Political evolution of the Sevastopol workers and the far left of ‘Southern Russia’ during the French intervention in 1918–1919

This article describes and analyses shifts in political preferences among Sevastopol workers during French intervention (November 1918 – May 1919). After outlining the social landscape of the city during the Russian Civil War, this paper focuses on the interactions between workers, foreign sailors and political parties. The aim of this article is to study the Bolshevisation of Sevastopol's working class based on the paths of several local workers. From the distribution of revolutionary leaflets to agitation in cafés, canteens, and factories, and many other illegal activities, what were the Bolsheviks' tactics to rally local workers to their cause?

Military clergy of the 4th Orenburg Army Corps of the Kolchak Army based on the documents of the dean corps of S. V. Kaverznev

This article is dedicated to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church during the revolutionary disturbances of 1917 and the Russian Civil War. The subject of this research is the the history of military clergy of the Kolchak Army. The article introduced into the scientific discourse the report of the dean of the 4th Orenburg Army Corps of the Southern Army of the Armed Forces of Admiral A. V. Kolchak –  archpriest Stefan Vasilyevich Kaverznev on the activity of military clergy of the corps in August – September of 1919. This is a valuable historical source that contains records on staff composition of regimental priests of the 4th Orenburg Army Corps, as well as reveals the engagement of military priests in propaganda activity among the soldiers and officers of the corps. The report of the archpriest S. V. Kaverznev provides valuable information on the history of military operations of the 4th Orenburg Army Corps in summer of 1919, which ended with its defeat and escape to the Turgai Steppe. The article also publishes the formal request of the archpriest S. V. Kaverznev on the emergency situation that took place in the 4th Orenburg Army Corps – desertion of the regimental priest of the 6th Syzran Rifle Regiment Vasily Yaremenko, who joined the Reds in early September of 1919. The author believes that this document testifies to the escalated symptoms that led to decomposition of the Kolchak Army in the autumn of 1919.

The Democratic Conference and the Pre-Parliament in Russia, 1917: Class, Nationality, and the Building of a Postimperial Community

The article offers a detailed analysis of the debates at the All-Russian Democratic Conference and in the Provisional Council of the Russian Republic (the Pre-Parliament), which followed the proclamation of the republic on September 1, 1917, and predated the Bolshevik-led insurgency on October 25. The two assemblies were supposed to help resolve the multilayered political, economic, and military crises of the First World War and the Revolution by consolidating a Russian postimperial political community and establishing a solid government. The debates demonstrated that grievances and antagonism, which were articulated in terms of class and nationality, made the idea of a broad nationalist coalition unpopular, since it would halt agrarian and other reforms and continue the negligence of non-Russian groups. Furthermore, those who still called for all-Russian national or civic unity split on the issue of community-building. The top-down, homogenizing and bottom-up, composite approaches proved irreconcilable and precluded a compromise between non-socialist and moderate socialist groups. The two assemblies hence failed to ensure a peaceful continuation of the postimperial transformation and did not lead to a broad coalition against right and left radicalism. The divisions, which were articulated in the two assemblies, translated into the main rifts of the Russian Civil War.

Postmodernist Features in W. Gerhardie’s Novel “The Polyglots”

В статье изучается творчество русско-английского писателя Уильяма Герхарди, которое оценивается в литературоведении диаметрально противоположно — от восторженного признания его культового характера до полного отказа в художественности и идейной глубине. Цель данной статьи — исследовать черты постмодернистской эстетики и мировоззрения в наиболее известном романе Герхарди на тему Гражданской войны в России — «Полиглоты», вбирающем в себя тенденции литературного развития ХХ века и служащем примечательным образцом концептуально-художественного синтеза. В статье анализируются такие проявления постмодернизма в «Полиглотах», как эпистемологическое сомнение, критика метанарративов, восприятие действительности как неуправляемого хаоса, принцип нон-иерархии, разрушение бинарных оппозиций, игровое начало, деконструкция, необарочное мироощущение, интертекстуальность, полижанровость. Отдельное внимание уделяется образу протагониста-рассказчика, сознание которого, с одной стороны, скрепляет повествование, придает картине распадающейся действительности целостность, с другой, в силу своей подвижности и текучести, лишает образ бытия смысловой однозначности, что также является постмодернистской особенностью. Еще одна примечательная постмодернистская черта произведения английского автора — его метаповествовательная природа: «Полиглоты» — это роман о романе, о процессе его создания. Через все исследование проведена мысль о влиянии русской культуры на художественную картину мира Герхарди, о рецепции, в том числе в характерной для постмодернизма пародийно-игровой, иронической форме, произведений русских писателей. The article investigates the literary legacy of William Gerhardie, an Anglo-Russian novelist, whose works receive diametrically opposite reviews. Some give him ample praise, while others criticize his books for having neither artistic nor ideological merit. The aim of the article is to explore “The Polyglots”, W. Gerhardie’s famous novel about Russian civil war through the lens of postmodernist aesthetics and postmodernist worldview. W. Gerhardie’s novel is a prime example of 20th century literature with its conceptual unity and artistic synthesis. The article analyzes such postmodernist features of “The Polyglots” as epistemological doubt, metanarrative critique, perception of the world as something uncontrollably chaotic, non-hierarchical principle, destruction of binary oppositions, gaming essence, deconstruction, neobaroque worldview, intertextulaity, multigenre characteristics. Special attention is given to the analysis of the protagonist, the narrator of the story, whose consciousness glues together the random pieces of the mosaic of life and, being flexible and unstable, adds ambiguity, which is another postmodernist characteristic. One more postmodernist feature of the work is its metanarrative character. “The Polyglots” is a novel about a novel, a novel about the writing process. The article focuses on the influence of the Russian culture on Gerhardie’s artistic worldview, his ironic postmodernist interpretation of Russian writers’ literary legacy.

Selvinsky’s Ulyalaevshchina in 1924–1927

A detailed reconstruction of the history behind the creation and publication of I. Selvinsky’s Ulyalaevshchina, a narrative poem about the Russian civil war in the Urals, following the 1917 revolution. Composed in 1924, Ulyalaevshchina was first published in 1927 and then underwent numerous alterations by Selvinsky, to a detrimental effect. The 1920s–1930s saw four publications of the poem as a separate book; the poem was considered a masterpiece of Selvinsky’s and of contemporary Soviet poetic output in general. However, its subsequent publications in the 1930s were unofficially vetoed up until the early Thaw years, when, in 1956, the poem was published again upon radical redrafting by the author. The scholar makes a meticulous comparison between various archive versions of Ulyalaevshchina, comments on textual juxtapositions and finds that the poem, conceived as a ‘verse novel’ about the Russian civil war and the Bolshevik pillaging of rural settlements during the food confiscation campaign (prodrazvyorstka), was intentionally rewritten by Selvinsky as an exemplary Soviet epic, which could not but damage the poem’s quality and intonation.

1920–1922

The sub-chapter summarises military and political developments in the eastern Mediterranean in 1920–1922, beginning with the decision to formally occupy Istanbul, which expanded Allied responsibilities while leading to the emergence of a rival Turkish national assembly in Ankara. It assesses Greece’s successive offensives into Anatolia, which ended in defeat and the loss of Izmir to Turkish national forces in September 1922. It further examines the impact of the Bolshevik victory in the Russian civil war on Britain’s position in the Caucasus and Istanbul, and the changing relationship between the Allies and Greece following the Royalist victory there. The chapter shows how Britain took unilateral action to redefine its position in Egypt after failed negotiations with nationalist representatives. Finally, it shows how confrontation with Greece and nationalist Turkey in the vicinity of Istanbul forced the British government to accept a revision of the peace treaty they had forced on the region.

The War Beyond Italy

Italy entered the war to cement its great power status. To convince its Entente partners it was actively contributing to the global struggle, it sent troops first to Albania and later Macedonia, both in pursuit of territorial goals and to support the allies. As the conflict expanded in scope and scale, Italian war aims grew correspondingly: in 1917 a new allied agreement promised Italy territorial compensation in Asia Minor. The St Jean de Maurienne Agreement also enabled Italy to send a tiny expeditionary force to Palestine. By 1918 the need to demonstrate a global commitment led to even more overseas deployment for Italian forces: units were sent to France to the Western Front and to both Murmansk and Manchuria to fight in the Russian Civil War. Despite all these far-flung missions, however, only in Albania was there any intention to remain after the war’s end.

The documentation system of anti-Bolshevist government’s military departments during the Russian Civil War

Статья посвящена вопросам документирования деятельности органов военного управления антибольшевистских правительств и системе военной документации, сложившейся в период Гражданской войны в России. На основании изучения нормативных документов дореволюционной России, регламентировавших ведение письмоводства и делопроизводства в царской армии, и архивных документов, находящихся на хранении в Российском государственном военном архиве, автором сделаны выводы о попытке сохранения имперских традиций в этой области, точном соблюдении установленных правил составления и оформления служебных документов, относящихся к системе военной документации в Белой армии. Система военной документации в статье разделена на группы: организационные документы, распорядительные, служебная переписка, документы оперативного характера. Особое внимание уделено видам документов, их функциям, стилистике написания текстов документов. Приведены примеры различных видов документов, относящихся к системе военной документации и использовавшихся в период Гражданской войны в России. This article is devoted to the issues of documenting the operations of military authorities of anti-Bolshevik governments and the system of military documentation that developed during the Russian Civil War. The author studied pre-revolutionary Russian documents that regulated clerical work in the Tsar's army, and archival documents stored in the Russian State Military Archive. Based on those documents, the author draws conclusions about attempts to preserve Imperial traditions in that area, as well as strict adherence to existing rules for drafting and formalising official documentation related to the White Army. The article divides the military documentation system into several groups: organisational documents, executive documents, official correspondence, operational documents. The author focuses on the types of documents, their functions and the language used. The article provides examples of different types of documents related to the military documentation system and used during the Russian Civil War.