The Bylyrinsky Front as a phenomenon of the Civil War in Eastern Transbaikalia

Importance. The mass partisan movement that unfolded in Eastern Transbaikalia against the regime of ataman G.M. Semenov is characterized by raid operations common to partisan tactics without long-term retention of individual settlements. The exception are the villages of Bylyra and Kulinda of Akshinsky district, which in February 1919 refused to obey the local authorities and were defended by the local population and a small partisan detachment until June, which led to the formation of the so-called Bylyrinsky Front. There have been no other similar cases in the history of the Civil War in Transbaikalia, which makes it a unique phenomenon that requires detailed study. The relevance of this study is due to the poor elaboration of this topic.

Materials and Methods. The source base for the study is the published memoirs of a direct participant in the events of P.A. Anosov, as well as the reports of the head of the Akshinsky district militia, identified in the funds of the State Archive of the Trans-Baikal Territory, and documents of former partisans stored there for the first time, introduced into scientific circulation. Using comparative and dialectical approaches, P.A. Anosov’s memoirs are compared with the reports of the chief of the Akshinsky district police and verified, which made it possible to reconstruct the events as fully as possible. In addition, such general scientific methods of cognition as analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction are used in the research.

Results and Discussion. The prerequisites for the emergence of the Bylyrinsky Front are identified and analyzed, as well as the reasons why the white authorities could not suppress the resistance of the rebels for 5 months. The events and military actions of the warring parties are reconstructed in chronological order.

Conclusion. During the study, it is found that the prerequisites for the emergence of the Bylyrinsky front were: the arrival of the Alkhanai partisan detachment led by P.A. Anosov in this area, a significant number of supporters of the Soviet government in the villages of Kulinda and Bylyr, as well as nearby villages; the geographical location of Bylyr convenient for defense. The reasons for the inability of the white authorities to eliminate the uprising for a long time are: underestimation of the enemy and, as a result, a poorly prepared first offensive, the failure of which allowed the partisans to significantly arm themselves; the inconsistency of the actions of infantry and Cossack units in the next major offensive; the passivity of the commanders of government detachments in conducting reconnaissance and planning operations.

1. Romanov A.M. (2013). The Special Manchurian Detachment of Ataman Semenov. Irkutsk, Ottisk Publ., 308 p. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/vzmjur

2. Savchenko S.N. (2009). Participation of the Cossack troops of the Far East in the Civil War (September 1918 – February 1920). Voenno-istoricheskii zhurnal = Military History Magazine, no. 6, pp. 23-29. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/khxpef

3. Peshkov I.O. (2018). In search of the lost enemy: mythology of the Civil War as a factor of the regional identity in Transbaikalia. Politicheskaya nauka = Political Science (RU), no. 3, pp. 147-166. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31249/poln/2018.03.08, https://elibrary.ru/ypennb

4. Taskin D.A. (2024). The first major uprising against the regime of ataman G.M. Semenov in Transbaikalia. Materialy Vserossijskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii «Istoriya gosudarstva cherez istoriyu provintsii: problemy i perspektivy razvitiya» = Proceedings of the All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “History of the State through the History of the Province: Problems and Prospects of Development”. Kursk, pp. 214-219. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/teypmh

5. Vasilevskii V.I. (2000). The TransBaikal White Statehood. Chita, Poisk Publ., 182 p. (In Russ.)

6. Vasilevskii V.I. (2007). The TransBaikal Cossack Army during the Revolution and the Civil War. Chita, 174 p. (In Russ.)

7. Vasilevskii V.I. (1967). The Struggle for Soviet Power in Eastern Transbaikalia. Irkutsk, 365 p. (In Russ.)

8. Novikov P.A. (2005). The Civil War in Eastern Siberia. Moscow, Tsentrpoligraf Publ., 414 p. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/qpalyx

9. Suchkova E.Yu. (2019). The formation of the Bylyrinsky front in 1918–1919. Studencheskie chteniya = Student Readings. Chita, pp. 44-48. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/bxvqut

10. Vasilevskii V.I. (1989). Revolution and Civil War in Transbaikalia. Chita, 112 p. (In Russ.)

11. Kasatochkin D.R. (2021). Jewish national units among the troops of ataman G.M. Semyonov in the Transbaikal, 1919–1920. Vestnik Rossiiskogo universiteta druzhby narodov. Seriya: Istoriya Rossii = RUDN Journal of Russian History, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 531-542. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22363/2312-8674-2021-20-4-531-542, https://elibrary.ru/tsbjdi

12. Kasatochkin D.R. (2015). Muslim units of the Asian Mounted Division in 1919–1920. Voenno-istoricheskii zhurnal = Military History Magazine, no. 11, pp. 59-61. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/uyaffp