By Zinaida Osipova
It was Konstantin Khabensky’s part in the 2008 film Admiral that revived Alexander Kolchak’s name among the wider Russian population almost a century after he had lived. The movie portrayed Kolchak, who was an Imperial admiral and one of the leaders of the White army during the Civil War (1917-1922) in Russia, as a man of honor and stamina, faithful to the cause of saving Russia from the evils of the Bolsheviks. When I came across a 1919 pamphlet titled “Who is Kolchak” (Kto Takoi Kolchak), I was curious to see how he was portrayed by his contemporaries. Since the series of which the pamphlet was part was named “Chiefs and Heroes of Russia”, I knew I was looking at the writing of a White movement sympathizer. The pamphlet does not provide a coherent biography of the admiral; rather, it is a short narrative portraying Kolchak’s most noble qualities and juxtaposing them with the evil nature of the Bolsheviks. A piece of Civil War propaganda, “Who is Kolchak” demonstrates that the Whites wanted their leader to be perceived as a brave man trying to save his motherland.
“Who is Kolchak” was published by the “People’s Library” (Narodnaya Biblioteka) in Rostov-on-Don, a Southern Russian city that was out of the Bolshevik control in 1919. The author, N. Morskoi, must have been a participant in the anti-Bolshevik movement familiar with Kolchak’s biography. According to André Savine’s index card to the pamphlet, it served as an appeal to men of the Red Army in order to draw them to the Whites’ side.[1] Interestingly, though, the front page has a price for the pamphlet: “50 K [kopecks]”, meaning the pamphlet was not meant to be distributed for free. Therefore, the publisher must have aimed to reach a wider range of audience than only soldiers of the Red Army. The simple language of the pamphlet, combined with its clear agenda and emotional narrative intended to secure quickly or reaffirm the readers’ alignment in the cause of fighting Bolshevism.
The very first paragraph of Morskoy’s pamphlet sets the tone for the whole text, where he juxtaposes the righteous leader to the evil revolutionaries: “Do you know who Kolchak is – that invincible chief, whose army is irrepressibly moving to Moscow from Siberia, at whose name shake with impotent rage the Bolshevik kinglets – Lenin and Trotsky.” The author promises to tell us two stories from Kolchak’s life so that we can judge for ourselves who the Supreme Ruler of Russia is.[2] The first story concerns Kolchak’s early career: at the age of 25, he was on board of the ship that went to the Arctic Ocean to “discover new lands”. The crew was supposed to fetch their colleagues from an island surrounded by ice in the summer. However, as they failed to do so, Kolchak aspired to find the lost crewmembers in the following spring and went through the ocean by boat. Their 42-day voyage to save “dying friends” bore no fruit, but Morskoi stressed that by this act, Kolchak showed that “he does not leave friends in difficult times… and does not stop at the risk of losing his life for achieving set goals.” Of course, there is no comment as to why the fearless leader waited for almost a year before saving his friends. Curiously enough, as we learn later from the pamphlet, Kolchak would wait a year before returning from the United States to save his ravaged motherland. [3]
The second story concerns Kolchak’s participation the World War I: in a somewhat unsubstantiated account, Morskoi gives accolades to the admiral, praising his order and leadership. Of course, according to the author, Kolchak was leading his fleet to victory when the Revolution came about. Continuing in the same style, Morskoi contrasts Kolchak’s honest sailors with the “sailors bought on German money” who were slaughtering officers.[4] In describing Kolchak’s appointment as the Supreme Ruler, the author gave Kolchak all the credit for turning the tide in provisioning the White army and securing allies. Interestingly, when mentioning “Soviet intruders”, Morskoi names Lenin only by his alias, while he uses both the alias and the real name of Trotsky-Bronstein.[5] Most likely, Morskoi meant to denounce Trotsky even further by bringing out his Jewish roots (at that time in Russia, antisemitism was prevalent).
Morskoi ends the pamphlet by saying that Kolchak’s name is used to intimidate the public “but he is only intimidating to evil and wicked people, such as Bolshevik commissars whom he is attacking because he knows well, having experienced himself, how much grief and evil they have done to the motherland.” Having portrayed Kolchak as a noble leader at Russia’s service, Morskoi reiterates who Kolchak is facing – the abominable enemies not just of the White army, but of the whole country. Thus, by the end of the pamphlet, it should be clear to the reader that it is not a war between the Reds and the Whites; it is a war between atrocious usurpers and virtuous patriots.
The pamphlet follows two strategies: praising Kolchak, describing him as an able ruler and a brave patriotic man with a high sense of duty and contrasting the positive hero with vilified Bolsheviks. The language of the pamphlet aspires to show that Russia needs to and can be rescued, stressing the Bolsheviks’ malign nature and their dangers to the country. The text, written in the midst of the Civil War, expresses certitude that Kolchak’s leadership supported by the great White army generals, will liberate Russia, hoping to instill the same feeling in the readers. “Who is Kolchak” contains little factual information but plenty of one-sided rhetoric and plays on patriotic feelings of its readers, which would be interesting to contrast with a Bolshevik Civil War propaganda piece.
Bibliography
Morskoy, N. “Who Is Kolchak.” Rostov-on-Don: Narodnaya Biblioteka, 1919.
Savine, André. “Who Is Kolchak.” 1986. https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/item/collection/rbr/?id=15354
[1] André Savine, “Who Is Kolchak”, 1986. https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/item/collection/rbr/?id=15354
[2] N. Morskoy, “Who Is Kolchak,” (Rostov-on-Don: Narodnaya Biblioteka, 1919), p. 3
[3] Ibid, p. 3-5, 10.
[4] Ibid, p. 6-8
[5] Morskoy, 10-13.