1918 between Penza and the Urals [Rev. on: Vasilchenko M. A. Czechoslovak Corps in the Struggle for the Volga Region (May — November 1918). Saratov, 2021]

Abstract

The review gives a detailed analysis of М. А. Vasilchenko’s monograph devoted to the problem of the revolt against the Soviet power by the units of the Volga (Penza) group of the Czechoslovak Corps in spring — autumn 1918. The theme of the Czechoslovak Corps’ revolt and its subsequent participation in the Russian Civil War usually causes ambiguous reception. The author of the monograph skillfully used a wide range of sources, including the materials in the Czech language. It enabled him to reconstruct the details of the military operations, identify the features of the everyday life of Czechoslovak legionnaires, as well as the ways of their interaction with anti-Bolshevik forces. In addition to the independent military operations of the Volga Group, the book describes the joint actions of the Czechoslovak forces and the People’s Army of Komuch. Some aspects presented in the monograph, for example, the procedure of the election of delegates to the first congress of the Czechoslovak Corps in Cheliabinsk, were studied in detail for the first time. The key feature of M. A. Vasilchenko’s research is the ambition to show the events through the perspective of the leadership of the Czechoslovak Corps, which determined the specificity of the final conclusions. The author justifiably notes that the Volga Group didn’t instigate the hostilities and points out that the Soviet government was also accountable for the unleashing of the revolt. The weaknesses of the research include the author’s insufficient coverage of the problem of Czechoslovak terror and the interaction of legionnaires with the local population of the Volga cities. Despite some omissions, the monograph makes a valuable contribution to the study of the Czechoslovak Corps’ revolt in the Middle Volga region.