Nestor Makhno — Anarchy's Cossack: The Struggle for Free Soviets in the Ukraine 1917–1921

by Alexandre Skirda, Paul Sharkey (Translator)

Available for the first time in English, here’s the gripping story of Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno. With his usual wit and engaging style, Skirda chronicles the life of a legend and the insurgent army that fought in his name. Always controversial, Makhno has been described as everything from a drunken bandit to an inspirational hero. From Makhno’s imprisonment, to battles with the Bolsheviks and the White Army, to the final exile in Paris, Skirda captures the life of Makhno and the history of the Makhnovist movement.

Alexandre Skirda is the foremost anarchist theorist and activist writing in Europe today.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Biography, Russian Revolution, Russian History, Russia

415 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Alexandre Skirda was born in 1942. His mother was Ukrainian and his father was Russian. He is a historian and a translator, specializing in the Russian anarchist revolutionary movement. His writing is in French.

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a tendency to glorify Makhno in ways that bordered on hagiographical. For example, Alexandre Skirda (author) notes multiple times the conflicting perspectives and sources for Makhno's personal use of alcoholism and self-discipline, then seems to just give the Batko the benefit of the doubt. Another example is in the fact that he cites Emma Goldman's "My Disillusionment..." to discuss Goldman's interaction with Galina Kuzmenko (Makhno's partner) to show another source who admired Kuzmenko (304). This is part of a larger picture Skirda is trying to draw of Makhno, but he never mentions that the punch of the actual writing in Goldman's account is that Kuzmenko claims Makhno is a traditional, semi-chauvinistic man, who treats Kuzmenko like a Ukrainian peasant husband; he beats her when he is angry. Skirda completely omits this from his book, while citing its source in its same paragraph. I can't help but call historical dishonesty.

The Skirda has an absolutely enormous bibliography, though. This is probably the largest, most eclectic bibliography I have ever seen on Makhno and the Makhnovists.

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a rather informative account of the Makhnovtsy's rebellion in Ukraine against both Whites and Reds following the 1917 October coup. I might have preferred a greater focus on the Makhnovoshchina's 'libertarian communist' approach to non-military social issues, as I walked away with more knowledge about their military efforts... Not that I think that's misplaced, considering how menaced their experiment was by both Whites and supposedly revolutionary Reds.

UPDATE: Re-reading this was excellent--to revisit the Black flags of the Ukrainian Makhnovshchina! Makhno and the bands were profoundly revolutionary; their destruction by the Bolsheviks is one of history's great tragedies, akin to the crushing of Zapata by Carranza and Obregon together with support from the "Red Batallions" manned by urban chauvinist anarchists! It is interesting to see how Makhno and Arshinov carried on their militant radicalism in exile by developing the platform and the idea of the "General Union of Anarchists." Both this and the Batko's call for free anti-authoritarian soviets surely resonate nearly a century on. The question is, can the red and black resurge, or will they be inhibited yet again?

[Andrewf · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great history that is somewhat flawed by an overly emotional approach to the Bolshevik betrayal of the revolution

[lexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed reading this. as a Russo/Ukrainian who lives in France, Skirda inhabits a perfect position to dissect the origins, structure, and eventual demise of the Makhnovishna, with much emphasis made on the cruciality of their fight against the Whites and the dispelling of Bolshevik lies. Nestor Makhno's unparalleled charisma and devotion to the cause of freedom seeps through the pages, making it clear why so many gave their lives to the revolution in his name. not just eminently readable (if occasionally imperfectly translated), Anarchy's Cossack brings to light so many unique sources that've been untranslated or lost in archives, which shed crucial light on both the Anarchist project itself and the Bolshevik & White counterreactions. my only gripes stem from a lack of detail on many of the minor characters (Shchuss and Karetnyk chief among them), and a tragically brief overview of the Platformism debate (there's mention of plans for another work completely devoted to this subject deep in the footnotes, though this appears to have never materialized).

worth it for the analysis, but the abundance of translated Makhnovist documents towards the back make this a MUST OWN for anyone interested in the Russian Revolution/Civil War.

all power to the free soviets. long live anarchy!

[Pierre-Olivier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellente biographie de Nestor Makhno et de la Makhnovtchina par Alexandre Skirda. La description derrière le livre en est parfaitement représentative de l’œuvre. J’ai adoré.

[Karlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was both good and bad.

What was good about it was the military history.

Skirda has done painstaking work and cites unique sources in his explanations of how Makhno was able to succeed or fail depending on the situation. In particular, I learned a lot about the tanchaka: How and why it was an effective weapon against the enemy, and an appreciation for how people can think on their feet and create new weapons. I will admit (gladly) that because I am new to the military side of history, there’s likely a bunch of this that went over my head. However, my partner, who does know more about military history, skimmed a few pages for me, assured me it was “excellent” and he now wants to read it.

It probably would also have helped if I had been more familiar with the geography of Ukraine, and more familiar with who was who in the red and white armies. I think in a few years when I am more educated about those particulars, I will re-read this. I think there are many military history gems here for me if I take more time to learn about military history in general.

This book was bad for the same reason so many other reviewers have pointed out: it is totally hagiographic, to an extreme. Makhno is always given the benefit of the doubt, and at one point in the book, when the author was reassuring us that Makhno was genuinely worried about the Jewish population and was basically the only one sticking up for them, I wondered at that point if I was being lied to.

Another reviewer( Read their review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) correctly pointed out that Skirda omits a very important part of a conversation that Emma Goldman and Galina Kuzmenko had about Makhno; the part where Kuzmenko said he was more or less a chauvinist who treated her like a Ukrainian peasant wife. That omission is glaring, insincere, and flat-out dishonest.

As a social history, this was terrible. As a piece of military history, it was great. Read it with a grain of salt.

[Jereme · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid biography of the anarchist leader "Batko" Nestor Makhno who fought mainly in Ukraine during the Russian Revolution and Civil War. I recommend the book overall for presenting an interesting character and often times forgotten element from the time period. Furthermore, Skirda's passionate, flourishing writing styles makes the book an easy and at times delightful read although a bit of knowledge on the Russian Revolution is probably required before tackling this more specific work. However it is let down by three factors: bias, structure, and at times a lack of detail.

1. Skirda does not hide his hatred of the Bolsheviks and his adoration of the anarchists. The reds are commonly derided as "Janissaries," and "Jacobins;" their motivations always both religiously zealous and utterly cynical with no genuine, or understandable motivation for their actions. Their soldiers are always described as poor quality, driven more than led, and in need of rescue by the anarchists, with an impression that the Civil War was almost single handily won by the black flag of anarchy. Skirda's denunciations may very well be true, but he does lay it a little thick. Moreover Makhno is similarly always heroic and honest in his actions, with some contradictory moments sprinkled throughout (Makhno's merciful nature is described right before a description of the hanging of a white officer, and Makhno's brilliance as commander being discussed right before he is defeated being two particularly notable examples).

2. While not a huge problem, the structure of the book is a little off as well. Chapters on Makhno's character, his men, and how his unit was structured are given dedicated chapters at the end. Up until then I was feeling as though there was a somewhat lack of detail on Makhno and his anarchists only to realize most of that detail was added to the end. I think it would have been better if those chapters/sections were placed earlier so I could get a better understanding of the events as they were unfolding.

3. I wish there were more specific details on how the anarchist system worked. At one point several "children's communes" are established and I would really like to know what those are! It is however not a bad thing that my mind was piqued by the brief descriptions of what happened and some of the more interesting characters of the period.

Also there is no index!

Overall then, I felt like I was crossing a rickety looking bridge while reading the book. While perhaps it is actually an excellent bridge, I cannot but wonder if it would have collapsed under me as I crossed it. I will need to read more on this particular chapter on the revolution in the future.

[Sugarpunksattack Mick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexandre Skirda's 'Nestor Makhno Anarchy's Cossack: The Struggle for Free Soviets in the Ukraine 1917-1921’ is the essential book to understand the Makhno, the Makhnovist movement, and all the ensuing debates and historical controversies. Skirda is an absolute partisan of Makhno, and anarchism, which is apparent from the very first sentence. Although one might be inclined to dismiss Skirda's book as little more than hagiographical, Skirda's command of the literature and presentation of primary source documents from Makhno's group as well as others (largely antagonistic to Makhno) at least partially protects him from being so easily dismissed.

Although Skirda's focus is undoubtedly on Makhno, the book covers virtually everything one wants to know about Makhno and the movement. Skirda recounts the historical context Makhno bursts into and is happening all around him as he is born during a particularly explosive time. Again, Skirda's framework is anarchist and reads many of the events as other anarchists at the time did (see Emma Goldman), which makes his recounting of the February/October Russian Revolutionary events correct if you're an anarchist, or predictable if you are a Marxist. Skirda covers the Feb/Oct events quickly and focuses more extensively on Makhno's involvement in the civil war. The book provides a fairly detailed account of the civil war explaining the various alliances between Makhno and the red army--why they emerged and why they failed--while disputing many of the unfounded claims that surround Makhno's forces (for example, the unfounded claim that his army was anti-semitic).

Skirda's book is an excellent, dynamic, and comprehensive biography. The book is, however, much more than that given that Skirda engages with primary sources and provides critical appraisal of secondary literature. Likewise, Skirda's provides some original documents from the Makhnovists and very brief biographical notes on many other people who participated in the Makhno movements. I always try to read primary sources and I recommend reading Makhno's three memoir's, but if you limit yourself to only one book on Makhno and the movement, then read this one.

[William Hamm · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there’s one thing to be said about this book, it’s decent narrative history. The bibliography and source list Skirda accumulated in research is immense and should definitely be commended. Unfortunately, I found the overemphasis on the Military history of the Makhnovschina, while glossing over the social history of the makhnovschina and in particular the daily life for peasants in the makhnovschina to be poor. I also was looking for a work with a bit more academic rigor and wished it was denser.

Decent book, especially in regards to Makhno’s life and the military history of the Makhnovschina, but it just wasn’t what I was looking for as a work of history.

[Mische]

so far it pretty much owns

[andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers the life of Nestor Makhno, who was a revolutionary anarchist who opposed the savage oppression that the then-new to power Soviet Union was doing against it's citizens.

[Keir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly dripping if a tad hagiographical.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obvious anti ML, but why wouldn’t it be? Probably worth reading the ML view