Memoirs of Historian Mikhail I. Romanov as a Primary Source on the History of the Murmansk Uprising in February 1920

This publication is a fragment of the multi-page memoirs of Mikhail I. Romanov, a historian well-known in the North, folklorist, and pedagogue. This fragment relates to M. Romanov’s return from German captivity to Murmansk through Scandinavia and his participation in the Murmansk “red coup” in February 1920. Already on a steamer board en route from Norway to Murmansk, M. Romanov was taken into custody together with other former prisoners of war as conscripted into the White army. In Murmansk he was enlisted in the Naval Communications Service, which made it possible to move freely around the remote areas and engage in literary work between shifts. His prudence, erudition, and courage in defending the interests of the ranks before the command made M. Romanov a leader among soldiers and sailors. On the night of February 21, by telegraph, he received information about the approach of the White squadron from Arkhangelsk to Murmansk. Immediately after that he hurried to assemble a team and led it to capture key objects in the Kola Inlet. A day after the victory of the uprising, it became known that a white-guard armored train was approaching Murmansk. As a commissar, M. Romanov joined the Red Army detachment that was hastily assembled to stop the White armored train. In the very first battle, M. Romanov was wounded in the leg, which had to be amputated in the Kandalaksha hospital. Being disabled, M. Romanov had no choice but to return to his home village of Dmitrievo, where he got a job at a local school. The memoirs presented for publication allow us to take a fresh look at the background, nature, and course of the Murmansk uprising, complementing and clarifying the details of the events, which still remain debateble among historians.

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