Tambov Rebellion

The Tambov Rebellion of 1919–1921 was a large peasant rebellion against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War according to The Black Book of Communism. It was with participation with a former official of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, Alexander Antonov, and therefore in Soviet history it was named the Antonovschina (Анто́новщина) by Vladimir Lenin.

A congress of Tambov rebels abolished Soviet power and decided to convoce a Constituent Assembly under equal voting, and to return all land to the peasants .

Alexander Antonov, a radical member of the Left Socialist Revolutionary party, had sided with the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution in 1917, but turned on them after the Bolshevik's new farming policies came into place in 1918.

Antonov started to make attacks against the Soviet authorities and became a popular hero to the people of the Tambov region of central Russia where he started his campaigns.

By November 1920, he had an army of around 8,000 men, most of them mounted. He used this army to mount raids against Collective farms and railway junctions. He did manage to clear the Tambov region of the Bolsheviks authorities, but he had a greater ambition, and this was to march on Moscow.

In January 1921, Antonov resorted to conscription in order to increase his army. He managed to form 2 field armies. These field armies consisted of 21 'regiments', with a total strength of around 20,000-50,000 men. The army was well structured and well organised, with their own form of insignia and uniforms. The Soviets however, referred to these Antonovtsi as disorganised Kulak groups or bandits. The field armies were organised much like regular formations, with 5 brigades (2 Infantry or Cavalry regiments, along with Specialist signals, reconnaissance, medical, engineer and other units.) The armies command functions were organised by the Major Operations HQ, which had its own logistical, political and legal departments as well as a separate security regiment.

The threat of Antonov's army was great enough that the Soviets treated it as a new front and sent some of their best commanders to fight it, Tukhachevsky and Uborevich with nearly 50,000 regulars, as well as Hungarian and Chinese "internationalists" and Cheka, ChON and VOkhr units.

The uprising took place in the territories of the modern Tambov Oblast and a part of Voronezh Oblast.

As a distinctive feature of this rebellion among the many of these times, it was led by a political organization, the Union of Toiling Peasants (Soyuz Trudovogo Krestyanstva).

The seriousness of the uprising called for the creation of the "Plenipotentiary Commission of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Bolshevik party for liquidation of banditism in the Tambov Gubernia". The rebellion was crushed by Red Army units headed by Mikhail Tukhachevsky. The political guidance of the anti-revolt operations was effected by Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko. The famous Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov received his first Soviet decoration while fighting rebels here.

According to the The Black Book of Communism, the uprising was so great that nearly 100,000 soldiers were sent in, including special CheKa detachments . The army used heavy artillery and armoured trains to fight peasant rebels. The Red Army under Tukhachevsky used to take and execute without trial, civilian hostages.

According to the allegations of The Black Book of Communism, Tukhachevsky and Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko signed Order N 171, dated June 11 1921, that stipulated: "The forests where the bandits are hiding are to be cleared by the use of poison gas. This must be carefully calculated, so that the layer of gas penetrates the forests and kills everyone hiding there." [1] [2] [3]

Seven Concentration camps were set up. At least 50,000 people were interned, mostly women, children, and elderly, some of them were sent there as hostages. The mortality rate in the camps was 15-20 percent a month.

• Tukhachvsky role in the Tambov revolt, including the text of commands given to the red army concerning the use of war gases, taking and executing hostages, deporting of peasant families to Concentration camps.

The uprising was gradually quelled in 1921. Antonov was killed in 1922 during an attempt to arrest him.

External links

• Programme of Union of Toiling Peasants
• (in Russian) Antonovshchina: a wealth of historical documents, including the documents from the rebel side
• Tukhachvsky role in the Tambov revolt, including the text of commands given to the red army concerning the use of war gases, taking and executing hostages, deporting of peasant families to Concentration camps.
• An illustrated article about Tambov revolt from Gulag website (Russian)

See also

• Alexander Antonov
• Antonovschina