
ACADEMIC JOURNAL
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ISSN 2542-1077 (Print) ISSN 1994-5973 (Online) |
All-Russian Conference "The Eurasian North - a Space of Interaction: A Diversity of Approaches" (100th Anniversary of the Birth of Professor Mikhail Shumilov) |
| Dubrovskaya E. Yu. | Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
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Keywords: Russian Revolution of 1917 Vyborg garrison “Kornilov case” killings of officers investigative materials |
Summary: The article is based on materials from the Russian State Military Historical Archive and for the first time
introduces into scientific circulation the investigative case conducted in the fall of 1917 in the 42nd Army Corps
stationed in Finland. The investigation examined the causes and consequences of excesses within the Vyborg garrison
during the days of the anti-government rebellion led by General Lavr Kornilov against the Provisional Government.
This unrest resulted in an escalation of violence by lower-ranking soldiers against officers of the garrison and fortress.
Exploring these archival sources is particularly relevant amid ongoing social and scholarly debates surrounding the
events of 1917. Participants of this discourse are trying to determine whether these events constituted a revolution or
confusion and to explore the mechanisms for involving ordinary soldiers and sailors in violent actions amid the society’s
explosive politicization on the eve of the Russian Civil War. Using the example of the tragic events in the Vyborg
garrison, the article demonstrates that processes of “democratization” within the army and navy led to the emergence in
elected military committees of ordinary soldiers and lower-ranking officers who were previously alienated from political
life and mastered political skills only during the revolution. It is concluded that the insufficiently realized possibility of
finding a common language with the bulk of ordinary servicemen was the reason for the isolation of the “committee class” representatives from the soldiers and sailors who initially expressed confidence in them. This disconnect hindered their capacity to protect officers from the excesses accompanying the protest movements of lower ranks and from criminal violence. |
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