What kind of person is Makhno? This question is really difficult to answer, there are a hundred Hamlets in the eyes of a hundred people, and in the same way there will be a hundred different Makhno in the eyes of a hundred people, because this guy is too controversial to judge him by simple good guys and bad guys.

Let's start at the beginning, this "dreamer with a Mauser" even has a controversial date! Of course, it was not Makhno's careless parents who remembered the wrong day, his birthday was mistaken, and the reason was quite profound.

It is said that Makhno's childhood was rather unfortunate, and his dead ghost dad was addicted to one thing like all Russians - alcohol. Luckier than Stalin, though, his dad drank to death when Makhno was less than a year old. Although little Makhno didn't have to worry about being beaten by his drunkard father, he also decided that he had to take on the burden of the family when he was very young.

From an early age, Makhno worked as a herding cattle for farmers, as a painter and as a small worker in a sand turning factory...... In short, like many old revolutionaries in the Bolsheviks, the proletariat is struggling to be poor.

In 1905, the year of the Russian Revolution, at the age of 16, he "learned badly" with a group of anarchists, and it took considerable effort to join the "poor peasant association" led by "anarchists".

So what kind of organization is this "Association of Poor Peasants"? Let's put it this way, they have been trading with the heroes of Liangshan all the way, and what they are best at is the capitalless business of robbing houses and houses. What is even more terrifying is that Makhno has done a very good job in "Liangshan", and his work achievements have always been outstanding. Soon he enjoyed the "reputation" of "iron-masked revolutionary" among the heroes.

The reckless hero Makhno had a pretty good time in those years. Fierce and quite strong, he soon attracted the attention of the tsarist government because his work achievements were too "outstanding".

1910 year. Makhno will be 21 years old that year (pay attention to this age, quite important!). In a "strike hard" operation, Makhno was unfortunately arrested, and the tsarist government would not be polite to a reckless hero like him, and in view of his brilliant achievements, the court soon made a final verdict - hanging!

If Makhno had been hanged, naturally there would not have been so many stories later. It is worth lamenting that Makhno had a good mother, and in order to save her son's life, this mother tried her best, and even wrote a distress letter to the empress of Nicholas II, that is, the German princess who was very unpopular.

In the letter, the "hero's" mother tearfully declared that her son was not a minor (21 years old was the legal age of majority in Russia at the time) and hoped for extrajudicial mercy. Under the mediation of this mother-in-law empress, the Tsar's family was extrajudicially gracious, and Nicholas II personally issued an edict. The sentence was commuted to life hard labor for Makhno.

So is Makhno an adult? It's a pity that the hero's mother lied. She falsified Makhno's birth records, and the "child" was already an adult at the time.

Makhno was lucky enough to go back and forth in the Ghost Gate, and during the period of hard labor, he felt bored and chose to pass the time by reading, and in those years he read almost all the works of Russian writers (it seems that the Count of Monte Cristo was not completely unreliable, and the prison was indeed the best Ministry of Education). Under the influence of his fellow inmate, the anarchist Marin, Makhno's anarchist view of the world was finally formed.

With the outbreak of the February Revolution, all the "ghosts, snakes, and gods" were released, and in the chaos, Makhno fled back to his hometown in Ukraine, where he and his sweetheart Nasta, who had been waiting for him for seven years. Vashetskaya married.

But what's funnier is that the good brother of the "Poor Peasants' Association" is worried that Makhno will be obsessed with his children's affection, afraid that he will lose his revolutionary fighting spirit, and forces Nasta to quietly leave Makhno (what a group of good brothers!). ）。

Makhno was at first bitter about the separation, but soon this pain faded as he was compensated for it in other ways as the Russian world was in turmoil.

In view of Makhno's "heroic experience" in prison, he was successfully elected president of the "Association of Poor Peasants", under whose leadership the "Association of Poor Peasants" launched a ruthless "revolutionary liquidation" of the landlords' old wealth, and for a time he became an idol in the hearts of the Ukrainian peasants.

In February 1918, when Germany invaded Ukraine, when the Central Rada secretly communicated with the German invaders, when Skoropatsky was a cow and a horse for the Germans, Makhno led a group of poor brothers but resolutely chose to rebel against the Germans.

In the summer of 1918, Makhno quietly left Ukraine for Moscow to meet with the recognized anarchist leader Kropotkin, but the latter refused to communicate with the unscrupulous Makhno.

So Makhno went to Bukharin's and Sverdlov, and Sir admired him and personally led him to Lenin. Years later, Makhno recalled, Lenin took him by the hand like a loving father and made him sit in an armchair. He was told that he was expected to incorporate the peasant uprisings into the uprisings everywhere, that he would cooperate with the Red Army, and that he needed any help.

Even the Mentor praised the anarchists for their dedication, the only thing to be sorry for is that they are too short-sighted (and that's true) to be "fanatics who only destroy and don't know how to build (too incisive!)" A round of applause for the mentor! ）。 But the Mentor immediately comforted Makhno and said, "Don't put yourself in the same seat as the guy I mentioned earlier (Makhno is really the number one)." ”

In July 1918, Makhno returned to Ukraine alone and secretly to lead a new armed uprising, and it must be said that he did a pretty good job, or he was extremely militarily talented. By the beginning of 1919, Makhnola had raised a powerful army with more than 10,000 infantry, more than 8,000 cavalry, more than 500 machine guns and a large number of artillery.

By the end of 1919, Makhno's power had further expanded, with more than 25,000 troops, 48 artillery pieces, four armored trains, four armored vehicles, and more than 1,000 machine guns. According to Moscow archives, Makhno also specially formed a "death squad" consisting of cavalry, armored vehicles, armored trains and aircraft, nicknamed the "Iron Division". Specially designed for decisive assault operations (for a peasant child. It's not easy to do that).

Having to be amazed. This prodigal son, who had only been in elementary school for four years, was able to beat Denikin to the ground, and repelled the Red Army that had come to encircle and suppress him. His army was particularly fond of fighting in silos, and its ability to fight independently was astonishing, and his intelligence work was particularly good.

It is said that under Makhno's command, there were a large number of rural sisters-in-law and village aunt intelligence officers, who were very powerful, and they were able to quickly and accurately inform Makhno of information when they were in the rear of the enemy.

And Makhno is also brave and resourceful. He was a gifted self-taught field commander, and he was so adewed at winning hearts and minds that his Ukrainians, Russians, Greeks, Bulgarians, and even Jews were willing to go to great lengths for him.

Of course, more importantly, Makhno has the vitality of a small power, during the Russian Civil War, he was wounded 12 times, and when the "revolution" failed and fled to Romania, he was left with a broken leg and a lifelong disability.

What's more interesting is. This man's position has always been as firm as ever, and he is completely at odds with the White Guards. The envoys sent by the White Army to mediate always saw one and killed one (this habit seems to be more barbaric). However, it was different with the Bolsheviks, and although he did not agree with the Bolsheviks' policies either, he formed an alliance with the Bolsheviks three times. In particular, in the spring of 1919, after a bloody battle, Makhno drove Denikin's White Guards to the shores of the Sea of Azov, and after counting the spoils, he sent 100 wagons of grain to Moscow and Petrograd to support the starving workers' brothers there.

Even Makhno joined the Red Army in order to fight against Denikin, and was awarded the fourth "Order of the Red Banner" by the Soviet government. In the autumn of 1919, when Denikin took advantage of the Entente's support to swell his strength and hit Omuel in one fell swoop to directly threaten Moscow. It was this Makhno who broke into Denikin's back, annihilated several of Denikin's elite officer corps in one go, and helped lift the siege of Moscow.

In this way, Makhno seems to be an out-and-out hero. But don't jump to conclusions, the Tsar's people seem to have inherited the character of the double-headed eagle, each with two faces. Makhno is the same, behind his glamorous heroic image, there is also a dark side.

Makhno's life was ruined by anarchism, and ruined by anarchism. Makhno was a bohemian and alcoholic, and his glorious example also influenced his army, and his military discipline and drunkenness were quite common. Makhno's second wife, Galina. Kuzmenkova wrote in her diary: "The leader drank again today, and his mouth was chattering. He was drunkenly wandering around the streets, playing the accordion and dancing at the same time...... Every time he said a word, he had to curse a dirty word. After saying enough to jump, he fell asleep. ”

Interestingly, Makhno's army had a peculiar military rule: when the commander was drunk, his men could disobey orders.

Of course, drinking or something is a small section, and it turns out that a drunken Makhno can win a battle just as well. But the problem of loose military discipline is the big problem, and in fact the problem of poor military discipline in Makhno's army is caused by him, because he has always believed that the most perfect state apparatus should be an unorganized "free creation". Therefore, Makhno killed people quite casually, not only killing the White Guards, but also killing innocent people indiscriminately.

Occasionally, when Makhno's conscience was discovered, he would order his subordinates to give money to the poor peasants, and Makhno, who had been hungry as a child, would go to the orphanage to check if there was enough food there.

In short, this is a "hero" like a hero in Liangshan, whose military and personality talents are inversely proportional to political naivety. And it was his political naivety that to some extent undermined Trotsky's grand plans for the Great Revolution.

In 1921, when the Red Army racked its brains to encircle and suppress this "prodigal son of the revolution", the Entente gathered 400,000 troops and overthrew the Hungarian Red regime in one fell swoop. This move not only brought the wave of revolution in Hungary to an abrupt halt, but also destroyed the hope of the German revolution. Makhno's actions undoubtedly did the Entente a great favor, as stated in the report of the Bolshevik Provincial Committee of Yekaterinoslav to the Central Committee in 1920: "Makhno tried to establish a regime in opposition to the bourgeoisie, but with tension with the proletariat!" ”

On August 28, 1921, Makhno, with a mixed reputation, was pursued by the Red Army. Led the remnants of 77 people across the Dnieper. Escape into Romania. The Soviet government at that time demanded the extradition of Makhno. However, during the months of hesitation of the Romanian government, the clever Makhno fled to Poland with his wife's cronies.

Later, even more interestingly, his wife carried Makhno behind her back and liaised with Soviet intelligence under his banner in an attempt to organize a peasant uprising in Western Ukraine to overthrow the Polish government. After the matter was revealed, both husband and wife were imprisoned.

In 1923, Makhno and others were acquitted. Moved to France with my family. But at that time, the former revolutionary leader was once again nameless. The reason is that in order to prepare for the unexpected, Makhno had buried several barrels of gold, silver and jewelry in Ukraine, but the henchmen sent to dig up treasures were arrested one by one by the Soviet State Political Security Bureau (GPU), and the treasures were also intercepted and confiscated.

Destituent, Makhno had to start working for the bourgeoisie again, working as a carpenter in a film studio and galoshes in a shoe factory. And even in this downfall, he still actively participated in the "Black International" organized by the anarchists, and once had a large number of fans. Until 1934, he died of tuberculosis in the hospital for the poor in Paris.

Of course, it's still 1918. Without Denikin's troubles, Makhno could have dealt with the Bolsheviks and the Red Army wholeheartedly. Having a Ukrainian vision of Ukrainians, he fought against the Red Army together with another very problematic so-called "Ukrainian" national hero, Petliura.

Truth be told, this Petliura is less like a national hero and more like a traitor. His rise to power was made entirely by relying on dirty political deals. Historically, he took advantage of the loss of support after the fall of the Allied bloc to unite with the "gray army" who was not valued by Skaropasky, and successfully staged a coup d'état to remove someone from power.

From the very beginning of his rise to power, Petliura continued to play diplomatic and political tricks, first forming a confederation in January 1919 with the former Austro-Hungarian Galicia People's Republic of Western Ukraine. Although the alliance lasted for a short time, it was also the first time in the history of Ukraine that a "head and body were combined".

However, Petliura's luck was really bad, at that time, the democratic ideology of Poland, which had just become truly independent from the rule of the German-Austrian bloc, was rampant, and he was ready to restore the glory of Poland in one fell swoop, taking advantage of the collapse of Germany and Austria and the half-dead of Russia. In the name of restoring history, they pursued a policy of expansion from the Baltic to the Black Sea.

Polish leader Pilsudski openly stated that Galicia and Volhynia belonged to Poland, and also advocated the establishment of a greater Polish federation, whose territory included the three Baltic states, Belarus, and Ukraine.

It should be said that in the area that made Pilsudski coveted at that time, none of them liked to marry Poland. What is even more terrifying is that under the impetus of Poland, the Romanians also concocted the same method, taking advantage of the collapse of Russia to annex the Moldavian region in southwestern Ukraine.

For a time, the life of the Petliura regime was quite difficult, the "country" was in chaos, Makhno, the Red Army, and the White Army were in a mess, and his strength was the weakest. In order to protect himself, this man chose to sacrifice his knees, and the unreasonable demands of the Poles were simply not refused.

Early 1919. Polish residents of Lviv, the capital of Western Ukraine, launched the so-called "uprising" on the instructions of Pilsudski, declaring the secession of Western Ukraine from the regime of the Ukrainians. Immediately after that, the timid Pilsudski led 100,000 Polish troops to start the "Eastern Enclosure Movement", and the Poles received a large number of arms left over from the German-Austrian bloc, and with the continuous support of the Entente bloc, their strength swelled up like a balloon, and the soldiers seemed to be invincible.

By the spring of 1919, the red and white Polish flag was flying everywhere throughout Western Ukraine, and even the front was pushed to the line of the Zbruch River in Ukraine.

At this time, which can be said to be a critical moment for whether Ukraine's independence and autonomy can be maintained, Petliura, who was suffering from the enemy (the Red Army and the White Army were also beating him), ignored the opposition of the allies of Western Ukraine in the season of life and death, and at the expense of the interests of Western Ukraine, issued a ceasefire demand to Poland through the Entente so that it could concentrate its forces against the Red Army.

However, even if Petliura concentrated his forces, he was no match for the Red Army, and after a short counteroffensive, he was soon beaten again by the Red Army and the White Army (Denikin did not like this guy either, calling him a Ukrainian separatist of low character). In desperation, Petliura simply did not do anything and officially agreed to the request of the Poles to recognize Polish sovereignty over Western Ukraine!

Petliura had a good plan, and was ready to take advantage of the armistice, taking advantage of the Poles' fear of being forced to vomit out of their mouths, to obtain aid by betraying their national interests, in order to defeat the White Army and the Red Army in one fell swoop.

But this idiot just didn't calculate everything, and his "compromise" led to a great split within Ukraine. The reason is that Western Ukraine and the Poles have a hatred of each other, and Petliura Yue recognized the Polish occupation of Western Ukraine, which in the eyes of the Ukrainians is the betrayal of Chiguoguo!

In November 1919, there was a large-scale mutiny in the Ukrainian army, and the Western Ukrainians directly declared their independence from Petliura's National Army and switched to Denikin's White Army (the elder Deng recognized the sovereignty and independence of Western Ukraine on the grounds that the region did not fall under the rule of Tsarist Russia).

Interestingly, as the Red Army grew stronger, the Western Ukrainians began to turn to the Qin and Twilight Dynasties, and soon switched to the Red Army, and it was these Western Ukrainians who took the lead in destroying Denikin and Petliura.

What's even funnier is that more than 90 years later, it was these restless Western Ukrainian-stirrers who once again led Ukraine to its division, and that time, they selectively forgot about Petliura's betrayal and enshrined him as a so-called national hero.

I have to sigh, whether it was in the past or now, Xiwu's teasing is really incurable! (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to the Southern Rangers, hzwangdd, Juventus and Comrade Fat Lu Fei!