“The Kronstadt Republic”: Discussions of May 1917 and Cultural Preparations for the Civil War in Russia

The article is devoted to the discussion of the Kronstadt Incident in the context of the debates about the probability of a civil war in Russia. “The Kronstadt Incident” is the term used by the contemporaries and then historians to denote the political crisis that was provoked by the May resolutions of the Kronstadt Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies. The decision of the Kronstadt Soviet to formally abolish the powers of the Provisional Government on Kotlin Island was regarded as the creation of the Kronstadt Republic and had an all-Russian resonance. The May discussions, in which civil war was a very important issue, involved actors of different views: from conservatives and liberals to left-wing internationalists and anarchists. A special place in the context of the Kronstadt Incident was taken by the representations of radical socialists (those who were referred to as Leninists and Bolsheviks in different situations). “The Kronstadt Republic” was an outcome of the united actions of the local Bolsheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, and anarchists who had formed a leftist bloc. Internationalists L. Trotsky and A. Lunacharsky played their role in the further course of the conflict, asserting their own authority by means of verbal radicalism. However, the flow of newspaper publications greatly simplified the complex picture by reducing everything to the confrontation between the power and “anarchy” represented by the “Bolsheviks” as advocates of violence and civil war. The defeat of the government supporters turned against them – the authority of Lenin, as well as of his real or imaginary supporters, increased. The author argues that an important step in the development of the language of civil war was taken owing to the discussions about the “Kronstadt Republic.”

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