“Death to All Who Stand in the Way of Freedom for the Working People” was the war cry emblazoned on a flag of the Dnipro Division led by Ukrainian insurgent, Svyryd Kotsur, now to be seen on the streets of Belgrade in protest at the incumbent government of Serbia. A brief history of Svyryd Kotsur and the movement he lead:
Kotsur’s career mirrored Makhno’s in uncanny ways. Like Makhno, Kotsur self-identified as an anarcho-communist – although one historian described his philosophy more as a “combustible mixture” of anarchism, nationalism, and Bolshevism, allegedly once referring to himself as “a Bolshevik but not a Communist”. Also like Makhno, Kotsur briefly carved out an autonomous region, and fought every force with which he came into contact. He was even referred to as “Little Makhno” and in some photographs bore a striking resemblance to Makhno.
Svyryd Dementiovych Kotsur was born to a large peasant family on January 30, 1890 in the small central Ukrainian village of Subotiv (Chyhyryn district, Kyiv province). From an early age Svyryd and his brothers were involved in political activity. Like Makhno, prior to the Revolution Kotsur joined an anarcho-communist group and was arrested for participating in a Katerynoslav bank robbery. Makhno himself was briefly acquainted with Kotsur in these early days. In March 1910 Makhno was facing a court martial in Katerynoslav for terrorist offences. He describes in his memoirs how on the fourth day of his trial the session was suspended due to gunshots just outside the courtroom. A number of days later, Makhno recalls that “in our cell in the basement, we encountered Comrade Kotsur, who told us he was the cause of the shooting on the fourth day of the trial”. Kotsur explained that his shootout with the police lasted a full day during which he injured seven guards and killed one secret police agent. He told Makhno he was now awaiting trial and expected to be hanged. Fate would turn out quite differently for the pair, as despite being sentenced to death, both would have their sentences abruptly commuted to hard labour. The pair also found themselves released from prison after the February 1917 Revolution due to the government’s amnesty of political prisoners. Makhno and Svyryd each returned to their native regions where in parallel they built formidable movements centred around their charismatic leadership.
In the early days of the Revolution, Kotsur was elected as one of 2,000 delegates to the All-Ukrainian Congress of Free Cossacks in Chyhyryn. The Congress resolved in favour of Ukrainian autonomy and demanded the withdrawal of all Russian troops. This declaration was rendered moot when the Bolsheviks negotiated a peace treaty with the German Imperial Army. The latter occupied Ukraine from April-November 1918, during which Kotsur was elected leader of the Chyhyryn insurgent committee to lead the underground resistance against the Germans. Kotsur raised an effective detachment and even successfully dislodged the Germans from Chyhyryn in November.
Following the German Army’s withdrawal from Ukraine, Kotsur engaged in a dizzying array of strategic alliances with the Civil War’s competing forces. Kotsur initially sided with the Bolsheviks against Petliura’s nationalist forces. Subsequently, when the Bolsheviks were pushed out of Ukraine by Denikin’s White Army in fall 1919, Kotsur briefly allied with Makhno from September until the return of the Red Army in January 1920. However, relations between Kotsur and the Bolsheviks quickly soured as he refused to cooperate with orders that led him outside his home region. In January Kotsur ordered a visiting Bolshevik delegation to be drowned in a well. After this event, Kotsur declared an independent Chyhyryn republic and the formation of the Dnipro Kish.
Kotsur’s territory was more of a micro-republic encompassing a mere four settlements. Nonetheless, Kotsur initially successfully defended his territory against the Bolsheviks and various local atamans allied with the Ukrainian People’s Army. In February 1920, Kotsur successfully defended Chyhyryn against a Red raid with the help of a Makhnovist unit stationed there. However, by March 30 his forces were overwhelmed and the Red Army successfully occupied Chyhyryn. The death of Kotsur has many versions and it is not clear exactly when he died. The official version states that Kotsur was captured and shot shortly after the Bolshevik occupation. Other stories have Kotsur surviving and travelling to Bulgaria, while a local legend claimed a man closely resembling Kotsur himself would frequently visit the grave of Svyryd Kotsur in the 1980s. In a ghostly parting shot to history a small note signed by Kotsur was found in 2018 hidden inside an artillery shell bearing the words: “One who is for freedom and their native land knows no fear: Freedom or death!” The note was found with a newspaper from 1923 adding fuel to the fire of speculation that at least one of the Kotsur brothers survived 1920.
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