Far from confirming the criticisms of those hostile to the bolsheviks, the latest sources show that trotskys position was correct and totally justified. But that also presupposes that the revolution in russia wasnt hobbling at deaths door. A letter and reply on the kronstadt rebellion 16 september 1998 to the editor. It greatly influenced the communist partys decision to undertake a program of economic liberalization to relieve the hardships suffered by the russian population. The history of the rebellion by edward hyde, 1st earl of clarendon is his account of the english civil war. Then voline advances the book giving a detailed account of the dismal failures of stalins five year plans for which. The saga of kronstadt is a microcosm of the russian revolution. Alpha history is a free, adsupported online textbook for history teachers and students. The first wave of red army troops were low in number and poorly equipped. Kronstadt personified the generous, all forgiving spirit of the slavic soul and the centuryold emancipation movement of russia. The kronstadt garrison declares that the communists enjoy full liberty in kronstadt and their families are absolutely safe. Apr 06, 2010 the rebellion was a response to bolshevik heavy handedness in both suppression of strikes and the deterioration of the economic and political situation caused by the civil war and the policy of war communism.
The kronstadt rebellion took place in the first weeks of march 1921. This russian revolution site contains articles, sources and perspectives on events in russia between 1891 and 1927. New material that has emerged from the old soviet archives over the past decade or so have allowed new books to be published on the events surrounding the kronstadt rebellion in 1921. Far from confirming the criticisms of those hostile to the bolsheviks. It greatly influenced the communist partys decision to undertake a program of economic liberalization to relieve the hardships. The russian revolution in colour in defence of marxism. It had been an early supporter and practitioner of soviet power, forming a free commune in 1917 which was relatively independent of the authorities. Petersburg which during the first world war was renamed petrograd, then later. The kronstadt uprising of 1921 by ida mett ida metts history of the kronstadt uprising highlights one of the most important yet neglected events of the russian revolution. It was carried out by communists who did not like the way the bolsheviks made the workers councils do what the new russian state, the rsfsr told them to do. T he campaign around kronstadt is being carried on with undiminished vigor in certain circles. Those involved were rebelling against bolshevik economic policies, food shortages, political oppression and the brutal mistreatment of ordinary russians. Ironically, just a day after crushing the kronstadt rising, the victorious bolsheviks celebrated the 50 th anniversary of the paris commune in the recaptured town. The first attack of the red army led by leon trotsky on the fortress of kronstadt on the island of kotlin during the kronstadt sailor rebellion.
Sep 16, 1998 a letter and reply on the kronstadt rebellion 16 september 1998 to the editor. Professor getzler argues that the kronstadters third revolution of march 1921 was a desperate attempt at this is the first major study of revolutionary kronstadt to span the period from february 1917. A letter and reply on the kronstadt rebellion world. Kronstadt was and is a naval fortress on an island in the gulf of finland. This work originally published in 17021704 as the history of the rebellion and civil wars in england was the first fullscale, detailed history of the civil war and was written by a key player in the events contained within it. The kronstadt rebellion was a leftwing revolt which occurred in russia from 717 march 1921. Traditionally, it has served as the base of the russian baltic fleet and to guard the approaches to the city of st. Voline gives a detailed history of events from 19051917, and he gives credit to the men at the kronstadt naval station for actually starting the revolution. Kronstadt uprising images seventeen moments in soviet. Explore the life of leon trotsky, whose intellect and leadership made him a change agent during the russian revolution, only to lose favor with lenin and incur the wrath of joseph stalin.
Kronstadt rebellion, tambov rebellion and treaty of rapallo. Kronshtadt rebellion, march 1921, one of several major internal uprisings against soviet rule in russia after the civil war 191820, conducted by sailors from the kronshtadt naval base. Apr 18, 2015 on the contrary, it paved the way for the rebirth of kulaks wealthy peasants and led, at the beginning of this decade, to the renewal of civil war in the village. The soldiers did not yet have white tarpaulin suits and were very easy targets during their attack across the ice of the gulf of finland, almost 80% of the attackers were killed. The kronstadt rebellion wikisource, the free online library.
Jul 19, 2005 on march 22 and 29, in two parts, the british channel five tv showed a documentary on the russian revolution entitled the russian revolution in colour. It spans twelve different historical periods or themes, with more under construction in 201920. Lenins year of crisis posted by russel tarr on june 6, 2008 june 6, 2008 a new interactive exercise for alevel ib history students in which students are presented with a series of news feeds about the kronstadt rebellion of 1921 which spelt the end of war communism and the introduction of the new economic. It was three years ago, nikolai sukhanov a member of the petrograd soviet reminded leon trotsky that he, trotsky, had previously announced to the people of petrograd that we shall conduct the work of the petrograd soviet in a spirit of lawfulness and of full. The suppression of the most revolutionary section of the navy by the bolsheviks was the final blow to any hope of a genuine revolution based on democratic workers self. Was the crushing of the kronstadt rebellion of 1921 just. Start studying kronstadt rebellion, tambov rebellion and treaty of rapallo. If the soviet territory would become less, but controlled by socialistscommunists, thats fine. The history of the rising of the naval town of kronstadt in russia by workers and sailors supporting the original aims of the 1917 revolution against the new bolshevik dictatorship. Ida metts the kronstadt uprising is a useful look at a piece of history from the russian revolution and beginning of the soviet union that speaks eloquently about the state that lenin and the bolsheviks were putting togetherand not necessarily to the good. It was the last major revolt against the bolshevik regime on. It is an incident that probably deserves greater attention than it has received. The document is titled memorandum on the question of organizing an uprising in kronstadt, and includes information about the kronstadt rebellion. Peter i the great captured the island from the swedes in 1703 and constructed a fort and docksthen called kronslotto protect the approaches to st.
Kronstadt and counterrevolution ii, workers vanguard. By march 17th defences collapsed, kronstadt was invaded by the cheka and red army. It also details plans regarding white army and french government support for the kronstadt sailors march rebellion. The bloody suppression of the rebels by the government of the workers and peasants marked the final blow to any hopes of a genuine popular revolution based on democratic selfmanagement. It focuses attention on kronstadts forgotten golden age, between march 1917 and july 1918, when soviet power and democracy flourished there. It was a rude shock to the bolsheviks when the red sailors of kronstadt went into open rebellion in march 1921. The kronstadt rebellion flared when it seemed the civil war was at a pause and the political and fighting capacities of the countries working people was near exhaustion. Though i am admittedly a layman regarding knowledge of the history of the russian revolution, i.
Nov 25, 2019 the kronstadt garrison declares that the communists enjoy full liberty in kronstadt and their families are absolutely safe. March 17 th 2006 marked the 85 th anniversary of the crushing of the kronstadt rebellion by the bolsheviks. The kronstadt uprising was only an episode in the history of the relations between the proletarian city and the pettybourgeois village. The communist party leadership claimed kronstadt s rebellion was led by the tsarist exgeneral kozlovsky and other white guards. In january of 1921 alone, some 5,000 baltic sailors left the bolshevik party in protest. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
The rebellion was crushed by red army troops under trotskys command. Proletarian spinoff of the russian revolution, cajo brendel, 1971. Though i am admittedly a layman regarding knowledge of the history of the russian revolution, i am curious as to the. This site is created and maintained by alpha history. The unknown revolution kronstadt 1921 ukraine 191821. It was the last major revolt against the bolshevik regime on russian territory during the russian civil war that. It would take two weeks and thousands of deaths before they succeeded in their task. The kronstadt rebellion was an antibolshevik uprising in early 1921. Although kozlovksy did not play any role in the rebellion, it was true that he served as a military specialist in kronstadt. The rebellion was a response to bolshevik heavy handedness in both suppression of strikes and the deterioration of the economic and political situation caused by the civil war and the policy of war communism. Appendix the russian revolution what was the kronstadt. Kronshtadt, naval port, leningrad oblast region, northwestern russia. Far from being an objective account of the events that took place in 1917, it belongs to that long series of cheap misrepresentation of historical fact.
The kronstadt rebellion or kronstadt mutiny russian. The kronstadt rebellion took place in the first weeks of march, 1921. One would think that the kronstadt revolt occurred not seventeen years ago, but only yesterday. Participating in the campaign with equal zeal and under one and the same slogan are anarchists, russian mensheviks, left social democrats of the london bureau. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. A collection of articles on russian revolution topics, prepared by alpha history authors, focusing on major issues and events from the 1800s to 1924. The fate of a soviet democracy brings statistics that show that over 90% of the sailors in the petropavlovsk and the sevastopol the leaders of the mutiny battleships were sailors in the baltic fleet before 1917, the same sailors the bolsheviks once considered the pride of the revolution, and not.
Still the delegates were hoping to reach some friendly understanding with the representatives of the government. Kronshtadt rebellion, kronshtadt also spelled kronstadt, march 1921, one of several major internal uprisings against soviet rule in russia after the civil war 191820, conducted by sailors from the kronshtadt naval base. The kronstadt peoples felt they needed more direct democracy. Paperback september 3, 2010 by alexander berkman author. It contains 172,024 words in 274 pages and was last updated on march 14th 2020.
The kronstadt uprising of 1921 was one of the most important yet often overlooked events of the russian civil war. Trotsky organised immediate military response to crush the kronstadt rebels. The kronstadt sailors had remained loyal to the bolshevik regime throughout the civil war, but once it had ended they felt that the goals of 1917 land, bread, and peace through soviet democracy were being. This page is duplicated in anarchy in the russian revolution in 1921, the sailors, soldiers and workers of russias kronstadt naval fortress proclaimed a libertarianleaning third revolution, following the february 1917 revolution that overthrew the tsar and the october 1917 revolution installed the. As the meeting progressed, the general attitude became more clearly antibolshevik. Alpha history contains thousands of invaluable resources including topic summaries, documents, images, maps, timelines, biographical profiles and. The rebellion was a protest against bolshevik economic policies, food shortages, political oppression and violence. True to the desires of global capitalism and counterrevolution, anticommunism spread, and the kronstadt rebellion was riddled with it. Kronstadt was the first popular and entirely independent attempt at liberation from the yoke of state socialism an attempt made directly by the people, by the workers, soldiers and sailors themselves. Kronstadt uprising seventeen moments in soviet history. Mar 18, 2011 the kronstadt rebellion begins the kronstadt delegation was horrified by the state repression of striking workers that they found. Political and economic lessons from the 1921 mutiny at kronstadt naval basehai.
It greatly influenced the communist partys decision to undertake a program. The suppression of the kronstadt rebellion was a symptom of the decay of the revolution in russia, after the failure of the revolution elsewhere. The kronstadt rebellion in the soviet union 1921, socialist workers party us, june 1973. This is a modest attempt to tell you about the event which has a global significance.
It greatly influenced the communist partys decision to undertake a program of economic liberalization to. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Kronstadt 1921 by paul avrich goodreads share book.
In 1921, during the russian civil war, leon trotsky was head of the red army when it crushed a sailors rebellion in kronstadt. The kronstadt rebellion was a counterrevolutionary uprising. Kronstadt and counterrevolution, workers vanguard, march 1978. After a savage struggle, the rebels were in march 1921 the sailors of kronstadt, the naval fortress in the gulf of finland, rose in revolt against the bolshevik government, which they themselves had helped into power. Kronshtadtskoye vosstaniye was an insurrection of the soviet sailors, soldiers and civilians of the port city of kronstadt against the bolshevik government of the russian sfsr. Aug 21, 2019 the kronstadt rebellion was an antibolshevik uprising in early 1921. Mutiny by previously probolshevik sailors in march at kronstadt naval base had to be crushed with machine gun fire.
The famous cruiser aurora, which had bombarded the winter palace on october 25, 1917 with its famous shot heard round the world, belonged to the baltic fleet based in kronstadt. It lies on kotlin island near the head of the gulf of finland. Alexander berkman november 21, 1870 june 28, 1936 was an anarchist known for his political activism and writing. Leon trotsky and the kronstadt rebellion world history. Start by marking the kronstadt rebellion as want to read.
In the kronstadt party organization particularly, between. Kronstadt rebellion, tambov rebellion and treaty of. On 22 january, the bolsheviks reduced the bread ration by onethird, and even key workers were given a ration of only calories a day. Led by stepan petrichenko and consisting of soviet sailors, soldiers and civilians, the rebellion was a major reason for lenin and the communist partys decision to. Trotsky increased troop numbers to 60,000 equipped them with white camouflage and weapon. It was carried out by soldiers and sailors on the island fortress of kronstadt, a few miles off the coast of petrograd. In 1921, there was an uprising which was inherently designed to spark physical opposition to the policies of war communism under lenin. The red army was immediately sent in to crush the rebellion. It is important to realise that the kronstadt sailors were not the only people pushed to the limit by war communism in 1921.