Makhnovists
The Greek Makhnovists
A short account of the role of the Black Sea Greeks in the Makhnovist movement.
Greeks had settled along the north coast of the Black Sea in what is now Ukraine and Crimea from at least the 5th Century BC. At the time of the Revolution of 1917 there were around 180,000 of these Pontic Greeks in the region.
Ivanyuk (?-1921)
A short biography of Ivanyuk, independent-minded Makhnovist commander, who died in the last major battle of the movement.
On 26 August we fought another battle…in which we lost our dearest fighters and comrades, Petrenko-Platonov and Ivanyuk”. Nestor Makhno, quoted in the History of the Makhnovist Movement, Piotr Arshinov.
Pravda, Simeon (Batko Pravda), 1877-1921
A short biography of Simeon Pravda, one of the most colourful of the Makhnovist commanders
Simeon Pravda was born into a family of farm-hands in Lyubimovka near Alexandrovsk. He became an anarchist-communist from 1904, and took part in armed actions against the Tsarist regime. He worked on the railway as a coupler at Gaychur station in 1905,and it was there that he was involved in an accident that led to the loss of both his legs.
Zhivoder, c.1883-1920
A short biography of Zhivoder, a revolutionary sailor who moved from Bolshevism to anarchism.
From Bolshevism to Makhnovism
Brova, Mikhail or Brava aka Batko Brova, ?-1921
A short biography of Mikhail Brova, Makhnovist commander, anarchist communist and associate of Maslakov
Mikhail Brova was born into a peasant family in the village of Novogrigorevka, in the Ekaterinoslav province of the Ukraine. From early childhood, he worked as a mechanic–locksmith at the station at Avdeevka Yuzovsky.
The Brothers Parkhomenko: a tale of the Russian Civil War
The story of the Parkhomenko brothers, symbolic of the fratricidal struggle of the Russian Civil War
Alexander Parkhomenko is known to older Russians through the pages of the novel by Vsevelod Ivanov and the 1942 film of the same name. He was paraded as one of the great heroes of the Russian Civil War, alongside other partisan leaders like Chapaev (who also had a book and film dedicated to him). He led a Red Army detachment against the Makhnovists and eventually was killed by them.
1921: The Maslakov mutiny and the Makhnovists on the Don
An account of the Maslakov mutiny in the Red Army which threw the Bolsheviks into consternation.
“ Beside me on the big bay horse raced Brigade Commander Gregory Maslakov. This was a man of great physical strength and desperate courage. There were in his behaviour major shortcomings, but courage in battle, the ability to win over the soldiers by personal example to achieve victory atoned for them.” Budyenny’s Memoirs
Dermenzhi (Dermendzhi) aka Batko Dermenzhi (around 1880-1921
A short biography of Dermenzhi, Potemkin mutineer, Makhnovist commander and anarchist communist.
Dermenzhi, whose first name remains a mystery for the present, was born in the Ismail district of Bessarabia, within the Russian Empire (and not in Georgia as Skirda states). He came from the middle class. He began to work in the electrical and telegraph services.
Tsebry, Ossip (?-after 1958)
A short biography of Ossip Tsebry, Makhnovist partisan who carried on the armed struggle into the 1940s
In 1993 the Kate Sharpley Library produced a pamphlet Memories of a Makhnovist Partisan, a translation from the French of an originally Russian article that had been included in a booklet by Alexandre Skirda on Makhno. The article had originally been serialised in the Russian exile anarchist communist paper Dielo Truda-Probuzdeniye in 1949 and 1950. It was written by one Ossip Tsebry.
Budanov, Avraam, 1886?-1928/9?
A short biography of Avraam Budanov, who fought with the Makhnovists and continued an underground struggle after the defeat of the movement
Avraam Budanov was born into a peasant family in Slavyanoserbsk in Ekaterinoslav province. It appears that he came from the Bulgarian national minority in the Ukraine. From childhood he worked as a fitter in Lugansk. He became an anarchist-communist in 1905, and took part in revolutionary activities in the Donbas basin between1905-1907.
