Black Guards
Encyclopedia
Black Guards were armed groups of workers formed after the Russian Revolution
and before the Third Russian Revolution
. They were the main strike force of the anarchists
. They were created in the autumn of 1917 in Ukraine by Maria Nikiforova
and in January 1918 in Moscow, under the control of anarchists at industrial enterprises by Factory and Plant Committees and by Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups cells. In the beginning of 1918, in reaction to the growing repression
of all opposition and free expression, the anarchist groups within the Moscow Federation formed armed detachments, the Black Guards headed by Lev Chernyi
. The Black Guards were the basis for the later formation of the Black Army
. Hence, the term is often used as an English
synonym for the Black Army when referring to the era of the Third Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War
.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
and deprivations of the Civil War provoked dissensions among the left
, which were suppressed by the Bolsheviks. On the night of April 12, 1918 the Cheka
(secret police
) raid
ed the 26 anarchist centres in Moscow, including The House of Anarchy, the building of the Moscow Federation, and the Black Guards offered armed resistance. A fierce battle raged on Malaia Dimitrovka Street in which about 40 anarchists were killed or wounded and about 500 were imprisoned. Some former Black Guards took part in the Left SR uprising on July 6, 1918.
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and before the Third Russian Revolution
Left-wing uprisings against the Bolsheviks
Left-wing uprisings against the Bolsheviks were a series of rebellions and uprisings against the Bolsheviks led or supported by left wing groups including Socialist Revolutionaries, Left Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and anarchists. Some were in support of the White Movement while some...
. They were the main strike force of the anarchists
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
. They were created in the autumn of 1917 in Ukraine by Maria Nikiforova
Maria Nikiforova
Maria Grigor'evna Nikiforova , was an anarchist partisan leader. A self-described terrorist from the age of 16, she was known widely by her nickname, Marusya...
and in January 1918 in Moscow, under the control of anarchists at industrial enterprises by Factory and Plant Committees and by Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups cells. In the beginning of 1918, in reaction to the growing repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
of all opposition and free expression, the anarchist groups within the Moscow Federation formed armed detachments, the Black Guards headed by Lev Chernyi
Lev Chernyi
Pável Dimítrievich Turchanínov , known by the pseudonym Lev Chernyi , was a Russian anarchist theorist, activist and poet, and a leading figure of the Third Russian Revolution. His early thought was individualist, rejecting anarcho-communism as a threat to individual liberty...
. The Black Guards were the basis for the later formation of the Black Army
Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine
The Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine , popularly called Makhnovshchina, less correctly Makhnovchina, and also known as the Black Army, was an anarchist army formed largely of Ukrainian and Crimean peasants and workers under the command of the famous anarchist Nestor Makhno during the...
. Hence, the term is often used as an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
synonym for the Black Army when referring to the era of the Third Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
and deprivations of the Civil War provoked dissensions among the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
, which were suppressed by the Bolsheviks. On the night of April 12, 1918 the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
(secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
) raid
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
ed the 26 anarchist centres in Moscow, including The House of Anarchy, the building of the Moscow Federation, and the Black Guards offered armed resistance. A fierce battle raged on Malaia Dimitrovka Street in which about 40 anarchists were killed or wounded and about 500 were imprisoned. Some former Black Guards took part in the Left SR uprising on July 6, 1918.