Kronstadt, 1921

by Paul Avrich

Book Overview

In March 1921 the sailors of Kronstadt, the naval fortress in the Gulf of Finland, rose in revolt against the Bolshevik government, which they themselves had helped into power. Under the slogan of ?free soviets,'' they established a revolutionary commune that survived for sixteen days, until an army came across the ice to crush it. After a savage struggle, the rebels were subdued. Paul Avrich vividly describes the uprising and examines it in the context...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691087210
• ISBN13: 9780691087214
• Release Date: March 1970
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 1.19 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The tragedy of Kronstadt

In March 1921, the sailors of Kronstadt, a naval base outside Petrograd (St. Petersburg), rose in rebellion against the Russian Bolshevik regime. The revolt was suppressed after only two weeks. Trotsky much later called the Kronstadt uprising "a mere episode". He was, of course, wrong. The rebellion took place at the very doorstep of Petrograd, following a large strike movement among the workers in that important Russian city. If successful, Petrograd and Bolshevik power would have become sitting ducks. Many Russian émigré groups attempted to aid the rebels (in the event, unsuccessfully). Also, the Kronstadt mutineers turned out to have an elaborate political program and even managed to publish a newspaper. The program sounded left-wing but anti-Bolshevik, accused the Bolsheviks of betraying the ideals of the revolution, and called for the legalization of all socialist parties (but not right-wing groups). This wasn't your everyday little peasant disturbance, of which there were many during the Russian Civil War and its aftermath. Ever since 1921, Communists (with only a few exceptions) have condemned the Kronstadt rebellion as counter-revolutionary. For instance, the Socialist Workers Party has published a collection of articles by Lenin and Trotsky on the subject, available from Pathfinder Press. On the other hand, anarchists have turned Kronstadt into part of their political mythology, alongside the Makhnovists and the Spanish Revolution. The classical anarchist works on the subject are "The Kronstadt Commune" by Ida Mett and "The Unknown Revolution" by Voline. Paul Avrich, a historian with anarchist political sympathies, has attempted to steer a middle course, and actually write an objective historical account of the uprising. The book deals with both the actual course of events during the uprising, Bolshevik and anti-Bolshevik reactions to it, and the historical context in which the rebellion took place, i.e. War Communism and the future New Economic Policy (NEP). He uses Bolshevik and anarchist sources to paint a portrait of the principal leaders of the rebellion, which turns out to be easier said than done. None of them were particularly well-known people. Avrich believes that the Kronstadt uprising was a spontaneous event, and that none of the opposition parties to the Bolshevik regime were involved. The political program of the rebellion didn't resemble those of the SRs or the Mensheviks. Avrich calls it anarcho-populist. It reflected ideas current among the Russian peasantry, which tended to oppose both the White Guards and the Bolsheviks, and indeed had a deeply-rooted suspicion of state power in general, in favour of a nebulous conception of libertarian self-government. The author also points out that the principal leaders of the Kronstadt Revolutionary Committee were of Ukrainian nationality. The principal leader, Petrichenko, was a Ukrainian peasant nicknamed "Petliura" for his nationalist ideas. However, the rebellion as such

The tragedy of Kronstadt

In March 1921, the sailors of Kronstadt, a naval base outside Petrograd (St. Petersburg), rose in rebellion against the Russian Bolshevik regime. The revolt was suppressed after only two weeks. Trotsky much later called the Kronstadt uprising "a mere episode". He was, of course, wrong. The rebellion took place at the very doorstep of Petrograd, following a large strike movement among the workers in that important Russian city. If successful, Petrograd and Bolshevik power would have become sitting ducks. Many Russian émigré groups attempted to aid the rebels (in the event, unsuccessfully). Also, the Kronstadt mutineers turned out to have an elaborate political program and even managed to publish a newspaper. The program sounded left-wing but anti-Bolshevik, accused the Bolsheviks of betraying the ideals of the revolution, and called for the legalization of all socialist parties (but not right-wing groups). This wasn't your everyday little peasant disturbance, of which there were many during the Russian Civil War and its aftermath. Ever since 1921, Communists (with only a few exceptions) have condemned the Kronstadt rebellion as counter-revolutionary. For instance, the Socialist Workers Party has published a collection of articles by Lenin and Trotsky on the subject, available from Pathfinder Press. On the other hand, anarchists have turned Kronstadt into part of their political mythology, alongside the Makhnovists and the Spanish Revolution. The classical anarchist works on the subject are "The Kronstadt Commune" by Ida Mett and "The Unknown Revolution" by Voline. Paul Avrich, a historian with anarchist political sympathies, has attempted to steer a middle course, and actually write an objective historical account of the uprising. The book deals with both the actual course of events during the uprising, Bolshevik and anti-Bolshevik reactions to it, and the historical context in which the rebellion took place, i.e. War Communism and the future New Economic Policy (NEP). He uses Bolshevik and anarchist sources to paint a portrait of the principal leaders of the rebellion, which turns out to be easier said than done. None of them were particularly well-known people. Avrich believes that the Kronstadt uprising was a spontaneous event, and that none of the opposition parties to the Bolshevik regime were involved. The political program of the rebellion didn't resemble those of the SRs or the Mensheviks. Avrich calls it anarcho-populist. It reflected ideas current among the Russian peasantry, which tended to oppose both the White Guards and the Bolsheviks, and indeed had a deeply-rooted suspicion of state power in general, in favour of a nebulous conception of libertarian self-government. The author also points out that the principal leaders of the Kronstadt Revolutionary Committee were of Ukrainian nationality. The principal leader, Petrichenko, was a Ukrainian peasant nicknamed "Petliura" for his nationalist ideas. However, the rebellion as such

Excellent History of Important Event

Many years after its first publication, Paul Avrich's "Kronstadt, 1921" remains one of the best books written about one of the most important events of the Russian Revolution. The book is a detailed history of the Kronstadt 'mutiny' of March 1921, in which many see the seeds of Stalin's future dictatorship.Basically, what happened is this: following a wave of strikes and discontent in Russia caused by the repressive methods of "War Communism," the sailors at the Kronstadt naval base in the Baltic Sea published a document proposing the deconstruction of the Bolshevik Party's single-Party Dictatorship (if not necessarily the Party itself). The Bolsheviks responded by attacking the base and executing those behind this 'mutiny.' Since 1921, there has been a continuing debate between Leninists and anarchists/libertarian socialists as to whether this constituted a betrayal of the principles of socialism and the ideals of the Russian Revolution.The Leninists claim that the Kronstadters were mutineers who needed to be "crushed by the iron hand of the proletariat." The anarchists and libertarian socialists hold that it was the Bolshevik Party itself that betrayed the Revolution and laid the base of Stalin's purges, gulags, and authoritarian dictatorship by attacking the base Leon Trotsky had once called "the Pride and Glory of the Russian Revolution." As a result of this lasting antagonism, most histories of the uprising tend to be slanted in favor of one side or the other - but Paul Avrich here makes an attempt to cut through the partisan wrangling and establish the factual history of the base once and for all. He reaches the conclusion that the Bolsheviks reacted to Kronstadt's challenge to their authority with unnecessary intransigence and brutality, but does mention the pressures of the Russian Civil War of 1918 - 1920 to help explain their actions. Mr. Avrich also rips apart much of the official propaganda surrounding the myth of Kronstadt (for example, that the mutiny was organized and led by a Tsarist General)."Kronstadt, 1921" is a well-written account of one of the most important and interesting events in the history of the Russian Revolution and the formation of the Stalinist Soviet Union. Recommended reading for anyone interested in Russia or its history. Five stars.