The Russian Civil War of 1917-1921, a cataclysmic series of overlapping conflicts, was a pivotal event in modern history. It was the Bolshevik victory in this bloody struggle, not the skirmishes on the streets of Petrograd and Moscow in October 1917, which secured the victory of Soviet Communism and provided its legitimacy for seventy years of rule. This book traces the clash between the 'Reds' of the Moscow-based Soviet regime and the 'Whites', the militaristic, counter-revolutionary governments which were established around the periphery of Russia and aided by Allied interventionists. In particular, it details the epic history of the White movement in Siberia, and the fortunes of its leader, Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak. Using a wide range of contemporary sources, Jonathan Smele examines Kolchak's political and military record, and concludes that the White defeat resulted as much from the harsh facts of Siberian economy and geography as from failures of White policy and leadership. |