greeks in the makhnovist movement

8/13/2019 Greeks in the Makhnovist Movement

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/greeks-in-the-makhnovist-movement 1/19

Participation of Preazov Greek Colonists n theMakhnovist Movement {19 LB-192L)

By V.M. Chop

The opic examined y us in the currentarticle s located t the intersectionf two

separate roblems. n one side s a stil l poorly-studiedage n the historyof the

insurgentmovement,on the other a practicallyunknown and unresearched

phenomenonn the history f the Greek ommunity f Ukraine. espitehe fact hat

over the lastdecade Ukrainian]esearchersave devotedgreatefforts n studying

both thesephenomena,heir histories ti l lcontainawkward apswhichneed o be

fil led n.Weshould lsonote hat his nvestigationontinues series f articles y he

authorwhich s devoted o the interactionsf the Makhnovistnsurgents ith the

ethnic ommunitiesf Southern kraine,nd he attitude f the atter o the struggle

for the birthof ananarchist,stateless"ociety.

Theauthorhasset himself he goalof discoveringhe degree f participationf the

PreazovGreeks n the Makhnovistmovementand to shed light on the mutualrelations f thepro-anarchisteasantmovement nd he Greek olonists.

We shall begin with the fact that the problemof the mutual relations f the

Makhnovistsith the Preazov reeks as tsown historiography.s earlyas"1924,n

Kharkov,he publishing ouse Molodoi abochi"'TheYoungworker"] ssued neof

the firstbooks n the Makhnovshchina.tsauthorwasa formerworker n the cultural-

educationalection f the Insurgent rmy, saak eper Gordeyev),memberof the

secretariat f the Anarchist onfederationNabat"who betrayed isown comradesn1921 ndstartedworking or the ExtraordinaryommissionCheka).n he beginning

heworkedasa secret gentamong he Makhnovistsnd hen, after he suppression

of the nsurgentmovement,ookon the ob of propagandist-exposinghe repulsive

internal ifeof the anarchistorceso the reading ublicof SovietUkraine. lthough

hisbookwasa striking xample f paidhackwork, t even odayenjoys high evelof

respectrom researcherss an unusuallyichsourceof informationssued irectly

from he coreof the Makhnovistommunity.n our specific asehe book svaluable



for us because he author, posing himself the question: "where did the

Makhnovshchinaome rom?", rovides n answerwhichmanywill find astounding:

"... from a wholestringof wealthyGreek ettlements,uchas:Komar, ogatir, eliky

andMalyYanisol,tc." 1 - p.24).

Teper's ointof viewhasnot aken oot n historiography.n he course f the next65

yearsMakhno cholarstudiouslygnored his antasticheoryabout he Greek rigins

of the Makhnovshchinantil the well knownMariupol ocalhistorian evYarutsky

tookan enthusiasticnterestn it. In 1993he becamehe authorof the irstpublished

investigation f the participation f the "MariupolGreeks" n the Makhnovist

movement,which was dealtwith in one of the chapters f his book.Somewhatsofteninghe 'Teperist"ormula,Yarutsky everthelessgreeswith him in principle,

declar inghat in 1918whenNestorMakhnossued iscal l or an upris ing,he irst o

respondwere he villagers f the Greek ettlementsn the Mariupol egion." 2.- p.

1781. owever, veryprofessionalistoriansquite amiliarwith the axiom hat local

historians,ven he verybestof them,oftenget carried wayand see heirwishes s

reality; nd herefore nemustsubjecthe results f their esearcho the mostcareful

verification.ngeneralhis opic equires ide-rangingesearch,etailed tudy, nda

broadening f nterpretationhrough he ntroduction f newsources.

The irstquestion hich equires pressing nswer anbe ormulated s ollows: hy

did the "MariupolGreeks"ct n an organized ay againsthe "Denikenist"egime n

1918-1919?hydidn't heysupport hat regime ike, or example,heir mmediate

neighbours,he German olonists? ertainlyhe Russianovernment adpositioned

itself, eginningrom he endof the 18th entury, sa defender f the nterests,irstof

theCrimean rthodoxGreeks,nd henof the Preazov rthodoxGreeks.t was hanks

to the efforts f Russianiplomats nd Stateministershat he Crimean reeks ere

liberatedrom under he yokeof the MuslimTatarsn the Crimean hanate nd re-

settledn the Preazovteppe. uring he 19th enturyhe Greeksillages eresubject

neither o panshchinacompulsory ervice or a landlordl,nor serfdom, or military

conscription.ndhere'shesurprise. hen he Russianutocratichrone ottered nd

fell in 1917,he Greeks f Preazov ent to war not on the sideof the Whites, ho

wanted o revive he imperial randeur, ut on the sideof theirenemies, ho were

making reateffortso suppresshe counterrevolutionaryovement.



relatively armless. ostof themwereof the Orthodoxaith.

To be precise,n the beginning he Greek ommunities upported he Makhnovists

not n itsanti-Denikenist,ut n tsanti-Hetmanatensurgency,t theendof 1918. he

Austro-Hungarianccupationroops onfiscatedrovisionsrom he Greek il lages o

less han rom he Ukrainian nes; hereforehe reasonsorsupportinghe insurgents

weresimilar. he irst aid hrough he ands f "Preazov ellas" ascarried ut by he

Makhnovistsn October1918andwassuccessfulo somedegree.mmediately fter

the battleat Dibrivkaon October1 1918 which,properly peaking,marked he

beginning f "BatkoMakhno" nd he "Makhnovshchina",.Makhno aunched raid

following he route Berdyansk Mariupol Yuzovka ith the goal of raising hepopulation n revolt.Passinghrough he villages f Gavrilivka nd lvanivka,he

Makhnovistetachment eadedor he "Greek"own of Komar. ere he Makhnovists

dispersedhe Hetman's il itia ndsummonedhepopulationo a meetingwhichwas

addressedy NestorMakhno ndAlexeiMarchenko.hey old the Greeks bout he

outrightbrigandage f the German ccupierst Velikomikhailivkandcalled pon he

populationo arm hemselvesndriseup againsthe bourgeoisiend tsprotectors

the Austro-Germatroops.

"ln the village f Komar,"Makhno ecalled,several reek ouths mmediatelyoined

our detachmentwith their own horses." romKomar he Makhnovists ent to the

neighbouring il lageof Bogatir,nhabitedby colourfulUrum-Greeksho spokea

Crimean-Tatarialectamong themselves. largemeetingwas also convened n

Bogatir. fterwardshe Makhnovistsisited ti l lanotherGreek illage VelikyYanisol

t5. p. 1091 fterwhich hey urned o the west. ust he casualmentioning f these

villages as ed o the notion hat heywereplaces here he "Makhnovshchina"as

born.N.Makhno imselfmakes o urthermention f anyconnections ith the Greek

colonistsn 1918 n his memoirs r otherwri t ings. o why did Teperadvance is

theoryof a Greekprovenancef the "Makhnovshchina"?his heory, n our opinion,

belongso the same ategory sother discoveries"f this enegade narchist hich,

in contrasto the "Greekheory"of Makhnovist rigins, avesomehow aken oot n

the historiographyf the movement.Teperechoedmuchof what the Makhnovists

told him when, as a newlyarrivedanarchistrom Kharkovn 1920,he uncritically

accepted s he truth he taleshe was old.Forexample, bout he decisivenfluence



on N. Makhnoof the opinions f P. Arshinov, issupposeddeologicalmentor.Or

about he practicen the Insurgent rmyof secret oliticalmurders. heGreek ersion

of the origins of the Makhnovshchinaelongs o this categoryof unverified

phenomena hicharenot supported y anyotherdata.

After idding hemselvesf the Hetman'sulewith the helpof the Makhnovists,rom

the beginning f 1919 he Greek ommunityried o takeup a strictly eutral osition

and not get nvolvedn the CivilWarbetweenhe RussianReds" nd he Whites. ut

time and circumstancesoonmade hisneutralitympossible.n he irstplace, third

force the Makhnovistorce waspresent:t wasclearly ot Russiannd established

itself ust to t he west of the Greek ettlements.econdly,he WhitescategoricallyrejectedGreekneutrality nd began o exploit hem in everyway possibleo benefit

the Whitecause. he final straw or the long-suffering reekswas the Denikenist

mobilization t the beginningof 1919.Officers f the VolunteerArmy conducted

themselvesn an extremely rutal ashion, ctingnot as iberators f theirnative and

but more ikepillagersn a conquered ountry.But at the beginning f 1919 here

were stil l very few of these bullies.So people hought that if they organized

themselvesnd oundsomekindof allies,heycouldsimple stompon these ipers."

The esults f the mobilization eremuch oo paltry or he WhiteGuards. yFebruary

17 1919at the assembly oints n the city of Mariupol nd the two Greek egions

closest o it, there had appeared ot more han 500 of the at least8,000expected.

Those ummonedwere estrictedo those oungmenwho hadcomeof age n 1917

and 1918and had not yet put in army service.n responsehe Whitesdecided o

launch forcedmobilization,hich mmediatelyrovoked onfrontationsithvillage

self-defenseetachments.orexample, n Februay 1 1919he Whites enta punitive

squadrono the Greek il lage f Mangush, hich ayon the roadbetweenBerdiansk

and Mariupol. ponarrivaln the village,he WhiteGuards alled general ssembly,

but attendance,especiallyby former frontoviks-deserters,as sparse.Then the

"Volunteers"egan o demand oldiersrom heGreeks, ut thosepresentold them:

"Weare not givingyou any soldiers." fter his he Greeks eregivensome ime to

think about their situation, ecausehe Whites ntended o visit a nearbyGreek

village, alta, n the sameday.Thewarningwasgiven hat if the Mangush illagers

did not rethink heir position,he Whitewould seize heir men by forceand,as a



measure f punishment, ould take the 1915and 1916 eviesas wel l . But the

Mangushansnticipatedhe Whites. heirmessengersot to Yaltabefore he Whites

and warned heir neighbours f the danger hey were n. TheYaltamen who were

subjecto the call-upled he village efore heWhites rrived ndwentunderground

in anotherGreekvillage Urzufa. n Yalta he infuriatedWhitesactedwith great

cruelty.The villageassemblywas surrounded ith armed soldiers nd when the

Denikenistsearnedhat their recruits ad escapedn an unknowndirection,hey

began o plunder he property f the "deserters" both livestock nd othergoods.

Thewivesand athers f the fugitiveswere nterrogatedigorously nd beatenwith

shampols. anyof the Whitesoldiersefusedo takepart n theseexcesseso this

unpopularaskwas akenon by he officers f thedetachmenthemselves.loseo 25women romYalta ainted rom he beatings n thisday.At this ime he Greeksrom

Mangush, alta, nd Urzufgot together nd entrenchedhemselvesn the Mangush

region.Help arrived n the form of a Makhnovist etachmentrom Novospacivka

Station nd a partisan etachmentrom he village f Derevetsk.aking tockof their

own strength, he numericall y eakGreek nsurgents oughtprotectorswherever

they could ind them,startingwith the MariupolPartyCommittee f the Communist

Party f UkraineBolsheviks),o which hey declaredhemselvesubordinate.2.- p.

2651But n time the Greeks ecognizedhe valueof theirMakhnovistsllies, oting

that heywerestrongerhan heWhites ndsmashed columnof "Volunteers"hich

advanced n MangushromYalta.

M. Davidov,he commander f an insurgent etachmentrom the villageof Stary

lhnativok, hich aterbecamehe 1'ltnHnativsky egiment f the 2nd rigade f the'l 't

Ukrainiannsurgent atkoMakhnoDivision,lso eferredo the Denikenist ethods f

mobilizationn the Greek il lages. t the endof April1919he receivedwo delegates

from hevillage ouncils f the Greek il lages f Beshevond Lapsi. heywere ooking

for quick elief rom he unitsof theVolunteer rmywhichwere nvadinghe villages

looking or provisionsnd orage.'The elegaterom Lapsi aid: -'Believeme,Mark

Timofiiovich,hey won't let us live. Everyday we are subject o raids they take

anything hat suits hem, hey even ake he girls.Help us "On the next pageof

Davidov's emoirshe Greekheme scontinued.n a battlenear he village f Veliko-

Anadolem,he insurgentsaptured slightly-woundedon-commissionedfficer f

Greekorigin.Under nterrogation,he lattersaidhe had lain down on the field of



battledeliberatelyn order o switch ideso the nsurgents.henhe began o explain

to the regimentalommanderhespecificsf the behaviour f he Greek ommunities

and their soldiers ho had beenmobilizednto the Volunteer rmy. Twohundred

men,allGreeks, ere orciblymobilizedntoa regiment ndsent o the Front o make

up for the losses f the WhiteArmy... uringa nightmarchalmosthalf of them ran

away.We [i.e.,he non-commissionedfficers V. Ch.]alsoagreed o run away, nly

we were afraidof our own officers. here s no waywe will fight against ou [i.e.,he

MakhnovistsV.Ch.l. f youattackwe will runaway or sure.Wewill ireourgunsasa

matter of form, but only towards he sky." Whydidn't you kill your officers?"We

Greeks,"e declared,don'twant o meddle n the affairs f Russians. hatever ou

decide,hat's he way t'sgoing o be.We'reafraid o kill he officers:hey'reRussians.

But t wouldbenice f youwere o kill hem." 6.-p. 155J

At the beginningof 1919 he Greekcommunitywas facedwith a difficultchoice.

Which of the revolutionary ampsshould hey support: he Communistor the

Makhnovist?ut he military lliance f the Makhnovistsith he Bolsheviksn he irst

halfof 1919 ecidedhisdilemmaor he ime being.When he Front ector f the 3'o

ZadniprovskyMakhnovist)rigade assedhrough he territory f "Preazov ellas",

the Greek evolutionaryartisan etachmentsecameMakhnovist. significantolein establishingood relations asplayedby the fact hat the Makhnovistsormally

endorsed nternationalismnd regarded hemselves s fighting primarilynot for

national, ut or socialiberation.

The ocalhistorian .Yarutsky otes hat he preservedor manyyears paperby l.

Chubarov n "The PartisanMovement n the MariupolRegion,"written in 1966.

Referringo the crisis f '1918/1919,hubarovmentionshe partisan etachment f V.

Tokhtamishev,hichoperated ear he villages f StaryKermenchuk,ovo-Petrikivik,

Novo-Karakub,nd VelikyYanisol.n the regionof the villagesof MalaYanisol,

Cherkala, ellerovik, akedonivik,nd Sartanhe partisan nitsof Sprutsko,sololo,

and Bogaditsi ereactive. herewasalsomention f partisan nits rom hesouthern

Preazov illages f Mangush ndYalta. et us note hat the Greek olonistsiked o

name hevillagesoundedby hem n Preazov fter he ownswhere heir orefathers

previouslyived n Crimea. he argest f the ocal nsurgent roupswasM.Davidov's

regimentwhich countedas manyas 3,000men and had cavalry. hereweremany



Greeksn it from he town of Starygnativits,lthoughhiswasnot a Greek ut rather

a Georgian il lage. n Davidov'segimenta separateGreekbattalionwas formed,

under he command f lvanChubarov, hosenamehasalready eenmentioned2.

p.1901.

Butsoon he situation hanged.n February 919,n accordance ith the Makhnovist

command,most of the Greekdetachments ere consolidated.he newly-created

formationalreadyhad as many as 1,500part isans. n February 1 1919 he

commander f the army group oriented owardsKharkov later he 2ndUkrainian

Army),O. Skachko,ssuedan order for the creationof the three-brigade irst

Zadniprovsky ivision, adeup of nine regiments7. p. 150]. heThirdBrigadenthisdivisionwasmadeup of BatkoMakhno's nits, nd he 9thRegimentthe hird n

the ThirdBrigade) as he GreekRegiment nder he commandof V. Tokhtamish,

who was ntroduced s he regimentalommander y P.Dybenko t PologiStation8.

- p. 901.VolodimirFeofanovichokhtamish as a Urum-Greek, nativeof Veliky

Yanisol.he atter ircumstancexplains isTatar urname. ebeganusing he name

'Tokhtamish" nly when he was ssued ew documents y the Soviet overnment.

Duringhe revolt gainsthe Hetman e organized small artisan andat he village

of StaryKermenchukStaromlinivka).nd in April 1919P. Dybenkopresented .

Tokhtamishwith the Order of the Red Banner or the captureof Mariupoland

proposed o t he Councilof People's ommissarsf the Ukrainian SR that they

express fficial ratitudeo him 7.* p.2921. lthough ebelongedo the Makhnovist

formation,t was not surprisinghat Tokhtamisheceivedhe awardbecause e had

been gravitating o the Bolsheviksor some time. He parted ways with the

Makhnovistsn the summerof 1919.Becoming Communist, okhtamishn the

1920's as n charge f building ishcannery f whichhe becamehe irstdirector.n

1935 ediedof a congenitalisease9.-p.9171.

The egiment e ed coveredtselfwith gloryon the ieldof battleat Mariupol, eliky

Yanisol, nd VelikyTokmak n March June 1919.Mariupolwas regarded s the

unofficial apital f "Preazov ellas" nd he GreekMakhnovistsonsideredt a matter

of honour o drive he Denikenistsut of it. The irstattackof the Makhnovistsn

Mariupolook place n March19 1919 nd wasdirectly onnected ith the ongoing

Mangush aga. fter heir nitial ailure o subdueMangush,he Whites eturnedwith



new orces 2.- p. 268]and a half-battery f largeguns n order o teacha lessono

the recalcitrant reeks. ut by this time the villagewas alreadyoccupiedby the

Makhnovistnitswhichhadcaptured erdiansk.heWhites ad o return o Mariupol

again, or the insurgents reeksepelledhemagainandcapturedheirartil lery. he

Greeks nd Makhnovistsursuedhe Whites ack romMangush ndgot verycloseo

Mariupol, ut they were afraid o storm it right away. n the port of Mariupola

squadron f French essels as standingwith gunboats nd minesweepershich

wereequippedwith not esshan60guns. hereforehe attack f the Makhnovistsn

Mariupolon March 19 was put on hold as not sufficiently repared.n order o

guaranteeuccessdditionalforceseededo bedrawn n.

For the stormingof Mariupola special roup of two Makhnovistsegimentswas

created:he 8th "Novospacivsky")nd the 9th "Greek").he wo regiments haredan

art i l lery ni t (12guns),21machine uns, nd a "Farman 0"airplane quipped ith

several ombs.From he division's eservehe divisional ommanderP. Dybenko

allocatedhe armouredrain Spartak"or he storming f Mariupol. hedefensiveine

of the opponent began n the suburbsof Mariupolat SartanStation,which was

defendedby 1,000White infantrywith four light guns,armoured rains,and a

squadron f cavalry. n March28 1919, L4 o'clock n the morning,he MakhnovistGreeksaunched n attack n he city rom hewest.

During he attackon Mariupol he 9thZadniprovsky egiment ame under ire by

French arships nd he Whiteartil lery oncentratedn the port.But hey continued

to push orward. he egiment, ithout iring, avingheirammunition ntil hey had

closedwith the enemy,hurled hemselvesn a bayonetattackon the enemy's

defense-works.hedeputycommander f the 9thRegiment askilled, ut the assault

continued. aterhe regiment asawarded covetedRedBanneror hisbattle. l0. -

Arc.1831.hencame he nightafter he victory.During he night n Mariupolooting

began ndarbitrary earches.t'spossiblehe ootingwasnotdoneby he Greeks,ut

by other Makhnovist nd RedArmy units presentn the city.The secretary f the

MariupolRegional ommittee, .Gorokhov, little atercomplainedo the Central

Committee f the Communist artyof Ukraine Bolsheviks):Theentryof the Red

troops was met with great enthusiasm... he looting, drunkenness, il l ings,

persecution f Jews and, chiefly, he normal politicsof the staff and command



personnel,which consisted f unsavoryanti-governmentgitation,had a great

influencen undermininghe authority f Soviet ower."l 1. Arc.3.1On he nextday

the Makhnovistsn Mariupolouted heCheka, hichhadbeen mmediatelyetup by

the Communists ho hademerged rom the underground7. p.292J. heGreeks

from the 9th Regiment emained n the city during theseeventsand were later

assignedo the defense f Mariupol.n April1919 his unctionwas ulfil led y oneof

theGreek attalions f the 9thRegiment itha complementf 500men112. Arc.111.

fn April 1919,at the peakof the Makhnovist uccessesn Preazov,notherGreek

regimentmakes tsappearance,eferredo by the Makhnovistommander .Bilash

simply s thesecond",sapparentlyhe9thRegiment asconsideredthe irst"Greekregiment. hisnewregimentookpart n battles gainsthecavalry eneral .Shkuro

nearMalyYanisol 8.-p. 1481.eginningnApri l1919, Preazovel las"ecame war

zone hroughwhich he ront inemovedback nd orthovera periodof two months.

In April 1919 his erritorywas ostby the Makhnovists,ut by the end of the month

theywon t back gain.

Accordingo the memoirs f the secretary f the Berdiansk evkomS. Dibets,he

Greek regimentsof Batko Makhno "were distinguished y correct discipline,

organization,ndperseverance.".Yarutsky,n particular,rites hat he hasnot ound

any proof of their participationn the outrages nd lootingscharacteristicf the

Makhnovistoorpeasants. emustnote,however,hat here snoevidencehat hey

tried o put a stop o this ooting, or examplen Mariupoltself. n evaluationeport

written n pencilfor he political ection f the 1'tZadniprovskyivisionnformedhe

headquartersommandat the beginningof April 1919about the stateof the 9th

Zadniprovskyegiment.1)Themood ssatisfactory.)Theresa coreof sympathizers

lfor he BolsheviksV.Ch.]. )Theyhavea club, chools,nd ibrariesn the l 't,2nd, 'd,

4th, nd 5th ompanies;nd a choirand an orchestraorganizedt the beginning fApril). here s a shortage f literature,nd hereare mobile iteracy chools. )The

regimentsbattleworthy, ut LeftSR ndAnarchistlements redominate."13. Arc.

9l Aswe see he Greek-Makhnovistsn a briefperiod f time hadcreated rather olid

mil ta y nfrastructue.

At the end of April 1919S.Dibets, ogetherwith the chiefof the field staffof the



Makhnovist rigade a.Ozerov, eparted n an nspectionrip o the Front. Closeo

Mariupolwe found the Greekunit. In the Greekvillages he officer-punishers

perpetratedmercilessetaliationor any kind of revolutionary cts.The Greeks ate

the Whites. heyhate hem so much heyneedonly he slightest ncouragemento

engage hem in battle. ron discipline asbeen ntroducedn the Greekunits."S.

Dibets, lthoughsympathetico the Bolsheviks,evotesa virtualpanegyrico V.

Tokhtamishscommander f the GreekRegiment. ecalled is egimenthe best n

the Makhnovistormations:TheGreek nitswere he most eliable artof the Batko's

troops,and at criticalmomentshe would throw them into the most dangerous

sectors." 14.-p.205J

And criticalmoments ndeedwereat hand. n the middleof May 1919 he Kuban

Corpsof General hkuro roke hrough nto the Makhnovistear rom the northby

smashing nitsof the 9thDivision f theRSChARedArmy)whichwereadjacento the

Makhnovists.he KubanCossacksccupiedhe Grishinskyegionand Shkurowas

now able o attack rom the north o the southwith impunity into the rearof the

Makhnovist rontand"Preazov ellas".t wasnecessaryo check he Kuban avalry t

anycost. hestaff f the 2nd rigade f the Ukrainiannsurgent atkoMakhnoDivision

(brigade ommander . Belash,hief-of-staff. Davidov) tartedn motionhe Greek

9.hRegiment t hevillage f Beshevond he 12th Don)Cavalryn the direction f the

White Guard orces.On May 21 1919 hese wo formationscametogether.Before

them n the valley f MokriYaliv ayShkuro'sroops n the village f theVelikyYanisol

which hey had captured. he ateof the wholeMakhnovist rontdepended n the

outcomeof this battle.V. Belashmentions hat the 9thRegimentwas made up

predominatelyf Greeksrom the VelikyYanisol egion,whereShkuro'sroopshad

already ad ime o initiate eprisalsgainstheir amilies ndmembers f the village

councils. ossessedy a thirst or revenge,he Greekslike ions hrew hemselvesn

VelikyYanisol, ragging he Cossacksut of the huts nto the streetand shooting

them." 8.- p. 2071 ut he thirst or revenges not of muchhelp n war.AlthoughV.

Belash tresseshat "ourcommandersaidspecial ttention o the manoeuvresnd

firingof the regiment,"he attack n the settlement asmadeprematurely, ithout

accuratentelligencebout heenvirons. t the heightof the battle,he main orces f

Shkuro nexpectedlyellon the Makhnovistositionsrom he sideof the villages f

Komar,Constantinople,nd Bogatir.Because f their on-goingconflictwith the



June5 1919Shkuro'sroopsattackedhe positions f the Makhnovistsrom he flank

and he rearnear he Greek il lages f Kermenchuknd Karakub,aining victory nd

penetrating s aras he village f Rozivkao the westof the Greek ettlements.15.

6 JunelAt this ime he Greeks ecamehe ir st efugeesrom he Makhnovistegion.

Some f them ravelled ith the Insurgent rmyas arasUman.Brigade ommander

Belash otes: lt was mpossibleo hold he Front.Overa swatheof 100versts he

civilian opulation, fraid f falling aptiveo theWhites,etreated ith he roops. n

enormous agon rainwound tsway o the west: erds f sheep nd heifersmingled

with cartspiledwith the villagers' elongings.he women, n leaving heir homes,

tookwith them on the roada handful f theirnative oil.Butwherewould heygo?

thismass f civil ians ho werenot necessaryo anyoneWherewould hey ind theirsaviour? hesepeoplewere errified f the Whites.n the hopeof receiving upport

from the north, hey retreatedn that direction. ut herewasno help, or the north

had tsown problems."8.-p.2421

OnJune61919Makhno ubmitted is esignationscommandero the Divisionn a

futileattempt o extinguishhe conflictbetween he Anarcho-Makhnovistsnd the

Bolsheviks.elashook command f the insurgentroopsand whateverwarsupplies

were o be found n the reararea.At this time the replenishmentf the 9thGreekRegiment ascompleted, nd his restoredormationwasagain eady o be thrown

into he fray. 8. p. 2a8]

ln June 1919 he fate of Zaporozhia asdecided n battlesnearVelikyTokmak. he

strongestMakhnovistormations,ncludinghe Greeks,hat were "distinguishedy

theirdiscipline ndhatred or he Whites" arried n a stubborn attle ver he course

of anentireweek. Makhno ouldnot holdout any onger.He hrewall heGreek nits

into he ray. heWhites mashedhe Makhnovists,lthoughheirbest egiments lso

sufferedheavy osses. ut the Whitesprevailed ecausehey werebetterarmedand

their military rainingshowed tself o good effect." 14. p. 2'l7JThe Makhnovists

were orces o fall backbeyond he Dnieper. ut S.Dibetserrsby exaggeratinghe

losses f the Greekunits.On July6 1919 he 9thZadnipovsky egiment asstil l n

existence.gain t wasnot entirely estroyed y Shkuro'sroops. situation eport o

the politicalsectionof the 14thArmy describests state after the regimentwas

transferredo the Reserve rigade.ln the regimentone senses guerilla ind of



atmosphere.hesoldiers nd theircommanders re partial o Makhno'Among he

soldiershere are some who are landlords the Greekvillageswere regardedas

prosperous V. Ch.l.The regiment s battle-worthy...ationalisti.e.Greek V. Ch']

sentiments remaking heirappearancelongwith antisemitism.hecommissarnd

commandersrenot aking tepso eradicatehesephenomena.olitical ndcultural

work snotbeingpursued. he eadershipf theunit sdysfunctional...117- Arc.27l

Despitehesecharacteristics,n the middleof June1919 he commander f the 14'n

Army,K.Voroshilov,rderedM. Davidovo form a brigade rom the Preazovouth

who had retreated o the west. Davidov recommendedo his superiors our

candidatess regimental ommanders,mongwhomwasV' Tokhtamish' he new

brigadewas put together n the rear n the environs f the town of Kremenchug,

where t had o be sent ifles ndwhere raining acilities eresetup.But hreeof the

four egimentalommanderstheexception asTokhtamish) utinied nd efusedo

leave heir positions8.- p. 2661hopingo continue o battle he Whiteson their

native oil.Under uch onditionshe Greeknsurgentsndedup "Makhno-fied",ith

the exceptionof their leaderTokhtamish. hen in the mid-1960's ' Yarutsky

interviewedhe formerheadof the MariupolParty entre n 1919-1920,'Varganov,

about he participationf the MariupolGreeksn he CivilWar, eonlyhissedhrough

this eeth:"Kulaks,akhnovists...2. p. 188J

ln october1g1g he Makhnovistseturnedo Zaporozhiandagain,or a coupleof

weeks, onqueredPreazov ellas". utat the startof 1920 newstage egan n the

relations f the Greekswith the Makhnovists, stagewhich might be called he

"supply-baseeriod" 1920-1921).uring his "supply-baseeriod" he Greeks o

longer ormedethnicunits or the RPAU(m)t the levelof a regiment, ut gave he

Makhnovistsll kindsof support, ecoming neof the components f their partisan

supply-base".hus, or example,f we look at the diaryof Makhno'swife' Galina

Kuzmenko, e can read hat on March18 1920 he Makhnovistseft the anarchist

ogarkov in the Greekvillageof Bogatir n order to organizea local partisan

detachment.9. p.8331 toriesn the Greek illages bout he Makhnovistst times

seemstraight ut of an adventure ovel. hus romJanuaryo the rniddle f March

1920, .Lashkevich,ommander f the 13th egiment f the RPAU(m),ashiding n

the hut of an old Greek n the villageof VelikyYanisol.n January 920he had



repression,section f theGreeks egan o distancehemselvesrom N.Makhno. n

February 4 1920 he Makhnovistsgainarrivedn Komar nd helda meeting here.

But n contrasto 1918,he Greeksid notcontribute olunteerso the detachment.n

consequence,Makhno even refused o meet privatelywith delegates rom the

villagers nd wouldnot comeout of the hut wherehewasstayingo meet hem.On

February 5 1920, ccordingo the diary of L. Golik, he Makhnovist etachment

visitedVelikyYanisol.n spiteof holdinga meeting, ounding he alarmbell,and

kill ing omeCommunistoodrequisitioners,he Greeksefusedo fight. l8. - p. 168J

But he beefed p food requisitioningystem nd he mercilessepressionf former

Makhnovistserysoon mprovedhe situation.n March1920 he 22nd oviet unitive

regiment hotsevenmen n Komar, 0 n Bogatir, nd 12 n Constantinople,urningdown hutsaswell. 2. p.1821

Alreadyby the summerof 1920, report o the intelligenceectionof the South-

Western rontstated hat in Komar loneagentshaddetectedMakhnovisteservesf

up to 1,000nfantry,definitely f local nhabitants".19. Arc.6] Thesewereso-called

Makhnovist-podennikiday-labourers].Makhnovist-podenniki"s an appropriate

name or hose il lagers hosupportedhe MakhnovistsndMakhnovistolitics, ut

who, for reasons f age or familyobligations,ould not servecontinuouslyn the

RPAU(m). nd yet when arge-scale,ulti-facetedperations erebeingmounted,

which equired large upporting ast,hesepeoplewouldbe nvited o helpout by

Makhno r othercommanders.rming hemselvessbest heycould, hesepartisan

units took part in militaryoperations nd, in the event those operationswere

successful,he Makhnovist ommand ewarded hem with a shareof the military

trophies. fterwardshe "podenniki"eturnedo theirhomes, id heirwargains, nd

carried n their ivesaspeaceful easants ntila new nvitationrom the Batko.t is

hardly urprisinghat battlesn the vicinityof the Greek il lagesnvariably nded n

triumphsor heMakhnovists.

Evidencehat the Makhnovistsonsideredhe Greekvillages heir most reliable

supply-bases the fact that in November 920 he Rada Council) f the Insurgent

Army, ogetherwith the command tafl decidedhat in case f a treacherousttack

by Red roopson Gulai-Polye,heir roopswouldwithdraw owards he Veliky anisol

region, 0 versts o the eastof Gulai-Polye.n the event,after he main Makhnovist



group brokeout of Gulai-Polye,t stopped or several ays n VelikyYanisol tself' t

was here, n the Greekegion, hat the Gulai-Polyeontingent inkedup with the

crirneangroup of the RPAU(m),r least he remnants f it ' The two Makhnovist

formationshad their rendezvous n December6 1g2O earStaryKermenchuk'n

December 920near he Greek iilageof constantinopre akhno'shree-thousand

stronggroupwassurrounded y the much larger orcesof R'Eideman'southern

Group, ut wasable o breakout of the encirclementndgainoperationalreedom'

t20.-p.1821

Beinga dependable,ecret upply-baseor the Makhnovistsecamemoreand more

difficurtor he Greeks.n he autumnof r9z0anepidemic f foot-and-mouthisease

rolled hrough he Greek illages, estroying orses' hen t affected irds'pigs'and

cattle.Themajority f householdsad o get through he winterof 1920-1921 ith

practicallyo provisions.nd in the springof 1921adebilitating roughtoccurred'

Aleksandrgafonivna elievaromNovaKarakubaecalled:... verything riedup'all

the crops ailed,and therewasa terribleharvest'Forus and or manyothers errible

days began, he famine was awful." Famineprevented he PreazovGreeks rom

providing ctive ssistanceo the Makhnovistnsurgents'he nsurgent rmymoved

to other regions f ukraine hat were not so noticeably ffectedy famine'and then

compretery oilapsed nder he browsof the superior orcesof the enemy. t is also

interestinghat n 1921anumber f Makhnovistommanderseriouslyonsidered

campaign y the Insurgent rmy n Turkey,n supportof the revolutionaryrmyof

MustaphaKemal.TheKemalists,fortheirpart,wereknownfortheirfanat icalant i-

Heilenist onvictions. odernGreek istorians aveaccusedhem of genocidewith

respecto the Greekpopulation f Pontus'And yet therewas a plan to take the

Makhnovist rmy through the Caucasuso the aid of the Kemalist urks'Such

intent ionsoftheMakhnovistswou|dundoubtedlyhavebeencondemnedbythePreazov reeks.

Now we shall conclude.The PreazovGreeks ook the most active part in the

Makhnovist ovement f ail he ethnicminoritiesn southUkraine. hire he Jewish

colonists reated heir own companiesn the ranksof the insurgents' nd the

Bulgariansid notexceedhe squadronevel,he Greeks ere esponsibleor putting

together wo completebattleworthy regiments'While he Bulgariansnd Jews n



1920 ried n anywaypossibleo avoid ontacts ith he nsurgents,heGreek illages

became he most reliablebases or the supplyof manpower, orses, nd food.

Thereforet ishardly urprisinghat n 1937-1938he Soviet overnmentemembered

the Greeksor heirparticipationn the anti-Bolsheviktruggle. heGreek ommunity

wasaccused f creating n nsurgentounterrevolutionaryrganizationhathadas ts

goal o tearoff a piece f the erritory f the USSRnd oin t to Greece.henumber f

arrests assogreat hat L.Yarutskysnot withoutgroundsn comparinghe scale f

the repressionn heGreek il lages ithgenocide.2. p.1891

List of sources nd literature

1. l. Teper,Makhno:rom "unitedanarchism"o the feet of the Rumanian ing,"

(Kharkov, 924).

2. L.Yarutsky, akhno nd heMakhnovists,Mariupol, 996).

3. ThePeoplesf Southern reazov,Mariupol,1996).

4. P.Lavriv, heColonizationf the UkrainianndContiguous teppes,Melitopol,

1997).

5. N.Makhno, heUkrainian evolutionJuly December 918),Paris,937).

6. M.T.Davidov,Among hePartisans,"n Zvesda, 959, o.2.

7. TheCivi lWar n Ukraine 918-1920:ol lect ionf DocumentsndMateria ls,n 3

Volumes,4 ooks; ol.1 8k.2, Kiev, 967).

8. A.V.BelashndV.F.Belash,heRoads f NestorMakhno,Kiev, 993).

g. NestorMakhno, hePeasant ovementn Ukraine. 918-1921Documentsnd

Materias, Moscow, 006).

10. RDVA. .936.Op.1. Spr.4.

11 TsDAVOVU.. l . Op.1- Spr. 7.

12. RDVA. .199.- p.3.-Spr.371

13. RDVA. .936.Op.l . Spr. 2.

14. A. Bek, Suchwere he duties... (Recollectionsf Dibets)n CollectedWorks,

(Moscow,989).

15. FreeKuban Yekaterinoslav).1919.

16. RDVA. .199. Op.3 Spr. 86.

17. RDVA. .199 Op.2 Spr. 56.

18. "Diaryof the Chiefof the Makhnovistntelligence ervice . Golik" n Nestor



lvanovich akhno.Memoirs, aterials,ocuments,Kiev, gg1), p.16l -17

19. TSDAVOVU.F.2.-Op.1.-pr. 89.

20. P. Arshinov,History f the MakhnovistMovement 1918-1921),Zaporozhia,

199s).

21. A. A. Delieva,1848 1998, 50Years f the Delieva amily"n Sources f the

Historyof SouthernUkraine, ol. 9. Memoir s nd Diaries. h.2, Zaporozhia,

2006).