Nestor Makhno movement (also referred to as the Makhnovist Movement or Makhnovshchina) was a peasant insurrection movement in South Ukraine inspired by anarchist ideology.

 

This movement emerged in the summer of 1918 nearby the village of Huliaipole, Aleksandrovsky District, Yekaterinoslav governorate, where Nestor Makhno was born. The Makhno detachments used to raid occupation Austrian and German forces. The Makhnovist movement was basically formed by peasants. It included people belonging to different nations, like Russians, Jews, Bulgarians, and Greeks. Nestor Makhno and his commanders have actively counteracted anti-Semitism. In November of 1918, Nestor Makhno headed the Insurrectionary Staff and his forces captured Huliaipole proclaiming it a so-called “free territory”. After the Hetmanate headed by Pavel Skoropadsky fell, the Makhnovists fought mainly the troops of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR) and the Whites. Nestor Makhno allied with the Bolsheviks and Left Social Revolutionaries and started to counteract the regime established by Symon Petliura.

 

In February of 1919, the Insurrectionary Army commanded by Nestor Makhno (about 20,000 people) joined the 1st Trans-Dniepr Division of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army commanded by Pavel Dybenko becoming its 3rd Brigade. The autonomous structure, symbols (black flags), and commanders of Makhnovists remained unchanged. It should be noted that Nestor Makhno opposed some of the policies pursued by the Bolsheviks, especially the Prodrazvyorstka [food requisition] and the kombeds [Committees of the Rural Poor]. The Makhnovists promoted the ideas of creating anarchist communes and power-free soviets.

 

In May of 1919, the Makhnovists suffered heavy casualties fighting the Whites and failed to prevent the latter from capturing the Donbass. Early in June, Leon Trotsky, Chairman of the Republic’s Revolutionary Military Council, accused Nestor Makhno of disorganizing the front. Red Army’s Ukrainian Front was dissolved and Nestor Makhno was proclaimed an outlaw. On June 9, Nestor Makhno denounced his agreement with the Bolsheviks and soon entered into an alliance with Nikifor Grigoriev against both the Whites and the Reds. On July 27, the Makhnovists killed Grigoriev under the pretext that the latter was in contact with Anton Denikin and took part in arranging the anti-Jewish pogroms.

 

In the summer and autumn of 1919, when the Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR) started to advance to Moscow, the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine commanded by Nestor Makhno launched a large-scale guerrilla war in the rear of the Whites threatening to capture its Headquarters located in the city of Taganrog. The advance of Anton Denikin’s troops to Moscow was halted that enabled the Red Army command to gain time and prepare a counterstroke.

 

However, in late 1919 and early 1920, when Anton Denikin and Symon Petliura withdrew their forces, Makhno’s opposition to the Bolsheviks intensified again. From spring to autumn of 1920, Makhno’s Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine battled the Red Army. However, when Pyotr Wrangel proposed Nestor Makhno to become allies and fight the Bolsheviks together, the latter refused. In October of 1920, when the Polish and the White armies advanced, the command of the Red Army has allied with Nestor Makhno again. The Makhno’s troops took an active part in fighting for the Crimean Peninsula.

 

On November 25–26, 1920 after Nestor Makhno refused to obey an order to redeploy his army to the Caucasus region, his troops were attacked. Until August of 1921, the Makhno’s Army led a guerrilla war against the Red Army. On August 28, 1921, having suffered a series of defeats, Nestor Makhno crossed the border with Romania accompanied by a small group of supporters. This meant an end of his movement.