Raskazachivanie: difficult issues of history.
Authors:   Kuban State University,  Krasnodar, Russia, Podkhomutnikova Marina V. 
Published: December 2021

104 years ago the Civil War began in Russia. Civil War 1917–1922 is one of the largest civil wars in human history. She had a great influence on the course of not only Russian, but also world history in the XX century. In the conditions of the socio-economic catastrophe experienced by the country at that time, all social and political contradictions in society exacerbated, which gave the Civil War mass character and duration. Today the topic of "decossackization" remains very relevant and in demand. The scientific relevance of the problem of decossackization is caused by the lack of generalizing studies. Currently, there is a significant amount of literature, which reflects the history of civil confrontation in Russia. Literature was created at different times and, as a result, differed in different methodological positions. The Civil War in Russia was studied, seen, reflected from two opposite sides – from the side of the victors and from the side of the vanquished. Difficult times do not have unambiguous assessments and interpretations. It is no coincidence that this period is included in the list of the so-called “difficult questions of history”. Soviet historians began to deal with the problem of decossackization in the 60s. 20th century. Within the framework of what was permitted, researchers could talk about the problems associated with the policy of decossackization in Russia. In the Soviet period, "decossackization" was understood as the elimination of the Cossacks as a socio-ethnographic community in general, characteristic features, characteristics, properties, signs of the Cossacks. In different historical periods, the term "decossackization" was understood as the abolition of class benefits and hardships. In the second half of the 19th – early 20th century. there was no oppression, persecution, destruction and violent influence on the Cossacks at that time. In the late 80s. – the beginning of the 90s. the problem of decossackization is closely associated with the repressive policy of the Bolsheviks in the Cossack regions of the country. From this we can conclude that two different meanings are put into the conventional term “decossackization”. One interpretation of this term speaks of the formal, administrative abolition of the estate rights and obligations of the Cossacks as a social-class category. Another interpretation is about purposeful and large-scale repressive actions against the Cossacks. Today, scientific discussions about the causes, nature and consequences of the anti-Bolshevik struggle during the Civil War continue. More and more researchers are being drawn into the polemical space. The author does not pretend to cover the entire array of publications, the total number of which is several hundred, we will focus on the most general trends in the analysis of the events of the Civil War and armed uprisings against the policies of the Bolsheviks in 1917–1922. The hypothesis of the study is that the overwhelming majority of armed uprisings against the Bolshevik policy in Soviet Russia in 1917–1922. were of a local nature, without going beyond a certain territory, and also were not coordinated in time. The defeat of the anti-Bolshevik uprisings was influenced by: the insurrectionary movement was not homogeneous in goals, slogans, composition; the spontaneous nature of performances at the initial stage; lack of an organizing center; focus on intra-regional problems; superiority in the strength of the Red Army; territorial fragmentation. The movement against the policy of the Bolsheviks, in spite of its scale, as a result remained local, tied to their native farms, villages, villages. According to the author of the article, the scientific novelty of the research lies in the identification and study of the features of the military-political confrontation in the context of the "small Civil War" in the south of Russia.