Don Cossacs in the Kuban Insurgency in 1920

Abstract

Introduction. In the archive of the Federal security service for the Rostov region a Tribunal case was found, in which people, named Kuban Cossacks, are accused of rebellion. They participated in the mutiny, raised in April 1920 on the Kuban territory by Colonel Sukhenko. On closer inspection, the vast majority of them turned out to be Вon Cossacks, but enlisted in the Kuban regiments, that surrendered to the Bolsheviks in early 1920. Methods and materials. The discovered materials were studied based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. The research also used special historical methods: problem-chronological, anthropological and comparative-historical. The study was based on the Tribunal case stored in the archive of the Federal security service for the Rostov region. Analysis. The article discusses the causes of this mutiny, its course and its consequences. The former white Kuban regiments surrendered to the Bolsheviks in early 1920 and, being reinforced by the surrendered Don Cossacks, they were sent by the Bolsheviks to the front against the poles, but on the way rebelled, not wanting to fight. Soviet troops crushed the remnants of the rebel regiments. The surviving Don Cossacks re-surrendered to the Soviet troops. Some of the surrendered Donets were shot, some were sent to work in the mines. The article discusses the criteria for which the Tribunal imposed death sentences, and for which it allowed people to live. Results. During the mutiny, the Kuban began to go home and continued to hide, and the Don Cossacks, remained in the regiments, were far from their home and did not know what to do. The Tribunal sentenced to death all those who held white command positions and volunteers. The motivation for some of the Tribunal’s decisions remains unclear.