The Third Front in the Russian Civil War: Bag People Breaking Blockade of the Village by the Bolsheviks

Abstract

The article focuses on the study of the illegal market and its subjects during the Russian Civil War. The author demonstrates that a doctrinaire policy was carried out by the Bolsheviks at the time has given rise to the period of Russian bag people having become the main source of provision for the population. In this research work there are two points being justified. The first one says that the nationwide movement of illegal suppliers representing the third Front of the Civil War was bag people; the first Front was external, the second one was represented by the peasant theatre of military actions. Through this review of arguments in the article the author explains the key role of “the bag people” in breaking the trade blockage that was established and reconciliated by the efforts of Soviet military-food formations during three “front” years. The second point posed by the author states that bag people movement included the set of numerous groups (associations, partnerships, artels) of free bread providers. This research is based on multiple examples of the illegal market’s organization and structure at the time. The above-mentioned points explain the reasons of the military communism policy’s collapse as well as the interpretation of the “federal” fronts’ victory premises those of bag people and peasants.