19 August 1920 year
In the Tambov region, peasants from several villages refused to hand over grain to the Soviet authorities. Representatives of the food detachments were killed. A fire broke out. Tambov uprising — one of the largest uprisings against communist rule.
They will take us all into custody, Communist, cock the trigger (Song of the Tambov rebels)
Before the Revolution, Tambov Province was one of the richest in the country, thanks to its incredibly fertile black soil. Over 90% of the province's residents were engaged in agriculture.
After the Bolshevik revolution, peasant owners began to be oppressed: kulaks were deprived of their rights, they were forbidden to sell grain, and their surplus was confiscated.
In 1920, due to drought, there was little grain harvest in the Tambov region - only 12 million poods. But the food appropriation plan is 11,5 million poods — chairman of the local provincial executive committee Shlikhter ordered to be carried out in full.
15 August the village of Khitrovo The peasants disarmed the food detachment. An uprising soon broke out. The rebels destroyed state farms and seized power.
The Socialist Revolutionaries led the rebellion Alexander Antonov (hence the Soviet term "Antonovshchina") and lieutenant Petr Tokmakov. Up to 50 men fought in their United Partisan Army. The Antonovites soon came to control almost the entire Tambov province.
In March 1921, the food requisitioning system was abolished in the country, replaced by a fixed tax in kind. Ordinary rebels were granted amnesty. Antonov noted:
Morale is beginning to weaken among the partisan units.
They were sent to suppress the rebellion Tukhachevsky, Kotovsky, As well as up to 55 Red Army fighters. In June 1921, Tukhachevsky ordered the use of chemical weapons—chlorine—against the rebels:
Forests where bandits hide should be cleared with poisonous gases
Another method was terror. Hostages were taken in villages ("60-100 of the most prominent individuals") and given "two hours to hand over the bandits." If they were not handed over, the hostages were executed. Tukhachevsky declared:
Nothing works without executions
Antonov and Tokmakov died in battle. In the summer of 1922, the rebellion was suppressed. The country made a liberal turn toward the New Economic Policy (NEP). But it didn't last long. Then came the time of dispossession, collectivization, and the Great Terror—in which Tukhachevsky, among many others, perished.
