Belash

[the-devils-sotnia]

Does anyone know if there is an English translation of the book on the Makhnovite army/movement by Viktor Belash [with Soviet era redactions cleared up by his son]? It seems to be an important source. Or am I, a complete newbie, entirely wrong?

[Mark Plant]

I've never heard of an English translation. Smele's bibliography does not have it.

I was previously unaware of it's very existence, although I was aware of Belash himself, let alone "a major source". Colin Darch's thesis on Makhno, which I would expect to have every major source, does not cite it. Nor does my "Critical Companion to the Russian Revolution". That suggests it was very hard to find, even in Russian.

However, as with most books these days, the Russians have put it online: http://posters.ec/b/252226.

[the-devils-sotnia]

Many thanks for the helpful comment. I had gathered that it contained information from a participant, later exiled and shot by Stalin, on the military side of the Makhnovist movement but it looks as if it may not be worth learning Russian for....

[Mark Plant]

If you want to actually know about Makhno's military career, I would suggest Belash's book is probably vital.

All the other witnesses were politically motivated. What they wrote about the campaigning was largely second hand and filtered through rose-tinted glasses. Naturally Belash will not be unbiased, but he was at least involved in military decisions, and wasn't writing for an admiring audience.

Apart from Darch, none of the secondary sources in English take any effort to actually consider Makhno's military efforts. They are written by people motivated almost entirely by political concerns (and usually more or less anarchist). They accept at face value almost any statement made about how good his forces were and how they were organised.