Perception of Czechoslovak corps by warring parties in the Volga Region in 1918

Abstract

© The authors. The relevance of the problem under study is explained by the fact that the history of the Civil war in Russia still causes disputes and discussions among historians. In the present article a new interpretation of the "old sources" is suggested. In the center of attention are the documents (official and office work documentation, contracts, newspaper reporting) of two parties countervailing in the Civil war on the territory of the Volga region in 1918, in which their attitude to the Czechoslovak corps is expressed. The time and chronological frames are explained by the fact that 1918 had become the time of the most intensive involvement of Czechoslovak legionaries into the events of the Civil war in Russia, and the Volga region appeared to be one of the most important epicenters of their actions. This approach is interdisciplinary as during the research both special and historical methods, as well as philological methods were applied. The application of this method allowed to reveal the main semantic designs characterizing the Czechoslovak corps both in Soviet and in anti-Bolshevist documents; to reveal the general and special in the representation of the Czechoslovak corps by various contradictory forces in the Volga region in 1918. The materials of article can be useful, first of all, to the historians studying the Civil war in Russia, World War I and also to the researchers considering national relations, the system of propaganda and promotion, and also the mechanisms of formation of public opinion.