The Civil War in the South of Russia in the memoirs of the last protopresbyter of the Russian Army and Navy, Fr. George Shavelsky

Перенести в английский вариант

   The article is devoted to the analysis of the ideological, conceptual and factual content of the memoirs of Father George Shavelsky, who was consistently the last protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy of the Russian Empire, and since the end of November 1918 protopresbyter of the military and naval clergy of the Volunteer Army, about the events of the Civil War in the South of Russia. The author was an extremely intelligent man, had an impeccable moral character, and personal charm and special piety gave his relationships with people a special confidence, which made the memoirs as informative as possible. Father George strives to be impartial, not hiding the various “ulcers” of White volunteerism. The attitude of various circles to the high command is highlighted in detail, the negative role of “rumors and gossip” is emphasized. “Everyone who had something to do and who had nothing to do discussed and criticized strategy and policy.” A separate chapter of Fr. George's memoirs is devoted to the “Ailments of the Volunteer Army”: the claims of the first-time income earners for advantages, intolerance to those forced to serve with the Bolsheviks, widespread robberies and drunkenness, etc. Before proceeding to the assessment in the memoirs of Fr. George the lighting of the problems of Church the degree of historiographical illumination of religious influence on the political processes of the Civil War period is characterized. It is show further how the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, General A.I. Denikin, who himself repeatedly emphasized his deep religiosity, built a new system of state-church relations. The motives and circumstances of the organization of the supreme church authority are revealed. The chapter “The Decline of the Volunteer Army” describes the finale of Denikin's epic, including the fate of General I.P. Romanovsky.

1. Biryukova Yu.A. (2019a) The problem of formation of a new model of church-state relations after the February Revolution in the decisions of the Don Extraordinary Congress of Clergy and Laity in 1917. Nauchnaya mysl' Kavkaza = Scientific Thought of the Caucasus. No. 1 (97). P. 64-70. (In Russ.). doi: URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/problema-formirovaniya-novoy-modeli-gosudarstvenno-tserkovnyh-otnosheniy-posle-fevralskoy-revolyutsii-v-resheniyah-donskogo?ysclid=losox4lefp457641137. EDN: ERWTEG.

2. Biryukova Yu.A. (2019b) The participation of the clergy in political parties and public political movements in the White South during the Civil War. Noveishaya istoriya Rossii = Modern History of Russia. Vol. 9. No. 4. P. 880-899. (In Russ.). doi: 10.21638/11701/spbu24.2019.403. EDN: OJLIYX.

3. Biryukova Yu. A. (2023) Kuban Diocese and the Kuban Government Council during the Civil War. Rossiiskaya istoriya = Russian History. No. 4. P. 165-173. (In Russ.). URL: https://elibrary.ru/hobkna?ysclid=losp1zukdj506847134. EDN: HOBKNA.

4. Vasilevskii V.I. (2000) Trans-Baikal White statehood in 1918-1920. Brief sketches of history. Chita: Search. 182 p. (In Russ.).

5. Denikin A.I. (1991) The path of the Russian officer. Moscow: Sovremennik. 300 p. (In Russ.).

6. Denikin A.I. (2002) Essays on Russian Troubles. Vol. IV. Armed forces of the South of Russia. Collapse of the Russian Empire. October 1918 - January 1919. Minsk: Harvest. 560 p. (In Russ.).

7. Denikin A.I. (2014) On guard of the Russian statehood: Selected articles, speeches, letters. Moscow: Russian Way. 472 p. (In Russ.).

8. Kalinovskii V.V. (2021) On the question of the religiosity of the "white" leaders. Grazhdanskaya voina na vostoke Rossii: vzglyad skvoz' dokumental'noe nasledie : materialy IV Mezhdunar. nauch.-prakt. konf., posvyashch. 100-letiyu Zapadno-Sibirskogo vosstaniya i 10-letiyu Tsentra izucheniya istorii Grazhdanskoi voiny (Rossiya, Omsk, 20–21 okt. 2021 g.) = Civil War in the East of Russia: a look through the documentary heritage: Proceedings of the IV International Scientific-Practical Conference, dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the West Siberian Uprising and the 10^th anniversary of the Center for the Study of the History of the Civil War (Russia, Omsk, October 20-21, 2021). Omsk: Omsk State Technical University. P. 107-113. (In Russ.). EDN: OHRFML.

9. Molchanov L.A. (2008) "We did not give the believers everything that we had to give" (Temporary Supreme Church Administration in the South of Russia). Belaya gvardiya: Russkaya Pravoslavnaya Tserkov' i Beloe dvizhenie = White Guard: The Russian Orthodox Church and the White Movement. Moscow: Posev. P. 33-54. (In Russ.).

10. Nechaev M.G. (2004) The Church in the Urals during the Great Upheavals: 1917-1922. Perm’: Perm’State Pedagogical University. 334 p. (In Russ.).

11. Puchenkov A.S. (2021) The first year of the Volunteer Army: from the emergence of the “Alekseevskaya organization” to the formation of the Armed Forces in the South of Russia. St. Petersburg: Vladimir Dal Publishing House. 813 p. (In Russ.). EDN: WORRNQ.

12. Puchenkov A.S., Kalinovskii V.V. (2020) The spiritual outpost of Russia: the Orthodox clergy of the Crimea in 1914-1920 : monograph. St. Petersburg : Publishing house “Vladimir Dal”, 407 p. (In Russ.). EDN: ZMLQKE.

13. Rogozny P.G. (2008) The Church Revolution of 1917 (The highest clergy of the Russian Church in the struggle for power in the dioceses after the February Revolution). St. Petersburg: Liki Rossii. 224 p. (In Russ.).

14. Smirnov N.N. (2020a) Orthodox clergy during the Civil War. Rossiiskaya istoriya = Russian History. No. 6. P. 246-249. (In Russ.). URL: https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=49882509&ysclid=lospdr02uy712408891. EDN: MOVBQJ.

15. Smirnov N.N. (2022b) The church cannot be separated from civil history... Omskii nauchnyi vestnik. Ser. Obshchestvo. Istoriya = Omsk Scientific Bulletin. Ser. Society. History. Modernity. Vol. 7. No. 2. P. 57-64. (In Russ.). doi: 10.25206/2542-0488-2022-7-2-57-64. EDN: DPRJFA.

16. Sushko A.V. (2022)The role of religion during the Civil War in Russia (on the example of processes in the Omsk and Pavlodar Diocese). Omskii nauchnyi vestnik. Ser.Obshchestvo. Istoriya. Sovremennost' = Omsk Scientific Bulletin. The ser. Society. History. Modernity. Vol. 7. No. 2. P. 34-42. (In Russ.). doi: 10.25206/2542-0488-2022-7-2-34-42. EDN: LGXZXP.

17. Firsov S.L. (2018) "Time for war and time for peace". The Orthodox Russian Church and the Civil War in Russia. Essays on history and historiography. St. Petersburg: Publishing House of A.I. Herzen RSPU. 168 p. (In Russ.). EDN: PMKFNO.

18. Tsvetkov V.Zh. (2016) White business in Russia. 1920-1922 (formation and evolution of political structures of the White Movement in Russia). Moscow: Dostoinstvo. Pt. 2. 640 p. (In Russ.). EDN: XBBBGH.

19. Chemakin A.A. (2020) "Anonymous Center": secret monarchist organizations and right-wing terrorism in the White South of Russia (1918-1920). Moscow: Kuchkovo pole Muzeon. 640 p. (In Russ.).

20. Tsyrempilova I.S. (2008) The Russian Orthodox Church and the State: the History of Relations in the 1917-1930^s. (based on the materials of the Baikal region). Ulan-Ude: East-Siberian State Institute of Culture. 300 p. (In Russ.). EDN: WDJNIT.

21. Shavelskii G.I. (1954) Memoirs of the last protopresbyter of the Russian Army and Navy. In 2 vol. New York: Izdatel'stvo im. Chekhova. Vol. 1,2. 414; 412 p. (In Russ.).

22. Shavelskii G.I., protopresbyter. (2016) At school and at work. Memories. Moscow; Brussels’. 824 p. (In Russ.).