Civil War in Siberia: The Anti-Bolshevik Government of Admiral Kolchak, 1918 1920

784 Pages·2011·23.1 MB·English

by  Jonathan D. Smele

The Russian Civil War of 1917-1921 was a cataclysmic series of
overlapping conflicts. It was a pivotal event in modern history, and left
a deep imprint on the participants and their descendents for decades
after its end. It was the Bolshevik victory in this bloody struggle, not
in the skirmishes on the streets of Petrograd and Moscow in October
1917, which secured the victory of Soviet Communism and provided
the legitimacy for seventy years of rule. The narrowness of Lenin's
victory and the principles for which his opponents fought, have been
largely neglected. This book traces the clash between the 'Reds' of the
Moscow-based Soviet regime and the 'Whites', the militaristic,
counter-revolutionary governments which were established around the
periphery of Russia and aided by Allied interventionists. In particular,
it details the history of the White movement in Siberia, and the
fortunes of its leader, Admiral Alexandr Kolchak, the 'Supreme Ruler'
of Russia. Using a wide range of contemporary sources, Jonathan
Smele examines Kolchak's political and military record, and concludes
that the White defeat resulted as much from the harsh facts of Siberian
economy and geography as from the failures of White policy and
leadership.

Civil war in Siberia

Civil war in Siberia
The anti-Bolshevik government of
Admiral Kolchak, 1918-1920
Jonathan D. Smele
Queen Mary and Westfield College
University of London
JJ CAMBRIDGE
W UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521573351
© Jonathan D. Smele 1996
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 1996
This digitally printed first paperback version 2006
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data
Smele, Jon.
Civil war in Siberia: the anti-Bolshevik government of Admiral
Kolchak, 1918-1920 / by Jonathan D. Smele.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references
ISBN 0 521 57335 1 (hbk)
1. Siberia (Russia)-History-Revolution, 1917-1921. 2. Kolchak,
Alexsandr Vasiliyevich, 1873-1920. I. Title.
DK265.8.S5S59 1997
957.08-dc20 96-14039 CIP
ISBN-13 978-0-521-57335-1 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-57335-1 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-02907-0 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-02907-4 paperback
To Robina
'Learn how to utilize the environment. Be patient in military matters.
Do not succumb to temporary passions. And never underestimate your
enemy, regardless of who he may be.'
(From a letter of A.V. Suvorov to his godson, A. Karachai, 1796)
Contents
page
List of maps xi
Preface xiii
Glossary and abbreviations xvii
Introduction 1
1 The triumphal march of reaction 10
The democratic counter-revolution in Siberia; the revolt of the Czechoslovak
Legion and the Provisional Siberian Government; the Omsk-Samara rivalry;
the Novoselov affair: dress rehearsal for the coup; the Ufa State Conference;
Siberian Kadets and the counter-revolution; enter Pepeliaev; kto takoi
Kolchak? \ enter Kolchak; the martyrs of compromise; the conspiratorial staff;
coup d'etat at Omsk, November 18th 1918.
2 The establishment of the Kolchak government 108
Cui bono?\ a 'real dictator' and the demise of the Council of Ministers; the
veneration of the military; the politicization of the Russian Army in Siberia;
the Omsk massacre and the demise of SR opposition in Siberia.
3 'What Kolchak wants!':
military versus polity in White Siberia 183
PART ONE: HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS. The Semenov incident;
the pacification of the Czechoslovak Legion; the spectre of recognition.
PART TWO: NA MOSKVU. Planning the spring offensive.
PART THREE: 'DICTATORSHIP FOR THE SAKE OF DEMOCRACY'
- WHITE POLITICS IN EARLY 1919. A new Constituent Assembly?;
local government in White Siberia; komu zemlia? Kolchak and the land
question; the national minorities and the question of secession.
PART FOUR: RUSSIAN ARMY'S SPRING OFFENSIVE. Kolchak
rampant, March-April 1919; Kolchak refluent, May-July 1919.