The "Civil War Must Be Merciless due to Necessity": The Basis for Discussion on the Key Issues of One of the Biggest Russian Tragedies

Abstract

In 2006 the most authoritative historian on the Russias White Terror, P. A. Golub, published an historical and documentary essay on his main scholarly theme. The publication of this book by publishing house “Patriot” (formerly DOSAAF), based on the author’s extensive work on the Soviet period, was absolutely logical, since Golub's book was not only a fundamental study of the White Terror, but also a vivid journalistic work. In this review analyzed a new book about Russia white terror written by the famous St. Petersburg historian I. S. Ratkovsky, in a strictly academic style. The author interprets the very term “white terror” broadly. According to him, “white terror” is a rather generalized term that includes phenomena that occurred under various “political signs”, both of the White movement itself and in general of anti-Bolshevik resistance, including the right-wing socialist regimes of the “democratic counterrevolution” of the summer — autumn 1918 year. In the book in the chronological and causal sequence are the numerous orders and orders of White movement military leaders, so the author fixes the systematic nature of Russia white terror (obviously, this is one of the promising areas for studying it). I. S. Ratkovsky’s research is a solid reference and documentary publication, significantly refining and expanding the existing understanding of Russia white terror as a historical phenomenon.