“I was alone among everyone...”: a brief triumph of authoritarian political leadership in the provinces of the Central Black Earth Region in October 1917 – February 1918

Importance. The October Revolution in the Central Black Earth Region was carried out by leaders of the leader-type, who established a new government by their own will. They were resisted by no less authoritative state and public figures. At the same time, the style of political behavior of such leaders varied, which requires understanding, since leaderism is usually associated with the peremptory nature of words and actions. The purpose of the study is to study political leaderism from October 1917 to February 1918, the role of authoritarian leaders at this time and the situation of their rapid disappearance from the political scene.

Methods and Materials. Historical-systemic, historical-comparative and prosopographical methods. Materials from the central archives, archives of Voronezh, Tambov, Kursk and Lipetsk; periodicals; memoirs.

Results and Discussion. In the first half of autumn 1917, political activists of the region openly discussed the need for a coup d'etat to implement the tasks of the revolution. There was no unity among the revolutionaries on this issue. As a result, the transfer of power to the new political regime that took place in October 1917 – February 1918 turned out to be associated with the actions of specific political leaders: A.S. Moiseyev in Voronezh, E.N. Zabitsky in Kursk and the examples of I.I. Fokin in Bryansk in Bryansk, Oryol province, N.N. Ispolatov in Usman, Tambov province. By the summer of 1918, these leaders, especially at the level of provincial centers, ceased to play the role of leaders of the revolution. The phenomenon of leaderism in the period under study also turned out to be associated with the actions of politicians of the liberal and rightsocialist wing. The figures of the leader of the Cadets A.I. Shingarev and the leader of the Voronezh People's Socialists Party N.V. Chekhov are analyzed as examples.

Conclusion. Local leaders-chiefs, who were able to act by force of will, achieved the greatest success in implementing the tasks of transferring power to the October regime. Leaders of other types looked less bright against their background, but were able to solve the problem of gradual transfer of power to the Bolsheviks, or act as an opposition from the right. By the summer of 1918, the most prominent leaders, who showed a tendency towards an authoritarian style of action and individual decisions, were ousted from the sphere of making important political decisions. This is due not only to the collapse of the left coalition, but also to the specifics of the emerging political system, where individualism was not welcomed. The need to create detailed biographies of political figures of the revolutionary period is emphasized in order to better understand the nature of the processes taking place in the political sphere.

1. Kizrin I.G. (1933). Kursk party organization during the October Revolution and the civil war. Voronezh, Kommuna Publ, 162 p. (In Russ.).

2. Okatov N.A. (ed.) (1970). Essays on the history of the Tambov organization of the CPSU. Voronezh, Central Black Earth Publ., 479 p. (In Russ.).

3. Kabanov P.I. (1980). Essays on the history of the Kursk organization of the CPSU. Voronezh, Central Black Earth Publ., 415 p. (In Russ.).

4. Smirnov A.A. (2003). Leaders of the White Cossacks. Ataman Kaledin. Saint Petersburg, Neva Publ., 320 p. (In Russ.).

5. Ganin A.V. (2006). Ataman A. I. Dutov (Russia, downtrodden and unknown. At the great turning point). Moscow, Centrpoligraf Publ., 623 p. (In Russ.).

6. Vlasov L.V. (2020). Mannerheim. 3rd edit. Moscow, Molodaya gvardiya Publ., 320 p. (In Russ.).

7. Bajdalova E.V. (2020) Vladimir Kirillovich Vinnichenko. Biography of a politician and writer in the background of his era. Slavyanovedenie = Slavic Studies, no. 5, pp. 89-98. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S0869544X0011094-6 https://slav.jes.su/s0869544x0011094-6-1

8. Dubrovskij A.M. (2024). Bolshevik ideology and leaderism. Istoriya. Obshhestvo. Politika, no. 4 (32), pp. 21-35. (In Russ.). https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=80661215

9. Vorotnikov A.A., Xapaev A.A. (2011). The leader-state as the main type of authoritarianism: statement of the problem. Pravovaya politika i pravovaya zhizn`, no.1, pp. 29-34. (In Russ.). https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=16358336

10. Buldakov V.P. (2010). Red Troubles: The Nature and Consequences of Revolutionary Violence, 2nd edit., Moscow, ROSSPEN, 967 p. (In Russ.). https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=22312287

11. Koloniczkij B.I. (2023). Comrade Kerensky: the anti-monarchist revolution and the formation of the “leader of the people” group (March – June 1917), 3rd edit., Moscow, Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 520 p. (In Russ.).

12. Reznik A. V. (2022). The Genesis of the Cult of Trotsky in the Russian Civil War. History, vol. 107, no. 378, pp. 910-926. (In Engl.). https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-229X.13329 https://publications.hse.ru/articles/801827516

13. Sanborn J. (2010). The genesis of Russian warlordism: Violence and governance during the First World War and the Civil War. Contemporary European history, Cambridge, vol. 19, special issue 03, pp. 195–213. (In Engl.). https://www.hsozkult.de/journal/id/z6ann-104494

14. Kiseleva E.V. (2008). Formation of the cult of the Bryansk Bolshevik Ignat Fokin (1917-1922). Vlast`-obshhestvo-lichnost` v istorii Rossii: materialy` Vserossijskoj (s mezhdunarodny`m uchastiem) nauchnoj konferencii molody`x ucheny`x. Smolensk, 28-29 noyabrya 2008 g., Smolensk, Smolensk State Univ. Publ., pp. 325-338. (In Russ.).

15. Meshheryakov Yu.V. (2012). Tambov province during the initial period of Soviet power. October 1917 – August 1918. Tambov, Proletarskij svetoch, 424 p. (In Russ.).

16. Kanishhev V.V., Meshheryakov Yu.V. (1995). Anatomy of one rebellion. Tambov uprising, June 17-19, 1918. Tambov, Tambov State University Publ., 295 p. (In Russ.).

17. Emel`yanov S.N., Zorin A.V., Shpilev A.G. (2013). Kursk region in the Civil War of 1917–1921: an essay on military and political history. Kursk, Polstar Publ., 528 p. (In Russ.).

18. Salty`k G.V. (2020). The “April Riot” of 1918 in Kursk: the case of M. V. Sloves and E. N. Zabitsky. Ucheny`e zapiski. E`lektronny`j nauchny`j zhurnal Kurskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, no. 1 (53). (In Russ.). https://api-mag.kursksu.ru/api/v1/get_pdf/3554

19. Kulin N.E. (1996). Orthodox (The Tale about B. Vasileyev): revolutionary, leader of the Bolshevik party organization in Tambov region. Tambov, Proletarskij svetoch, 174 p. (In Russ.).

20. Pomelov V.B. (2019). N.V. Chekhov is a prominent Russian teacher, educator and organizer of public education. Pedagogika. Voprosy` teorii i praktiki = Pedagogy. Theory & Practice. Tambov, Gramota Publ., vol. 4, issue 2, pp. 13-20. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.30853/pedagogy.2019.2.3 https://pedagogy-journal.ru/en/article/ped20190053/fulltext

21. Razin`kov M.E. (2018). «Vtoroe dvoevlastie»: politicheskaya situaciya v Voronezhskoj gubernii v konce 1917 – nachale 1918 gg. Voronezhskij vestnik arxivista, no. 15, pp. 142-166. (In Russ.). https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=37278233

22. Razin`kov M.E., Morozova O.M. (2021). Social and political dialogue in Russia (1917-1918): trends, mechanism, regional features. Moscow, Kvadriga Publ., 712 p. (In Russ.). https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=48044504