The Editors and Board of Trustees of the Russian Review
Russian Anarchists and the Civil War
Author(s): Paul Avrich
Source: Russian Review, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul., 1968), pp. 296-306
Published by: Wiley on behalf of The Editors and Board of Trustees of the Russian Review
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RussianAnarchists
andtheCivil War
By Paul Avrich
HEN thefirst
shotsoftheRussianCivilWarwerefired,
theanarchists,
in commonwiththe otherleft-wing
opposition
parties,
werefacedwitha seriousdilemma.Whichside
were theyto support?As staunchlibertarians,
theyheld no
briefforthedictatorial
butthe
policiesofLenin'sgovernment,
prospectofa Whitevictory
seemedevenworse.Activeopposi-.
tionto theSovietregimemighttipthebalancein favorof the
counterrevolutionaries.
On theotherhand,supportfortheBolsheviksmightserveto entrench
themtoo deeplyto be ousted
frompoweronce thedangerofreactionhad passed. It was a
quandarywithno simplesolutions.Aftermuchsoul-searching
and debate,theanarchists
adopteda varietyofpositions,
rangingfromactiveresistance
totheBolsheviks
through
passiveneutralityto eagercollaboration.A majority,
however,cast their
lotwiththebeleagueredSovietregime.By August1919,at the
climaxoftheCivilWar,Leninwas so impressed
withthezeal
and courageof these"Sovietanarchists,"
as theiranti-Bolshevik comradescontemptuously
dubbed them,thathe counted
themamong"themostdedicatedsupporters
of Sovietpower.""
An outstanding
case in pointwas Bill Shatov,a former
IWW
agitatorin the UnitedStateswho had returnedto his native
RussiaaftertheFebruary
Revolution.
As an officer
in theTenth
Red Army
duringtheautumnof1919,Shatovthrewhisenergies
intothe defenseof Petrogradagainstthe advanceof General
Yudenich.The following
yearhe was summonedto Chitato
becomeMinister
ofTransport
in theFar EasternRepublic.Beforehe left,Shatovtriedtojustify
hiscollaborationist
position
to
hisfellowlibertarians,
EmmaGoldmanandAlexander
Berkman.
"NowI justwanttotellyou,"he said,"thattheCommunist
state
IV. I. Lenin,Sochineniia,
2nd. ed., 31 vols.,Moscow,1931-1935,XXIV,437.
296
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RussianAnarchists
and theCivilWar
297
in action is exactlywhat we anarchistshave always claimed it
would be-a tightlycentralizedpower still more strengthened
by the dangersof the Revolution. Under such conditions,one
cannotdo as one wills. One does not justhop on a trainand go,
or even ride the bumpers,as I used to do in the United States.
One needs permission.But don't get the idea that I miss my
American'blessings.' Me for Russia, the Revolution,and its
gloriousfuture."The anarchists,said Shatov,were "the romanticistsof the Revolution,"but one could not fightwith ideals
alone. At themoment,thechieftaskwas to defeatthereactionaries. "We anarchistsshould remaintrueto our ideals, but we
should not criticizeat this time. We must work and help to
build."2
Shatov was one of a small armyof anarchistswho took up
weapons againstthe Whites duringthe Civil War. Othersaccepted minorposts withinthe Soviet governmentand urged
theircomradesto do likewise,orat leastto refrainfromactivities
which were hostileto the Bolshevikcause. Yuda Roshchin,a
formerBlack Banner terroristand an implacable foe of the
Marxists,now surprisedeveryoneby hailingLenin as one of the
great figuresof the modernage. Accordingto Victor Serge,
Roshchineven triedto workout an "anarchisttheoryof the dictatorshipof the proletariat."Speakingbeforea group of Moscow anarchistsin 1920,he exhortedhis colleagues to cooperate
with Lenin's party. "It is the dutyof everyanarchist,"he declared, "to work whole-heartedly
with the Communists,who
are the advance guard of the Revolution.Leave yourtheories
alone, and do practicalworkforthe reconstruction
of Russia.
The need is great,and the Bolshevikswelcome you."3
2EmmaGoldman,LivingAJyLife,New York,1931, p. 729; AlexanderBerkman,The BolshevikMyth(Diary 1920-1922),New York,1925,pp. 35-36.
sVictorSerge,Memoiresd'un rivolutionnaire,
Paris,1951, p. 134; Berkman,
The BolshevikMyth,p. 68.
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298
The Russian Review
But Roshlchin'slistenerswere not impressed. Greetinghis
speech witha chorusof jeersand catcalls,theywrotehimoffas
anotherloss to "Soviet anarchism"and a traitorto the cause of
Bakuninand Kropotkin.For even in these precariouscircumstancesa large and militantsegmentof the anarchistmovement
would deny theirBolshevikadversariesany quarter. The Briansk Federationof Anarchists,forexample,called forthe immediateoverthrow
of the"Social Vampires"in the Kremlinwho
suckedtheblood of the people. Translatingthisappeal intoaction,a terrorist
organizationin Moscow known as the UndergroundAnarchistsjoined forceswiththe Left SRs and bombed
the headquartersof the CommunistParty Committee,killing
twelveof itsmembersand woundingfifty-five
others,Bukharin
amongthem.
In the south,wherethe authorityof the statewas completely
disrupted,anarchistviolence foundits mostfertilesoil. Bands
of armed marauders,operatingunder such names as "HurricaiiC' and "Death," sprangup in everyquarter,readyto swoop
down on town or village wheneverthe opportunity
presented
itself. The Bakunin Partisansof Ekaterinoslavsang of a new
"era of dynamite"whichwould greetoppressorsof everystripe,
Red and Whitealike:
Down with the noise of churchbells!
We shall sound a different
alarm.
Withexplosionsand groansin the land
We shall build our own harmony!4
And in Kharkov a fanatical circle of Anarcho-Futurists
proclaimed""Deathto worldcivilization!"and urgedthe darkmasses to take up theiraxes and destroyeverything
in sight.
Auarchistsof a more pacific bent denounced these groups
as "Sicilian bandits"who used the cloak of anarchismto conceal the predatorynatureof theiractivities.For the moderates,
4M. N. Chudnov,Pod chernymznamenem(zapiski anarkhista),Moscow,
1930, pp. 53ff.
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and theCivilWar
RussianAnarchists
299
were grotesquecaricaturesof anarchist
robberyand terrorism
doctrines,whichservedonlyto demoralizethe movement'strue
adherentsand to discreditanarchismin the eyes of the public.
Renouncingviolentaction,the milderanarchistsarmed themselves withnothingmorelethalthanpen and inkand mounted
a verbal attackon the Soviet dictatorship.A major theme of
theircriticismwas that the BolshevikRevolutionhad merely
substituted"statecapitalism"forprivatecapitalism,thatone big
ownerhad takentheplace of manysfinall
ones,so thatthe peasnow
found
themselves
under the heel of a
ants and workers
"new class of administrators-anew class bornlargelyfromthe
In theirview,whathad takenplace
womboftheintelligentsia."5
in Russia closelyresembledthe earlierrevolutionsin Western
of
Europe: no soonerhad the oppressedfarmersand craftsmen
frompowEngland and France removedthe landed aristocracy
er thanthe ambitiousmiddle class stepped intothe breach and
erecteda new class structurewithitselfat the top; in a similar
manner,the privilegesand authorityonce shared by the Russian nobilityand bourgeoisiehad passed into the hands of a
bureaugovernment
new rulingclass composedofpartyofficials,
crats,and technicalspecialists.
As theCivilWar deepened,thegovernment
grewless and less
tolerantof such criticismsand startedclampingdown on anarchistgroupsin Moscow and Petrograd. As a result,therebegan an exodus of anarchiststo the Ukraine,the perennialhaven
of fugitivesfromthe persecutionsof the centralgovernment.
In the cityof Kharkova new anarchistorganization,the Nabat
Confederation,sprang up in 1918 and soon could boast of
branches in all the major cities of the south. As
flourishing
mightbe expected,Nabat's adherentswere extremelycritical
of the Sovietdictatorship,
yettheybelieved thatthemostpressWVol'nyi
Golos Trudac,September 16, 1918.
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300
The Russian Review
ing task of the anarchistmovementwas to defend the revolution against the White onslaught,even if this should mean a
temporaryalliance with the Communists.To save the revolution they pinned theirhopes on a "partisanarmy"organized
spontaneouslyby the revolutionarymasses themselves.
As themostlikelynucleusof such an armythe Nabat leaders
looked to the guerillaband led by NestorMakhno,whose followersregardedhimas a new StenkaRazin or Pugachevsentto
realize theirancient dream of land and liberty.Travelingon
horsebackand in lightpeasant carts (tachanki) on which machine guns were mounted,Makhno and his men moved swiftly
back and forthacrossthe open steppebetweenthe Dnieper and
the Sea ofAzov,swellingintoa smallarmyas theywentand inspiringterrorin the heartsof theiradversaries. Hithertoindependentguerillabands accepted Makhno'scommandand rallied
to his black banner. Villagerswillinglyprovidedfood and fresh
horses,enablingthe Makhnovtsyto travellong distanceswith
littledifficulty.
Suddenly they would turnup where least expected,attackthe gentryand militarygarrisons,thenvanishas
quicklyas theyhad come. In captureduniformstheyinfiltrated
the enemy'sranks to learn theirplans or to fireon them at
point-blankrange. When cornered,the Makhnovtsywould
bury theirweapons, make theirway singlyback to theirvillages, and takeup workin the fields,awaitingthe nextsignalto
uneartha new cache of arms and springup again in an unexpected quarter. Makhno's insurgents,in the words of Victor
Serge, revealed "a truly epic capacity for organizationand
combat."8Yet they owed much of theirsuccess to the exceptionalqualitiesoftheirleader. Makhnowas a bold and resourcefulcommanderwho combinedan ironwill witha quick sense of
8Serge, Mimoires d'un revolationnaire, p. 135.
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RussianAn-archi.sts
and theCivilWar
301
humor
andwontheloveanddevotion
ofhispeasantfollowers.
In September
a muchsuperior
1918,whenhe defeated
forceof
Austrians
hismenbestowed
at thevillageofDibrivki,
on him
theaffectionate
titleofbatko,
their"littlefather."7
Fora time,Makhno's
withtheBolsheviks
remained
dealings
reasonably
friendly,
and theSovietpressextolledhimas a
and a greatrevolutionary
"courageous
leader.Relapartisan"
tionswereat theirbestin March1919,whenMakhnoand the
Communists
concluded
a pactforjointmilitary
actionagainst
theWhiteArmy
ofGeneral
Denikin.
Suchgestures
ofharmony,
couldnotconcealthebasichostility
however,
between
thetwo
groups.The Communists
had littletastefortheautonomous
statusofMakhno's
orforthepowerful
Insurgent
Army
attractionwhichitexerted
on theirownpeasantrecruits;
theMakhontheirside,fearedthatsoonerorlatertheRedArmy
novtsy,
wouldattempt
tobringtheir
movement
toheel.Asfriction
increased,
theSovietnewspapers
abandoned
their
eulogies
ofthe
andbeganto attackthemas "kulaks"
Makhnovtsy
and"Anarcho-Bandits."
In May,twoChekaagentssentto assassinate
Malkhno
werecaught
andexecuted.
Thefollowing
month
Trotsky,Commander-in-Chief
of the Bolshevik
forces,outlawed
Makhno,
andCommunist
troops
carried
outa lightning
raidon
hisheadquarters
at Gulyai-Polye.
Thatsummer,
theshakyalliancewas hastilyrehowever,
sumedwhenDenikin's
massive
drivetoward
Moscowsentboth
theCommunists
and theMakhnovtsy
reeling.On September
26, 1919,Makhnosuddenly
launched
a successful
counter-atat
tack thevillageofPeregonovka,
nearthetownofUman,cuttingtheWhiteGeneral's
supplylinesand creating
panicand
inhisrear.ThiswasDenikin's
disorder
first
serious
reverse
in
hisdramatic
advanceintotheRussianheartland
and a major
7P. Arshinov,Istorfiamakhnovskogo
dvizheniia (1918-1921 gg.), Berlin,
1923,pp. 57-58.
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302
The RussianiReview
factorin haltinghis drivetowardthe Bolshevikcapital. By the
end of theyeara counter-offensive
by the Red Armyhad forced
Denikinto beat a swiftretreatto the shoresof the Black Sea.
The Makhnovshchinareached its crestin the monthsfollowingthevictoryat Peregonovka.DuringOctoberand November,
Makhno occupied Ekaterinoslavand Aleksandrovsk
forseveral
weeks and thusobtainedhis firstchance to apply the concepts
ofanarchismto citylife. Makhno'saim was to throwoffdomination of everytype and to encourageeconomicand social selfdetermination.Thus, when the railroad workersof Aleksandrovskcomplainedthattheyhad notbeen paid formanyweeks,
he advised themto take controlof the railwaylines and charge
thepassengersand freightshipperswhat seemed a fairpricefor
theirservices. Such utopian projects,however,failed to win
overmorethan a small minority
of workingmen,
for,unlikethe
farmersand artisansof the village,who were independentproducersaccustomedto managingtheirown affairs,
factoryworkers and minersoperated as interdependentparts of a complicated industrialmachineand were lost withoutthe guidanceof
supervisorsand technicalspecialists.Furthermore,
thepeasants
and artisanscould barterthe productsof theirlabor, whereas
theurbanworkersdepended on regularwages fortheirsurvival.
Makhno,moreover,compoundedthe confusionwhen he recognized all paper moneyissued by his predecessors-Ukrainian
nationalists,Whites,and Bolsheviksalike. He never understood
the complexitiesof an urban economy,nor did he care to understandthem.He detestedthe "poison"of the citiesand cherished the natural simplicityof the peasant environmentinto
whichhe had been born. In any event,Makhnofoundverylittle
timeto implementhis ill-definedeconomicprograms.He was
foreveron the move, rarelypausing even to catch his breath.
The Makhnovshchina,
in the wordsof one of the batko'sassoci-
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RussianAnarchistsand the Civil War
303
ates, was a "republicon tachanki. . . . As always, the instabilityofthesituationpreventedpositivework.
"8
At the end of 1919, Makhno received instructions
fromthe
Red Commandto transfer
his armyforthwith
to thePolishfront.
The orderwas plainlydesignedto draw the Makhnovtsyaway
fromtheirhometerritory
and thusleave it open to the establishment of Bolshevikrule. Makhno refusedto budge. Trotsky's
responsewas firmand unhesitating:he outlawedthe Makhnovtsyand senthis troopsagainstthem. Thereensuedeightmonths
of bitterstrugglewith losses high on both sides. A severe typhus epidemic augmentedthe toll of victims.Badly outnumbered,Makhno'spartisansavoided pitchedbattlesand reliedon
theguerrillatacticstheyhad perfectedin morethantwoyearsof
CivilWar.
Hostilitieswere broken offin October 1920, when Baron
Wrangel,Denikin's successorin the south,launched a major
offensive,
striking
northwardfromthe Crimeanpeninsula.Once
morethe Red ArmyenlistedMakhno'said, in returnforwhich
the Communistsagreed to amnestyforall anarchistsin Russian
prisonsand guaranteedthe anarchistsfreedomof propaganda
on conditionthattheyrefrainfromcallingforthe violentoverthrowofthe Sovietgovernment.Barelya monthlater,however,
the Red Armyhad made sufficient
gains to assurevictoryin the
Civil War, and the Sovietleaders toreup theiragreementwith
Makhno. Not only had the Makhnovtsyoutlivedtheirusefulness as a militarypartner,but as long as the batko was leftat
large the spiritof primitiveanarchismand the danger of a
peasant jacquerie would remainto haunt the unsteadyBolshevikregime. Thus, on November25, 1920, Makhno'scommanders in the Crimea,freshfromtheirvictoriesover Wrangel'sarmy,were seized by the Red Armyand immediatelyshot. The
La revolution
WVoline,
inconnue(1917-1921), Paris,1943, pp. 578, 603.
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304
The Russian Review
nextday Trotskyorderedan attackon Makhno'sheadquarters
in Gulyai-Polye,while the Cheka simultaneouslyarrestedthe
membersof the Nabat Confederationin Kharkovand carried
out raids on anarchistclubs and organizationsthroughoutthe
country.During the attackon Gulyai-Polye,mostof Makhno's
staffwere capturedand imprisonedor simplyshot on the spot.
The batko himself,however,togetherwitha batteredremnant
of an armywhichhad once numberedin the tens of thousands,
managed to elude his pursuers. Afterwandering over the
Ukraineforthe betterpart of a year, the partisanleader, exfromunhealed wounds,crossed the
hausted and stillsuffering
DniesterRiver into Rumania and eventuallyfoundhis way to
Paris.
The downfallof Makhnomarkedthe beginningof the end of
Russian anarchism.Three monthslater,in February1921, the
movementsufferedanothermajor blow when Peter Kropotkin,
nearlyeightyyearsold, fell ill withpneumoniaand died. Kropotkin'sfamilydeclined Lenin's offerof a state burial, and a
committeeof anarchistswas set up to arrangea funeral. Lev
Kamenev,Chairmanof the Moscow Soviet,allowed a handful
of imprisonedanarchistsa day's libertyto take part in the procession. Bravingthe bittercold of the Moscow winter,20,000
marched in the cortege to the Novodevichii Monastery,the
burial place of Kropotkin'sprincelyancestors. They carried
placards and black bannersbearingdemandsforthe release of
all anarchistsfromprisonand such mottoesas "Wherethereis
authoritythereis no freedom"and "The liberationof the workingclass is thetaskoftheworkersthemselves."A choruschanted
EternalMemory. As the processionpassed the Butyrkiprison,
the inmatesshookthe bars on theirwindowsand sang an anarchisthymnto the dead. Emma Goldman spoke at Kropotkin's
graveside.and studentsandsworkersplaced flowersby his tomb.
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Russsian.
Anarchistsand the Civil War
305
Kropotkin'sbirthplace,a large house in the old aristocratic
quarterof Moscow, was turnedover to his wife and comrades
to be used as a museumforhis books,papers,and personalbelongings. Supervisedby a committeeof scholarlyanarchists,it
was maintainedby contributionsfromfriendsand admirers
the world.9
throughout
At Kropotkin's
funeraltheblack flagof anarchismwas paraded throughMoscow forthe last time.Two weekslaterthe Kronstadt rebellionbroke out, and a new wave of political arrests
swept the country.Anarchistbook stores,printingoffices,
and
clubswereclosed and thefewremaininganarchistcirclesbroken
up. Even the pacifistfollowersof Tolstoy-a nuumber
of whom
had been shot duringth Civil War forrefusingto serve in the
Red Army-wereimprisonedor banished.In Moscow a circleof
leading "Soviet anachists"knownas the Universalistswere arrestedon trumped-up
chargesof"banditryand underground
activities,"and theirorganizationwas replaced by a new group
called the"Anarcho-Biocosmists,"
whopledged unwavering
support of the Soviet governmentand solemnlydeclared theirintentionto launcha social revolution"in interplanetary
space but
not upon Sovietterritory."'`
Repressioncontinuedunabated as the monthsadvanced. In
September1921, the Cheka executed two well-knownanarchists without a trial and without bringingformal charges
against them. Emma Goldmanwas so outragedthat she consideredmakinga scene in themannerofthe Englishsuffragettes
by chainingherselfto a bench in the hall where the Third
CominternCongresswas meetingand shoutingher proteststo
9The museumwas closed afterthe deathof Kropotkin's
widowin 1938. In
1967, the authorvisitedthe house and foundit being used fora purposeof
whichKropotkin
himselfwouldsurelyhave approved:it servesas a schoolfor
Britishand Americanembassychildren,witha playgroundin the gardenand
an interior
filledwithchildren'sbooksand art work.
10G.P. Maximoff,
The Guillotineat Work,Chicago,1940, p. .362.
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306
RussianReview
TI/he
the delegates.She was dissuadedfromdoingso by her Russian
friends,but soon afterwardshe and Berkman,profoundly
disheartenedby the turnthe revolutionhad taken,made up their
mindsto leave the country."Greyare the passingdays,"Berkman recordedin his diary. "One by one the embersof hope
have died out. Terrorand despotismhave crushedthe lifeborn
in October. The slogans of the Revolutionare foresworn,
its
idealsstifledin theblood ofthepeople. The breathofyesterday
is doomingmillionsto death; the shadow of today hangs like
a black pall over the country.Dictatorshipis tramplingthe
massesunderfoot. The Revolutionis dead; itsspiritcriesin the
wilderness. . . J
I have decided to leave Russia.""
"Berkman,theBolshevikMyth,p. 319.
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