History 09/03/20 Antonov revolt: the Bolsheviks suppressed the largest peasant uprising
About the peasant revolt of Alexander Antonov in the Tambov region in 1920, do not like to talk. The suppression involved the red Army, left to fight against their own citizens. At the same time, this operation is unlikely to be successful if not for the actions of the security officers, who managed to infiltrate the army and Antonova received the satisfactory intelligence.
Antonov: fighter gang
the Uprising began with an acute shortage of bread. In 1920, the Tambov region was struck by drought. The harvest was quite small, but the authorities did not want to reduce the amount of surplus and decided to shift the whole burden of the crop failure on farmers. The approaching famine were the final straw that broke the patience of the villagers and in the field mutiny. At the head of the riots stood Alexander Antonov. The most interesting that the leader of the peasant uprising was a professional revolutionary but not Bolshevik, and SR. However, this did not prevent him from 17 years old to fight against tsarism, and in 20 years to be sentenced to death by hanging, which was commuted to penal servitude. In 1917, Antonov after prison he returned to his native Tambov oblast, received the post of chief of Kirsanovsky uyezd militia. In his submission there were 100 employees and 350 thousand inhabitants. Active fighter for people’s happiness Alexander Antonov promptly killed by local gangs and brought perfect order in the territory entrusted to him.
the purge
it would Seem that the authorities had to pray at such a sensible chief of police, but in the summer of 1918 came the revolt of the social revolutionaries. It was suppressed, but the leadership of the Bolshevik party launched an aggressive campaign against the socialist-revolutionaries decided to clean the bodies from the representatives of this political party. Antonov did not wait until he’s arrested, gathered together and went into the forest. The company he was 15 people from his subordinates. From this moment Alexander Antonov started the armed struggle with the requisition that the order did not like back during the service, the chief of Kirsanovsky police. Like most peasant gangs squad Antonova grew by leaps and bounds. By 1920, its population exceeded 150 people. In 1921 on the basis of his paramilitary group Alexander Antonov has already formed a real army, composed of 14 regiments and had its own intelligence service and the headquarters, which consisted of staffing the king’s officers who hated the Soviet regime. During the year a party of 150 people became 50 000 peasant army. It was a formidable force with machine guns and artillery. Her destruction of the power left 4 trains, 9 artillery brigades, 5 autopopulate, 6 branellec and 2 squadron, with the understanding that to be successful in fighting you must also gather intelligence and deny the enemy the lead connection. As a result, the Cheka began their RAID.
the Setup
Despite impressive successes, Alexander Antonov, being a smart man, he realised that either the country is regime change, either his army will break. So he began actively to seek ties with similar counterrevolutionary forces. Soon Antonov reported that Voronezh has arrived high order of the underground organization of the socialist-revolutionaries yevdokim Ants. To meet him was sent to the chief of counterintelligence of the army Antonov Gerasev. During the confidential conversation of the Ants said that in Moscow he in charge of the secret work of the Central Committee of the socialist revolutionary party and national action against the Bolsheviks in the offing. Muravyov invited to Tambov for negotiations with Antonov. In vain. All that said pseudouser was a Linden, since he long ago was an agent of the Cheka and acted by order of Moscow. Arriving at the location of the army Antonov, Ants on the rights of the representative of the Central Committee of the socialist revolutionary party lectured, participated in parades of troops, took reports. In short, he led a violent intelligence activities. However, he took a big risk. In case of exposing to die an easy death, he would have no one has.
Moscow arrests
Ant has also initiated a visit to Moscow eminent leaders of the army Antonov, where they were immediately arrested. First came to the capital Gerasev to meet with a representative of General Anton Denikin, of course, false. Behind him he left a personal lawyer Antonova Fedorov – for talks with the chief of staff of the military forces of Moscow, too, dummy. The latest in the capital welcomed Vice Antonov Ishin and Ektov. At the meeting of the Central rebel headquarters, of course, false, the emissaries of Antonov, until I realized that they cheated, reported undercover security officers the number of troops, weapons and the locations of the army Antonov. In the course of a successful special operation of the KGB leadership of the red Army received the information for the detection and the complete defeat of the army Alexander Antonov.
Ants from the rate of the Antonov came back not exposed, but on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In August, Antonov’s army had been surrounded and after a long artillery preparation and aerial bombardment completely destroyed.
Russian Seven
Source:
© Russian Seven
Featured articles Share: Comments Comments on the article “Antonov revolt: the Bolsheviks suppressed the largest peasant uprising” Please log in to leave a comment! br>
Share on Tumblr
