Estonian Red Riflemen
Encyclopedia
Estonian Riflemen, Estonian Red Riflemen, Estonian Red Army, Estonian Red Guards were military formations assembled starting 1917 in the Soviet Russia
.
were soon seen to have abrogated national solidarity with their calls for class struggle
and came to be perceived as foreign.
and the Estonian War of Independence. The Riflemen took active part in the suppression of anti-Bolshevik
uprisings in Moscow
and Yaroslavl
in 1918. The Estonian Riflemen were instrumental in the attempt to establish the Commune of the Working People of Estonia
while the elections to the Estonian Constituent Assembly
in April 1919 demonstrated the victory of the independent nation state alternative. Simultaneously, the success of Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party
served to demonstrate the lingering attractiveness of a social revolution within the national framework. Although the Estonian Army had attained control over the territory of Estonia
by May 1919, their opposite Estonian Red Army was still active and the High Command of the Estonian Army decided to push their defence lines across the border into Pskov region. The offensive of the Petseri Battle Group began on May 13. The operation destroyed the Estonian Red Army, and captured Pskov
on May 25, 1919. Re-formed in the rear, they fought against Anton Ivanovich Denikin
, Nikolay Yudenich, and Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
.
& Estonian Division – in total at least 20,000 soldiers. After the souring and dissolution of Nestor Makhno
's Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine
with Bolsheviks the captured Red commanders and commissars were similarly summarily executed. However, Makhno usually preferred to release the disarmed enlisted men that were captured, as "proletarian brothers", with a choice of joining his army or returning home, after all commanding officers were executed. This happened to an Estonian Red Army unit that surrendered to Makhno in 1920. Viktor Belash
noted that even in the worst time for the revolutionary army, namely at the beginning of 1920, "In the majority of cases rank-and-file Red Army
soldiers were set free". Of course Belash, as a colleague of Makhno's, was likely to idealize the punishment policies of the Batko. However, the facts bear witness that Makhno really did release "in all four directions" captured Red Army soldiers. This is what happened at the beginning of February 1920, when the insurgents disarmed the 10,000-strong Estonian Division in Huliajpole
. To this it must be added that the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine included a choir of Estonian musicians. The problem was further compounded by the alienation of the Estonians by Anton Denikin's inflexible Russian chauvinism
and their refusal to fight with Nikolai Yudenich.
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
.
Formation
Initially the battalions were formed by volunteers, and by conscription among the Estonian population. A total of about 5,000 men were drafted into the Estonian Riflemen Division. As late as November 1918 the fate of the country was still up for grabs, and that the Bolshevik alternative was attractive to all those for whom a social revolution promised the new life. The concept of foreign rule is important here since, on the one hand, the Estonian BolsheviksCommunist Party of Estonia
Communist Party of Estonia was a political party in Estonia.EKP was formed November 5, 1920, as the Central Committee of the Estonian Sections of the Russian Communist Party was separated from its mother party. During the first half of 1920s the hopes to an immediate world revolution were still...
were soon seen to have abrogated national solidarity with their calls for class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
and came to be perceived as foreign.
Russian Civil War and Estonian War of Independence
The Estonian Riflemen actively participated in the Russian Civil WarRussian 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...
and the Estonian War of Independence. The Riflemen took active part in the suppression of anti-Bolshevik
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
uprisings in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities...
in 1918. The Estonian Riflemen were instrumental in the attempt to establish the Commune of the Working People of Estonia
Commune of the Working People of Estonia
The Commune of the Working People of Estonia was an unrecognised government claiming the Bolshevik-occupied parts of Republic of Estonia as its territories during the Estonian War of Independence and the Russian Civil War...
while the elections to the Estonian Constituent Assembly
Estonian Constituent Assembly
The Estonian Constituent Assembly was elected on 5-7 April 1919, called by the Estonian Provisional Government during the Estonian War of Independence. The Assembly was elected by proportional representation. Eligible voters included soldiers at the front...
in April 1919 demonstrated the victory of the independent nation state alternative. Simultaneously, the success of Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party
Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party
The Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party was a political party in Estonia. This party, founded on the platforms of patriotism, Estonian independence, and social justice, wrote the first Estonian constitution....
served to demonstrate the lingering attractiveness of a social revolution within the national framework. Although the Estonian Army had attained control over the territory of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
by May 1919, their opposite Estonian Red Army was still active and the High Command of the Estonian Army decided to push their defence lines across the border into Pskov region. The offensive of the Petseri Battle Group began on May 13. The operation destroyed the Estonian Red Army, and captured Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
on May 25, 1919. Re-formed in the rear, they fought against Anton Ivanovich Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin was Lieutenant General of the Imperial Russian Army and one of the foremost generals of the White movement in the Russian Civil War.- Childhood :...
, Nikolay Yudenich, and Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel
Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel or Vrangel was an officer in the Imperial Russian army and later commanding general of the anti-Bolshevik White Army in Southern Russia in the later stages of the Russian Civil War.-Life:Wrangel was born in Mukuliai, Kovno Governorate in the Russian Empire...
.
Surrendering to Makhno in 1920
All through February, 1920 the Free Territory - Makhnovist region - was inundated with Red troops, including the 42nd Rifle Division and the LatvianLatvian Riflemen
This article is about Latvian military formations in World War I and Russian Civil War. For Red Army military formations in World War II see Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions....
& Estonian Division – in total at least 20,000 soldiers. After the souring and dissolution of Nestor Makhno
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno or simply Daddy Makhno was a Ukrainian anarcho-communist guerrilla leader turned army commander who led an independent anarchist army in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War....
's Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine
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...
with Bolsheviks the captured Red commanders and commissars were similarly summarily executed. However, Makhno usually preferred to release the disarmed enlisted men that were captured, as "proletarian brothers", with a choice of joining his army or returning home, after all commanding officers were executed. This happened to an Estonian Red Army unit that surrendered to Makhno in 1920. Viktor Belash
Viktor Belash
Viktor Fedorovich Belash was the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine under Nestor Makhno. Belash's Memoirs are an important source for the history of this insurrection....
noted that even in the worst time for the revolutionary army, namely at the beginning of 1920, "In the majority of cases rank-and-file Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
soldiers were set free". Of course Belash, as a colleague of Makhno's, was likely to idealize the punishment policies of the Batko. However, the facts bear witness that Makhno really did release "in all four directions" captured Red Army soldiers. This is what happened at the beginning of February 1920, when the insurgents disarmed the 10,000-strong Estonian Division in Huliajpole
Huliaipole
Huliaipole is a city in Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine. Population is 17 000 .It is known as a birthplace of Nestor Makhno. The name of the city means a walk-about field. Prior to the annexation of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire the area was mostly settled by Cossacks and the nomad people...
. To this it must be added that the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine included a choir of Estonian musicians. The problem was further compounded by the alienation of the Estonians by Anton Denikin's inflexible Russian chauvinism
Chauvinism
Chauvinism, in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a belief in national superiority and glory. It is an eponym of a possibly fictional French soldier Nicolas Chauvin who was credited with many superhuman feats in the Napoleonic wars.By extension it has come...
and their refusal to fight with Nikolai Yudenich.
See also
- Latvian RiflemenLatvian RiflemenThis article is about Latvian military formations in World War I and Russian Civil War. For Red Army military formations in World War II see Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions....
- Lithuanian Riflemen's Union
- Polish Rifle SquadsPolish Rifle SquadsThe Polish Rifle Squads was a Polish pro-independence paramilitary organization, founded in 1911 by the Youth Independence Organization Zarzewie in the Austro-Hungarian sector of partitioned Poland....
- Ukrainian Sich Riflemen
- 4th Rifle Division (Poland)4th Rifle Division (Poland)The Polish 4th Rifle Division was a Polish military unit, forming, together with the Polish 5th Rifle Division of the Blue Army, the only part of the Polish military which took part in the Russian Civil War...
- Aftermath of World War IAftermath of World War IThe fighting in World War I ended in western Europe when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918, and in eastern Europe by the early 1920s. During and in the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order was drastically changed in Europe, Asia and Africa,...
- Black GuardsBlack GuardsBlack 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...
- Estonian War of Independence
- Extermination Battalions
- Freikorps in the BalticFreikorps in the BalticAfter 1918, the term Freikorps was used for the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around the German Empire, including in the Baltic states as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I...
- Ober OstOber OstOber Ost is short for Oberbefehlshaber der gesamten Deutschen Streitkräfte im Osten, which is a German term meaning "Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East" during World War I. In practice it refers not only to said commander, but also to his governing military staff and the district...
- Red GuardsRed Guards (Russia)In the context of the history of Russia and Soviet Union, Red Guards were paramilitary formations consisting of workers and partially of soldiers and sailors formed in the time frame of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
- Riflemen's Association
- Sich RiflemenSich RiflemenThe Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin were one of the first regular military units of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic. The unit operated from 1917 to 1919 and was formed from Ukrainian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army, local population and former commanders of the Ukrainian Sich...
- Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919
- United Baltic DuchyUnited Baltic DuchyThe proposed United Baltic Duchy also known as the Grand Duchy of Livonia was a state proposed by the Baltic German nobility and exiled Russian nobility after the Russian revolution and German occupation of the Courland, Livonian and Estonian governorates of the Russian Empire.The idea comprised...