Multi-layered views and thoughts, a panorama of the factors of the Civil War

Abstract

The review evaluates the monograph of the St. Petersburg historian Alexander Sergeevich Puchenkov, who examined the development of the organization and combat activities of the anti-Bolshevik forces in the South of Russia during the first year of their existence. It is indicated that the author is a recognized specialist, the author of numerous books and articles, he presented the result of two decades of intense and painstaking research. The structure seems to be quite justified, the events are considered chronologically. The multilayered views of the participants in the events of the Civil War and the author's thoughts on the base of historical sources are respected. The four chapters of the main text present a panorama of historical factors taken into account and interrelated. The initial unwillingness of the overwhelming part of the Russian officer corps and the Cossacks to participate in the Civil War is emphasized. A. S. Puchenkov overcomes historiographical inertia. The author especially highlights the strong connection between the events of 1917-1918 and the defeat of the Whites that followed at the end of 1920.