Background
MAKHNO, Nestor was born in 1889 in village Gulyay- Pole, Yekaterinoslav Province. Son of a peasant.
MAKHNO, Nestor was born in 1889 in village Gulyay- Pole, Yekaterinoslav Province. Son of a peasant.
Worked as herder and farm laborer. 1905 joined underground anarchist circle in Gulyay-Pole. 1907 arrested and sentenced to hard labor for complicity in robbery of Beryansk Treasury involving the killing of a police guard.
After 1917 February Revol released. Fall 1917 returned to Gulyay-Pole and became chairman of Gulyay-Pole Land Committee and Soviet. Early 1918, with German occupation of Ukraine, retreated with Red Guard units to Soviet Russia.
Summer 1918, after gaining the support of Lenin and Trotsky, returned to Ukraine, founded a mounted peasant insurgent unit and began to fight the Germans, Hetman Skoropadskiy’s admin and the major landowners. His mounted detachment expanded to include infantry, transported on light horse-drawn carts (“tachanki”) fitted with machine-guns. With the sympathy and support of the local peasantry his unit easily evaded pursuit and would attack small German units.
Capturing their weapons. It also stopped and derailed trains and confiscated the property of the rich, distributing it among the poor peasantry. At the same time, elements of drunkenness, anti-Semitism, licentiousness and unruliness began to appear in the unit.
After Petlyura’s troops drove out the Germans, Makho’s forces began to fight Petlyura too. After establishment of Soviet regime in Southern Ukraine Makhno, preaching anarch, “free communes” and "free labor councils”, turned against the Soviet regime, wiping out Coummunist cells, Extraordinary Commission Against Counterrevolution, Sabotage and Speculation organs, food detachments and police units in the village and small town he captured. His rank and file were attached to the slogan “Kill the Bolsheviks, the Commissars and the Jews!”.
Spring 1919, when General Denikin began his advance on the Donbass and the Ukraine, formally submitted to Soviet command and, as brigade comissar, fought against Whitist troops. June 1919, upon capturing Aleksandrovsk, convened a Congress of Soviets of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents’ Deputies, which elected the Revol Military Council of his forces. Soviet authorities banned the Congress, which opposed their policy of centralization.
Therupon moved with his troops into the Red Army's rear and attacked Soviet units. Towns and villages; officially outlawed. Withdrew to Yclizavetgrad-Voznescnsk area and demoralized Whitist forces’ rear.
September 1919 defeated Denikin’s cavalry in Uman’ area and captured Berdyansk and Mariupol’. November 1919 reoccupied and plundered Yekaterinoslav. After Red Army routed Denikin’s troops, again turned against Soviet regime.
October 1920, during General Wrangel’s offensive, Soviet regime made a pact with him, and his troops were moved to the Crimean Front. After routing Wrangel’s forces the Red Army concentrated on crushing Makhno’s rebel forces. This compaign lasted almost a year.
August 1921 Makhno, heading one of his detachments, broke through to Rumania, where he was interned. Then lived in Poland and Paris, contributing to anarchist publ.