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8/13/2019 Greeks in the Makhnovist Movement
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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).