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The Russian Revolution in the Amur Basin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2019

James William Morley*
Affiliation:
East Asian Institute, Columbia University

Extract

To a world in which free men and men striving to be free are threatened by Communist expansion, it has become increasingly important to understand how and why in other times and places the Communists have been able to seize power. The classic example would seem to be the Soviet Union itself; and yet, although more than thirty-five years have elapsed since the "February" and "October Days," the actual course of the revolution in vast areas of the Soviet Union has not been adequately studied. One such area is that formed by the former Trans-Baikal, Amur and Maritime Territories— a broad tract of land more than 600,000 square miles in area, larger than Outer Mongolia or Manchuria, lying on the shores of the Amur River, in the heart of the Russian Far East.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies 1957

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References

1 Derived from the governors’ reports as of January 1, 1915, as tabulated in Russia, Central'nyj statisticheskij komitet M.V.D., Statisticheskij ezhegodnik Rossii 1915 g. Part I (Petrograd, 1916), pp. 53-55.

2 The most recent statistics of the composition of the urban population at this time are those of the census of 1897, which, while inaccurate in detail for 1917, are perhaps not misleading in general import. N. V. Turchaninov, “Goroda aziatskoj Rossii,” Glavnoe upravlenie zemleustrojstva i zemledelija, pereselencheskoe upravlenie, Aziatskaja Rossija I (St. Petersburg, 1914), 285-360.

3 Probably between 100,000 and 300,000, though estimates vary. N. V. Turchaninov, “Naselenie aziatskoj Rossii,” ibid., I, 80; Derber, P. I. and Sher, M. L., Ocherki khozjqjstvennoj zhizni Dal'nego Vostoka (Moscow, 1927), p. 10 Google Scholar; and Japan, Gaimushō, Kōhyōshū, No. 3 (1922), p. 17.Google Scholar

4 Russia, Gentral'nyj statisticheskij komitet M.V.D., op. cit., Part IX, pp. 22-23.

5 N. V. Turchaninov, “Naselenie aziatskoj Rossii,” Russia, Glavnoe upravlenie zemleustrojstva i zemledelija, pereselencheskoe upravlenie, op. cit., I, 64-92; and I. P. Poddubnyj, “Naselenie aziatskoj Rossii,” ibid., I, 93-178.

6 Based on the incomplete land and agriculture census of 1917. RSFSR, Central’noe statisticheskoe upravlenie, Trudy, V, No. 1, 64-75.

7 G. E. Reikhberg, Japonskaja intervencija na Dal'nem Vostoke, 1918-1922 gg. kratkij ocherk (Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe social'no-ekonomicheskoe izdatel'stvo, 1935), p. 5.

8 RSFSR, Central'noe statischeskoe upravlenie, loc. cit.

9 G. K. Gins, “Administrativnoe i sudebnoe ustrojstvo,” Glavnoe upravlenie zemleustrojstva i zemledelija, pereselencheskoe upravlenie, op. cit., I, 45-63; and B. V. Bezsonov, “Kazaki i kazach'i zemli v aziatskoj Rossii,” ibid., I, 361-87.

10 The census of 1897 shows these classes to have numbered at that time about three percent of the population. Central’nyj statisticheskij komitet M.V.D., op. cit., Part I, p. 101. The above figure represents slightly more than three percent of the population as estimated in 1915.

11 Sibirskij kraevoj sovet professional'nykh sojuzov, profsojuzy Sibiri v bor'be za vlast’ sovetov, 1917-1919 gg., comp. by V. Shemelev and ed. by V. Vegman (Novosibirsk, 1928), p. 17; and Maksakov, V. V. and Turunov, A., eds., Khronika grazhdanskoj vojny v Sibiri (1917-1918) (Moscow, Gosizdat, 1926), p. 31 Google Scholar.

12 Vsesojuznaja Kommunisticheskaja Partija (bol'shevikov), Chita okruzhnyj komitet, Partizany (Chita, 1929), p. 202; and Sokolov, V. N., “Fevral’skij ‘perevorot’ v Chite,” Severnaja Azija, III, No. 1 (1927), 3641.Google Scholar

13 T. Sviderskij-Politovskij, “Bor'ba za Oktjabr’ v Nikol’ske-Ussurijskom i Vladivostoke,” T. A. Teodorovich, ed., Pjatnadcat'let Oktjabrja, sbornik statej iz zhurnala “Katorga i ssylka,” Nos. 11-22 za 1932 god (Moscow, Izdatel’stvo Vsesojuznago obshchestva politicheskikh katorzhan i ssyl'no-poselencev, 1932), p. 369.

14 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 42, and Vsesojuznaja Kommunisticheskaja Partija (bol'shevikov), Chita okruzhnyj komitet, op. cit., p. 282.

15 Gregorij Mikhailovich Semenov, O sebe (Harbin, Zarja, 1938), p. 57.

16 Cypkin, S., Shurygin, N. and Bulygin, S., Oktjabrskaja revoljucija i grazhdanskqja vojna na Dal'nem Vostoke (Dal'giz, 1933)Google Scholar.

17 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 45. Semënov reports that it had done so as early as May. Semënov, op. cit., p. 46.

18 William Henry Chamberlin, The Russian Revolution 1917-1921 (New York, Macmillan, 1935), I, 248.

19 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., pp. 38-44.

20 Ibid., p. 38.

21 Ibid., p. 41.

22 Ibid., pp. 40, 44.

23 Ibid., p. 40.

24 Ibid., p. 34.

25 Ibid., pp. 42-44.

26 Semënov, op. cit., pp. 49-57.

27 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 45.

28 EIena Varneck, “Siberian Native Peoples after the February Revolution,” The Slavonic and East European Review (American Series, II), XXI, No. 1 (March, 1943), 70-82.

29 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 45.

30 Ibid., p. 43.

31 Ibid.

32 Ibid., p. 46.

33 64 percent in the Trans-Baikal Territory, 63 percent in the Amur Territory. Radkey, Oliver H., The Election to the Russian Constituent Assembly of 1917 (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1950)Google Scholar, Appendix, p. 79.

34 Maksakov and Turunov, op. cit., pp. 33-47; V. Vilenskij-Sibirjakov, “Bor'ba za sovetskuju Sibir',” Sevemaja Azija (1926), pp. 47-49, and Chamberlin, op. cit., I, 111-2, 158.

35 Sibirskij kraevoj sovet professional'nykh sojuzov, op. cit., p. 18.

36 Ibid., p. 22.

37 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 32, and Boris Shumjatskij, “Organizacii S.-D. Bol’shevikov Sibiri v 1917 g.,” in Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 10.

38 Shumjatskij, op. cit., p. 4.

39 Ibid., pp. 22-24, and Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 35.

40 Reikhberg, op. cit., p. 7.

41 Chaxnberlin, op. cit., I, 74.

42 History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolshevik), Short Course, ed. by a commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolshevik) (Moscow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1949), p. 226.

43 The Petrograd General City and All-Russian Conferences of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviki), p. 12, quoted in Chamberlin, op. cit., I, 116.

44 English translation of the “April Theses” can be found in Chamberlin, op. cit., I, 441-3.

45 Protocols of the VI Party Congress, pp. 35-36; The VI Congress of the Bolsheviki, pp. 49-50, cited in Chamberlin, op. cit., I, 185-6.

46 Shumjatskij, op. cit., p. 4.

47 Ibid., pp. 12-15, and P. T. Khaptaev, Buriat-Mongolija v period Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii (Ogiz, Irkutskoe oblastnoe izdatel’stvo, 1947), pp. 23-24.

48 Resolutions of the regional conference as printed in the Bureau's organ, Sibirskaja pravda, No. 3 (May 1, 1917), and quoted in Shumjatskij, op. cit., pp. 16-22.

49 May 13 is given as the date in Shumjatskij, op. cit., p. 24; June is given in Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 36.

50 Reikhberg, op. cit., p. 7.

51 “Khronika sobytij na Tikhom Okeane 1914-1918 gg.,” Tikhij Okean, III, No. 9 (July-September, 1936), 245.

52 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 46.

53 Shumjatskij, op. cit., p. 26.

54 Sibirskij kraevoj sovet professional'nykh sojuzov, op. cit., p. 32.

55 No completely reliable figures for the number of delegates, the size of the individual delegations or their party affiliations have been found. Maksakov and Turunov, presumably on the basis of archival materials, state that there were 187 delegates, representing sixty-nine Soviets; the Bolshevik-left SR bloc being represented by ninety-nine members, the SD Internationalists by ten, the SD Mensheviks by eleven, the right SR wing by fifty, the Anarchists by two, the Bundists by one, and nonpartisans by eleven (Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., pp. 46-47). This party breakdown totals three less delegates than the total given. Vilenskij states that of the 115 delegates from east Siberia, thirty-two were Bolsheviks, fifteen left SRs, forty-five SRs, and the rest Mensheviks of various kinds (Vilenskij-Sibirjakov, op. cit., p. 47).

56 For the text of the Bolshevik theses presented to the Congress see Ja. Shumjatskij, “Ot Fevralja k Oktjabrju v Irkutske,” Katorga i ssylka, LXXXVII (1932), 65-66.

57 A. Pomeranceva, “V Krasnojarske,” in Vsesojuznaja Kommunisticheskaja Partija, Central'nyj ispolnitel'nyj komitet, sekretariat glavnoj redakcii istorii grazhdanskoj vojny v SSSR, Sergei Lazo, vospominanija i dokumenty, compiled by G. Reikhberg, A. Romanov, and P. Krol’ (Moscow, Gosizdat, 1938), pp. 11-12.

58 The attitude of the local Soviets toward the soviet takeover in Petrograd might be expected to be reflected in the party representation and voting of the delegations at the second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, meeting in Petrograd, November 7-8. Unfortunately, while the Congress purported to speak for the local Soviets, methods of selecting delegates were irregular, the number who attended from remote Soviets probably were disproportionately few, and Bolshevik control assured by a walkout of most of the right SR, Menshevik and Bundist delegates. Moreover, an objective analysis of the composition and voting of the Congress is impossible since apparently no complete official list of delegates exists; official sources even disagree about the total number of delegates, varying from 517 to 620. A partial list of delegates and their party affiliations is given in “Spisok delegatov II Vserossijskogo s'ezda sovetov R. i. S. D.” and supplements to it in Russia, Centralnyj arkhiv RSFSR, arkhiv Oktjabr'skoj revoljucii, vtoroj Vserossijskij s'ezd sovetov (Moscow, Gosizdat, 1928), pp. 113-40. For the area east of Irkutsk the list records only two delegates from Vladivostok, two from Nikol'sk- Ussurijsk, one from Khabarovsk, four from Irkutsk, three from the Siberian Fleet and one from the Amur Fleet, there being five Bolsheviks, four SRs, three non-party, and one unknown. Another list, which purports to give the attitude of local Soviets toward the seizure of power, according to the reports of Bolshevik members, indicates that the Soviets east of Irkutsk, except the one at Khabarovsk, represented by the above delegates, all supported the transfer of power to the Soviets; but, the action taken by various Soviets does not substantiate the list. “Otnoshenie sovetov na mestakh k voprosu o konstrukcii vlasti,” ibid., pp. 144-53.

59 “Dokumenty ob Irkutskikh sobytijakh,” VKP, CIK, sekretariat Glavnoj redakcii istorii grazhdanskoj vojny v SSSR, op. cit., p. 21.

60 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 57.

61 V. N. Sokolov, “Oktjabr’ za Bajkalom (Janvar'-Fevral’ 1918 g.),” Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 10 (October, 1922), p. 389.

62 N. M. Matveev, “Bor'ba za sovety v Zabajkal'e,” VKP, CIK, sekretariat Glavnoj redakcii istorii grazhdanskoj vojny v SSSR, op. cit., pp. 24-25.

63 Reikhberg, op. cit., p. 8, and Sokolov, “Oktjabr’ za Bajkalom,” Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 10, p. 391. The date of the organization of the Territorial People's Soviet is disputed: it has been placed near January 5 by Maksakov and Turunov (Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 57) and on January 11 (n.s. or o.s.?) by a Party committee in Chita (VKP (b), Chita okruzhnyj komitet, op. cit., p. 202).

64 He has been identified as a Menshevik (Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 54) and as a Laborite (Sokolov, “Oktjabr’ za Bajkalom,” Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 10, p. 393).

65 Matveev, loc. cit.

66 A. Klark-Ansonova, “Drug,” VKP, CIK, sekretariat Glavnoj redakcii istorii grazhdanskoj vojny v SSSR, op. cit., p. 47. The date of this action is given at January 17 (o.s. or n.s.?) in VK.P(b), Chita okruzhnyj komitet, loc. cit., but the dates given in this source are frequently disputed by other sources.

67 Matveev, loc. cit.

68 Sokolov, “Oktjabr’ za Bajkalom,” Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 10, p. 392.

69 Pozdeev, P., “Sovetizacija Zabajkal'ja v uslovijakh intervencii 1918 g. “ Proletarskaja revoljucija, XI, No. 34 (November, 1924), 185 Google Scholar.

70 Shilov became president of the Constituent Assembly of the Far Eastern Republic in 1922; Zhigalin became chief of staff of the Mamontov partisan army in Siberia in 1920; Kirgizov was later active in the Far Eastern Republic; Baliasin died while leading a partisan Cossack army against Semenov, and Lazo was soon to be appointed Commander of the Red Guard on the Trans-Baikal Front. Sokolov, “Oktjabr'za Bajkalom,” Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 10, p. 392. Sokolov says four regiments returned at this time but does not name them.

71 Ibid., pp. 392-9. Maksakov and Turunov say that the “first revolutionary Trans- Baikal Division” decided on February 10 to introduce the Soviet structure into the territory, but no source is given and the identification of the unit is obscure. Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 58.

72 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., pp. 58-59, where the date for the takeover is given as February 15. February 16 is given in Matveev, loc. cit. and in VKP(b), Chita okruzhnyj komitet, loc. cit.

73 Sokolov, “Oktjabr’ za Bajkalom,” Proletarskaja revoljucija, No. 10, pp. 396-9.

74 Japan, Army General Staff Headquarters, “Sanchō tokugō, Rokoku dai 8 gō (May 11, 1918): Semenov shitai no Onon kahan ni mukatte suru zanshin,” Japan, Foreign Ministry Archives, “Rokoku kakumei ikken, Han-kagekiha kankei,” III.

75 Kurozawa to Tanaka, February 27, 1918, Japan, Foreign Ministry Archives, op. cit., I.

76 Matveev, op. cit., pp. 28-29.

77 Ibid.; and O. Lazo, “Komandujushchij frontom,” VKP, CIK, sekretariat Glavnoj redakcii istorii grazhdanskoj vojny v SSSR, op. cit., pp. 56-58. Pozdeev is probably incorrect in identifying the Second Argun Regiment. Pozdeev, op. cit., pp. 187-8.

78 Japan, Army General Staff Headquarters, toe. cit.

79 “Khronika sobytij na Tikhom Okeane 1914-1918 gg.,” Tikhij Okean, III, No. 9, 249-53, and Reikhberg, op. cit., pp. 7-8.

80 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 70. The source does not indicate whether this was an action of the city soviet or of the regional executive committee of the Far Eastern Soviets.

81 Ibid.

82 G. Reikhberg, “Bol'sheviki Dal'nego Vostoka v bor'be s Japonskoj intervenciej (1918-1922 gg.),” Proletarskaja revoljucija, III (1939), 77.

83 Maksakov and Turunov, eds., op. cit., p. 60.

84 This description of the events in Blagoveshchensk, February 26-March 13, 1918, is based on the account given by the Japanese Army General Staff. Japan, Army General Staff Headquarters, Taisho shichi-nen naishi juichi-nen Shiberia shuppei-shi (1924), I, Appendix, 1-6.

85 “Oktjabr’ v Sibiri, I: Blagoveshchensk,” the recorded words of “Comrade” Bodesko, Proletarskaja revoljwija, No. 10 (October, 1922), p. 362.

86 Reikhberg, “Bol'sheviki Dal'nego Vostoka,” Proletarskaja revoljucija, III (1939), 77-78.

87 Japan, Navy Board, Taisho yon-nen naishi kyu-nen kaigun senshi (1924), III, 8-9.

88 Ibid., I, 148-54.

89 Ibid., III , 37-42.

90 Japan, Army General Staff Headquarters, op. cit., I, 111-16.