Under the Red Flag Against the Bolsheviks: The History of KOMUCH

When it comes to the anti-Bolshevik movement during the Civil War, the average person traditionally conjures images of the established White Movement. In the South, Anton Ivanovich Denikin and Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel with their named regiments of shock troops; in the East, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak and Vladimir Oskarovich Kappel with an army under the national tricolor and the two-colored Siberian banner; in the North and Northwest, Yevgeny Karlovich Miller and Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich with parts of the British interventionists and the colorful "Liventsy" in steel helmets. The entire conflict of 1917–1920 under these conditions seems extremely polarized and understandable: on one side are the Reds, on the other, the Whites.

In reality, the ideological formation of the White Movement occurred significantly later than the end of the Civil War. Even the centralization of anti-Bolshevik forces around Admiral Kolchak happened at the height of the conflict in 1919. Against the backdrop of major victories, appealing aesthetics, and overall cultural influence, the first stage of the Civil War, which contemporaries dubbed the "democratic counter-revolution," seems extremely neglected.

The advocacy of a third path for Russia's development, neither "red" nor "white," appears as a very ambitious and extremely contradictory attempt at a democratic compromise amid revolutionary changes. This "compromise" was attempted to be realized by such state formations as the Provisional Siberian Government of Pyotr Vasilyevich Vologodsky (Omsk group), the Provisional Government of Autonomous Siberia of Pyotr Yakovlevich Derber (Tomsk group), the Provisional Administration of the Northern Region under the leadership of the "grandfather of the Russian revolution" Nikolai Vasilyevich Chaikovsky, and the most famous - the Committee of Members of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly (Komuch) in Samara. It is the latter that I would like to discuss in more detail.

A distinctive feature of Komuch, which set it apart from all other governments of that period, was its direct legitimization as the All-Russian Constituent Assembly dissolved by the Bolsheviks. Neither the Volunteer Army of the South, which was the first to declare civil-democratic principles of power, nor the Cossack circles, nor the Omsk, Tomsk, or Arkhangelsk blocs had a legal basis for recognizing themselves as the all-Russian government. The absence of legitimizing principles stimulated not only political struggle among anti-Bolshevik leaders for the centralization of forces in the region (such as the confrontation between the Cossacks of Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov and Denikin's Volunteer Army or the confrontation of Vologodsky's Omsk government against Derber's Tomsk cabinet) but also a mass movement of "self-determiners" (Siberian regionalists, the Southeastern Cossack Union, Alash-Orda). Often, the political crisis forced governments to recognize the supremacy of a more legitimate entity over themselves. For example, a similar scenario occurred in Chaikovsky's government in September 1918 after Georgy Yermolaevich Chaplin's unsuccessful military coup. It was the authority of the Constituent Assembly that forced the Northern government to submit to the Samara center.

The history of Komuch is inextricably linked with the activities of the rebellious Czechoslovak Legion. It was only after the Penza group of Czechoslovaks, led by Lieutenant Stanislav Chechek, entered Samara on June 8, 1918, that a civil authority was formed in the city in the form of the first governmental quintet. It included Vladimir Kazimirovich Volsky as chairman, Ivan Mikhailovich Brushvit for finance, Prokopiy Diomidovich Klimushkin for internal affairs, Ivan Petrovich Nesterov for communications, and Boris Konstantinovich Fortunatov as formally responsible for army organization. None of them had anything to do with the dissolved Constituent Assembly, nor did they have the slightest experience in leadership. As Vasily Gavrilovich Arkhangelsky, the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Kazan Province, later honestly admitted: "There was much in all this from the unfamiliarity with power, from political romanticism, and from the naive belief in the possibility of a 'broad coalition'..."

The general principle in the construction of Komuch was civil initiative. Support for local self-government, local political, and public organizations played a key role, as it was precisely on the basis of grassroots self-organization that central authority was constituted. The incorporation into the Samara Komuch, which combined the functions of legislative and executive power, in addition to election according to the principle of universal suffrage, was carried out on the principle of representation from local self-governments. The burdens of restoring institutions of all levels and courts liquidated by the Bolsheviks were placed on the shoulders of the new government's commissioners. In fact, the role of the commissioners was reduced to the previously existing institution of commissars with competencies such as the right to remove officials, detain, and close meetings and congresses, "which may pose a danger in military terms or in terms of public order and tranquility."

Although the ideological character of Komuch was distinctly socialist, this did not prevent right-conservative officer cadres from joining the army on the principle of having a common enemy. Such future prominent White commanders as Kappel, Alexander Petrovich Stepanov, Vasily Osipovich Vyrypayev, Fyodor Fyodorovich Meybom, Pavel Petrovich Petrov, and many others fought under the red banner of Komuch in the summer of 1918.

Alongside the use of the red flag in the new armed forces (the People's Army), there were other revolutionary attributes, such as the prohibition of military salutes, old forms of address (soldiers were to be addressed as "citizen"), wearing officer insignia, and imperial symbols. According to Klimushkin, during the military reforms, the governmental quintet was inspired by the Czechoslovak Legion: "The Czech army, with its democratic management structure, with its fraternal relations between soldiers and officers, was for us the ideal we aspired to when creating our army."

The "successes" of the democratization being carried out are eloquently testified by later general orders: "...one must observe rank respect and give due honor and salute," "All servicemen, both in formation and out of formation, should address each other as 'You,'" "In response to a greeting from a superior to a subordinate out of formation, the latter responds by bringing a hand to the headgear or standing 'at attention'... good day, Mr. General, Mr. Colonel, Mr. Lieutenant, etc." 

Fearing the army's inclination towards unilateral power, the government decided to concentrate all military leadership in the hands of the Military Department of Nikolai Alexandrovich Galkin with the introduction of two attached commissioners. At that time, the army was divided into three groups: Northern - Alexander Petrovich Stepanov, Central - Andrey Stepanovich Bakich, and Southern - Fyodor Yevdokimovich Makhin.

Since by the beginning of the summer of 1918, following central Russia, the Volga region was engulfed by a severe famine, Komuch's legalization of trade with the abolition of fixed prices was met with extreme approval by the people. The future plenipotentiary ambassador of the USSR to Great Britain, and at the time in the summer of 1918, the head of Komuch's labor department, Ivan Mikhailovich Maisky, described his first impressions of Samara: "These mountains of white bread, freely sold in stalls and on carts, this abundance of meat, poultry, vegetables, butter, lard, and all sorts of other food delights completely overwhelmed us. After Moscow, the Samara market seemed like some fairy tale from 'One Thousand and One Nights'.

The peak of Komuch's success was in early August when the People's Army swiftly raced along the Volga. By that time, the Committee's composition had grown to 29 people, and by the end of September, it reached 90 people. After lengthy discussions, Komuch's leadership decided to unite the front with the Volunteer Army of the South. To this end, the Samara cabinet concentrated all its forces and resources on the priority Southern group of Makhin, as it was to break through Saratov directly to the Tsaritsyn besieged by the Don Cossacks. However, inspired by their crushing successes, representatives of the Northern group led by Kappel, Stepanov, Fortunatov, and Vladimir Ivanovich Lebedev decided to go against the Operational Headquarters' instructions and independently organized a liberation campaign to Moscow.

After a brief battle, the Northern group captured Kazan on August 7. Komuch gained access to a huge gold reserve of the Russian Empire amounting to 651 million rubles in gold and 110 million rubles in credit notes, the evacuated Academy of the General Staff, two evacuated aviation schools, 100 steamships, 300 barges, and full warehouses of quartermaster supplies. Although the success was impressive, from that day on, Komuch was forced to hold two fronts simultaneously, which led to complications on Makhin's southern front.

Building on its success, Komuch intended to become the main force throughout Eastern Russia. By the beginning of autumn 1918, about eleven disparate governments had formed over the vast expanses from the Volga to the Pacific Ocean. In addition to Komuch, the Provisional Siberian Government, which by then had managed to overcome Derber's cabinet and subjugate the most important economic zone of the Chinese Eastern Railway, was a contender for the unification of the entire Eastern anti-Bolshevik movement.

The first meeting of representatives of these two state entities took place in mid-July in Chelyabinsk. The so-called "Meeting on the Rails" took place in an atmosphere of heated debates. Komuch considered itself the "sole master of the Russian land" and demanded immediate and unconditional recognition of itself as the only legitimate government. Moreover, by that time, the Ural and Orenburg Cossack troops had already sworn allegiance to Komuch, and the ataman of the Orenburg Cossacks, Alexander Ilyich Dutov, had even joined the Committee. In turn, the Siberian representatives agreed only to discuss formal unification with the recognition and preservation of the Siberian cabinet. The situation was exacerbated by the disunity within the Omsk government itself. For example, the moderately right-wing Vologodsky, Georgy Konstantinovich Gins, and Alexey Nikolayevich Grishin-Almazov were forced at the same time to conduct discussions with the radical left Siberian Duma, which ultimately led to armed confrontation.

Nevertheless, thanks to the representatives of the Entente and the Czechoslovak Legion, a rupture between Komuch and the Provisional Siberian Government was avoided. The delegates decided to convene a second congress, at which the issue of final unification was to be raised.

The second meeting opened on August 23. This time it was held in a solemn atmosphere, with consuls from France, Great Britain, and the Czechoslovaks invited. By tradition, the meeting was opened by the oldest deputy, who was the legendary "grandmother of the Russian revolution," Yekaterina Konstantinovna Breshko-Breshkovskaya. At that time, the Presidium of the meeting was convened under the chairmanship of the famous former head of the Provisional Council of the Russian Republic, Nikolai Dmitrievich Avksentyev, with deputies (i.e., vice-chairmen) Yevgeny Frantsevich Rogovsky - head of Komuch's departments, and Ivan Adrianovich Mikhailov - Minister of Finance of the Siberian government.

Although there were plenty of mutual claims this time as well (for example, regarding the status of the powers of the arriving delegations, national representation, budget compilation, the procedure for military unification, and even the location of the next meeting), it was the Second Chelyabinsk meeting that approved the final principle of uniting the disparate governments of Russia into a single coalition in accordance with the "directive order" of management.

On September 8, after the completion of all preparatory activities, the State Meeting began its work in Ufa. It was attended by 23 delegations (more than 200 people) representing Komuch, the Provisional Siberian Government, the Regional Government of the Urals, the Orenburg, Ural, Siberian, Irkutsk, and Yenisei Cossacks, the Bashkir National Government, Alash-Orda, the Turkestan Government, the national administration of the Turko-Tatars of inner Russia and Siberia, the temporary Estonian government, as well as political parties, organizations, and self-government bodies.

Five people with one deputy were elected to the governmental Directory: Avksentyev - deputy Andrey Alexandrovich Argunov, Nikolai Ivanovich Astrov - deputy Vladimir Alexandrovich Vinogradov, Vasily Georgievich Boldyrev - deputy Mikhail Vasilyevich Alekseev, Vologodsky - deputy Vasily Vasilyevich Sapozhnikov, and Chaikovsky - deputy Vladimir Mikhailovich Zenzinov.

In accordance with the program of work of the Provisional Government, the following tasks were allocated for the restoration of state unity and independence:

• The struggle for the liberation of Russia from Soviet power;

• The reunification of the detached, fallen away, and disparate regions of Russia;

• Non-recognition of the Brest and all other international treaties concluded on behalf of Russia or its separate parts after the February Revolution by any authority other than the Russian Provisional Government, and the restoration of the actual force of contractual relations with the Entente powers;

• Continuation of the war against the German coalition.

The newly formed Provisional All-Russian Government pledged to assume full supreme power until the convening of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, while maintaining broad autonomy "on the ground."

By the time of the formation of the Ufa Directory (September 8 - 23), Komuch was living its last days. The Northern group of the People's Army was unable to advance towards Moscow and was stopped at Sviyazhsk. On September 10, the 5th Army of the Red Army, having a fourfold numerical advantage, recaptured Kazan and forced Stepanov and Kappel's units to retreat along the entire front.

On Makhin's southern front, the situation was even worse. After capturing Khvalynsk and Volsk, the group was unable to advance on Saratov and was slowing down with each passing day. When about 120 km remained to the city, the group was forced to urgently begin retreating under the pressure of the Reds.

By mid-September, the People's Army had abandoned not only Kazan but also Simbirsk, Volsk, Khvalynsk, and Syzran. Tactical defeats began to grow into complete strategic failure. By that time, many army cadres began to openly oppose their socialist government, changing into the uniform of the "right" Siberian Army, raising the banned national tricolor, and openly singing "God Save the Tsar!" and "How Glorious." Demoralization also reached the Czechoslovak Legion. For example, due to the mass disobedience of his units, Colonel Josef Švec committed suicide.

On October 7, the capital of the Committee of Members of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, the city of Samara, was abandoned.

What were the reasons for Komuch's defeat?

Firstly, open socialist slogans continued to alienate a significant number of officers, industrialists, right-wing parties, and organizations. Even Kappel, who tried not to interfere in politics, was forced to appeal to the Committee with a request to stop criticizing "officers from the bourgeoisie" in the periodical press.

Secondly, Komuch's fear of a possible military coup generated distrust and antagonism. Boris Viktorovich Savinkov wrote with irritation: "The Samara counterintelligence was less interested in the Bolsheviks than in the officers, searching among them for constitutional monarchists." On the other hand, once in the middle of summer, a detachment of Cossacks arrived in Samara without permission, and when asked why they were there, the commander boldly replied: "To disperse the Constituent Assembly."

Thirdly, due to Samara's unwillingness to build a clear military hierarchy on the front, the problem of subordination was in full swing. Czech detachments could not directly coordinate operations with front commanders, as they acted only with the direct consent of the leader of the Penza group of the legion, Stanislav Chechek. Independently of operational plans, Kappel's Special Detachment, groups of Serbs, Poles, and Cossacks also fought. The most textbook example of the lack of military discipline and subordination was the "Kazan Adventure."

Fourthly, by the end of summer, the Volga movement was no longer able to single-handedly oppose the Bolsheviks. For example, on the northern front, 5,000 People's Army soldiers opposed 40,000 soldiers of the 5th Army of the Red Army.

Of course, for tens of thousands of former Komuch representatives, the Civil War did not end with its defeat. The "democratic counter-revolution" continued to exist for some time in the form of the Ufa, and then the Omsk Directory, but for most contemporaries, the project already seemed doomed to failure. Ultimately, the Directory lived only slightly longer than Komuch. Already on November 18, 1918, Admiral Kolchak appeared on the political scene, starting a new "white" stage of the anti-Bolshevik struggle.