True and "Falsehood" about the Red Detachments. From the Military-Political History of the Period of the "First Soviet Power" in Eastern Siberia (1917-1918)
In the article, on the basis of a large amount of unpublished sources, the features of the organization of Soviet armed units of the Irkutsk province in the initial period of the Civil War (late 1917 - summer 1918) are considered. Characteristics are given to the leaders of the Bolsheviks and their allies from the left socialist parties, commanders of the Soviet detachments. For the first time, biographical data of the most odious figures, such as M.P. Yankov and E.S. Perezhogin, are given. Author gets an assessment of the place and role of destructive social groups such as anarchists, criminal and prisoners of war in the establishment of Soviet power. Information was collected about the murders, lynchings and facts of terror committed by supporters of the Soviet government in relation to political opponents and casual persons. The author refrains from adherence to the “red” or “white” side, considers the importance to pay attention to personalities and, if possible, to detail the described events, which can contribute to an increase of interest in History and local history.