INFORMATION ABOUT PROJECT,
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COMMON PART

Project Number21-78-00015

Project titleElectoral processes during the Civil War by the example of anti-Bolshevik quasi-states in European Russia (1918 - 1920)

Project LeadChemakin Anton

AffiliationFederal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Saint-Petersburg State University",

Research area 08 - HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 08-105 - Russian history in the ХХ – ХХI centuries

Keywordselections, electoral behavior, Civil War, elections to the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly, elections to City Dumas, Crimean Regional Government, Almighty Don Host, Kuban Krai, Armed Forces of South Russia, Northern Oblast, Kadets, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, rightists, electoral geography

PROJECT CONTENT

Annotation
The Project is devoted to election campaigns of 1918–1920, which took place after the election to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, i.e. – during the Civil War. In spite of the fact that the Civil War has been under heavy scrutiny by both Russian and foreign historians, the major part of election campaigns of that period have been ignored by researchers; the complete results of those elections have not been published yet. With this in mind, the materials of 1918–1920 election campaigns could yield plenty of materials and help us gain a better understanding of the processes underlying the Civil War. We lack reliable tools of studying the sentiments among the population at large, but the 1918–1920 elections materials can fill this gap, at least partially. Of course, we cannot claim that these materials are totally reliable, but the results of election campaigns can make it clear what kind of sentiments prevailed, at least in the cities, and what correlation of forces there was in the anti-Bolshevist faction (unlike the elections to the Soviets in the areas controlled by the Bolsheviks, in which there was no real competition). The Project leader decided that not all Civil War election campaigns would be studied, but only the campaigns in European Russia, because the current epidemiological situation, affecting the normal operation of archives and libraries, can interfere with trips to Siberia, the Far East and other faraway regions. Besides, the two years allocated for the project would not be enough for collecting absolutely all election statistics from the Civil War period (which would mean collecting the statistics from several hundreds of cities). It is for this reason that we decided to concentrate on anti-Bolshevik regimes of European Russia, but, at the same time, study in full detail absolutely all election campaigns on these territories in 1918–1920. This objective seems quite achievable. Moreover, these geographical limitations will in no way affect our conclusions, because totally different anti-Bolshevik regimes will be studied – different both in terms of political orientations (the tentatively “left-wing” Ukrainian People’s Republic, Kuban Krai and Northern Oblast; the tentatively “right-wing” Don and the Armed Forces of South Russia, the “centrist” Crimea), and the level of elections (the regional ones – the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly, and the municipal ones – the Dumas of various cities controlled by the White Army). The election to the Constituent Assembly of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which had not proclaimed its independence yet and was still formally a part of the Russian Republic, took place in January 1918. It was already a time of the armed conflict and the Bolsheviks’ assault of Kiev. This election was the last one in Russia in which the representatives of all political groups and parties took part, from monarchists to the Bolsheviks. Moreover, this campaign, which took place two months after the election to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, will help us understand the dynamics of political processes in Southern Russia. The Bolsheviks already were not able to take part in municipal campaigns of 1918–1920 on the territories controlled by various “white” regimes, but their clandestine organizations, which organized election boycotting campaigns, were, in any case, an important factor of local political processes. The study of these campaigns might help us understand the sentiments of citizens and the correlation of conservative, liberal and socialist forces within the White movement. Within the framework of the project we plan to study all the election campaigns in the regions of European Russia, controlled by anti-Bolshevist regimes in 1918–1920, their results and the election strategies of various political parties. Moreover, using the methods of political science we will be able to study the voting behavior of citizens during the radical polarization of public moods, which resulted in the Civil War. Our conclusions might be useful for understanding current political processes and preventing from happening the events similar to those of the tragic times of the early 20th century. Our Project is supposed to become the first ever comparative study of various election campaigns during the Russian Civil War. The project will result in the publication of articles and the preparation of a monograph.

Expected results
We are planning to collect and analyze all the statistical data with regard to the elections which took place in anti-Bolshevik quasi-states in European Russia during the Civil War between 1918 and 1920 (Ukraine, the Don, Kuban, Crimea, the Armed Forces of South Russia, the Northern Oblast; it must be pointed out that no elections were held in the North-West of Russia at that time, and a few election campaigns on the territory controlled by the Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly must be considered within the context of the elections in Siberia, because the political situation in these regions was absolutely different from the one in the South and the North of European Russia). Particular attention will be paid to the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly election and municipal elections held by “white” regimes, although we will also provide some basic information about zemstvo elections and elections to all kinds of Cossack circles and radas (a comprehensive analysis of the latter ones is not always possible, because they were held on a personal, not a party basis). We are planning to use the materials from Russian, Ukrainian and American archives and libraries, which have never been used in scientific research before. The Project will result in writing the articles and the monograph devoted to specific election campaigns of 1918–1920 and their comparative analysis. The Project is expected to make a great contribution into the studies devoted to the political processes during the Civil War and the behavior of parties and voters in extreme and critical conditions (for instance, the fact of nominating one’s candidature for the position of a City Duma member and taking part in the election might have been deadly dangerous, in case of a power shift). We are not planning to limit ourselves only to dry statistics, therefore our articles and monograph will also include various agitation materials, topical satire and feature articles from press (including S.Ya. Marshak’s obscure verses devoted to municipal election in Mozdok in 1919) – all this is supposed to make the Project interesting for the wide audience. The results of the project should prove to be very valuable to Russian and foreign historians and political scientists. They might be used in the preparation of university courses devoted to the history of the Civil War and elections in Russia, as well as the voting behavior of the population.

REPORTS