Nestor Makhnenko was born into a peasant family  in the village of Huliaipole, of Yekaterinoslav governorate.  He graduated from a two-year primary school. Since 1895, Makhno worked as a laborer, since 1903, he was employed at Kerner’s iron foundry in Huliaipole. In 1906, he joined the group of volny khleborobs [free grain growers], communist anarchists. He participated in a number of robberies of merchants and attacks on police officers, was nicknamed Makhno. He was arrested several times. In 1910, he was sentenced to death by hanging, commuted to indefinite katorga [hard labour]. He served it in the Butyrka prison, where another anarchist worker Pyotr Arshinov taught him ideology and became his friend.

After the February Revolution of 1917, he returned to Huliaipole, where he was elected Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of Huliaipolee volost [part of a district]. He took an active part in the political and social life of rural residents. In June, Makhno introduced workers’ control at the enterprises, in August, he created the “Black Guard” (an armed unit), in September, handed the land over to district peasants. On August 29, 1917, he headed the Committee for the Salvation of the Revolution, which was formed in Huliaipole in connection with General Lavr Kornilov affair.

In January 1918, he headed the Revolutionary Committee, which was formed from representatives of anarchists, Left SRs (socialist revolutionaries), and Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionaries. In May 1918, in Moscow, Makhno met and had conversations with Pyotr Kropotkin, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Yakov Sverdlov, and others to discuss “the place and role of anarchists in the revolution”. Upon his return to Ukraine, he organized an up to 80-thousand-strong insurrectionary army with elected Commanders. He fought against the German and Austro-Hungarian occupation forces in Ukraine. In November 1918, he formed an alliance with the Bolsheviks and launched the struggle against the regime of Symon Petliura.

At the beginning of 1919, the insurrectionary army of Makhno (up to 50 thousand-strong) joined the Ukrainian Front of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. In February 1919, Makhno’s detachments joined the 1st Zadneprovskaya division of the Red Army under the command of Pavel Dybenko as the 3rd brigade under the command of Makhno. At the same time, Makhno was an opponent of the Bolsheviks’ policy, the creation of Сommittees of  the Rural Poor and Food Levy or Prodrazvyorstka [a policy and campaign of confiscation of grain and other agricultural products from peasants at nominal fixed prices according to specified quotas food appropriation]. In May, Makhno’s forces suffered heavy losses in battles with the Whites and failed to prevent the enemy from invading Donbass. The Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, Leon Trotsky accused Makhno of the collapse of the front. The Ukrainian Front of the Red Army was disbanded and Makhno was outlawed by the Bolsheviks.

In the summer of 1919, he formed a temporary union with Nikifor Grigoriev, who raised a rebellion against the Soviet regime in May. He was a co-perpetrator in the murder of Grigoriev (July 27) due to the latter’s ties with Anton Denikin. During the offensive of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (AFSR) on Moscow in the summer of 1919, he launched a guerilla war in the rear of the Whites, threatening the Stavka [Headquarters] (Taganrog).

He rejected an alliance with Pyotr Wrangel, concluded an agreement with the Bolsheviks against him. The Makhnovists took part in the assault of Perekop and forcing the Sivash (November 1920). After Makhno refused to redeploy his forces to the Caucasus, the command of the Red Army decided to eliminate Makhno’s movement (November 26, 1920). In 1920–1921, Makhno took part in the armed movement against Soviet power. In August 1921, he moved to Romania together with his detachment. Since 1925, he lived in France. He died of bone tuberculosis. The urn with his ashes was placed in the columbarium of the Père Lachaise cemetery.