilities against the Reds. In winter and spring, an exhausting partisan war broke out, the Makhnovists attacked small detachments, workers of the Bolshevik apparatus, warehouses, distributing grain supplies to the peasants. In the area of ​​Makhno's operations, the Bolsheviks were forced to go underground, and openly acted only when accompanied by large military units. In May 1920, the Council of the Revolutionary Insurgents of Ukraine (Makhnovists) was created, headed by Makhno, which included the chief of staff V.F. Belash, commanders Kalashnikov, Kurylenko and Karetnikov. The name of the SRPU emphasized that it was not about the RVS usual for a civil war, but about the “nomadic” authority of the Makhnovist republic.

Wrangel's attempts to establish an alliance with Makhno ended with the execution of the White emissary by the decision of the SRPU and the Makhnovist headquarters on July 9, 1920.

In March-May 1920, detachments under the command of Makhno fought with units of the 1st Cavalry Army, VOKHR and other forces of the Red Army. In the summer of 1920, the army under the general command of Makhno numbered more than 10 thousand soldiers. On July 11, 1920, Makhno's army began a raid outside its area, during which it took the cities of Izyum, Zenkov, Mirgorod, Starobelsk, Millerovo. On August 29, 1920, Makhno was seriously wounded in the leg (in total, Makhno had more than 10 wounds).

In the conditions of Wrangel's offensive, when the Whites occupied Gulyai-Polye, Makhno and his SRPU were not opposed to concluding a new alliance with the Reds, if they were ready to recognize the equality of the Makhnovists and the Bolsheviks. At the end of September, consultations on the union began. On October 1, after a preliminary agreement on the cessation of hostilities with the Reds, Makhno, in an appeal to the rebels operating in Ukraine, urged them to stop fighting against the Bolsheviks: tsarist power headed by a German baron. " On October 2, an agreement was signed between the government of the Ukrainian SSR and the SRPU (Makhnovists). In accordance with the agreement between the Makhnovists and the Red Army, hostilities ceased, an amnesty was announced to the anarchists and Makhnovists in Ukraine, they received the right to propagate their ideas without calling for the violent overthrow of the Soviet government, to participate in the Soviets and in the elections to the V Congress of Soviets, scheduled for December. The parties mutually committed themselves not to accept deserters. The Makhnovist army passed into operational subordination to the Soviet command on the condition that it "retains within itself the previously established routine."

Acting together with the Red Army, the Makhnovists liberated Gulyai-Pole from the Whites on October 26, 1920, where Makhno was located. The best forces of the Makhnovists (2400 sabers, 1900 bayonets, 450 machine guns and 32 guns) under the command of S. Karetnikov were sent to the front against Wrangel (Makhno himself, wounded in the leg, remained in Gulyai-Pole) and participated in the crossing of the Sivash.

After the victory over the Whites on November 26, 1920, the Reds suddenly attacked the Makhnovists. Having assumed command of the army, Makhno managed to escape the blow inflicted on his forces in Gulyai-Polye. The southern front of the Red Army under the command of M.V. Frunze, relying on a multiple superiority in forces, managed to encircle Makhno in Andreevka near the Sea of ​​Azov, but on December 14-18, Makhno broke into the operational space. However, he had to leave for the right bank of the Dnieper, where the Makhnovists did not have sufficient support from the population. In the course of heavy fighting in January-February 1921, the Makhnovists broke through to their homes. On March 13, 1921, Makhno was again seriously wounded in the leg.

In 1921, Makhno's detachments finally turned into gangs of robbers and rapists.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.

Nestor Makhno in the Zaporozhye Regional Museum of Local Lore

On May 22, 1921 Makhno moved to a new roadstead to the north. Despite the fact that the headquarters of the united army was restored, the forces of the Makhnovists were scattered, Makhno was able to concentrate only 1,300 fighters for actions in the Poltava region. In late June - early July M.V. Frunze inflicted a sensitive defeat on the Makhnovist strike group in the area of ​​the Sulla and Psel rivers. After the announcement of the NEP, peasant support for the rebels weakened. On July 16, 1921, at a meeting in Isaevka near Taganrog, Makhno suggested that his army break through to Galicia in order to raise an uprising there. But disagreements arose over further actions, and only a minority of fighters followed with Makhno.

Makhno with a small detachment broke through the whole of Ukraine to the Romanian border and on August 28, 1921, crossed the Dniester to Bessarabia.

Emigration

Once in Romania, the Makhnovists were disarmed by the authorities, in 1922 they moved to Poland and were placed in an internment camp. On April 12, 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee announced a political amnesty, which did not apply to 7 "hardened criminals", including Makhno. The Soviet authorities demanded the extradition of Makhno as a "bandit". In 1923 Makhno with his wife and two associates was arrested and charged with preparing an uprising in Eastern Galicia. On October 30, 1923, a daughter, Elena, was born to Makhno and Kuzmenko in Warsaw prison. Makhno and his associates were acquitted by the court. In 1924 Makhno moved to Danzig, where he was again arrested in connection with the murders of the Germans during the civil war. Having fled from Danzig to Berlin, Makhno arrived in Paris in April 1925 and from 1926 settled in the suburb of Vincennes. Here Makhno worked as a turner, carpenter, painter and shoemaker. Participated in public discussions about the Makhnovist movement and anarchism.

In 1923-1933. Makhno published articles and brochures on the history of the Makhnovist movement, the theory and practice of anarchism and the labor movement, and criticism of the communist regime. In November 1925 Makhno wrote about anarchism: "The absence of his own organization capable of opposing his own living forces to the enemies of the Revolution made him a helpless organizer." Therefore, it is necessary to create a "Union of Anarchists, built on the principle of general discipline and general leadership of all anarchist forces."

In June 1926, Arshinov and Makhno put forward the draft "Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists", which proposed to unite the anarchists of the world on the basis of discipline, combining anarchist principles of self-government with institutions where "the leading posts of the country's economic and social life" are preserved. Supporters of the "Platform" held a conference in March 1927, which began to create the International Anarcho-Communist Federation. Makhno entered the secretariat to convene her congress. But soon leading theorists of anarchism criticized the "Platform" project as too authoritarian, contrary to the principles of the anarchist movement. Desperate to come to an agreement with the anarchists, in 1931 Arshinov switched to the position of Bolshevism, and the idea of ​​"platformism" failed. Makhno did not forgive his old comrade for this apostasy.

Makhno's peculiar political testament was his 1931 letter to the Spanish anarchists J. Carbo and A. Pestania, in which he warned them against an alliance with the communists during the revolution that began in Spain. Makhno warns his Spanish comrades: "Having experienced relative freedom, the anarchists, like the common people, were carried away by fluency."

Book cover about N.I. Makhno

Since 1929, Makhno's tuberculosis worsened, he took part in social activities less and less, but continued to work on his memoirs. The first volume was published in 1929, the other two - posthumously. There he outlined his views on the future anarchist system: "I thought of such a system only in the form of a free Soviet system, in which the whole country is covered by local completely free and independent social and social self-governments of workers."

At the beginning of 1934, Makhno's tuberculosis worsened and he was hospitalized. He passed away in July.

Makhno's ashes were buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery next to the graves of the Parisian Communards. Two years after his death, the black banner of anarchy, which fell from the hands of Makhno, will again develop alongside the red and republican banners in revolutionary Spain - despite the warnings of the old man and in accordance with the experience of the Makhnovist movement, in accordance with the very logic of the struggle against oppression and exploitation.

A. V. SHUBIN, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor

Literature

Antonov-Ovseenko V.A. Notes on the Civil War. M-L., 1932.

Arshinov P. History of the Makhnovist movement. Berlin, 1923.

Belash A.V., Belash V.F. Roads of Nestor Makhno. Kiev, 1993.

Makhnovshchina and its yesterday's Bolshevik allies. Paris, 1928.

Nestor Ivanovich Makhno. Kiev, 1991.

Nestor Makhno. Peasant movement in Ukraine. 1918-1921. M., 2006.

Skirda A. Nestor Makhno. Freedom Cossack (1888-1934). Civil War and the struggle for free councils in Ukraine in 1917-1921. Paris, 2001.

A. V. Shubin Makhno and his time. About the Great Revolution and the Civil War of 1917-1922 in Russia and Ukraine. M., 2013.

Internet

Slashchev Yakov Alexandrovich

A talented commander who has repeatedly shown personal courage in defending the Fatherland in the first world war... He assessed rejection of the revolution and hostility to the new government as secondary in comparison with serving the interests of the Motherland.

Romodanovsky Grigory Grigorievich

There are no outstanding military leaders of the period from the Troubles to the Northern War on the project, although there were such. An example of this is G.G. Romodanovsky.
Descended from the family of the Starodub princes.
A participant in the sovereign's campaign against Smolensk in 1654. In September 1655, together with the Ukrainian Cossacks, he defeated the Poles near Gorodok (not far from Lvov), in November of the same year he fought in the Battle of Ozernaya. In 1656 he received the rank of okolnichego and became the head of the Belgorod category. In 1658 and 1659. participated in hostilities against the betrayed hetman Vyhovsky and the Crimean Tatars, besieged Varva and fought near Konotop (Romodanovsky's troops withstood a heavy battle on the crossing of the Kukolka river). In 1664 he played a decisive role in repelling the invasion of 70 thousand army of the Polish king to the Left-Bank Ukraine, inflicted a number of sensitive blows on it. In 1665 he was granted to the boyar. In 1670 he acted against the Razin people - he defeated the detachment of the ataman's brother, Frol. The crown of Romodanovsky's military activity is the war with Ottoman Empire... In 1677 and 1678. troops under his leadership inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottomans. A curious moment: both main persons involved in the battle of Vienna in 1683 were defeated by G.G. Romodanovsky: Sobessky with his king in 1664 and Kara Mustafa in 1678
The prince died on May 15, 1682 during the Strelets uprising in Moscow.

Vasily Chuikov

Commander of the 62nd Army in Stalingrad.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (November 4 (November 16) 1874, St. Petersburg, - February 7, 1920, Irkutsk) - Russian scientist-oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late XIX - early XX centuries, military and political leader, naval commander, real member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1906), Admiral (1918), leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.

Member of the Russo-Japanese War, Defense of Port Arthur. During the First World War he commanded a mine division of the Baltic Fleet (1915-1916), the Black Sea Fleet (1916-1917). George Knight.
The leader of the White movement both on a national scale and directly in the East of Russia. As the Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920) he was recognized by all the leaders of the White Movement, “de jure” - the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, “de facto” - the states of the Entente.
Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army.

Ridiger Fedor Vasilievich

Adjutant general, cavalry general, adjutant general ... He had three Golden sabers with the inscription: "For courage" ... In 1849 Ridiger participated in a campaign in Hungary to suppress the unrest that arose there, being appointed head of the right column. On May 9, Russian troops entered the Austrian Empire. He pursued the rebel army until August 1, forcing them to lay down their arms in front of the Russian troops near Vilagosh. On August 5, the troops entrusted to him occupied the Arad fortress. During the trip of Field Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich to Warsaw, Count Ridiger commanded the troops stationed in Hungary and Transylvania ... On February 21, 1854, during the absence of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich in the Kingdom of Poland, Count Ridiger commanded all the troops located in the area of ​​the active army - as a commander separate corps and at the same time served as the head of the Kingdom of Poland. After the return of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich to Warsaw from August 3, 1854, he served as the Warsaw military governor.

I implore the Military Historical Society to correct the extreme historical injustice and to add to the list of the 100 best commanders who have not lost a single battle, the leader of the northern militia, who played an outstanding role in the liberation of Russia from the Polish yoke and turmoil. And apparently poisoned for his talent and skill.

Rumyantsev Pyotr Alexandrovich

Russian military and statesman who ruled Little Russia throughout the reign of Catherine II (1761-96). During the Seven Years' War, he commanded the capture of Kohlberg. For the victories over the Turks at Larga, Cahul and others, which led to the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhiyskiy peace, he was awarded the title "Transdanubian". In 1770 he received the rank of Field Marshal, Cavalier of the Orders of Russian St. Andrew, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. George 1st class and St. Vladimir 1st class, Prussian Black Eagle and St. Anna 1st class

Yudenich Nikolay Nikolaevich

The best Russian commander during the First World War. An ardent patriot of his homeland.

Ivan the Terrible

He conquered the Astrakhan kingdom, to which Russia paid tribute. Smashed the Livonian Order. Expanded the borders of Russia far beyond the Urals.

Uborevich Ieronim Petrovich

Soviet military leader, commander of the 1st rank (1935). Member of the Communist Party since March 1917. Born in the village of Aptandrijus (now the Utena region of the Lithuanian SSR) in the family of a Lithuanian peasant. Graduated from the Constantine Artillery School (1916). Member of the 1st World War 1914-18, second lieutenant. After the October Revolution of 1917, he was one of the organizers of the Red Guard in Bessarabia. In January - February 1918 he commanded a revolutionary detachment in battles against the Romanian and Austro-German interventionists, was wounded and taken prisoner, from where he fled in August 1918. He was an artillery instructor, commander of the Dvinskaya brigade on the Northern Front, from December 1918, chief of the 18th Infantry divisions of the 6th army. From October 1919 to February 1920, the commander of the 14th Army in the defeat of General Denikin's troops, in March - April 1920 he commanded the 9th Army in the North Caucasus. In May - July and November - December 1920, commander of the 14th Army in battles against the troops of bourgeois Poland and the Petliurites, in July - November 1920 - the 13th Army in battles against the Wrangelites. In 1921, the assistant to the commander of the troops of the Ukraine and Crimea, the deputy commander of the troops of the Tambov province, the commander of the troops of the Minsk province, led military operations in the defeat of the gangs of Makhno, Antonov and Bulak-Balakhovich. Since August 1921, commander of the 5th Army and the East Siberian Military District. In August - December 1922, Minister of War of the Far Eastern Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the People's Revolutionary Army during the liberation of the Far East. He was the commander of the North Caucasian (from 1925), Moscow (from 1928) and Belarusian (from 1931) military districts. Since 1926, a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR, in 1930-31 Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR and chief of armaments of the Red Army. Since 1934, a member of the Military Council of the NCO. He made a great contribution to strengthening the defense capability of the USSR, educating and training command personnel and troops. Candidate member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1930-37. Member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee since December 1922. He was awarded 3 Orders of the Red Banner and Honorary Revolutionary Weapons.

Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich

To a person to whom this name does not say anything, there is no need to explain and it is useless. To the one to whom it says something - and so everything is clear.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Commander of the 3rd Belorussian Front. The youngest front commander. Counts,. that he was an army general - but just before his death (February 18, 1945) he was promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union.
He liberated three of the six capitals of the Union Republics captured by the Nazis: Kiev, Minsk. Vilnius. Decided the fate of Keniksberg.
One of the few who drove the Germans back on June 23, 1941.
He held the front at Valdai. In many ways, he determined the fate of repelling the German offensive against Leningrad. Held Voronezh. Liberated Kursk.
He successfully attacked until the summer of 1943, having formed the summit of the Kursk Bulge with his army. Liberated the Left Bank of Ukraine. I took Kiev. He repulsed Manstein's counterattack. Liberated Western Ukraine.
Carried out the operation Bagration. Surrounded and captured thanks to his offensive in the summer of 1944, the Germans then humiliatedly marched through the streets of Moscow. Belarus. Lithuania. Neman. East Prussia.

Minikh Christopher Antonovich

Due to the ambiguous attitude towards the period of Anna Ioannovna's reign, she was largely an underestimated commander, who was the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops throughout her reign.

Commander of Russian troops during the War of the Polish Succession and architect of the victory of Russian weapons in the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739.

Yaroslav the Wise

Paskevich Ivan Fedorovich

The armies under his command defeated Persia in the war of 1826-1828 and completely defeated the Turkish troops in the Transcaucasus in the war of 1828-1829.

Awarded all 4 degrees of the Order of St. George and the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called with diamonds.

Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich

Outstanding employee of the Russian Academy of the General Staff. The developer and executor of the Galician operation - the first brilliant victory of the Russian army in the Great War.
Saved from the encirclement of the troops of the North-Western Front during the "Great Retreat" in 1915.
Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 1916-1917
Supreme Commander-in-Chief Russian army in 1917
Developed and implemented strategic plans for offensive operations in 1916 - 1917.
He continued to defend the need to preserve the Eastern Front after 1917 (the Volunteer Army is the basis of the new Eastern Front in the ongoing Great War).
Deceived and slandered in relation to various so-called. "Masonic military lodges", "generals' conspiracy against the Emperor", etc., etc. - in terms of emigre and contemporary historical journalism.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Russian admiral who gave his life for the liberation of the Fatherland.
Scientist-oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, military and political leader, naval commander, full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky (September 18 (30), 1895 - December 5, 1977) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), Chief of the General Staff, member of the Supreme Command Headquarters. During the Great Patriotic War as chief of the General Staff (1942-1945), he took an active part in the development and implementation of almost all major operations on the Soviet-German front. Since February 1945, he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front, led the assault on Konigsberg. In 1945, commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East in the war with Japan. One of the greatest commanders of the Second World War.
In 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces and Minister of War of the USSR. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), holder of two Orders of Victory (1944, 1945).

Slashchev Yakov Alexandrovich

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. Under his leadership, the Red Army crushed fascism.

Ermolov Alexey Petrovich

Hero of the Napoleonic Wars and the Patriotic War of 1812, Conqueror of the Caucasus. An intelligent strategist and tactician, a strong-willed and brave warrior.

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

The greatest Russian commander! He has more than 60 victories and not a single defeat on his account. Thanks to his talent for conquering, the whole world learned the power of Russian weapons.

Bennigsen Leonty

An unfairly forgotten commander. Having won several battles against Napoleon and his marshals, he drew two battles with Napoleon, lost one battle. He took part in the Battle of Borodino and was one of the contenders for the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army during the Patriotic War of 1812!

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Grand Duke of Novgorod, from 945 Kiev. Son of Grand Duke Igor Rurikovich and Princess Olga. Svyatoslav became famous as a great commander, whom N.M. Karamzin called "Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history."

After the military campaigns of Svyatoslav Igorevich (965-972), the territory of the Russian land increased from the Volga region to the Caspian, from the North Caucasus to the Black Sea, from the Balkan mountains to Byzantium. Defeated Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria, weakened and frightened the Byzantine Empire, opened the way for Rus' trade with eastern countries

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

Outstanding Russian commander. He successfully defended the interests of Russia both from external aggression and outside the country.

Kornilov Lavr Georgievich

KORNILOV Lavr Georgievich (08/18/1870- 04/31/1918) Colonel (02.1905). Major General (12.1912). Lieutenant General (08/26/1914). General from Infantry (06/30/1917). Graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery School (1892) and with a gold medal to the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1898). Officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1889-1904. Participant in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 - 1905: headquarters officer of the 1st Rifle Brigade (at its headquarters). During the retreat from Mukden, the brigade got surrounded. Leading the rearguard, he broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack, ensuring freedom of defensive combat operations for the brigade. Military attaché in China, 04/01/1907 - 02/24/1911 Participant of the First World War: the commander of the 48th Infantry Division of the 8th Army (General Brusilov). During the general retreat, the 48th division was surrounded and the wounded General Kornilov on 04.1915 at the Duklinsky pass (Carpathians) was captured; 08.1914-04.1915 In captivity by the Austrians, 04.1915-06.1916. Disguised as an Austrian soldier, on 06.1915 escaped from captivity. Commander of the 25th Rifle Corps, 06.1916-04.1917. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, 03-04.1917. Commander of the 8th Army, 24.04-8.07.1917. 05/19/1917 by his order introduced the formation of the first volunteer "1st Shock Force of the 8th Army" under the command of Captain Nezhentsev. Commander of the Southwestern Front ...

Shein Mikhail

Hero of the Smolensk Defense 1609-11
He led the Smolensk fortress during the siege for almost 2 years, it was one of the longest siege campaigns in Russian history, which predetermined the defeat of the Poles during the Time of Troubles

His Serene Highness Prince Wittgenstein Pyotr Christianovich

For the defeat of the French units of Oudinot and MacDonald at Klyastitsy, thereby closing the road for the French army to St. Petersburg in 1812. Then, in October 1812, he defeated the Saint-Cyr corps near Polotsk. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian-Prussian armies in April-May 1813.

Gorbaty-Shuisky Alexander Borisovich

Hero of the Kazan war, the first governor of Kazan

Ushakov Fedor Fedorovich

The great Russian naval commander who won victories at Fedonisi, Kaliakria, at Cape Tendra and during the liberation of the islands of Malta (Ioanic Islands) and Corfu. He discovered and introduced new tactics of naval combat, with the rejection of the linear formation of ships and showed the tactics of "placer formation" with an attack on the flagship of the enemy fleet. One of the founders of the Black Sea Fleet and its commander in 1790-1792.

Antonov Alexey Inokentievich

Chief strategist of the USSR in 1943-45, practically unknown to society
"Kutuzov" of World War II

Modest and committed. Victorious. The author of all operations from the spring of 1943 and the victory itself. Others gained fame — Stalin and the front commanders.

Miloradovich

Bagration, Miloradovich, Davydov are some very special breed of people. Now they don't do that. The heroes of 1812 were distinguished by complete recklessness, complete contempt for death. And after all, it was General Miloradovich, who went through all the wars for Russia without a single tsarpapina, who became the first victim of individual terror. After Kakhovsky's shot on Senate Square, the Russian revolution continued along this path - right up to the basement of the Ipatiev House. Removing the best.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

A person who combines the body of knowledge of a natural scientist, scientist and great strategist.

Stalin (Dzhugashvili) Joseph Vissarionovich

Comrade Stalin, in addition to the atomic and missile projects, together with General of the Army Alexei Innokentyevich Antonov participated in the development and implementation of practically all significant operations of the Soviet troops in the Second World War, brilliantly organized the work of the rear, even in the first difficult years of the war.

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

Outstanding commander of the second half of the 16th century. Oprichnik.
Genus. OK. 1520, died on August 7 (17), 1591. At the provincial posts since 1560. Member of almost all military enterprises during the independent reign of Ivan IV and the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich. He has several won field battles (including: the battle of the Tatars near Zaraisk (1570), the Molodino battle (during the decisive battle he led Russian troops in Gulyai-gorod), the defeat of the Swedes at Lyamits (1582) and not far from Narva ( 1590)). He supervised the suppression of the Cheremis uprising in 1583-1584, for which he received the boyar rank.
On the basis of the merits of D.I. Khvorostinin is much higher than the one already proposed here by M.I. Vorotynsky. Vorotynsky was more noble and therefore he was more often entrusted with the general leadership of the regiments. But, in terms of military leadership talent, he was far from Khvorostinin.

Stessel Anatoly Mikhailovich

Commendant of Port Arthur during his heroic defense. An unprecedented ratio of losses of Russian and Japanese troops before the surrender of the fortress - 1:10.

Muravyov-Karsky Nikolay Nikolaevich

One of the most successful commanders of the mid-19th century in the Turkish direction.

Hero of the first capture of Kars (1828), the leader of the second capture of Kars (the greatest success of the Crimean War, 1855, which made it possible to end the war without territorial losses for Russia).

Govorov Leonid Alexandrovich

Kuznetsov Nikolay Gerasimovich

He made a great contribution to strengthening the fleet before the war; conducted a number of major exercises, initiated the opening of new naval schools and naval special schools (later the Nakhimov schools). On the eve of Germany's surprise attack on the USSR, he took effective measures to increase the combat readiness of the fleets, and on the night of June 22, he gave an order to bring them to full combat readiness, which made it possible to avoid losses of ships and naval aviation.

Vasily Chuikov

Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1955). Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945).
From 1942 to 1946, commander of the 62nd Army (8th Guards Army), which distinguished itself in the Battle of Stalingrad, took part in defensive battles on the distant approaches to Stalingrad. From September 12, 1942, he commanded the 62nd Army. IN AND. Chuikov was given the task of defending Stalingrad at any cost. The front command believed that Lieutenant General Chuikov possessed such positive qualities as decisiveness and firmness, courage and a great operational outlook, a high sense of responsibility and awareness of his duty. Chuikova, became famous for the heroic six-month defense of Stalingrad in street battles in a completely destroyed city, fighting on isolated bridgeheads on the banks of the wide Volga.

For the unprecedented mass heroism and resilience of the personnel, in April 1943, the 62nd Army received the honorary guards name of the Guards and became known as the 8th Guards Army.

Svyatoslav Igorevich

I would like to propose "candidates" for Svyatoslav and his father, Igor, as the greatest commanders and political leaders of their time, I think it makes no sense to list historians for their services to the fatherland, I was unpleasantly surprised not to see their names in this list. Sincerely.

Rokhlin Lev Yakovlevich

He headed the 8th Guards Army Corps in Chechnya. Under his leadership, a number of districts of Grozny were taken, including the presidential palace. For participation in the Chechen campaign, he was nominated for the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, but refused to accept it, stating that “he has no moral right to receive this award for military operations on the territory of his own country".

Vasily Chuikov

"There is a city in huge Russia to which my heart was given, it went down in history as STALINGRAD ..." V.I. Chuikov

Duke of Württemberg Eugene

General of Infantry, cousin of Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. Served in the Russian Army since 1797 (enlisted as a colonel in the Life Guards Horse Regiment by Decree of Emperor Paul I). Participated in military campaigns against Napoleon in 1806-1807. For participation in the Battle of Pultusk in 1806, he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious 4th degree, for the 1807 campaign he received the golden weapon "For Bravery", distinguished himself in the 1812 campaign (personally led the 4th Jaeger Regiment into battle at Smolensk), for participation in the Battle of Borodino he was awarded the Order of St. George the Victorious 3rd degree. Since November 1812, the commander of the 2nd Infantry Corps in the army of Kutuzov. He took an active part in the overseas campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814, the units under his command especially distinguished themselves in the Battle of Kulm in August 1813, and in the "Battle of the Nations" at Leipzig. For courage at Leipzig, Duke Eugene was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree. Parts of his corps were the first to enter the defeated Paris on April 30, 1814, for which Eugene of Württemberg received the rank of general from infantry. From 1818 to 1821 was the commander of the 1st Army Infantry Corps. Contemporaries considered Prince Eugene of Württemberg one of the best Russian infantry commanders during the Napoleonic Wars. From December 21, 1825 - Nicholas I was appointed chief of the Tavrichesky Grenadier Regiment, which became known as the "Grenadier of His Royal Highness Prince Eugene of Württemberg". On August 22, 1826, he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1827-1828. as commander of the 7th Infantry Corps. On October 3, he defeated a large Turkish detachment on the Kamchik River.

Skopin-Shuisky Mikhail Vasilievich

During his short military career, he practically did not know any failures, both in battles with the troops of I. Boltnikov, and with the Polish-Liov and "Tushino" troops. Ability to line up efficient army practically "from scratch", to train, to use on the spot and during the Swedish mercenaries, to select successful Russian command personnel for the liberation and protection of the vast territory of the Russian north-western edge and the liberation central Russia, persistent and planned offensive, skillful tactics in the fight against the magnificent Polish-Lithuanian cavalry, undoubted personal courage - these are the qualities that, with all the little known of his deeds, give him the right to be called the Great Leader of Russia.

Kosich Andrey Ivanovich

1. During his long life (1833 - 1917) A. I. Kosich went from a non-commissioned officer to a general, commander of one of the largest military districts of the Russian Empire. He took an active part in almost all military campaigns from the Crimean to the Russian-Japanese. Distinguished by personal courage and bravery.
2. According to many, "one of the most educated generals of the Russian army." He left a multitude of literary and scientific works and memoirs. Patronized science and education. Has established himself as a talented administrator.
3. His example served the formation of many Russian military leaders, in particular, the gene. A. I. Denikin.
4. He was a resolute opponent of the use of the army against his people, in which he parted with PA Stolypin. "The army must shoot at the enemy, not at its own people."

Uvarov Fedor Petrovich

At the age of 27 he was promoted to general. He participated in the campaigns of 1805-1807 and in the battles on the Danube in 1810. In 1812 he commanded the 1st artillery corps in the army of Barclay de Tolly, and later - the entire cavalry of the united armies.

Dovator Lev Mikhailovich

Soviet military leader, major general, Hero of the Soviet Union. Known for successful operations to destroy German troops during the Great Patriotic War. For the head of Dovator, the German command appointed a large award.
Together with the 8th guards division named after Major General I.V. Panfilov, the 1st Guards Tank Brigade of General M.E. Katukov and other troops of the 16th Army, his corps defended the approaches to Moscow in the Volokolamsk direction.

Platov Matvey Ivanovich

Ataman of the Great Don Army (from 1801), general of the cavalry (1809), who took part in all the wars of the Russian Empire at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries.
In 1771 he distinguished himself in the attack and capture of the Perekop line and Kinburn. In 1772 he began to command a Cossack regiment. In the 2nd Turkish War he distinguished himself during the assault on Ochakov and Izmail. Participated in the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, he first commanded all the Cossack regiments on the border, and then, covering the retreat of the army, he won victories over the enemy near the town of Mir and Romanovo. In the battle near the village of Semlevo, Platov's army defeated the French and captured a colonel from the army of Marshal Murat. During the retreat of the French army, Platov, pursuing her, inflicted defeats on her at Gorodnya, Kolotsky monastery, Gzhatsk, Tsarevo-Zaymishche, near Dukhovshchina and while crossing the river Vop. For his merits he was elevated to the count's dignity. In November Platov captured Smolensk from the battle and defeated the troops of Marshal Ney at Dubrovna. At the beginning of January 1813 he entered Prussia and surrounded Danzig; in September he received command over a special corps, with which he participated in the battle of Leipzig and, pursuing the enemy, took about 15 thousand prisoners. In 1814 he fought at the head of his regiments in the capture of Nemur, at Arsy-sur-Oba, Cézanne, Villeneuve. He was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich

Because it inspires many by personal example.

Osterman-Tolstoy Alexander Ivanovich

One of the brightest "field" generals of the early 19th century. Hero of the battles at Preussisch-Eylau, Ostrovno and Kulm.

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

The commander has not lost more than one battle in his career. He took the impregnable fortress of Ishmael, the first time.

Grachev Pavel Sergeevich

The hero of the USSR. May 5, 1988 "for the performance of combat missions with minimal human losses and for the professional command of a controlled formation and the successful actions of the 103rd Airborne Division, in particular, in the occupation of the strategically important Satukandav pass (Khost province) during the military operation" Magistral " "Received the medal" Gold Star "No. 11573. Commander of the Airborne Forces of the USSR. In total, during his military service he made 647 parachute jumps, some of them during testing of new equipment.
He was shell-shocked 8 times, received several wounds. Suppressed the armed putsch in Moscow and thereby saved the system of democracy. As the minister of defense, he made great efforts to preserve the remnants of the army - a task like this has few people in the history of Russia. Only because of the collapse of the army and a decrease in the number of military equipment in the Armed Forces, he could not triumphantly end the Chechen war.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

Prominent military leader, scientist, traveler and discoverer. Admiral of the Russian Fleet, whose talent was highly appreciated by Tsar Nicholas II. The Supreme Ruler of Russia during the Civil War, a true Patriot of his Fatherland, a man of a tragic, interesting fate. One of those military men who tried to save Russia during the years of turmoil, in the most difficult conditions, being in very difficult international diplomatic conditions.

Nevsky, Suvorov

Undoubtedly the holy noble Prince Alexander Nevsky and Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov

Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich

Admiral, Hero of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet. One of the leaders of the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941 - 1942, as well as the Crimean operation of 1944. In the Great Patriotic War, Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky was one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. As the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at the same time in 1941-1942 he was the commander of the Sevastopol Defense Region.

Three Orders of Lenin
three Orders of the Red Banner
two Orders of Ushakov, 1st degree
Order of Nakhimov 1st class
Order of Suvorov 2nd degree
Order of the Red Star
medals

Yudenich Nikolay Nikolaevich

October 3, 2013 marks the 80th anniversary of the death in the French city of Cannes of the Russian military leader, the commander of the Caucasian Front, the hero of Mukden, Sarykamysh, Van, Erzurum (thanks to the complete defeat of the 90,000th Turkish army of Russia, Constantinople and the Bosphorus with the Dardanelles departed), the savior of the Armenian people from the complete Turkish genocide, holder of three Orders of George and the highest order of France, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich.

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

For the highest military leadership and immense love for the Russian soldier

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

A commander who had no defeats ...

Ivan III Vasilievich

He united the Russian lands around Moscow, threw off the hated Tatar-Mongol yoke.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Generalissimo of the Soviet Union, Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The brilliant military leadership of the USSR in the Second World War.

Romanov Pyotr Alekseevich

During the endless discussions about Peter I as a politician and reformer, it is unfairly forgotten that he was the greatest military leader of his time. He was not only an excellent organizer of the rear. In the two most important battles of the Northern War (the battle of Lesnaya and near Poltava), he not only developed battle plans himself, but also personally led the troops, being in the most important, responsible directions.
The only general I know of was equally talented in both land and sea battles.
The main thing is that Peter I created a domestic military school. If all the great generals of Russia are the heirs of Suvorov, then Suvorov himself is the heir of Peter.
The Battle of Poltava was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) victory in Russian history. In all the other great aggressive invasions of Russia, the general battle did not have a decisive outcome, and the struggle dragged on and went to exhaustion. And only in the Northern War did the general engagement radically change the state of affairs, and from the attacking side, the Swedes became the defenders, decisively losing the initiative.
I believe that Peter I in the list of the best generals in Russia deserves to be in the top three.

Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich

In front of the Kazan Cathedral there are two statues of the saviors of the fatherland. Saving the army, exhausting the enemy, the Battle of Smolensk — that's more than enough.

Petr Stepanovich Kotlyarevsky

Hero of the Russian-Persian War of 1804-1813 At one time it was called the Caucasian Suvorov. On October 19, 1812, at the Aslanduz ford across the Araks, at the head of a detachment of 2221 people with 6 guns, Peter Stepanovich defeated the Persian army of 30,000 people with 12 guns. In other battles, he also acted not by number, but by skill.

Denikin Anton Ivanovich

Russian military leader, political and public figure, writer, memoirist, publicist and military documentary filmmaker.
Member of the Russian-Japanese War. One of the most productive generals of the Russian Imperial Army during the First World War. Commander of the 4th Rifle "Iron" Brigade (1914-1916, since 1915 - deployed under his command in a division), 8th Army Corps (1916-1917). Lieutenant General of the General Staff (1916), Commander of the Western and Southwestern Fronts (1917). An active participant in the military congresses of 1917, an opponent of the democratization of the army. He expressed support for the Kornilov speech, for which he was arrested by the Provisional Government, a participant in the Berdichev and Bykhov seats of the generals (1917).
One of the main leaders of the White movement during the Civil War, its leader in the South of Russia (1918-1920). Achieved the greatest military and political results among all the leaders of the White movement. Pioneer, one of the main organizers, and then commander of the Volunteer Army (1918-1919). Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (1919-1920), Deputy Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Admiral Kolchak (1919-1920).
Since April 1920 - an emigrant, one of the main political figures of the Russian emigration. Author of memoirs "Essays on Russian Troubles" (1921-1926) - a fundamental historical and biographical work about the Civil War in Russia, memoirs "The Old Army" (1929-1931), autobiographical story "The Way of a Russian Officer" (published in 1953) and a number of other works.

Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich

Colonel Karyagin's campaign against the Persians in 1805 does not resemble real military history. It looks like the prequel to "300 Spartans" (20,000 Persians, 500 Russians, gorges, bayonet attacks, "This is crazy! - No, this is the 17th Jaeger Regiment!"). The golden, platinum page of Russian history, combining the slaughter of madness with the highest tactical skill, delightful cunning and stunning Russian arrogance

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

If anyone has not heard, it is useless to write

Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich

During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, until his heroic death he was the immediate commander of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomina. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Evpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on the Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to flood the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use the sailors to defend Sevastopol from land.

Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich

He defeated the Khazar Kaganate, expanded the boundaries of the Russian lands, and successfully fought with the Byzantine Empire.

Voivode M.I. Vorotynsky

Outstanding Russian commander, one of the confidants of Ivan the Terrible, compiler of the charter of the guard and border service

M.D. Skobelev

Why was he called the "white general"? The simplest explanation is a uniform and a white horse. But he was not the only one who wore a white general's military uniform ...

Nestor Makhno, anarchist and leader in memoirs and documents Andreev Alexander Radievich

short biography Nestor Ivanovich Makhno

“To die or to win — this is what the peasantry of Ukraine faces at the present historical moment. But we cannot all die, there are too many of us, we are humanity; therefore we will win. But we will not win so that, following the example of past years, we pass our destiny to the new bosses, but then, in order to take it into our own hands and build our life with our will, our truth. "

Nestor Makhno

"The Makhnovism is a petty-bourgeois revolution, undoubtedly more dangerous than Denikin, Yudenich and Kolchak put together, because we are dealing with a country where the proletariat is a minority."

Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin

Nestor Makhno was born on October 26, 1888 into a family of peasants Ivan Rodionovich and Evdokia Matveyevna Makhno, who lived in the rich South Ukrainian village of Gulyai Pole in the Yekaterinoslav region. The fifth son of the Makhno (Mikhnenko) family was baptized the next day in the Gulyai-Polye Cross-Exaltation Church and recorded in the book of acts of registration of acts of civil status under No. 207.

A half-legend, half-lost, concerning baptism has survived - the priest's robe suddenly caught fire and he predicted that in the future a robber would grow out of Nestor, whom the world had not yet seen. His parents recorded him in 1889, which later saved his life - during the investigation and trial, the death penalty was replaced by hard labor due to his minority.

Nestor's father, who served as a groom and then as a coachman, died a year later - in September 1889. Thanks to the earnings of his older brothers, Nestor entered the Second Gulyai-Polye School, where he studied for several years - it is not known for certain how many classes he finished. No more educational institutions Nestor did not study, he was engaged in self-education.

Since 1900, Nestor has already earned money - he sold bread baked by his mother, worked as a shepherd, in a dye shop, in 1905 he entered Kerner's iron foundry as a laborer.

In September 1906, a group of anarchists, the Union of Poor Farmers, headed by V. Antoni and the Semenyuta brothers, began to operate in Gulyai Pole. Over the course of two years, the group has committed more than 20 expropriations and several political assassinations. Nestor was a member of the group, however, according to the testimony of many researchers, he did not participate in the killings. Despite this, he was detained by the police several times, and after the murder of a police officer and bailiff Karachentsev, who hated Makhno, the future peasant leader was arrested.

On March 22-26, 1910, the Military District Court in Yekaterinoslav tried 17 anarchists and sentenced Nestor, who did not participate in the murders, to death by hanging. Nestor, who had been awaiting execution for 50 days, was saved by the fact that he was not 21 years old - personally P. Stolypin replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment.

In early August 1911, Nestor Makhno was transported in a "Stolypin carriage" to Moscow, to Butyrka, where he spent almost 6 years - until March 2, 1917. Nestor rebelled, argued with the prison authorities, as a result of which he often sat in a punishment cell and was constantly chained. It was in Butyrka that he developed tuberculosis, from which he later died. Makhno, who received the nickname "Modest", has been engaged in self-education all these years.

Freed from prison by the February revolution, Nestor worked for several weeks with anarchists in Moscow and at the end of March 1917 returned to Gulyai Pole, where he got a job as a painter at the Bogatyr plant, formerly Kerner.

In the same spring, Nestor Ivanovich was elected chairman of the peasant union, by August he was the chairman of the Council of Workers 'and Peasants' Deputies in Gulyai Pole, the commissar of the district militia, the chairman of the land committee, the organizer of the "black guard" in veterans returned to his village almost entirely as non-commissioned officers and with awards, who became Makhno's loyal comrades-in-arms. Then in the fall, Nestor Ivanovich destroyed land documents and organized a free distribution of land to the peasants, who remembered this forever.

The October coup of 1917 did not immediately reach Gulyai Pole. Makhno, under the slogan "Death to the Central Rada", which ruled in Ukraine, together with his brother Savva created a "free battalion" and in December 1917, together with the Left SRs and Bolsheviks, fought several echelons of Cossacks marching to the Don to the Ataman Kaledin, an ally of the Central We are glad.

The Central Rada, pressed by the Bolsheviks, signed an agreement with Germany and Austria-Hungary - their troops occupied Ukraine. In March 1918, the Austrian detachment entered Gulyai Pole. Nestor Ivanovich left for Taganrog, visited the Volga region, Tsaritsyn, Saratov, Astrakhan and arrived in Moscow, where he learned that in Ukraine the power of Hetman P. Skoropadsky.

In the summer in Moscow, Nestor Makhno met with the ideologist of anarchism - Prince P. Kropotkin, other anarchist theoreticians, talked and argued with prominent Bolsheviks, with V. Ulyanov-Lenin, Y. Sverdlov, V. Zagorsky.

At the end of June 1918, N. I. Makhno returned to Ukraine and became the organizer of the struggle against the occupiers and the hetman's power. Gathering a dozen like-minded people, Makhno made several attacks on the landowners who supported P. Skoropadsky. After one of the raids, the Makhnovists received a machine gun, which Nestor Ivanovich put on a chaise found in the same place - this is how the famous tachanka appeared, a symbol of the Makhnovshchina, which was subsequently successfully used by the Bolshevik horsemen.

In September 1918, Makhno's detachment, united with the detachment of the sailor F. Shusya, defeated the Austrians in the village of Bolshaya Mikhailovka and received from the villagers the title under which it went down in history - "Batko". Makhno and the Makhnovists in a short period made more than 100 attacks on the Austrian occupiers. The “batka” detachment, which made a successful raid across Pavlograd, Mariupol, Berdyansk districts, was joined by local rebels - the Makhnovists were already several thousand.

In November 1918, Austrian and German troops began to leave Ukraine home - a revolution began in the Kaiser's empire. N. Makhno, after negotiations with S. Petliura, who came to power in Ukraine, which did not lead to an alliance, opposed the Petliurists, and even in December managed to take Yekaterinoslav for a short time.

At the beginning of January 1919, a congress of rebels was held in Pologi - the Makhnovist army, which a month later increased to several tens of thousands of people, was streamlined, the detachments were merged and renamed into regiments, a central headquarters, intelligence and counterintelligence, and a rear service were created. At the same time, the Cossack Ataman Krasnov united with the White Guard A. Denikin - the armed forces of the South of Russia appeared.

On January 4, 1919, the Bolsheviks created the Ukrainian Front - the Red Army, led by sailor P. Dybenko, recaptured Yekaterinoslavshchyna. On January 16, negotiations were held between the Makhnovists and the Bolsheviks - the first alliance was concluded against the White Guards and Petliurists. In mid-February, by order No. 18, the 1st Ukrainian Zadneprovsk division was created under the command of P. Dybenko. NI Makhno became the commander of the 3rd brigade of this division and successfully fought with the whites. Pravda and Izvestia were often written about him, N. Makhno himself met with prominent Bolsheviks - V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko, K. E. Voroshilov, P. E. Dybenko, L. B. Kamenev, A. M Kollontai.

On March 27, 1919, N. Makhno's brigade took the port of Mariupol, capturing 4 million poods of coal, a large amount of ammunition and equipment. According to many historians, brigade commander N. Makhno and his regiment commander V. Kurylenko were among the first in the RSFSR to be awarded the Orders of the Red Banner.

During this period, a large number of anarchists gathered in Gulyai Pole, in particular, members of the Ukrainian anarchist organization "Nabat" created at the end of 1918. Makhno began to publish the newspaper Path to Freedom.

Nestor Ivanovich began conflicts with the Bolsheviks. Despite this, Makhno did not support the anti-Soviet rebellion of Ataman N. Grigoriev, the division commander of the Red Army, who had previously taken Kherson, Nikolaev, and Odessa. By the end of May, the Red Army suppressed the uprising, but N. Grigoriev himself left.

On May 19, the cavalry of the White General A. Shkuro broke through the front at the junction between the division of N. I. Makhno; which became his brigade and the 13th division of the Red Army. Despite the fact that the Reds, fearing the independence and unpredictability of the "father", supplied his soldiers with Italian rifles, which were not suitable for domestic cartridges, the Makhnovists fought with the White Guards for two weeks, refusing to go over to their side. Arrived at the front, Leon Trotsky, who did not take the White offensive seriously, continued the persecution of the Makhnovists begun by H. Rakovsky and ordered the arrest of Makhno, who had refused the post of division commander. All of his commanders said that they would not obey anyone else. The division ceased to exist, and the Southern Front itself collapsed under the blows of Denikin's forces, thanks to the narrow-minded policy of the Bolsheviks.

Despite the fact that Denikin's troops were rushing to Moscow, L. Trotsky and his "comrades-in-arms" tried to "liquidate the Makhnovism in the shortest possible time." Nestor Ivanovich with selected units went to Kherson, where he met with N. Grigoriev. The Reds did not come up with anything better than to deal with the remaining Makhnovists - on June 12, 1919, Chief of Staff Makhno Y. Ozerov with a group was arrested in K. Voroshilov's armored train and all were shot without trial. In response, the Moscow radical anarchists blew up the Bolsheviks led by V. Zagorsky in Leontievsky Lane. The Bolsheviks hated Makhno, but he was already too tough for them.

On July 27, 1919, not far from Kherson, the Makhnovists killed Ataman Grigoriev, and his units went over to Makhno. The newspaper Pravda replied to this with an article - "Makhnovshchina and Grigorievschina", in which it wrote that N. Makhno had left "the arena of political struggle" forever.

On August 17 and later, the Makhnovists Kalashnikov, Dermenzhi, Budanov, and Polonsky's "iron regiment", who remained in the Red Army, were transferred to Nestor Ivanovich. The Denikinites were advancing, and Makhno turned his fifteen thousandth army against them. Nestor Ivanovich said then: "Our main enemy, peasant comrades, is Denikin." Communists are still revolutionaries. We will be able to reckon with them later. "

On September 1, 1919, in the village of Dobrovelichkovka in the Kherson region, the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine was created, consisting of 4 corps, under the command of Nestor Makhno. Three weeks later, in Zhmerinka, an agreement was signed between S. Petliura and N. Makhno on a joint struggle with the Whites. At the end of September, near Uman, the Makhnovists broke through the Denikin front and marched to their rear. During October, N. Makhno's army, the number of which reached 100,000 bayonets, took Aleksandrovsk, Berdyansk, Nikopol, Mariupol, Sinelnikov, Lozovaya. We took Yekaterinoslav and Gulyai Pole. Denikin's army, which went to Moscow, was forced to send its best units against the Makhnovists - Generals Slashchev and Shkuro - the rear, the warehouses that supplied the army, communications - everything was paralyzed. By his actions, N.I.Makhno changed the course of the civil war - the Denikinites, fighting with him, did not reach Moscow.

L. Trotsky, in response to the actions of the Makhnovists, threw a group of I. Yakir at them, demanding to "eradicate partisanship." The Reds even occupied Gulyai Pole. Thanks to this, the Whites were able to re-form and leave for the Crimea, barricaded by Perekop. Nestor Ivanovich fell ill with typhus, the Reds intensified their punitive actions. However, the Makhnovist resistance was such that the leaders of the Bolsheviks openly appealed to the inhabitants of the Yekaterinoslav region with an appeal to kill N. Makhno by means of a terrorist act.

On January 9, 1920, N.I.Makhno was again outlawed by the Reds. The Bolsheviks began to dominate the Ukraine, just as in Russia - the villagers again went to Makhno, reviving his troops, weakened by typhus and constant fighting. Throughout the spring and summer, the Makhnovists raided Bolshevik Ukraine. In the areas where Makhno operated, a dual power actually developed. General Wrangel, who replaced Denikin, took advantage of this.

In September 1920, Wrangel's troops launched an offensive and reached Aleksandrovsk. N. Makhno signed the last agreement with the Bolsheviks on a joint struggle against Wrangel's army. Nestor Ivanovich himself did not take part in the storming of Crimea directly due to a wound in the leg.

In October-November 1920, the Reds, with the help of 10,000 Makhnovists, defeated the Whites and took the Crimea. At the end of November, the commander of the Southern Front, MV Frunze, began the destruction of the Makhnovists, placing barrage detachments at the exit from the Crimean Peninsula - the commander of the Makhnovists, S. Karetnik, was killed, but most of the Makhnovists broke into the steppe. The Reds caught up with them and defeated them near the village of Timashovka.

Parts of the Southern Front on November 26, 1920 surrounded Gulyai Pole, but Batko Makhno managed to leave and break out into the steppe. An almost ten-month struggle began between Nestor Ivanovich and the Red Army. N. Makhno and his detachment of 2,000 bayonets and 100 carts were opposed by 60,000 Red Army men, armored trains, and airplanes.

In December 1920, the detachments of N. Makhno reached the Azov coast. Nestor Ivanovich had an excellent command of the methods of conducting guerrilla warfare and again managed to break through to the operational space.

On January 3, 1921, the Makhnovists captured the famous Red commander - the head of the 14th division A. Parkhomenko with the headquarters and shot him. His peasant army grew to 10,000 men.

Nestor Ivanovich always had accurate information about the number, location, national composition, morale, moods, relations between the Red Army units - thousands of people collaborated with his special services, which worked highly professionally. Makhno himself chose the direction of the main blow. Dad's favorite technique was a raid on the enemy rear. “The simpler the trick, the more often it succeeds,” wrote Denis Davydov, the famous hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. “This is how Makhno acted.

The Bolsheviks, unable to defeat Makhno by military means, intensified their usual terror - executions of peasants who did not surrender their weapons began, rampant searches, indemnities, killed everyone who once served with N.I. Makhno. Batko with the army left for the Dnieper, to the right-bank Ukraine. The Makhnovists fought through the Poltava and Chernigov provinces and returned to their homes.

In the early spring of 1921, Makhnovist detachments operate in the Don, Kuban, in the Voronezh, Tambov, Saratov, and Kharkov provinces. Makhno's army tried to take Kharkov - the capital of the Bolshevik Ukraine, several times patted the Budennovists, but could not get through to the city. At this time, the Bolsheviks abolished "war communism" and introduced the NEP - a new economic policy and scorched earth tactics, destroying or evicting all sympathizers with Nestor Ivanovich. MV Frunze personally spoke out against Makhno. After several bloody battles on the morning of August 28, 1921, Nestor Makhno, with a hundred elite horsemen, broke through the Dnieper into Romania with a fierce battle.

The Romanians interned the Makhnovists; the father himself and his wife Galina Kuzmenko were settled in Budapest. The Bolsheviks demanded his extradition - this was done personally by G. Chicherin and M. Litvinov, but were refused. In February 1922, Dmitry Medvedev, who arrived in Bender, was sent to Romania to assassinate Nestor Ivanovich. He did not find Makhno, killed several representatives of the special services and returned back. In April 1922 N.I.Makhno with his wife and 17 associates moved to Poland and was imprisoned in a concentration camp.

The next day after that, April 12, the Bolsheviks announced an amnesty to all who fought against them in Ukraine. The amnesty did not apply only to seven - P. Skoropadsky, S. Petliura, G. Tyutyunik, P. Wrangel, A. Kutepov, B. Savenkov and N. Makhno. The Bolsheviks several times demanded the extradition of the dad, but they invariably received a refusal. In Poland, his daughter Elena was born.

In May 1923, the prosecutor of the Warsaw District Court opened a criminal case against Makhno, accusing him of preparing an uprising in Western Galicia. N. Makhno, G. Kuzmenko, I. Khmara and Y. Doroshenko were arrested and imprisoned in Warsaw.

On November 27, 1923, the trial of the old man began; whose speech at the court about the essence of the Makhnovshchina as a popular liberation movement, that with his raids behind the Bolsheviks' rear during the Russian-Polish war of 1920, he actually saved Warsaw from being captured by the Reds, made an impression - all the accused were acquitted. Nestor Ivanovich settled in Torun.

There, Nestor Ivanovich openly declared his desire to continue the armed struggle against the Bolsheviks, and at the beginning of 1924 he was exiled to Germany, where he was imprisoned in the Danzig fortress. There, prominent anarchists V. Volin, P. Arshanov and Batko created the Group of Russian Anarchists Abroad, which published the journal Anarchicheskiy Vestnik and Delo Truda.

In 1925 N. Makhno fled from the fortress and moved to France, where he lived in a suburb of Paris - Vincennes - for 9 years. All his brothers by that time had died in battles: Karp with the White Cossacks, Emelyan with the Germans, Grigory with the Denikinites, Savva with the Reds.

In Paris, Nestor Ivanovich and his fellow anarchists worked on the creation of the General Anarchist Union - a world organization capable of acting during the period of the new revolution prophesied by Nestor Ivanovich. The Union Platform was written - a discussion of anarchists around the world began, which continued until 1931.

In 1929, the first volume of Nestor Ivanovich's memoirs, "The Russian Revolution in Ukraine", was published in Paris. The second volume - "Under the blows of the counter-revolution" was published in 1936.

Nestor Ivanovich Makhno died in a Paris hospital on July 5, 1934 and was buried in the Père-la-Chaise cemetery.

The memory of Makhno did not disappear into history - on May 1, 1990, during a demonstration on Red Square, a column of many thousands with black anarchist banners marched - the leaders of the Soviet Union left the festive rostrum - this was no longer their country. The mysterious father Makhno has gone down in history forever as one of the main characters in the period of the revolution and the civil war of 1917-1921.

In the fall of 1997, a memorial plaque dedicated to Nestor Ivanovich Makhno was unveiled in Gulyai Pole.

V. Volkovinsky

Nestor Makhno

Nestor Ivanovich Makhno is one of the most interesting and unique personalities in the history of Ukraine during the period of revolution and civil war. An exponent of the interests of the broad masses of the peasantry in the south of the country, he fought with almost all the authorities and regimes that existed in that difficult and harsh period.

Fighting against the troops of A. Kaledin, Central Rada, P. Skoropadsky, S. Petlyura, A. Denikin, P. Wrangel, N. Grigoriev, Austro-German troops and the Entente - either independently or on the side of Soviet power - N. Makhno made a significant contribution to the defeat of the combined forces of the external and internal revolution, and consequently to the establishment and strengthening of the Bolshevik power. And at the same time, with his propaganda directed against socialist transformations, his many years of bloody struggle against the Red Army, he not only caused significant harm to the world's first power of the dictatorship of the proletariat, but also greatly helped its numerous enemies. Speaking the truth, Nestor Makhno fought with the Soviet regime in a chivalrous manner, one-on-one, never standing under someone else's banners. This legendary peasant ataman, who was lovingly called by the people "Batko", each time turned his weapon against those who at that moment created the greatest threat to the peasantry, signed a treaty with the Soviet regime three times and violated it three times, converged with the anarchist confederation Nabat and broke off relations with her when she changed her attitude towards the villagers.

Therefore, the illogical and mysterious actions and actions of Nestor Makhno evoked admiration and surprise in some, and irritation and hatred in others.

The organs of the Cheka-OGPU, which closely followed the emigration and destroyed the most dangerous enemies of Soviet power, treated N. Makhno quite calmly, especially since the "batko" was an excellent discrediting of I. Stalin's mortal enemy - L. Trotsky, who during the civil During the war, he commanded the Red Army and was unable to successfully use the brigade commander N. Makhno in the struggle against the enemies of the dictatorship of the proletariat. In addition, his health deteriorated all the time, and on July 5, 1934, he died in a hospital in Paris. Anarchists from all over the world came to N. Makhno's funeral.

In March 1945, in Germany, N. Makhno's wife and daughter, Galina Kuzmenko and Elena, were arrested by the NKVD and sentenced to 8 and 5 years in prison, respectively. After Stalin's death, they were released and lived and worked in the city of Dzhambul (Kazakhstan) until the end of their days.

Translated from Ukrainian by A. Andreev

We must give the Makhnovists for their heroic struggle against the Hetman, Petliura, Denikin, Wrangel units, in many ways this struggle coincided with the actions of the Red Army. It is necessary to understand and comprehend the reasons that pushed the huge masses of the peasantry into the anti-Soviet struggle. The Makhnovshchina is not alone here, it is becoming unified with Kronstadt, with the Antonovshchina, with the uprisings in Western Siberia, the Don, and the Kuban. All this is closely related to the history of the Civil War and "War Communism".

The Makhnovist movement is one of the concrete manifestations of the revolution and the Civil War. Its true display is possible only in the context of these large and significant phenomena. Without them, it loses its real appearance. The uncompromising struggle with the Whites, alliances with the Reds testified to the fact that the Makhnovist movement completely identified itself with the revolution. The latter statement can also be traced back to a kind of Makhnovist ideology. It, like the ideology of insurrection in general, is quite simple and expressed in slogans. Let us recall some of the bottom: "For the exploited against the exploiters", "Get out of the White Guard bastard", "For free Soviets", "Get out of the communes", "For Soviets without communists."

It is no coincidence that this movement was headed by Nestor Makhno. Nature has generously endowed this man with talents. One can guess what heights he could achieve in military affairs if there was an opportunity to develop natural data by systematic education, perhaps Makhno would have achieved no less success in the political field, although most of all he dreamed of the usual - his own agriculture... "Batko" never separated himself from the peasant environment, and here, probably, the secret of his incredible popularity is hidden. For the villagers, it was simple, accessible and understandable.

Makhno represented the type of the people's leader, born of the explosion of the peasant elements. Impulsive, sharp-witted in a peasant way, at the same time a tyrant and a slave of the elements, which raised him to the crest of glory, he absorbed all the characteristic features of a rebel. His personality has certainly left a strong imprint on the nature of the movement. Only not enough to portray Makhno as only a dictator. The dictatorship in the Makhnovshchina is nonsense, caused by a complete lack of understanding of the essence of the movement. The word "dad" was weighty, but not the only one and not always decisive.

In the history of the Civil War, there is hardly any other figure besides Makhno, around whom so many myths and legends would arise.

Reprinted by edition:

VF Verstyuk "Makhnovshchina", K, 1991

Translated from Ukrainian by A. Andreev.

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Name: Makhno Nestor Ivanovich

State: Russian empire

Field of activity: Army, politics

Greatest achievement: He headed the anarchist movement. During the Civil War, he fought on the side of the Whites, although he did not share their views.

The beginning of the 20th century in Russia was marked by upcoming changes in the life of the state and citizens. Of course, no one could have imagined that a powerful empire would get involved in a war with Japan, then take part in the First World War, and in the end the autocracy would fall under the pressure of two revolutions of 1917 - the February and October, and then the bloody civil war. It was they who presented the fading empire with many prominent political figures who began their journey as revolutionaries. One of them is Nestor Makhno.

The beginning of the way

Nestor Ivanovich Makhno was born in the village of Gulyai-Pole in Ukraine on October 27, 1889. In addition to him, four sons and a daughter were growing up in the family. A year after the birth of Nestor, his father died. When the boy was seven years old, he began his working career on the farm, caring for cows and sheep owned by farmers. As a teenager, Nestor changed several professions - he was both a seller in a merchant's shop and a worker in a paint shop, even managed to work at an iron foundry.

In 1906, at the age of 17, Makhno joined the peasant group of anarcho-communists. So he first got acquainted with revolutionary ideas and was completely imbued with them. This association was known for terrorizing the entire Gulyai-Pole. A series of arrests began for the members of the group. Nestor Makhno did not escape this fate either. His first arrest was connected with illegal possession of weapons - then the future revolutionary got off easily. He was released. However, Nestor could no longer be stopped.

Soon he is accused of killing the guards of the prison in which he was held. This was followed by a violent death at the hands of a major local official. For these crimes, Makhno was sentenced to capital punishment - hanging. But due to his young age (at the time of the crimes he was 19-20 years old), the execution was replaced by indefinite hard labor. Makhno was transported to Moscow, to the convict department of the legendary Butyrka.

At first, Nestor was in solitary confinement, then he was placed with the then-famous anarchist Pyotr Arshinov. We can say that Arshinov became Makhno's teacher. He introduced the young comrade in misfortune to the doctrine of Bakunin and Kropotkin. She described the details and tasks of the anarchist movement beginning in the mid-19th century. Note that the theses proposed by Bakunin and Kropotkin became a kind of guiding light for Makhno, who sought to remake the old order in the country and establish new, more just (in his opinion, of course).

The government did not plan to release Nestor to freedom, but fate decreed otherwise - in 1917, after the emperor's abdication, all political prisoners, including Makhno, were released. The revolutionary himself recalled: “There can be no doubt that the release of all political prisoners from prisons was carried out with the help of workers and peasants who took to the streets in protest. The tsarist government, backed by the aristocracy, sought to hide these prisoners in damp dungeons in order to deprive the masses of leaders who could lead them to a just protest against state arbitrariness. However, the revolution put everything in its place. The protesting workers and peasants were free. And I am one of them. "

After his release from prison, Makhno did not stay in Moscow and returned to his native village, where he became chairman of the Council of Peasants and Workers. However, not only the economic issue occupied the young revolutionary - along the way, he created a gang of the same desperate thugs as he was, in order to wipe out the aristocracy in those lands. From this moment, his partisan path begins.

Makhno becomes the leader of Ukrainian revolutionaries

At the beginning of 1918, Russia made an attempt to get out of the war. She marks herself. Then the German army immediately occupied the territory of Ukraine. Nestor understood that it was necessary to survive the enemy from his native lands, but his "army" was too weak and disorganized at the proper level to provide a worthy resistance to the Germans. Makhno hides in the woods and then comes to Moscow.

Here the Ukrainian revolutionary meets with the leader of the Bolsheviks. The leader of the proletariat did not have warm feelings and sympathy for the anarchists, considering them to be more destroyers. However, Makhno himself did not agree with this interpretation - in his opinion, the anarchists were realists and understood what to do to improve life in young Soviet Russia. Returning a few months later to Ukraine (which was still occupied by foreign invaders), Nestor begins robbery raids on the estates and lands of local aristocrats.

Under his black banner (a symbol of anarchy), many partisan detachments united. In the villages they met no resistance, they were given horses and food. Their attacks were notable for their surprise and speed. If they managed to attack the military garrisons, the detachments used the equipment of the invaders to sneak into the enemy's camp unnoticed in order to find out about the plans or shoot at point-blank range.

Stunning fame begins to circulate about Makhno. Isaac Babel, a political worker of the Red Army in Ukraine, recalled that his unit was elusive. They could disguise themselves as any inhabitant. For example, a wedding procession on its way to the regional executive committee could suddenly open fire. This explains the extraordinary popularity of Nestor - thousands of people joined his troops.

It soon ended, and foreign legions left the territory of Ukraine. Nestor Makhno becomes a national hero. Among the residents of his native village (and nearby territories), there was an opinion that the leader of the anarchists was invincible, he was never wounded in battles. Although this was not true - while still in prison, he undermined his health, falling ill with tuberculosis. Then there were numerous injuries - serious and minor.

Makhno and the Civil War

Despite the complete and unconditional victory of the Bolsheviks in the revolution, the former aristocracy was not going to surrender their positions. Thus began the confrontation between the "white" and "red" - the Civil War. Nestor played one of the key roles in it. In 1919, he concludes an agreement with the Bolsheviks on joint actions against the general. But Lenin did not trust the anarchists too much. Soon, the commander of the Red Army was ordered to arrest Makhno. In addition to fighting Denikin, Nestor confronted the young. At first, luck was on the side of the Makhnovist partisans - they were real professionals in confusing the enemy and covering up their tracks.

In 1920, Trotsky offered to release all anarchists from prisons in exchange for Makhno's help against the general. But he did not keep his word - after the victory over the "whites" the partisans were outlawed and shot. Makhno, suffering from wounds, tried to get to the borders of Ukraine. Finally he succeeded - he ended up on the territory of Romania, where he was immediately arrested. The escape attempt was successful, and Nestor moved to Poland, where he again fell into the hands of the authorities and was imprisoned in Danzig. A little later he was allowed to move to Paris.

The last years of Makhno's life

The former Ukrainian revolutionary settled in a suburb of Paris - Vincennes, but the long-awaited freedom did not bring him happiness - Nestor missed his native village. He increasingly spoke about the desire to return home in order to continue the struggle for equality and justice. Last years the lives of the hero of the civil war were spent in poverty, obscurity. Nestor Makhno died of tuberculosis on July 6, 1935 and was buried in the Parisian cemetery of Pere Lachaise.

November 7 (October 26) 1888, 130 years ago, was born Nestor Ivanovich Makhno - one of the most controversial and controversial figures during the Civil War. For someone a ruthless bandit, for someone - a fearless peasant leader, Nestor Makhno most fully personified that terrible era.

Today Gulyaypole is a small town in the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine, and at the time, which will be discussed below, it was still a village, albeit a large one. Founded in the 1770s to protect against attacks by the Crimean Khanate, Gulyaypole developed rapidly. Gulyaypole was inhabited by different people - Little Russians, Poles, Jews, Greeks. The father of the future leader of the anarchists, Ivan Rodionovich Makhno, came from enslaved Cossacks, worked as a shepherd for different owners. Ivan Makhno and his wife Evdokia Matveyevna, nee Perederiy, had six children - daughter Elena and sons Polycarp, Savely, Emelyan, Grigory and Nestor. The family lived very poorly, and the next year after the birth of Nestor, in 1889, Ivan Makhno died.

Nestor Makhno spent his childhood and adolescence in deep poverty, if not poverty. Since they fell during the heyday of revolutionary sentiments in Russia, revolutionary propaganda also fell on the natural dissatisfaction with their social position and the established order of things.

In Gulyaypole, as in many others settlements Little Russia, a circle of anarchists appeared. It was headed by two people - Voldemar Antoni, a Czech by birth, and Alexander Semenyuta. Both of them were slightly older than Nestor - Anthony was born in 1886, and Semenyuta in 1883. The everyday experience of both "founding fathers" of Gulyaypole anarchism was then more abrupt than that of the young Makhno. Anthony managed to work at the factories of Yekaterinoslav, and Semenyuta managed to defect from the army. They created in Gulyaypole the Union of Poor Farmers, an underground group that proclaimed itself anarchist communists. The group eventually included about 50 people, among whom was the unremarkable peasant boy Nestor Makhno.
The activities of the Union of Poor Farmers - Gulyaypole peasant group of anarchist communists fell on 1906-1908. These were the "peak" years for Russian anarchism. Gulyaypole anarchists took an example from other similar groups - they were engaged not only in propaganda among peasant and artisan youth, but also in expropriations. It was this activity that brought Makhno, as they would say now, "under the article."

At the end of 1906 he was arrested for the first time - for illegal possession of weapons, and on October 5, 1907, he was again detained - this time for a serious crime - the attempt on the life of the village guards Bykov and Zakharov. After spending some time in the Aleksandrovskaya district prison, Nestor was released. However, on August 26, 1908, Nestor Makhno was arrested for the third time. He was accused of the murder of an official of the military administration and on March 22, 1910 by the Odessa military court, Nestor Makhno was sentenced to death.

If Nestor had been a little older at the time of the crime, he could have been executed. But since Makhno committed a crime as a minor, the death penalty was replaced by indefinite hard labor, and in 1911 he was transferred to the convict department of the Butyrka prison in Moscow.
The years spent on the "rooftop" became a real life university for Makhno.

It was in prison that Nestor took up self-education under the guidance of his cellmate, the famous anarchist Pyotr Arshinov. This moment is shown in the famous TV series "Nine Lives of Nestor Makhno", but only there Arshinov is depicted as an elderly man. In fact, Pyotr Arshinov was almost the same age as Nestor Makhno - he was born in 1886, but, despite his working background, he knew literacy, history, and the theory of anarchism well. However, while studying, Makhno did not forget about the protests - he regularly clashed with the prison administration, ended up in a punishment cell, where he contracted pulmonary tuberculosis. This disease tormented him for the rest of his life.

Nestor Makhno spent six years in Butyrka prison before he was released in connection with the general amnesty for political prisoners that followed the February Revolution of 1917. Actually, the February Revolution opened the way for Nestor Makhno to all-Russian glory. Three weeks after his release, he returned to his native Gulyaypole, from where the gendarmes took him away by a 20-year-old boy, already an adult man with a nine-year prison term behind him. The poor greeted Nestor warmly - he was one of the few surviving members of the Union of Poor Farmers. Already on March 29, Nestor Makhno headed the steering committee of the Gulyaypole Peasant Union, and then became the chairman of the Council of Peasant and Soldier's Deputies.

Quite quickly, Nestor managed to create a combat-ready detachment of young anarchists, which began to expropriate the property of wealthy fellow villagers. In September 1917, Makhno carried out the confiscation and nationalization of the landowners' lands. However, on January 27 (February 9), 1918, in Brest-Litovsk, a delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada signed a separate peace with Germany and Austria-Hungary, after which they turned to them for help in the fight against the revolution. Soon German and Austro-Hungarian troops appeared on the territory of the Yekaterinoslav region.

Realizing that the anarchists from the Gulyaypole detachment would not be able to resist the regular armies, Makhno retreated to the territory of the modern Rostov region - to Taganrog. Here he disbanded his detachment, and he went on a trip to Russia, having visited Rostov-on-Don, Saratov, Tambov and Moscow. In the capital, Makhno held several meetings with prominent anarchist ideologists - Alexei Borov, Lev Cherny, Juda Grossman, and also met, which was even more important for him, with the leaders of the government of Soviet Russia - Yakov Sverdlov, Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin himself. Apparently, even then the Bolshevik leadership understood that Makhno was far from being as simple as it seems. Otherwise, Yakov Sverdlov would not have organized his meeting with Lenin.

It was with the assistance of the Bolsheviks that Nestor Makhno returned to Ukraine, where he began organizing partisan resistance to the Austro-German invaders and the Central Rada regime they supported. Quite quickly, Nestor Makhno from the leader of a small partisan detachment turned into the commander of an entire rebel army. Detachments of other anarchist field commanders joined Makhno's formation, including the detachment of Theodosius Shchus, an equally popular anarchist "batka" at that time, a former naval sailor, and the detachment of Viktor Belash, a professional revolutionary, leader of the Novospasov group of anarchist communists.

At first, the Makhnovists acted using partisan methods. They attacked Austrian patrols, small detachments of the hetman's Warta, and plundered landlord estates. By November 1918, the number of Makhno's insurgent army had already reached 6 thousand people, which allowed the anarchists to act more decisively. In addition, in November 1918, the monarchy fell in Germany, and the withdrawal of the occupation troops from the territory of Ukraine began. In turn, the regime of Hetman Skoropadsky, relying on Austrian and German bayonets, was in a state of complete decline. Having lost external support, members of the Central Rada did not know what to do. This was used by Nestor Makhno, who established control over the Gulyaypole district.

The number of the insurgent army by the beginning of 1919 was already about 50 thousand people. The Bolsheviks hurried to conclude an agreement with the Makhnovists, who needed such a powerful ally in the conditions of the activation of the troops of General A.I. Denikin on the Don and the Petliura offensive in the Ukraine. In mid-February 1919, Makhno signed an agreement with the Bolsheviks, according to which, on February 21, 1919, the insurgent army became part of the 1st Zadneprovskaya Ukrainian Soviet division of the Ukrainian Front in the status of the 3rd Zadneprovskaya brigade. At the same time, the Makhnovist army retained internal autonomy - this was one of the main conditions for cooperation with the Bolsheviks.

Nevertheless, Makhno's relationship with the Reds did not work out. When in May 1919 the Whites broke through the defenses and broke into the Donbass, Leon Trotsky declared Makhno “outlawed”. This decision put an end to the alliance of the Bolsheviks and the Gulyaypole anarchists. In mid-July 1919, Makhno headed the Revolutionary Military Council of the United Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (RPAU), and when his rival and adversary ataman Grigoriev was killed, he took over as commander-in-chief of the RPAU.

Throughout 1919, Makhno's army fought against both the Whites and the Petliurists. On September 1, 1919, Makhno proclaimed the creation of the "Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (Makhnovists)", and when Yekaterinoslav was occupied by him, Makhno began building an anarchist republic. Of course, Batka Makhno's experiment can hardly be called successful from a socio-economic point of view - in the conditions of the Civil War, incessant hostilities against several opponents, it was very difficult to deal with any economic issues.

But nevertheless, the social experiment of the Makhnovists became one of the few attempts to "materialize" the anarchist idea of ​​a powerless society. In fact, there was certainly power in Gulyaypole. And this power was no less tough than the tsarist or the Bolsheviks - in fact, Nestor Makhno was a dictator who had extraordinary powers and was free to do as he wanted at a particular moment. Probably, it was impossible otherwise in those conditions. Makhno tried as best he could. to maintain discipline - severely punished subordinates for looting and anti-Semitism, although in some cases he could easily give the estates to plunder to his soldiers.

The Bolsheviks were able to take advantage of the Makhnovists once again - when liberating the Crimean peninsula from the Whites. By agreement with the Reds, Makhno sent up to 2.5 thousand of his soldiers to storm Perekop under the command of Semyon Karetnik, one of his closest associates. But as soon as the Makhnovists helped the Reds break through to the Crimea, the Bolshevik leadership quickly decided to get rid of the dangerous allies. Machine-gun fire was opened on Karetnik's detachment, only 250 fighters managed to survive, who returned to Gulyaypole and told the dad about everything. Soon, the command of the Red Army demanded that Makhno redeploy his army to the South Caucasus, but the dad did not obey this order and began to retreat from Gulyaypole.

On August 28, 1921, Nestor Makhno, accompanied by a detachment of 78 people, crossed the border with Romania in the Yampol region. All Makhnovists were immediately disarmed by the Romanian authorities and placed in a special camp. At that time, the Soviet leadership unsuccessfully demanded that Makhno and his associates extradite from Bucharest. While the Romanians were negotiating with Moscow, Makhno, along with his wife Galina and 17 associates, managed to escape to neighboring Poland. Here they also ended up in an internment camp and met with a very unfriendly attitude from the Polish leadership. Only in 1924, thanks to the connections of the Russian anarchists who lived abroad at that time, Nestor Makhno and his wife received permission to leave for neighboring Germany.

In April 1925, they settled in Paris, at the apartment of the artist Jean (Ivan) Lebedev, a Russian émigré and an active participant in the Russian and French anarchist movement. During his stay with Lebedev, Makhno mastered the simple craft of weaving slippers and began to earn a living by doing this. Yesterday's rebel commander, who kept the whole of Little Russia and Novorossia in fear, lived practically in poverty, barely earning his living. Nestor continued to suffer from a serious illness - tuberculosis. Numerous wounds received during the Civil War also made themselves felt.

But, despite his health condition, Nestor Makhno continued to maintain contacts with local anarchists, regularly participated in the events of French anarchist organizations, including May Day demonstrations. It is known that when the anarchist movement intensified in Spain in the early 1930s, the Spanish revolutionaries called Makhno to come and become one of the leaders. But health did not allow the Gulyaypole daddy to take up arms again.

July 6 (according to other sources - July 25) 1934 Nestor Makhno died in a hospital in Paris from bone tuberculosis. On July 28, 1934, his body was cremated, and an urn with ashes was walled up in the wall of the columbarium of the Pere Lachaise cemetery. His wife Galina and daughter Elena subsequently returned to the Soviet Union, lived in Dzhambul Kazakh SSR... Nestor Makhno's daughter Elena Mikhnenko died in 1992.

The extraordinary and controversial figure of Batka Makhno has recently attracted more and more close attention of Soviet historians and publicists. In the works that appeared during the period of perestroika, albeit briefly, the very course of the Makhnovist movement and the biography of its leader were already indicated. However, in our opinion, it requires a serious addition.
Nestor Ivanovich Makhno was born on October 27, 1889 in the village of Gulyai-Pole in the Aleksandrovsky district of the Yekaterinoslav province (now the village of Gulyai-Pole is the regional center of the Zaporozhye region) into a poor peasant family. Having lost his father early and being the last, fifth child in the family, N. Makhno from the age of seven began to help his mother: herding cows and sheep of wealthy peasants, was a laborer, a painter, etc. Having entered the parish school from the age of 8, he graduated from it at the age of 12
N.I. Makhno early joined the revolutionary and rebellious activities and during 1906-1908. participated in a number of terrorist acts and expropriations as a member of the Gulyai-Polish group "Free Union of Anarchists-Grain Growers" (in the indictment of the Odessa Military District Court, it is called "Peasant Group of Anarchists-Communists"). At this time, the well-known anarchists Alexander Semenyuta and Voldemar Aitoni had a significant influence on Makhno, through whom the Gulyai-Polye group was associated with the Yekaterinoslav anarchists.
After a whole series of terrorist acts of expropriation, the group came to the attention of the police and, with the help of the provocateur Kushnir, was arrested, with the exception of Semenyuta, Antoni and Olkhov, who had fled abroad. Many of those under investigation confessed their guilt, but Makhno, despite all the incriminating materials, stood firm and did not plead guilty. All 15 members of the Gulyai-Polye group of anarchists, by order of the commander of the troops of the Odessa district, were brought before the military district court and after hearing their case in the temporary military court in Yekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk) in 1910 were sentenced to hard labor under a number of articles on different terms. N.I. Makhno received 20 years of hard labor, which he served first in the Yekaterinoslavskaya prison, and most of them in the Moscow central transit prison (Butyrki). According to the historiographer Makhno P. Arshinov, he was engaged in self-education in prison, studied Russian grammar, mathematics, Russian literature, history, political economy, and so on. P. Arshinov himself, who at one time was a member of the Bolshevik Party, and from 1906 became an anarchist and was actively involved in revolutionary activities in the city of Yekaterinoslav, also exerted a significant influence on Makhno. Having committed a number of terrorist acts, and being arrested, Arshinov fled from the Alexander prison abroad, but was again arrested in Austria-Hungary and extradited to the tsarist government. He also received 20 years in hard labor. In 1911, Mr .. met in Butyrki with Makhno and later for many years, only with some interruptions, was next to Nestor, exerting a strong influence on him. Both Makhno and Arshinov were liberated by the revolutionary masses on March 2, 1917, i.e. immediately after the victory of the February Revolution.
After spending a short time in Moscow, N.I. Makhno went home to Gulyai-Pole, where, being one of the few political prisoners, he found himself in the center of the seething revolutionary processes and, at the request of his fellow villagers, was elected head of the peasant union and the local peasant council. In the fall of 1917, he drives out the administration of the Provisional Government from the volost and takes part in the battles for the establishment of Soviet power in the city of Aleksandrovsk. As a representative of the Gulyai-Polye Revolutionary Committee, he takes part in the All-Don conference of Revolutionary Committees and Soviets, convened by the decision of the Bureau of the Military-Revolutionary Committees of Donbass in January 1918. After the occupation of Ukraine by Austro-German troops in the summer of 1918, Makhno arrived in Moscow, where, in addition to meeting with anarchists and discussing the situation in the country with them, he had a conversation with V.I. Makhno himself, he was interested in his story about the agrarian reforms in Gulyai-Pole. Not having received satisfaction from the Moscow meetings and exchange of views with both the anarchists and the Bolsheviks, N.I. Makhno returns to his native village again and creates a small partisan detachment to fight the invaders. Soon after a series of successful battles, during which Makhno showed remarkable organizational skills, military leader talent and courage, he, according to the old tradition of the Zaporozhye Kazakhs, was elected by the partisans "father". A little later, after his detachment grows in number and practically liberates a significant territory of the Yekaterinoslav province, he, at the request of the underground Yekaterinoslav Provincial Committee of the Bolshevik Party and the Revolutionary Committee, will be appointed commander of the rebel troops of the Yekaterinoslav region. In the course of fierce battles with the Petliurists and the defeat of the 7,000th garrison of the city, the rebels under the command of Makhno managed to liberate Yekaterinoslav for several days, but due to the weakness of the forces and mistakes of the commander himself, the city had to be abandoned. The rebels and workers of Yekaterinoslav suffered significant losses during the retreat.
Makhno's life at the height of the civil war, i.e. From the end of 1918 to August 1921 (before the flight to Romania) the most detailed, even in detail, is currently covered in the press, therefore we will characterize this period of Makhno's biography very briefly and pay more attention to the still little studied time spent by the "father" Abroad.
After the invasion of General Denikin's troops into Ukraine and their approach to the areas of the Makhnovist movement, the insurgent detachments of the Azov region, most of which joined Makhno, becoming objectively an ally of the Red Army, merged into the 2nd Ukrainian Army as a separate Zadneprovskaya brigade, and later the 7th Ukrainian divisions, retaining elective command and internal independence. The authority of "batka" Makhno at this time reached simply incredible heights in the eyes of the rebels and the majority of the population of southern Ukraine, he became a legendary figure.
Recently published works indicate that for the victory over the troops of Denikin N.I. Makhno was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, but the silence about this by Makhno himself, as well as by historiographers-anarchists, requires documentary confirmation of this fact of the biography. Be that as it may, the already fame of Makhno has stepped far across the territory of Ukraine, he became the hero of a number of very controversial publications in the Soviet press of that time. The question of Makhno's break with the Soviet regime and the beginning of the struggle against it in May 1919 requires a separate, very thorough discussion. It should only be said that this was caused by a combination of a number of objective and subjective reasons, among which the actions of the Soviet leadership, in particular L.D. Trotsky, who did not trust both the revolutionary peasantry as a whole and its leaders.
In the conditions of the unfolding struggle on two fronts (against the Whites and the Reds), "Batko" Makhno managed to retain the core of his army, and by the fall of 1919, while fighting in the deep rear of the Whites, he sharply increased its strength, bringing the number of his troops to 50 thousand, and according to other sources up to 80 thousand people. At the same time, Makhno's army played an exceptional role in the defeat of Denikin's troops by making an unparalleled sudden raid on the White Guard rear and creating for some time a region free from both Whites and Reds with cities: Yekaterinoslav, Aleksandrovsk, Mariupol, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Nikolaev and the surrounding countryside. This circumstance seriously affected the weakening of the pressure of the whites on Moscow and contributed to their defeat.
Close interaction and alliance of the troops of the Red Army with the insurgent army of Makhno did not work out this time either. The enmity and mistrust sown in the summer of 1919 prevailed again. The fact that most of the Makhnovists, including "Batko" himself, were sick with typhus also played a role. The insurgent army considered its task in the defeat of Denikin's regime fulfilled. Local peasants went home, some of the soldiers voluntarily joined the ranks of the Red Army, some were disarmed and arrested. The order of the Makhnovist army to move to the area of ​​Kovel, issued by the Revolutionary Military Council of the 14th Army, to fight against the White Poles, as well as feuds in the leadership of the Makhnovist Revolutionary Military Council, which led to the arrest of its chairman, anarchist V. Volin, contributed to the complete collapse of the rebels. Makhno himself, being seriously ill, could not influence the course of events in any way and was taken from Aleksandrovsk to Gulyai-Pole, where, with only a few hundred of his loyal associates, after a while, he again entered into a fierce battle with the Soviet government, which 9 January 1920 announced N.I. Makhno and his associates are outlawed. Senseless mutual enmity and cruelty led to numerous casualties on both sides and turned the Makhnovshchina into a reactionary movement, but even in this situation, a new military alliance between Makhno and the Red Army was concluded in October 1920 for a joint struggle against General Wrangel. The union became a kind of compromise for both sides, which they were well aware of, and could not last long. After the participation of a small number of Makhnovists (about 1.5-2 thousand people) in operations to liberate Crimea (Makhno did not participate in them, as he was being treated for further wounds, and in just three years of the civil war he was wounded 12 times) began a new stage in the struggle of Soviet power against the Makhnovshchina. Despite the fact that about 3/4 of all the forces of the Red Army that took part in the defeat of General Wrangel were thrown against Makhno, the "batko" withstood an unprecedented onslaught, and, even more bitter, continued the struggle, rapidly moving across many regions of Ukraine and southern Russia ... Only on August 28, 1921 N.I.Makhno and a small group of his associates near the city of Yampol crossed the Dniester and ended up on the territory of Romania.
During the years of the civil war, the character of both the insurrectionary movement of the Ukrainian peasants and N.I. Makhno. His behavior was influenced by the influence of the anarchists, and the long years of hard labor, and the cruelty and horrors of the civil war - one of the bloodiest in world history. Left their mark and glory, which turned the head of more than one Makhno, and selfless devotion, to self-sacrifice for the sake of the chieftain, the mass of ordinary rebels, as well as a number of other factors that formed the complex and contradictory nature of one of the most mysterious figures in our history.
Especially negatively reflected on the character of Makhno, in the opinion of the well-known anarchist, comrade-in-arms of the "father" I. Teper (Gordeev), the influence of the so-called "hurray-anarchists" in the initial period of the Makhnovist movement. Once in Ukraine, they, as I. Teper pointed out, used their positions "... to destroy someone else's" property "(but everyone considered it necessary to acquire their own treasures, which must have consisted of gold, diamonds and many other precious things). they, as pure anarchists, rejected and instituted the institutions of polygamy, that is, each acquired a harem of prostitutes. The entire area of ​​action of the "Makhnovia" was declared "grape." No one could flatter him so eloquently, sing praises so solemnly as these “anarchic prostitutes.” And Nestor, a man of strong will, brave, courageous, was struck by a special megalomaniac and colossally tended to flattery, which was the main reason for the influence of these gentlemen and his moral fall "[b].
The purely external characterization given by Makhno by his contemporaries will also be curious. Here is what M. Sukhogorskaya wrote: “He looked unprepossessing: short, narrow-shouldered with fair-haired, cropped, smooth hair under a pot and a kind of flat, slightly ape-like face. uniform, a saber dangled from his side. In general, he reminded me then of a police officer. Makhno would not have made any impression if it were not for his gaze. At first I thought that only I was getting scared when he looked at me with his gray, cold , with steel, downright hypnotizing eyes, but then it turned out that the most inveterate Makhnovist robbers could not stand this look and began to tremble with a small shiver. "
And here is another version of the characterization of Makhno's appearance: "Small in stature, with an earthy yellow, uncleanly shaven face, with sunken cheeks, with black hair falling in long strands on his shoulders, in a black woolen jacket pair, a ram hat and high boots - Makhno resembled a disguised At first impression, this is a man with tuberculosis, but not a formidable and cruel chieftain, around whose name bloody legends are intertwined. changing expressions neither with a rare smile, nor with the delivery of the most severe orders - eyes, as if knowing everything and ending all doubts once and for all - cause an unaccountable shudder in everyone who had to meet with him, and give a completely different character to his appearance and a frail figure, in reality extremely hardy and persistent.Makhno is a man of will, impulse, passion, which Chenot boil in him, which he tries to restrain with an iron effort under a cold and cruel mask. "
This is how, and even being severely wounded, N.I. Makhno and his small entourage entered the Romanian land and surrendered to the local authorities. The governments of Soviet Russia and Ukraine, in a note to the government of boyar Romania dated September 20, 1921, demanded the extradition of Makhno, but received no response. In Romania, Makhno was imprisoned in a concentration camp. Many of his old comrades-in-arms could not get used to life in the new conditions and returned to their homeland with guilt, since there was an amnesty for all participants in the insurrectionary movement. Among those who returned to Ukraine: the former chief of the Makhnovist headquarters Viktor Belash, the well-known Makhnovist commanders Kurilnikov, Lezetchenko, Lesovik and others. Leva Zadov (Zinkovsky) also returned, and after some time became an employee of the NKVD. Judging by the reports of the foreign press, Makhno, together with his wife Galina Kuzmenko and seventeen comrades, escaped from the camp and allegedly tried to get into the Ukraine to resume the struggle against Soviet power. This escape failed. All the fugitives were arrested by the Romanian gendarmerie and returned to the camp. Fearing extradition to the Bolsheviks, Makhno, already with the consent of the Romanian authorities, on April 11, 1922, together with 11 of his comrades, fled to Poland, where he and his companions were immediately interned in the Strzhaltava camp. In November 1923, the Warsaw District Court heard the case against N.I. Makhno, his wife Galina Kuzmenko and comrades-in-arms of "Batka" Ivan Khmara and Yakov Domashchenko in their alleged attempts to establish contact with the Soviet mission in Warsaw in order to be released from the camp. Instead, the Poles believed, Makhno proposed organizing an armed uprising in Eastern Galicia with the aim of separating this territory from Poland. Despite a number of testimonies and material evidence, the court, after five days of hearings, issued an acquittal to all 4 defendants. Released from the Warsaw fortress N.I. Makhno and his wife moved to Danzig, where they were again awaited by prison and a new escape to France. From Paris on April 16, 1923 N.I. Makhno sent a letter to his friends, in which, in particular, he wrote: "After such wanderings, I now find myself in Paris, among foreign people and among political enemies with whom I fought so much. Ahead I have only one task - to get to my native place. Oh, if I succeeded, I would be happy, and without hesitation, I would again enter into a bloody struggle against the oppressors of the people and freedom. About my feelings: they are unchanged, I still love my people and thirst for work and meeting with them. "
To this day, all kinds of rumors are spread that during the war, Makhno left in Ukraine the treasures he buried, where significant treasures were collected, obtained in the course of continuous battles and campaigns. They wrote about this during the years of the civil war. There are publications on this subject in our time. Judging by one of them, the peasants once accidentally found one of the many treasures of Makhno, who, having learned about this, not without the help of the Chekists, sent his emissary to his homeland. As a result, undertaken by the Chekists, headed by D.N. Medvedev measures the country returned over one hundred and fifty kilograms of gold coins, precious stones and gold products. Some of the items found were of great historical value. Judging by the way N.I. Makhno in Paris, writer L. Nikulin, it is unlikely that the "father" had significant funds: "... everything on him looked like a white emigrant abandoned in Paris: a gray faded three-piece suit from a department store, a cherry-red tie, a raincoat with a sweaty collar and a rumpled felt hat. He was trimmed by a hedgehog. A deep scar crossed his face from the right from mouth to ear. He limped slightly, at times looked around anxiously. He spoke in a tenor singing voice. As before, in 1923 he dreamed about returning home ".
In 1922, daughter Elena was born in the Makhno family. The family's financial situation was difficult. In addition to writing a number of articles for anarchist-émigré publications and memoirs of N.I. Makhno had to work in a printing house, as a carpenter at one of the film studios. In 1933, his family lived in the suburbs of Paris, Vincennes, in a small furnished apartment. Makhno was seriously ill, his wife did not work. In March 1934 he was admitted to one of the Parisian hospitals. After the operation, Nestor Ivanovich's health did not improve, and on July 6, 1934, he died. In one of her letters, N.I. Makhno G.A. Kuzmenko wrote that "one of the comrades removed the mask from her husband's face and a couple of days later he was buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery. His body was burned in the crematorium, and the urn with the ashes was walled up in the wall near eighteen Parisian Communards."
The fate of Galina Andreevna Kuzmenko is tragic. After the end of the Second World War, she ended up in Germany, fell into the hands of the Soviet security organs and in August 1945 was taken to Kiev, where in 1946 she was sentenced under the well-known 58th article to 8 years in the camps. After serving his sentence in Dubrovlag. Galina Andreevna then lived in Kazakhstan, where at the end of the 60s the famous Soviet historian S.N.Semenov met her and wrote down her memoirs. Makhno's wife died in the 70s.

Literature:

1. Arshinov P. History of the Makhnovist movement (1918-1921) Berlin, 1923. p. 48-50; Novopolk G. Makhno and the Gulyai-Polye group of anarchists (according to official data) // Hard labor and exile, 1927.
2. Kharechko T. Struggle for October in Donbass // Chronicle of the revolution 1927 N 5-6, p. 142.
3. Savchenko V.A. Betrayal of the "father" Makhno and the "iron broom" of L.D. Trotsky // History of the USSR 1990 N 2, p. 82; Moroz I. Leader of the unknown war // Arguments and facts, 1990, N 37, p. 6.
4. Savchenko V.A. Decree. Op. with. 85; Teper (Gordeev) I. Makhno, Kiev, 1924 p 76.
5. Arshinov P. Decree. Op. with. 189; From unified anarchism to the footsteps of the Romanian king. Kiev. 1924. p. 109.
6. Now (Gordeev) I. Decree. Op. with. 27-28.
7. Sukhogorskaya N. Memories of the Makhnovshchina // Kandalny ringing, 1927, vol. 6 p. 39.
8. Gerasimenko N.V. Old Man Makhno. M., 1928, p. 29-30.
9. Golinkov D.L. The collapse of the anti-Soviet underground in the USSR. M., 1980, book. 2, p. 141.
10. Russian Echo. 1922, June 18.
11. Today. Riga, 1923, December 1, 4, 5.
12. Nikolaev A. Life of Nestor Makhno. Riga, 1935, p. 156.
13. Gladkov T. I remain a Chekist! M., 1987, p. 45.
14. Nikulin L. The death of the Makhnovshchina. // Banner, 1941, No. 3, p. 169.
15. Volkhov lights, 1989, November 22.