Do you know which choice is the most difficult?
It is clear that everyone can give many examples from his own life when he had to think, like a knight at a crossroads. But not everyone’s decision can affect the fate of tens of thousands, if not millions of people. True, even in this case, you may not realize that you are making a vital choice.
Take, for example, the beginning of 1919. Things were going very badly for the anti-Bolshevik forces. Tired of the hardships of the end of the World War, the troops of the Entente countries categorically did not want to go into battle again, especially in distant and cold Russia, defending someone’s interests. After all, even the relatively small British expeditionary force in Arkhangelsk suffered significant losses due to disease.
Members of European parliaments, horrified by the economic problems engulfing their countries, did not want to listen to arguments that the red infection could spread beyond the former territory of the Russian Empire, and did not want not only to give money to fight the Bolsheviks, but even refused to give them equipment not used during the war and used weapons. And the armies of A. V. Kolchak and A. I. Denikin needed literally everything.
The French were playing some kind of their own game with independent Ukraine, while at the same time assuring the white generals that they fully and completely support a united and indivisible Russia. As a result, Denikin quarreled with the command of the French troops in the south of Russia and, with the light hand of French politicians, was ranked among those who want the restoration of the monarchy, which means he is an enemy of everything bright and democratic, not deserving of any support. Yes, in fact, all white generals risked falling into this category.
Anti-Bolshevik forces began to unite with great difficulty, since at the beginning of the Paris Peace Conference it was impossible to represent Russia as an unfriendly crowd. But the collective West was so tired of Russian squabbles that the leaders of the Entente suggested that all Russian governments, including the Soviet one, send three delegates to a special conference and there somehow agree among themselves to end the conflicts, as well as on a single representation in Paris. Only the Bolsheviks agreed, and the image of them in Europe improved significantly. There were also reports that the British did not want to fight with the communists, but to trade. Everything looked as if the first signs of a Bolshevik victory over their opponents had appeared.
But in March 1919, a revolutionary situation arose in Hungary, or rather, the Hungarian communists had the opportunity to seize power. And V. I. Lenin not only supported the intention of the Hungarian comrades, but also personally gave orders that were transmitted to them by radio.
Now this would be called crossing the red line. The European allies sent Denikin and Kolchak the planes they had been seeking for many months to receive. Other resources were found to help them. The civil war flared up and claimed more and more lives. And the Hungarian Soviet Republic existed only until August 6, 1919.
In the same year, the leadership of Finland faced a difficult choice – to help or not to help the Russian White Guards capture Petrograd, to participate or not to participate in this campaign themselves. At the same time, military intelligence reported on the plans of the Finns, which were extremely unpleasant for the Kremlin. All details are in the text “The planned operation against St. Petersburg has been postponed.”
Any troops suffer losses during combat operations, but the question of how to provide for the wives and children of the dead was not easily resolved in any era. So, 375 years ago, on March 31, 1649*, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich considered the petition of the Cossacks, archers and gunners, who complained that the families of their killed in battles and deceased comrades were deprived of the property given to their breadwinners for their service. About what pensions were paid to widows and children, see the article in our regular column “Forgotten Life” – “37,528 families of deceased command personnel do not receive pensions.”
Choosing reliable allies is a difficult task for leadership of any country. Czechoslovakia, for example, seemingly did everything to ensure complete security, but the result was radically different from the desired one. About this – the material “Poland should be considered as having left the Allies.”
The question of whether or not it is necessary to send large ships on combat operations in conditions when enemy aircraft dominate the air did not arise today or even yesterday. About what happened 80 years ago – the publication “733 personnel died.”
An equally serious question is whether to create or not to create a new elite, and how to make its maintenance less costly . The Soviet experience of creating a non-Soviet elite is in the text “These “shops” are designed for thieves.”
This issue of the monthly Kommersant-History is about him, the most difficult choice, on the correctness of which the fate and sometimes the lives of many people depend.
Contents
“37,528 families of deceased command personnel do not receive pensions”/When benefits were assigned to the widows of those killed in battles
“The planned operation against St. Petersburg has been postponed”/How Finnish nationalists helped the Kremlin
“Arsenic was found in the esophagus and stomach”/Who necessarily becomes a victim of even an unsuccessful terrorist attack
“Poland should be considered as having left the allies”/How partner countries contribute to the defeat
< b>“These “shops” are designed for thieves” /How the wartime elite was formed
“733 personnel died” /How the supreme the commander-in-chief punished the admirals
*All dates before February 1, 1918 are given in the old style.
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