Kazan University Publishing House. 1982. 151 p. (II).

The revolutionary struggle of the soldiers of the rear districts attracted the attention of researchers at all stages of the development of Soviet historiography. Some of its aspects were reflected in the pages of general works on the history of Great October, but for a long time the main form of publications on this topic remained articles, and only in the second half of the 70s several monographs appeared. A. M. Andreev considered in his book the main directions of the struggle of the soldier masses of the three front-line military districts (Petrograd, Dvinsky and Minsk) and two rear garrisons (Moscow and Kazan) 1 , traced the main processes that took place in the rear garrisons, starting from February 1917 and until the liquidation of the old army. But he did not set out to identify the specific features of the struggle of the soldiers ' masses in each of the districts, which differed significantly from each other in terms of the degree of economic development, social and national composition of the population, etc.

The first book to examine the revolutionary movement of the soldiers ' masses within a single district was I. M. Ionenko's monograph on the Kazan Military District, although it only covered the events of the peaceful period of the revolution's development. Then two works were published (by T. F. Kuzmina and L. G. Protasov) on the Moscow Military District, and in the latter the events were considered against the background of processes taking place in a larger region, and A. N. Batalov's monograph on the Omsk and Irkutsk military districts. 2 These books have already been reviewed 3 , and their overall assessment is provided by historiographical works of recent years 4 . At the same time, I would like to emphasize the significant differences in the authors ' approach to the processes under consideration. An important advantage of A. N. Batalov's book written in the historical and party spirit is the analysis of the soldier movement in the vast territories of Siberia and the Far East. The books by T. F. Kuzmina and L. G. Protasov tell about the events that unfolded practically in the past.

1 Andreev A.M. Soldatskie massy garrisonov russkoy armii v Oktyabrskoy revolyutsii [Soldier masses of the Russian Army garrisons in the October Revolution]. Moscow, 1975.

2 Kuzmina T. F. Revolutionary movement of the soldiers ' masses of the Center of Russia on the Eve of October (Based on the materials of the Moscow Military District), Moscow, 1978; Protasov L. G. Soldiers of the garrisons of Central Russia in the struggle for the power of the Soviets. Voronezh. 1978; Batalov A. N. The Bolshevik struggle for the Army in Siberia, 1916-February 1918. Novosibirsk. 1978.

3 See, for example, Voprosy istorii 1979, No. 9, pp. 122-124.

4 See, for example: Soviet Historiography of the Great October Socialist Revolution, Moscow 1981, pp. 150-151; Revolutionary Movement in the Russian Army in 1917, Moscow 1981, p. 48.

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one region - in Central Russia. However, both of these works cover different aspects of the revolutionary process and are constructed differently. Thus, T. F. Kuzmina is more interested in analyzing the process of Bolshevization of the soldiers ' masses on the eve of October, their attitude to the political crises taking place in Russia, and their participation in the struggle against the Kornilov regime. L. G. Protasov primarily studies the formation and activity of soldiers 'organizations (Councils of Soldiers' Deputies, garrison and regimental committees), the struggle of political parties for the army, etc.

The reviewed works of I. M. Ionenko, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor at Kazan University, are distinguished by the author's desire to combine both aspects characteristic of the books of T. F. Kuzmina and L. G. Protasov, and therefore provide sufficient material for reflection. They were prepared as a single unit, although they were published six years apart.

The Kazan Military District attracts the author's attention for a number of reasons. First, it was the largest military district in terms of territory, the size of which was almost twice the area of the other rear districts (Moscow, Omsk and Irkutsk). It included the entire Volga region, the Urals and part of Western Kazakhstan. On the eve of the First World War, 40% of the population of all rear districts lived in this territory. In contrast to the MVO, where more than 15% of the population was urban, in the Kazan district more than 90% of the population was rural. Of course, there were also large industrial centers in the Kazan district (Yekaterinburg, Samara, Kazan, Perm, Tsaritsyn, Saratov, and some others), but the proportion of the proletariat in the population and the degree of its influence on the development of events were noticeably lower than in the center of the country. An important feature of the region was the multinational composition of its population. In addition to the Russians, who made up its main part, Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kalmyks, Ukrainians, Mordvins, Chuvash, Mari, Udmurts, etc. lived here (with a fairly compact settlement).

Although in terms of the total number of troops concentrated here (by January 1917, 800 thousand), the Kazan district was inferior to the Moscow district (where at the same time there were about 1 million), but it surpassed it in terms of the number of spare parts that trained cadres for the front. During the war years, more than 2.6 million people (more than 10% of the population) were conscripted from this district. As a result, by 1917, more than 50 thousand soldiers over the age of 40 served in parts of the district, which also left a certain imprint on the development of events.

Naturally, all these circumstances significantly complicated the task facing the author, and it should be recognized that he coped with this task successfully. The two books that make up his work together give a clear picture of the process of the growing revolutionary consciousness of the soldiers 'masses-from their largely spontaneous actions in the days of February to the formation of first elected soldiers 'and soldiers' officer organizations, and then military organizations of the Bolshevik party, about the struggle of the soldiers of the district against Kornilovism and their participation in Soviet authorities. However, this simple scheme conveys only to a small extent the real content of the work in question. Both books" are rich in new factual material and conclusions of a fundamental nature.

The huge size of the district determined the well-known specifics of the development of events in its constituent regions. In order to show not only the general features of the revolutionary process unfolding in the region, but also their specific features, which are characteristic, for example, only for the Urals or for the Middle and Lower Volga region, the author highlights special paragraphs devoted to these regions in a number of chapters.

The question of the forms of soldiers ' movement has long been successfully developed in our literature. Of particular interest to researchers was the struggle of soldiers of rear garrisons for peace, against sending marching companies to the front, etc. P. I. M. Ionenko convincingly shows that in line with the anti-war movement, we should also consider the speeches of older soldiers for leave "to harvest bread" , etc., since the most diverse demands were based on the reluctance of soldiers to participate in the imperialist war.

An important factor in raising the consciousness of the soldiers 'masses was their participation in the activities of elected soldiers' organizations - Soviets of Soldiers 'Deputies, soldiers' sections of Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, soldiers ' committees of various degrees. According to I. M.'s calculations.

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Ionenko, only in the brigade, regimental, divisional and company committees at the same time worked about 15 thousand people, and among them almost 10 thousand were soldiers. In addition, 4 thousand were deputies of local councils. Thus, almost 20 thousand soldiers and officers of the Kazan Military District constantly participated in political activities (I, pp. 174-175).

One of the features of the development of events in the Kazan Military District was the formation of the first Russian Military District Committee (KVOK). Until recently, our literature was dominated by extremely negative assessments of military district organizations, which usually arose on the initiative of the command, which sought to oppose them to the Soviets. I. M. Ionenko convincingly showed that one should not put an equal sign between the plans of the command and the real result in which this plan was embodied. It is no coincidence that the KWOK, like other soldiers ' organizations, was a field of fierce political struggle.

A prominent place in the reviewed work is occupied by the history of the Bolshevik struggle for the soldiers 'masses of the district, and especially the activities of the Bolshevik "military enlistment offices". However, this topic may well be the subject of independent research.

Of particular note is the author's development of the history of the national democratic movement in the troops of the Kazan Military District. I. M. Ionenko was one of the pioneers of this topic. His articles on this issue appeared in the early 60s. In his generalizing study, the author brought together the results of many years of work. According to his calculations, by February 1917, almost 100 thousand non-Russian soldiers (mainly Tatars and Bashkirs) served in the district's troops, who after the overthrow of tsarism actively joined political life. The author consistently shows the struggle of the Bolsheviks against bourgeois nationalists, the cooperation of national revolutionary-democratic organizations with the Bolsheviks, and, ultimately, the active participation of the bulk of non-Russian soldiers in the struggle for Soviet power. The national bourgeoisie, rightly emphasizes I. M. Ionenko, "failed to carry out the idea of the so-called unity of the nation as opposed to the unity of the fundamental interests of the working peoples of revolutionary Russia" (II, p.68).

A prominent place in the second book is occupied by materials about the influence of soldiers, both on active service and demobilized for various reasons, on the mass peasant movement that unfolded in the district in the autumn of 1917. The author shows that under the influence of this movement, a significant part of the left SRS, who also had influence among the soldiers at that time, came closer to the Bolsheviks.

I. M. Ionenko's valuable work also has some shortcomings. Speaking about issues that need in-depth development, the author rightly highlights among them a group of problems related to the social psychology of the soldier masses. It's hard to disagree. At the same time, he himself sometimes sins with a certain underestimation of this aspect of the topic. So, speaking about the factors that determined the mood of soldiers on the eve of February, the author tells with sufficient completeness about their difficult financial situation, the unsanitary state of living quarters, the bullying of the command, the epidemics that mowed down the soldier's mass, etc. But the position of soldiers was also influenced by the mood of those social groups to which they belonged before It seems to us that the question of the totality of conditions that determined the mood of soldiers needs a more in-depth study. Another shortcoming of the work is related to the coverage of the struggle of political parties for the army. If the history of the Bolshevik organizations of the Kazan Military District is sufficiently fully reflected in the work, the same cannot be said about the history of the local organizations of the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties that opposed them. The separate references to Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionary organizations contained in both books do little to change the situation.

These shortcomings are more or less inherent in the works of other authors devoted to the soldiers ' movement in the rear districts, so their overcoming will probably be associated with new research on this problem.

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