Ideas of the white movement in the civil war. White movement (white cause). The White Movement and the National Constituent Assembly

Some participants in the events expressed the opinion that the White movement originated in the spring of 1917. According to the theorist of the Russian counter-revolution, General of the General Staff N. N. Golovin, positive idea movement was that it originated exclusively to save the collapsing statehood and army. .

Some participants in discussions about the date of the emergence of the White movement considered its first step to be the Kornilov speech in August 1917. The key participants in this speech (Kornilov, Denikin, Markov, Romanovsky, Lukomsky, etc.), later prisoners of the Bykhov prison, became leading figures of the White movement in the South Russia. There was an opinion about the beginning of the White movement from the day General Alekseev arrived on the Don on November 15, 1917.

Most researchers agreed that October 1917 interrupted the development of the counter-revolution that began after the fall of the autocracy in the direction of saving the collapsing statehood and initiated its transformation into an anti-Bolshevik force that included the most diverse and even political groups hostile to each other.

The White movement was characterized by its state-centricity. This was interpreted as a necessary and mandatory restoration of law and order in the name of preserving national sovereignty and maintaining Russia's international authority.

• L. G. Kornilov,
• General Staff General of Infantry M.V. Alekseev,
• Admiral, Supreme Ruler of Russia since 1918 A. V. Kolchak
• A. I. Denikin,*
• cavalry general P. N. Krasnov,
• cavalry general A. M. Kaledin,
• Lieutenant General E. K. Miller,
• Infantry General N.N. Yudenich,
• Lieutenant General V. G. Boldyrev
• Lieutenant General M. K. Diterichs
• General Staff Lieutenant General I. P. Romanovsky,
• General Staff, Lieutenant General S. L. Markov and others.

In subsequent periods, military leaders who ended the First World War as officers and received general ranks during the Civil War came to the fore:

• General Staff Major General M. G. Drozdovsky
• General Staff Lieutenant General V. O. Kappel,
• cavalry general A.I. Dutov,
• Lieutenant General Ya. A. Slashchev-Krymsky,
• Lieutenant General A. S. Bakich,
• Lieutenant General A. G. Shkuro,
• Lieutenant General G. M. Semenov,
• Lieutenant General Baron R. F. Ungern von Sternberg,
• Major General B.V. Annenkov,
• Major General Prince P. R. Bermondt-Avalov,
• Major General N.V. Skoblin,
• Major General K.V. Sakharov,
• Major General V. M. Molchanov,

as well as military leaders who, for various reasons, did not join the white forces at the start of their armed struggle:

• P. N. Wrangel - future Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in Crimea of ​​the General Staff, Lieutenant General Baron,
• M. K. Diterikhs - commander of the Zemstvo Army, lieutenant general.

Appearance of the term

The origin of the term “white” is associated with the already traditional use of the colors red and white for political purposes by the beginning of the 20th century. During the French Revolution, monarchists (that is, opponents of revolutionary change) used the royal color of the French dynasty - white - to express their political views.

In Russian history, the term “whites...”, referring to supporters of anti-revolutionary forces, was first used during the October battles in Moscow - a detachment of Moscow student youth, who took up arms to repel the Bolshevik uprising, wore white identification armbands and received the name “White Guard” "(as opposed to the Bolshevik "Red Guard").

The Bolsheviks called various rebels who fought with the Bolsheviks, both in Soviet Russia itself and in the border regions of the country, “White bandits,” although for the most part they had nothing to do with the White movement. When naming foreign armed units that provided support to the White Guard troops or acted independently against the Soviet troops, the root “White-” was also used in the Bolshevik press and in everyday life: “White Czechs”, “White Finns”, “White Poles”, “White Estonians”. The name “White Cossacks” was used similarly. It is also noteworthy that in Soviet journalism, “whites” were often used to refer to any representatives of the counter-revolution in general, regardless of their party and ideological affiliation.

Historian D. Feldman noted that Bolshevik ideologists and propagandists deliberately called many of their opponents “whites...”, thus trying, through the color white, to connect their image with the image of a conservative monarchist who strives for a return to autocracy, who opposes progressive revolutionary changes, although in In the anti-Bolshevik camp there was a tiny minority of actual monarchists, and the “whites” themselves did not call themselves that. The color white in this case is historically associated with monarchists - opponents of the French Revolution; From there, in particular, the color red derives its ancestry as the color of the revolution in its most radical phase. At the same time, the historical connotations of both color designations were largely not voiced in Bolshevik propaganda materials, although they were well known at that time. According to Feldman, this propaganda ploy worked very effectively - in the eyes of many contemporaries, “whites” began to be associated with a return to the old, outdated order, with a blind desire for the restoration of autocracy.

Goals and ideology

A significant part of the Russian emigration of the 20-30s of the XX century, led by the political theorist I. A. Ilyin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Lieutenant General Baron P. N. Wrangel and Prince P. D. Dolgorukov, equated the concepts of “White Idea” " and "state idea". In his works, Ilyin wrote about the colossal spiritual power of the anti-Bolshevik movement, which manifested itself “not in everyday passion for the homeland, but in love for Russia as a truly religious shrine.” Modern scientist and researcher V.D. Zimina emphasizes in her scientific work:

For him, the White Idea is the idea of ​​religiosity and at the same time fighting “for the cause of God on earth.” Without this idea of ​​an “honest patriot” and “Russian national unity,” according to the Russian philosopher, the “white” struggle would have been an ordinary Civil War.

General Baron Wrangel, during his speech on the occasion of the formation of the empowered anti-Soviet government of the Russian Council, said that the White movement “with limitless sacrifices and the blood of its best sons” brought back to life the “lifeless body of the Russian national idea,” and Prince Dolgorukov, who supported it, argued that the White movement , even in emigration, the idea of ​​state power must be preserved.

According to the historian General N.N. Golovin, who attempted a scientific assessment of the White movement, one of the reasons for the failure of the White movement was that, unlike its first stage (spring 1917 - October 1917), with its positive idea, for the sake of whose service the White movement appeared - solely for the purpose of saving the collapsing statehood and army, after the October events of 1917 and the dispersal by the Bolsheviks of the Constituent Assembly, which was called upon to peacefully resolve the issue of the state structure of Russia after the February Revolution of 1917, the counter-revolution lost positive idea, understood as a general political and/or social ideal. Now only negative idea- the fight against the destructive forces of revolution.

The White movement in general gravitated toward cadet socio-political values, and it was the interaction of cadets with the officer environment that determined both the strategic and tactical guidelines of the White movement. Monarchists and Black Hundreds made up only a small part of the White movement and did not enjoy the right to cast a decisive vote.

The White movement consisted of forces that were heterogeneous in their political composition, but united in the idea of ​​​​rejection of Bolshevism. This was, for example, the Samara government, “KOMUCH”, in which the main role was played by representatives of the left parties - the Socialist Revolutionaries. According to the head of the defense of Crimea against the Bolsheviks in the winter of 1920, General Ya. A. Slashchev-Krymsky, the White movement was a mixture of the Cadets and Octobrist upper classes and the Menshevik-Esserist lower classes.

Whites used the slogan “Law and Order!” and hoped to discredit the power of their opponents by this, while simultaneously strengthening the people’s perception of themselves as the saviors of the Fatherland. The intensification of unrest and the intensity of the political struggle made the arguments of the white leaders more convincing and led to the automatic perception of whites as allies by that part of the population that psychologically did not accept the unrest. However, soon this slogan about law and order manifested itself in the population’s attitude towards whites from a side that was completely unexpected for them and, to the surprise of many, played into the hands of the Bolsheviks, becoming one of the reasons for their final victory in the Civil War:

When the Reds left, the population counted with satisfaction what they had left... When the Whites left, the population angrily calculated what they had taken from them... The Reds threatened, and threatened very clearly, to take everything and took part - the population was deceived and... satisfied. The whites promised legality, took little - and the population was embittered... The whites brought legality, and therefore they were given every bastard.

A participant in the White resistance, and later its researcher, General A. A. von Lampe testified that the slogans of the Bolshevik leaders, who played on the base instincts of the crowd, such as “Beat the bourgeoisie, rob the loot”, and told the population that everyone can take everything they have whatever, were infinitely more attractive to the people who had experienced a catastrophic decline in morals as a result of the 4-year war than the slogans of the white leaders who said that everyone was entitled only to what was due by law.

At the same time, according to historian S.V. Volkov, the tactic of not putting forward monarchist slogans in the conditions of the Civil War was the only correct one. He cites the example of the Southern and Astrakhan white armies, which openly marched with the monarchical banner, and by the autumn of 1918 suffered complete defeat due to the rejection of monarchical ideas by the peasantry, confirming this.

If we consider the struggle of ideas and slogans of whites and reds during the Civil War, then it should be noted that the Bolsheviks were in the ideological vanguard, who took the first step towards the people with plans to end the First World War and develop a world revolution, forcing the whites to defend themselves with their main slogan “ Great and United Russia”, understood as the obligation to restore and respect the territorial integrity of Russia and the pre-war borders of 1914. At the same time, “integrity” was perceived as identical to the concept of “Great Russia”. In 1920, Baron Wrangel, whose head of the Department of Foreign Relations, P. B. Struve, tried to deviate from the generally accepted course towards “United and indivisible Russia” stated that “Russia will have to co-organize on a federal basis through a free agreement between the state entities created on its territories.”

The White Movement and the National Constituent Assembly

Back in September 1917, while the future leaders of the White movement were imprisoned in Bykhov, the “Bykhov program”, which was the fruit of the collective labor of “prisoners” and the main theses of which went into the “draft constitution of General Kornilov” - the very first political declaration of the White movement, which was prepared in December 1917 - January 1918. L. G. Kornilov said: “The resolution of the main state-national and social issues is postponed until the Constituent Assembly...”. In the “constitution...” this idea was detailed: “The government created according to the program of the general. Kornilov, is responsible in her actions only to the Constituent Assembly, to which she will transfer the fullness of state legislative power. The Constituent Assembly, as the sole owner of the Russian Land, must develop the basic laws of the Russian constitution and finally construct the state system.”

Since the main task of the white movement was the fight against Bolshevism, the white leaders did not introduce any other state-building tasks into the agenda until this main task was resolved. Such an open-ended position was theoretically flawed, but, according to the historian S. Volkov, in conditions when there was no unity on this issue even among the leaders of the white movement, not to mention the fact that in its ranks there were supporters of various forms of the future state structure of Russia, seemed the only possible one.

Hostilities

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army is Admiral A.V. Kolchak.

Struggle in the North Caucasus and South Russia

Fight in the Urals

Fight in the Volga region

• • People's Army - General Staff Lieutenant General V. O. Kappel

Fighting in Siberia and the Far East

• Eastern Front - Admiral A.V. Kolchak,
  • M. K. Diterichs (June 20 - November 4);
  • K.V. Sakharov (November 4 - December 9);
  • V. I. Oberyukhtin, vrid (December 9-11, 1919);
  • V. O. Kappel (December 11, 1919 - January 25, 1920);
  • S. N. Voitsekhovsky (January 25 - February 20, 1920);

Fighting in Central Asia

Struggle in the North

• Northern Front - General Miller

Fight in the North-West

White movement in exile

White emigration in the political spectrum of Russian diaspora

The political moods and preferences of the initial period of Russian emigration represented a fairly wide range of trends, almost completely reproducing the picture of the political life of pre-October Russia. In the first half of 1921, a characteristic feature was the strengthening of monarchical tendencies, explained, first of all, by the desire of ordinary refugees to rally around a “leader” who could protect their interests in exile, and in the future ensure their return to their homeland. Such hopes were associated with the personality of P. N. Wrangel and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, to whom General Wrangel reassigned the EMRO as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

White emigration lived in hope of returning to Russia and liberating it from the totalitarian regime of communism. However, the emigration was not united: from the very beginning of the existence of the Russian Abroad, there was a fierce struggle between supporters of reconciliation with the regime established in sub-Soviet Russia (“Smenovekhovtsy”) and supporters of an irreconcilable position in relation to communist power and its legacy. White emigration, led by the EMRO and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, formed the camp of irreconcilable opponents of the “anti-national regime in Russia.” In the thirties, part of the emigrant youth, children of white fighters, decided to go on the offensive against the Bolsheviks. This was the national youth of the Russian emigration, first calling itself the “National Union of Russian Youth”, later renamed the “National Labor Union of the New Generation” (NTSNP). The goal was simple: to contrast Marxism-Leninism with another idea based on solidarity and patriotism. At the same time, the NTSNP never associated itself with the White movement, criticized the Whites, considering itself a political party of a fundamentally new type. This ultimately led to an ideological and organizational break between the NTSNP and the ROWS, which continued to remain in the previous positions of the White movement and was critical of the “national boys” (as NTSNP members began to be called in emigration).

During the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, the Bureau of Russian Emigrants was created, headed by Vladimir Kislitsyn.

Cossacks

Cossack units also emigrated to Europe. Russian Cossacks appeared in the Balkans. All villages, or rather, only village atamans and boards, were subordinate to the “United Council of the Don, Kuban and Terek” and the “Cossack Union,” which were headed by Bogaevsky.

One of the largest was the Belgrade General Cossack village named after Peter Krasnov, founded in December 1921 and numbering 200 people. By the end of the 20s. its number was reduced to 70 - 80 people. For a long time, the ataman of the village was the captain N.S. Sazankin. Soon the Terets left the village, forming their own village - Terskaya. The Cossacks who remained in the village joined the EMRO and it received representation in the “Council of Military Organizations” of the IV Department, where the new ataman, General Markov, had the same voting rights as other members of the council.

In Bulgaria by the end of the 20s there were no more than 10 villages. One of the most numerous was Kaledinskaya in Ankhialo (ataman - Colonel M.I. Karavaev), formed in 1921 with 130 people. Less than ten years later, only 20 people remained in it, and 30 left for Soviet Russia. The social life of Cossack villages and farms in Bulgaria consisted of helping the needy and disabled, as well as holding military and traditional Cossack holidays.

Burgas Cossack village, formed in 1922 with 200 people by the end of the 20s. also consisted of no more than 20 people, and half of the original composition returned home.

During the 30s - 40s. Cossack villages ceased to exist due to the events of the Second World War.

Attitude towards the White movement in post-Soviet Russia and rehabilitation of movement participants

Historian S.V. Volkov drew attention to the fact that although all the principles and slogans of the White movement (namely: the denial of class struggle and preaching the ideas of national unity in return, the revival of Russian statehood, economic freedoms) were in demand in post-Soviet Russia, however, the authorities in Russia in the last decade of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century, she identified herself not with historical (White) Russia, but with communist Russia, against which the Whites fought. The historian sees this as the main contradiction in the life of post-Soviet Russian society: “white” ideas and aspirations are carried out by those who have “red” origins and beliefs, and this is most clearly manifested in relation to the historical White movement itself, which is still not recognized Russian authorities as their predecessors.

see also

• White Movement Posters

Literature

• Ross N.G. Paths of the Volunteer Movement 1918-1919. - 1st. - Los Angeles: Publication of the main office of ORUR Western American department of ORUR-NORS, 1996. - 96 p.
• Tsipkin Yu. N. White movement in Russia and its collapse (1917-1922): Textbook. - Khabarovsk, 2000. - 120 p. - ISBN 5-87155-096-7

Sources and notes

1. http://www.elan-kazak.ru/sites/default/files/IMAGES/ARHIV/Periodika/chasovoy/1932/79.pdf
2. Tsvetaeva M. I.“Swan Camp” Poems 1917-1921
3. V. Zh. Tsvetkov White movement // Great Russian Encyclopedia: In 30 volumes. T. 3: “Banquet Campaign” 1904 - Bolshoi Irgiz / Chairman Scientific-Ed. Council Yu. S. Osipov, resp. ed. S. L. Kravets. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 2005.
4. Whose state institutions “did not differ much from marching administrations.”
5. V. Zh. Tsvetkov. White matter in Russia. 1917 - 1918: the formation and evolution of the political structures of the White movement in Russia / Scientific reviewers A. V. Lubkov, A. D. Stepansky, D. O. Churakov. - M.: Posev, 2008. - P. 33 - 35.
6. V. Zh. Tsvetkov. White matter in Russia. - P. 33.
7. Red Terror during the Civil War: Based on materials from the Special Investigative Commission to investigate the atrocities of the Bolsheviks. Ed. Doctors of Historical Sciences Yu. G. Felshtinsky and G. I. Chernyavsky / London, 1992.
8. The first lecture by historian K. M. Alexandrov on the Civil War. Part one.
9. Zimina V.D. ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, p. 102: “Emphasizing the national-patriotic nature of the struggle, modern historians are prone to a certain polarization based on the analysis of class, party, social and national characteristics”
10. Rybnikov V.V., Slobodin V.P. The White movement during the Civil War in Russia: essence, evolution and some results. M., 1993, p.45
11. Pushkarev S. Self-government and freedom in Russia. Frankfurt-n-Maine, 1985, p.156
12. Ilyin I. A. Ideology and the White Movement // Revival. Paris, 1926. May 15
13. Struve P. B. Reflections on the Russian Revolution. S.7, 24
14. Melgunov S. P. The Civil War as covered by P. N. Milyukov: Regarding “Russia at the turning point”: Critical bibliographer. feature article. Paris, 1929. Page 6
15. Golovin N. N. Decree. op. 1937. Part 5, book 11. Pages 17, 106
16. “Miliukov argued that the White movement was formed initially in the summer of 1917 as a united anti-Bolshevik front from socialists to cadets ( Milyukov P. N. Russia is at a turning point. page 2)"
17. Gene. Denikin connected the origin of the White movement (anti-government, or anti-Soviet) with the activities of the officers' congress held in early May 1917 in Mogilev, at which Gen. Alekseev formulated the main slogan of the day - “Save the Fatherland!” ( Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, page 64)
18. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, page 30
19. Zalessky P.I. Retribution: (Causes of the Russian catastrophe). Berlin, 1925. p.222
20. d.i. n. Feldman D. Red Whites: Soviet political terms in the historical and cultural context (Russian) // Literature questions: Magazine. - 2006. - No. 4.
21. Melgunov, S. P. How the Bolsheviks seized power. - 1st. - Moscow: Iris-Press, 2007. - 656 p. - (White Russia). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-8112-2904-8
22. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, page 33
23. Volkov S.V. The idea is being stolen from the “whites” (Russian). Kiev Telegraph. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
24. Manifesto on the goals of the Good Army of January 9, 1918: “The new army will defend civil liberties in order to allow the owners of the Russian land - the Russian people - to express their supreme will through the elected Constituent Assembly. All classes, parties and other groups of the population must obey this will. The army and all those who created it must unconditionally submit to this will. The army and all those who created it must unconditionally submit to the legitimate authority appointed by the Constituent Assembly" ( Kenez Peter Red attack, white resistance. 1917-1918/Trans. from English K. A. Nikiforova. - M.: ZAO Tsentrpoligraf, 2007. - 287 pp. - (Russia at a turning point in history). ISBN 978-5-9524-2748-8), page 81
25. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, pp. 50, 52, 54, 97-100, 116-117, 121, 122, 200
26. Based on the article "White Movement" by BRT.
27. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, pp. 29, 43
28. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, p.48
29. Volkov S.V.
30. Volkov S.V. The tragedy of Russian officers. M., 1993. Chapter 4., Denikin A.I. Essays on Russian Troubles. Volume 3. Chapter II.
31. Slobodin V. P. White movement during the civil war in Russia (1917-1922). - M.: MJI Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 1996. Introduction.
32. Slashchov-Krymsky Ya. A. White Crimea, 1920: Memoirs and doc. M., 1990. P.40.
33. Struve P. B. Reflections on the Russian Revolution. P.32.
34. Lampe A. A. von. The reasons for the failure of the armed uprising of the whites. M., 1991. pp. 14-15.
35. Lampe A. A. von. The reasons for the failure of the armed uprising of the whites. M., 1991.
36. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, page 95
37. Denikin A.I. Who saved Soviet power from destruction? Paris, 1937.
38. Solonevich I. L. People's monarchy. - M.: Publishing house. company "Phoenix" GASK SK USSR, 1991. - 512 p. ISBN 5-7652-009-5, p. 33
39. Solonevich did not name any specific source for this quote. Subsequently, the same quote is given by ethnologist S. V. Lurie ( Lurie S.V. Historical ethnology. Textbook for universities. 1st ed. M.: Aspect Press, 1997. - 448 p. ISBN 5-7567-0205-9; 2nd ed. M.: Aspect Press, 1998. - 448 p. ISBN 5-7567-0205-7, p. 325) with reference to Solonevich and K.I. n. Yaroslav Shimov with reference to Lurie ( Shimov Ya. V. Glory, glory, our Russian Tsar... // International Historical Journal, No. 9, May-June 2000) (unavailable link).
40. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 M.: Ross. humanist Univ., 2006. 467 p. (Ser. History and memory). ISBN 5-7281-0806-7, page 89
41. Zimina V.D. White matter of rebellious Russia: Political regimes of the Civil War. 1917-1920 - M.: Ros. humanist univ., 2006. - P. 103. - ISBN 5-7281-0806-7
42. Tsvetkov V. Zh. Lavr Georgievich Kornilov (Russian). Article. Website "Volunteer Corps". Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
43. Denikin A.I. Essays on Russian Troubles
44. N. V. Savich “Memoirs”, Logos, St. Petersburg, 1999
45. Perekop and Chongar. Collection of articles and materials
46. See also Chongar fortifications.
47. Kirmel N. S. ISBN 978-5-9950-0020-4, pp. 9-10
48. Kirmel N. S. White Guard special services in the Civil War. 1918-1922 Monograph - M.: Kuchkovo Pole, 2008. - 512 p. ISBN 978-5-9950-0020-4, page 10
49. Volkov S.V. Why is the Russian Federation not Russia yet? The Unclaimed Legacy of the Empire. - Veche, 2010. - 352 p. - (Russian question). - 4000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9533-4528-6
50. The State Duma rejected the bill on the rehabilitation of participants in the White movement
51. http://omsk.rfn.ru/rnews.html?id=2271&cid=4
52. Draft Federal Law “On the Rehabilitation of Participants of the White Movement”
53. David Feldman, Kirill Alexandrov David Feldman: The rehabilitation of General Pyotr Krasnov is “an attempt to recognize him as a good person.” Radio program “Freedom Time”. Radio Liberty (01/25/2008). Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.

Network resources

• Official website of the First Department of the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS)
• “Memory of Honor” - Foundation for perpetuating the memory of participants of the White Movement
• Volunteer Army Officer Corps: social composition...

Links

	Portal "Russia"
	Portal "Armed forces"
	White movement on Wikimedia Commons
	Project "Civil War in Russia"

• Bulgakov M. A. Future Prospects
• Melgunov S. P."Golden German Key" to the Bolshevik Revolution
• Slobodin V. P. White movement during the civil war in Russia (1917-1922). Educational allowance M.: MJI Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, 1996.

The white movement began to emerge back in 1917. It included all those who were dissatisfied with Soviet power, the new order and did not want to break the old way of life that had been developing in Russia for centuries. It had to be a force capable of resisting the Bolsheviks and not allowing the creation of another political system. Supporters of the White movement did not allow any compromises in the fight against the Reds, no negotiations or political concessions, there should have been only armed suppression. Power in Siberia was concentrated in the hands of the admiral, and in the South. The symbol of the White movement was the tricolor flag of the Russian Empire.
The first event that gave rise to the White movement was August 1917, which gathered all the officers of the imperial army under its banner.

The goal of the rebellion was to establish a democratic system, stop the political influence of Bolshevism, strengthen the Russian Empire, raise the authority of the country by establishing order in all industries, and it was especially important to unite the army, which was falling apart under the influence of the Soviets. After the suppression of the Kornilov rebellion, the White movement found its continuation in the south of Russia, where an army began to form under the leadership. Subsequently, all the highest officer ranks of the imperial army united on the Don, in the Kuban and created an organized and combat-ready Volunteer Army, which every year strengthened, grew and pushed back the Bolsheviks along the entire front. The participants in this army were called “White Guards”, as adherents of white order and law in the country, and opposed themselves to the “red” army, an army of fire and blood, which was destroying the correct state power. And everyone who organized themselves into various small military groups in different parts of the country and in nearby countries, in support of the White movement, were called either White bandits, or White Czechs, and others.
The leaders of the White movement were high-ranking military officers: Admiral Kolchak, Denikin, and other famous military leaders of that time. Military formations of the White movement fought both in the south of the country and in the north-west, achieving significant results and high-profile victories in the fight against the Bolsheviks. The White Guard army from the south reached almost to Moscow, capturing many strategically important cities, and was driven back only at the beginning of 1920 and then continued fighting in the Crimea, fiercely resisted the Reds, but as a result, in November 1920, mass emigration of the surviving White Guards began. In the Urals and Siberia, the White movement was led by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Kolchak, and many of the largest cities were taken under control by his troops. It was the White army that held out the longest from all directions and ended its resistance in 1921. In the north-west, the military operations of the White Guard regiments were led by General Yudenich, and there, too, certain successes were achieved in battles with the Red Army, there was even an attempt to capture Petrograd, but in the end it turned out to be impossible.
The white movement continued for many years in exile. Organizations of white officers and soldiers were created in Turkey, then in other European cities. These organizations tried to unite and again create something to fight Soviet power, but all these small riots usually ended in quick suppression, and the organizers were killed. In the 1930s, during repressions by the Soviets, a huge number of former white officers who had ever been involved in the White movement were killed.

Who dedicated his entire life to the army and Russia. He did not accept the October Revolution and until the end of his days he fought the Bolsheviks with all the means that the honor of an officer could allow him.
Kaledin was born in 1861 in the village of Ust-Khoperskaya, in the family of a Cossack colonel, a participant in the heroic defense of Sevastopol. From childhood he was taught to love his Fatherland and defend it. Therefore, the future general received his education, first at the Voronezh Military Gymnasium, and later at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School.
He began his military service in the Far East in the horse artillery battery of the Transbaikal Cossack Army. The young officer was distinguished by his seriousness and concentration. He constantly strived to master military science to perfection and entered the Academy at the General Staff.
Kaledin's further service takes place as staff officers in the Warsaw Military District, and then in his native Don. Since 1910, he has held only command positions and gained considerable experience in leading combat formations.

Semenov Grigory Mikhailovich (09/13/1890 - 08/30/1946) - the most prominent representative in the Far East.

Born into a Cossack officer family in Transbaikalia. In 1911 With the rank of cornet, he graduated from the Cossack military school in Orenburg, after which he was assigned to serve on the border with Mongolia.

He had an excellent command of local languages: Buryat, Mongolian, Kalmyk, thanks to which he quickly became friends with prominent Mongolian figures.

During the separation of Mongolia from China, in December 1911. took the Chinese resident under guard, delivering him to the Russian consulate located in Urga.

In order not to cause unrest between the Chinese and the Mongols, with a platoon of Cossacks, he personally neutralized the Chinese garrison of Urga.

Alexander Sergeevich Lukomsky was born on July 10, 1868 in the Poltava region. In Poltava he graduated from the Cadet Corps named after, and by 1897 he completed his studies with honors at the Nikolaev Engineering School and the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff in. Alexander Sergeevich’s military career began with the 11th Engineer Regiment, from where a year later he was transferred as an adjutant to the headquarters of the 12th Infantry Division, and from 1902 his service took place in the Kiev Military District, where he was appointed to the headquarters as a senior adjutant. For the excellent performance of his official duties, Lukomsky was awarded the rank of colonel, and in 1907 he took the post of chief of staff in the 42nd Infantry Division. Since January 1909, Alexander Sergeevich dealt with mobilization issues in case of war. He participated in all changes to the Charter related to mobilization, personally supervised draft laws on personnel recruitment, being in the position of head of the mobilization department of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.
In 1913, Lukomsky was appointed assistant to the head of the office of the War Ministry and, already serving in the ministry, received the next military rank of major general, and as a reward to his existing one - the ribbon of the Holy Great Martyr and St. George the Victorious.

Markov Sergei Leonidovich was born on July 7, 1878 in the family of an officer. Having graduated with honors from the 1st Moscow Cadet Corps and the Artillery School in St. Petersburg, he was sent to serve in the 2nd Artillery Brigade with the rank of second lieutenant. Then he graduated from the Nikolaev Military Academy and went to military service, where he showed himself to be an excellent officer and was awarded: Vladimir 4th degree with swords and a bow. Sergei Leonidovich's further career continued in the 1st Siberian Corps, where he served as a headquarters adjutant, and then at the headquarters of the Warsaw Military District, and eventually, in 1908, Markov ended up serving in the General Staff. It was during his service in the General Staff that Sergei Leonidovich created a happy family with Putyatina Marianna.
Sergey Leonidovich Markov was engaged in teaching at various St. Petersburg schools. He knew military affairs very well and tried to convey all his knowledge of strategy and maneuvering to the students in full and at the same time sought the use of non-standard thinking during combat operations.
At the beginning, Sergei Leonidovich was appointed chief of staff of the “iron” rifle brigade, which was sent to the most difficult areas of the front and very often Markov had to put his unconventional strategic moves into practice.

Roman Fedorovich von Ungern-Sternberg is perhaps the most extraordinary personality in everything. He belonged to an ancient warlike family of knights, mystics and pirates, dating back to the times of the Crusades. However, family legends say that the roots of this family go back much further, to the times of the Nibegungs and Attila.
His parents often traveled around Europe; something constantly attracted them to their historical homeland. During one of these trips, in 1885, in the city of Graz, Austria, the future irreconcilable fighter against the revolution was born. The boy's contradictory character did not allow him to become a good high school student. For countless offenses, he was expelled from the gymnasium. The mother, desperate to get normal behavior from her son, sends him to the Naval Cadet Corps in. He was only one year away from graduating when he began. Baron von Ungern-Sternberg quits training and joins an infantry regiment as a private. However, he did not get into the active army and was forced to return to St. Petersburg and enter the elite Pavlovsk Infantry School. Upon completion, von Ungern-Sternber is enrolled in the Cossack class and begins service as an officer of the Transbaikal Cossack Army. He again finds himself in the Far East. There are legends about this period in the life of the desperate baron. His persistence, cruelty and flair surrounded his name with a mystical aura. A dashing rider, a desperate duelist, he had no loyal comrades.

The leaders of the White movement had a tragic fate. People who suddenly lost their homeland, to which they swore allegiance, and their ideals, could not come to terms with this for the rest of their lives.
Mikhail Konstantinovich Diterichs, outstanding, lieutenant general, was born on April 5, 1874 in a family of hereditary officers. The knightly family of Dieterichs from Czech Moravia settled in Russia in 1735. Thanks to his origin, the future general received an excellent education in the Corps of Pages, which he then continued at the Academy of the General Staff. With the rank of captain, he participated in the Russian-Japanese War, where he distinguished himself as a brave officer. For heroism shown in battles he was awarded III and II degrees, IV degrees. He finished the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Further service took place at army headquarters in Odessa and Kyiv.
The First World War found Dieterichs in the position of chief of staff in the mobilization department, but he was soon appointed quartermaster general. It was he who led the development of all military operations of the Southwestern Front. For successful developments that brought victories to the Russian army, Mikhail Konstantinovich was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav with swords, 1st degree.
Diterikhs continues to serve in the Russian Expeditionary Force in the Balkans and participated in the battles for the liberation of Serbia.

Romanovsky Ivan Pavlovich was born into the family of a graduate of the artillery academy on April 16, 1877 in the Lugansk region. He began his military career at the age of ten, entering the cadet corps. He graduated with brilliant results in 1894. Following in his father's footsteps, he began studying at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, but finished his studies at the Konstantinovsky School for religious reasons. And after graduating with honors from the next level of education - the Nikolaev General Staff Academy, Ivan Pavlovich was appointed company commander of the Finnish Regiment.
In 1903, he started a family, marrying Elena Bakeeva, the daughter of a landowner, who later bore him three children. Ivan Pavlovich was a devoted family man, a caring father, always helping friends and relatives. But she broke the idyll of family life. Romanovsky left to fulfill his duty as a Russian officer in the East Siberian artillery brigade.

Outstanding, active participant in the White movement, born in 1881 in Kyiv. Being the son of a general, Mikhail never thought about choosing a profession. Fate made this choice for him. He graduated from the Vladimir Cadet Corps, and then from the Pavlovsk Military School. Having received the rank of second lieutenant, he began serving in the Life Guards Volyn Regiment. After three years of service, Drozdovsky decided to enter the Nikolaev Military Academy. Sitting at a desk turned out to be beyond his strength, it began, and he went to the front. A brave officer in the unsuccessful Manchurian campaign was wounded. For his courage he was awarded several orders. He graduated from the Academy after the war.
After the academy, Drozdovsky served first at the headquarters of the Zaamur Military District, and then at the Warsaw Military District. Mikhail Gordeevich constantly showed interest in everything new that appeared in the army, studied everything new in military affairs. He even completed courses for pilot observers at the Sevastopol Aviation School.
and enters the cadet school, after which, having received the rank of second lieutenant, he begins service in the 85th Vyborg Infantry Regiment.
It begins, while participating in battles, the young officer proved himself so well that he was awarded a rare honor: with the rank of lieutenant, he was transferred to the Preobrazhensky Life Guards, serving in which was very honorable.
When it started, Kutepov was already a staff captain. He takes part in many battles and shows himself to be a brave and decisive officer. He was wounded three times and awarded several orders. Alexander Pavlovich was especially proud of the 4th degree.
The year 1917 begins - the most tragic year in the life of the thirty-five-year-old officer. Despite his young age, Kutepov is already a colonel and commander of the second battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.
Petersburg, where he graduated from high school. After graduating from the Nikolaev Engineering School, with the rank of second lieutenant, he begins his military career in the 18th engineer battalion. Every two years, Marushevsky receives another military rank for excellent service. During these same years, he graduated from the Nikolaev Academy under the General Staff.
By the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, he was already a captain and chief officer for especially important assignments. He served at the headquarters of the IV Siberian Army Corps. During the fighting, Marushevsky was quickly promoted in service for his courage.

The content of the article

WHITE GUARD(White Movement, White Cause) is a military-political movement that arose after the abdication of the throne of Russian Emperor Nicholas II in the summer and autumn of 1917. It arose under the slogan of saving the fatherland and restoring pre-February statehood, which implied the return and restoration of lost power, socio-economic rights and relations, market economy and reunification with lost areas that broke away from the Russian Empire in 1918.

The White Guard during the bloody Civil War of 1918–1922 against the dictatorship of the Bolsheviks (“Reds”), against the “Greens” (armed formations of Cossacks and peasants who fought against both the Whites and the Reds), the Petliurites of the Ukrainian Directory, the armed formations of N.I. .Makhno, against parts of the Georgian Democratic Republic (liberation of Sochi and the Black Sea province) in the following main directions:

– southern: Don, Kuban, Donbass, Stavropol province, Black Sea province, North Caucasus, eastern Ukraine, Crimea;

– eastern: Volga region, Ural, Siberia, Far East;

– northwestern: Petrograd, Yamburg, Pskov, Gatchina.

The emergence of the White movement.

By the end of August, the situation at the front deteriorated catastrophically - German troops went on the offensive and captured the well-fortified city of Riga.

After the defeat in Courland, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General L.G. Kornilov, sent General Krymov’s corps to Petrograd to defend the capital. Kerensky regarded this step as an attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government by Kornilov and establish a military dictatorship. General Krymov's corps was stopped. By order of Kerensky, Petrograd workers were given weapons from state warehouses for the purpose of “defense” of the capital, which marked the beginning of the formation of the Red Guard. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Kornilov, addressed an appeal to the Russian people, accusing the Provisional Government of conspiring with the Bolsheviks and the German General Staff, and openly opposed Kerensky, but was himself accused of attempting counter-revolution, treason and rebellion, removed from the post of commander in chief and arrested. Many prominent generals of Headquarters and fronts suffered the same fate. The connection between officers and soldiers was completely broken. Lawyer Kerensky declared himself Supreme Commander-in-Chief, which caused bewilderment and indignation among the officer corps.

Many contemporaries and historians consider the speech of General Kornilov to be the beginning of the emergence of the White movement in Russia.

The symbolism of white color should be interpreted as the personification of legitimate statehood and the restoration of the old order. Hence - “White Guard”, “White Movement”, “White Cause”, “White Guards” and simply “Whites”. Soviet historiography called “white” the armed formations that fought against Soviet power during the Civil War - the Czechoslovak corps (White Czechs), the Polish armed forces (White Poles), the Finnish resistance (White Finns).

The beginning of the armed resistance of the White movement during the Civil War of 1918–1922.

After the October Revolution, the generals arrested by Kerensky (Kornilov, Denikin, Markov and others), who were awaiting trial in Bykhov, were released on November 19 by the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Dukhonin, who, after the news of Kornilov’s release, was torn to pieces by an angry crowd of soldiers.

Once free, the generals headed to the Don, where General A.M. Kaledin was chieftain. The Don region was declared independent from the power of the Soviets “until the formation of a national, publicly recognized government.” Infantry General M.V. Alekseev, who arrived on the Don, began the formation of the paramilitary “Alekseevskaya Organization” (later the Volunteer Army) in Novocherkassk. Generals Kaledin and Kornilov joined him.

In Orenburg, Colonel N.N. Dutov declared disobedience to the Bolsheviks and gathered various Cossack military units around him.

In Transbaikalia, the captain of the Transbaikal Cossack army, G.M. Semenov, with the Cossack units loyal to him, resisted the Bolshevik armed formations, creating in January 1918 the Special Manchurian detachment, which later became the basis for further armed struggle against the Soviets in the Far East.

Similar military formations arose in Siberia, the Urals, the Volga region and other regions of Russia.

The Astrakhan, Terek, Don and Kuban Cossacks were closely associated with the Volunteer Army in southern Russia.

In the north-west of Russia, in the Petrograd direction, pockets of resistance to the Soviets were created under the command of generals N.N. Yudenich, A.P. Arkhangelsky, E.K. Miller.

At first, the Bolsheviks managed to relatively quickly establish Soviet power, break and eliminate the resistance of scattered units of volunteer officers, Cossacks and cadets.

In January 1918, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK), headed by V.I. Lenin, adopted a decree on the organization of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA).

However, after the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty in March 1918, the “surplus appropriation” in the countryside, terror against the peasantry, nobility, clergy, officer corps, the issuance of a decree on the separation of state and church, and the execution of the royal family in Yekaterinburg in the summer of 1918, the Bolsheviks lost the support of many regions of Russia. The White movement, on the contrary, received an economic and social base in the grain-growing southern and eastern regions of the country for further struggle against the Soviets.

White Movement on the Eastern Front.

At the end of May 1918, being in the Tambov and Penza region, the Czechoslovak corps (about 50 thousand people), which was formed in 1917 from prisoners of the Austro-Hungarian army of Slavs (Czechs and Slovaks), with the support of Entente agents, rebelled against the Soviet authorities and took the side of the counter-revolutionaries. Many historians consider this the beginning of the Russian Civil War. Together with the Russian officers who emerged from underground, the White Czechs overthrew Soviet power and captured a number of cities - Chelyabinsk, Novonikolaevsk (Novosibirsk), Penza, Tomsk, etc. In June 1918, Kurgan, Omsk, Samara, Vladivostok were occupied; in July - Ufa, Simbirsk, Ekaterinburg, Kazan. Thus, in a short time, in the territory from the Volga to the Pacific Ocean, the Bolsheviks practically lost their power. A Provisional Siberian Government is created in Omsk; in Yekaterinburg - the Ural Government, in Samara - the Committee of the Constituent Assembly (“Komuch”).

In November 1918, Admiral Kolchak organized an armed coup in Omsk against the so-called. The “Directory” headed by the Socialist Revolutionaries announced the acceptance of full power and proclaimed himself the Supreme Ruler of the Russian state.

At the end of November 1918, captured back in May by Colonel V.O. Kappel in Kazan, the gold reserves of the Russian Empire (about 500 tons) were transported to Omsk and placed in the Omsk branch of the State Bank. Admiral A.V. Kolchak introduced the strictest reporting, thanks to which it was possible to avoid the wholesale looting of Russian treasures. However, after the collapse of the eastern front at the end of 1919, the gold reserves were taken to Vladivostok and, under pressure from the Entente, transferred to the protection of the White Czechs. But already at the beginning of January 1920, the gold reserves were captured by the Bolsheviks and sent back to Kazan, having “lost weight” by about 180 tons during this time.

At the end of 1918, troops under the command of Admiral Kolchak captured Perm, and in March 1919 Samara and Kazan were occupied. By April 1919, Kolchak occupied the entire Urals and reached the Volga.

However, the bulk of the peasantry did not support Admiral Kolchak and the idea of ​​the White movement, and in the fall of 1919 mass desertion from the Siberian Army began, as a result of which Kolchak’s front collapsed. “Green” armed gangs were organized and fought against both whites and reds. Peasants en masse began to join the Bolshevik detachments.

The White Czechs treacherously colluded with the Bolsheviks and handed over Admiral Kolchak to the Reds, after which, on February 7, 1920, the Supreme Ruler of the Russian state, Admiral Kolchak, was shot along with the Chairman of the Ministers of the Russian Government, the monarchist V.N. Pepelyaev.

A month earlier, at the beginning of January 1920, Admiral Kolchak issued a decree announcing his intention to transfer full supreme power to General A.I. Denikin.

White movement in southern Russia.

Infantry General Alekseev, who arrived on the Don in November 1917, began the formation of the “Alekseev organization” in Novocherkassk.

The volunteer army replaced the paramilitary formation of the Alekseevskaya Organization, which at the beginning of 1918 was headed by General Kornilov by agreement with General Alekseev. On the Don, generals Kaledin, Alekseev and Kornilov formed the so-called. triumvirate. Ataman Kaledin was the ruler of the Don region.

The army was formed on the Don. The relationship between Alekseev and Kornilov was quite complex. Frequent disagreements arose between the generals regarding the strategic and tactical perception of the situation. The army was small for a number of reasons, one of which was the lack of awareness among the general public about the goals of the Volunteer Army and its leadership. This was aggravated by a catastrophic shortage of finance and food. Robbery of military and clothing warehouses flourished.

In this difficult situation, General Alekseev turned to the governments of the Entente countries with a proposal to finance the Volunteer Army, which, after the defeat of the Bolsheviks, was supposed to continue the war with the Kaiser’s Germany.

The Entente agreed to finance the armed forces of the Volunteer Army, and already in January 1918 the army leadership received money from the French and American governments.

However, most of the Don Cossacks after the October Revolution did not share the views of the white generals. Tension between the emerging Volunteer Army and the Cossacks in Novocherkassk grew. In this regard, on January 17, 1918, the Volunteer Army was forced to relocate to Rostov. General Kaledin's Cossacks did not follow their ataman to Rostov, and on January 28, 1918, General Kaledin, who stood at the origins of the Volunteer Army, committed suicide with a shot in the heart.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army was Infantry General Kornilov, his deputy and successor in case of the death of the first was Lieutenant General Denikin. Infantry General M.V. Alekseev was the chief treasurer and was responsible for external relations of the Volunteer Army, Lieutenant General A.S. Lukomsky was the chief of staff of the army.

On April 13, new style 1918, during the assault on Ekaterinodar (the first Kuban ice campaign), the commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army, General Kornilov, was killed by a stray grenade. General Denikin took over leadership of the army.

On October 8, 1918, General Alekseev dies of pneumonia in Yekaterinodar, and General Denikin after his death becomes the sole Supreme Leader of the Volunteer Army.

At the beginning of January 1919, the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (AFSR) were created through the unification of the Volunteer Army and the All-Great Don Army to continue the fight against the Bolsheviks under the overall command of General Denikin.

On April 4, 1920, the commander-in-chief of the AFSR, Lieutenant General Denikin, after the defeat in the south of Russia and the retreat of the White Guard units to the Crimea, left his post and transferred the supreme command to Baron Wrangel.

Thus, resistance to the White movement in southern Russia in the second half of 1920 continued only in Crimea under the leadership of Baron Wrangel. In November 1920, the commander of the defense of Crimea, General A.P. Kutepov, was unable to hold back the advance of Nestor Makhno’s army, which at that time fought on the side of the Bolsheviks, and then of the Red Army units under the command of Frunze.

About 100 thousand remaining White Guards, together with the last commander-in-chief of the AFSR, Baron P.N. Wrangel, were evacuated from Crimea to Istanbul with the support of the Entente fleet.

After this, the long and painful stage of White emigration began.

The actions of the Volunteer Army in the south of Russia can be divided into the following stages:

2. The first (ice) Kuban campaign and the unsuccessful assault on Ekaterinodar (February - April 1918);

3. The second Kuban campaign and the capture of Ekaterinodar, the Kuban region, the Black Sea province, the Stavropol province, Zadonye and the entire North Caucasus (June - December 1918);

4. Battle of Donbass, Tsaritsyn, Voronezh, Orel, campaign against Moscow (January - November 1919);

5. Retreat of the Volunteer Army from Kharkov, Donbass, Kyiv, Rostov, Kuban to Novorossiysk and departure by sea to Crimea (November 1919 - April 1920);

6. Defense of Crimea under the command of Baron Wrangel (April - November 1920).

Organization of the Volunteer Army.

At first, the core of the Volunteer Army consisted of a cavalry division, an engineer company, officer and cadet battalions, and several artillery batteries. It was a small, but quite strong military and moral military formation, consisting of about 4 thousand people, 80% of whom were officers, warrant officers and non-commissioned officers.

On February 22, 1918, units of the Red Army approached Rostov. The leadership of the Volunteer Army, in view of the superiority of the Reds, decided to leave Rostov and retreat to the village of Olginskaya, where Kornilov reorganized the army.

In March 1918, after an unsuccessful assault on Ekaterinodar (now Krasnodar) in the Kuban during the First Kuban Ice Campaign, the Volunteer Army united with the Kuban detachment and returned back to the Don. The size of the army increased to 6 thousand people.

The Volunteer Army did not have a permanent composition. During the period of its maximum power in the summer of 1919, it included 2 army corps under the command of generals Kutepov and Promtov; cavalry corps of Lieutenant General Shkuro; Terek Plastun brigade; Taganrog and Rostov garrisons, the number of which reached up to 250 thousand bayonets and sabers. Artillery, tanks, aviation, armored trains, and engineering troops were used centrally, and thanks to this, the Volunteer Army had military success, effectively interacting with various branches of the military. Weapons and equipment were supplied by the Entente. A very important factor in the success of the White Guards was the officer corps of the Volunteer Army, which fought with enviable tenacity and self-sacrifice. The small army of the White Guards won many victories over the many times superior units of the Red Army. The officer corps took on the main blows of the Reds, as a result of which the best combat-ready formations suffered losses that there was physically no one to replace.

Reasons for the defeat of the White movement.

The reasons for the defeat of the “White Idea,” which can be attributed to the entire White movement, which operated on various fronts of the Civil War, is a combination of contradictions in ideology, strategy, tactics, and approach to resolving economic and agrarian issues in wartime conditions and military dictatorship.

– The lack of clear concepts for overcoming the political and economic crisis could not but deprive the white movement of social support from the masses and the peasantry.

– Complete inconsistency in actions between the White Guard formations of Siberia, the South and the West made it possible for the Bolsheviks to defeat the White regimes one by one.

– Betrayal by the allies and support of the Entente countries for new state formations that broke away from the Russian Empire in the Caucasus, Ukraine, the Baltic States, Finland, etc. could not but arouse distrust of the Entente on the part of the White movement, which did not want to recognize the new formations and fought for a “united and indivisible."

– In military terms, the main emphasis was placed on the officer corps, the wealthy Cossacks and complete disregard and contempt for the “soldiers” and the peasant masses, which could not but cause the hostility of the latter and widespread desertion and defection to the side of the “socially close” Reds.

– Successful actions of the Red Army, partisan and bandit “green” detachments in the White Guard rear areas, which disorganized the management and supply of units.

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

Terminology

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

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

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

Periodization of the White movement

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

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

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

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

Formation of the White Movement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Activities of regional centers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Main participants of the White movement

Alekseev M.V. (1857-1918)

Wrangel P.N. (1878-1928)

Gayda R. (1892-1948)

Denikin A.I. (1872-1947)

Drozdovsky M.G. (1881-1919)

Kappel V.O. (1883-1920)

Keller F.A. (1857-1918)

Kolchak A.V. (1874-1920)

Kornilov L.G. (1870-1918)

Kutepov A.P. (1882-1930)

Lukomsky A.S. (1868-1939)

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

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

Nezhentsev M.O. (1886-1918)

Romanovsky I.P. (1877-1920)

Slashchev Ya.A. (1885-1929)

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

Yudenich N.N. (1862-1933)

Internal contradictions of the White movement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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