One hundred years ago, on January 23 (according to the new style), 1918, the Congress of the front-line Cossacks was assembled in the village of Kamenskaya, which elected the Cossack Military Revolutionary Committee, headed by Fedor Podtelkov and Mikhail Krivoshlykov. It was this committee that proclaimed itself the supreme authority on the Don, recognizing the supremacy of the Moscow Council of People's Commissars. From this moment begins Active participation in the Civil War of the Don Cossacks, which had previously observed "neutrality".

First flashes

As a matter of fact, fighting on the Don began earlier, at the end of 1917. While the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks was celebrating in Petrograd, Ataman Alexei Kaledin said that « The military government, considering such a seizure of power by the Bolsheviks as criminal ... temporarily, until the restoration of the power of the Provisional Government and order in Russia, assumed the full executive state power in the Don region. On October 27 (hereinafter, all dates are in the old style), Kaledin even invited members of the Provisional Government to the Don to organize an armed struggle, and introduced martial law in the region. Supporters of the Soviet government did not agree with this state of affairs, and asked for help from their associates outside the region.

In 1917, the sailors were one of the pillars of the revolution. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Ships arrived in Rostov on November 24 Black Sea Fleet, which arrived revolutionary-minded sailors. Blood has not yet been shed en masse, but the parties have demonstrated their readiness to take decisive action. Kaledin demanded that the ships be withdrawn back, and that the Red Guard detachments created in Rostov be disarmed, but this ultimatum was ignored. At the same time, a political game was going on to pull power over to themselves: on November 26, the Rostov Bolsheviks announced that power in the region was passing into the hands of the Rostov Military Revolutionary Committee.

Thus, two governments arose on the Don, each of which considered only itself legitimate. These days arrived in the region General Kornilov, and the creation of the white Volunteer Army began. The Reds did not sit idle, by December 25, 1917 Antonov-Ovseenko took almost without resistance western part Donetsk basin.

Where the scales will swing depended on the Don Cossacks - however, most of the Cossacks took a wait-and-see attitude.

Elite Troops

It must be admitted that the Cossacks as a whole were faithful to the idea of ​​a monarchy (in addition, they swore personally to the emperor). But after the abdication of the king from the throne, it became unclear who to serve. Neither the Bolsheviks, nor Kaledin and the Provisional Government supported by him, were, from the point of view of the Cossacks, completely legitimate power.

Therefore, the Don Cossacks, who fought on the fronts of the First World War, preferred mainly to remain neutral - and although the Cossack detachments under the command of Chernetsov had already actively shown themselves in suppressing mining uprisings in the neighboring Donbass, the bulk of the Don Cossacks took a wait-and-see attitude. Meanwhile, the personal data of the Cossacks were such that they were able to easily change the entire balance of power on the Don.

“Judge for yourself - according to official data, only the First world war 117 thousand Cossacks were called up, of which a little more than 3 thousand people were killed, and only 170 were captured. At the same time, 37 thousand Cossacks received St. George's crosses for exploits on the battlefield. Only the most elite units of the special forces can boast of such effectiveness of actions, as well as the ratio of achievements and losses today, ”said at the presentation of a photo album dedicated to the participation of the Cossacks in the First World War, doctor historical sciences SSC RAS ​​Andrey Venkov.

The Cossacks showed themselves perfectly on the fronts of the First World War (in the illustration - soldiers of the German and Austrian armies taken prisoner are patrolling, photo from the album Don Cossacks in the First World War). Photo: / Sergey Khoroshavin

However, these people, who had gone through the fire of war, hesitated. Most of the Cossacks did not want to fight. That is why the first attempts to create a Volunteer Army failed. In total, about 5,000 officers, cadets and high school students enrolled in the ranks of the White Guard.

No wonder the Whites on the Don could not resist. By January 28, 1918, the Red detachments occupied Taganrog, February 10 Rostov and February 12 - Novocherkassk. The small detachments of the Volunteer Army could no longer hold back the advance of the Red troops and retreated to the Kuban.

Ataman Alexei Kaledin, who did not receive the support of the front-line Cossacks and did not see the opportunity to stop the Bolshevik detachments, resigned as a military ataman and shot himself.

Subhorunzhy and Ensign

Brave Cossack Fyodor Podtelkov Photo: Wikipedia

The mass involvement of the Don Cossacks in hostilities began after the same Cossack Military Revolutionary Committee, headed by cadet Fyodor Podtelkov And Ensign Mikhail Krivoshlykov.

Podtyolkov was born on the farm Krutovsky farm in the present Volgograd region. Since 1909 - he was in the army, served as an artilleryman in the guards horse artillery. He went through the entire First World War, becoming a consistent supporter of the Bolsheviks by the end of it. Broad-shouldered, tall, with a booming voice, Podtelkov was a born leader, and it is not surprising that it was he who was at the head of the Red Cossacks.

His colleague, Mikhail Krivoshlykov, was of a different type. In the same 1909, when Podtelkov went into the army, Krivoshlykov entered the Donskoy Agricultural School, which he graduated with excellent marks. During his studies, he edited a student newspaper, and after that he worked as an agronomist, studying, in absentia, at the Kiev Commercial Institute. However, when the war began, Krivoshlykov did not escape mobilization. As a person who received some kind of education, he was appointed to the officer position of commander of foot reconnaissance, and then hundreds.

“Being completely invisible before the coup, he began to attract attention in the very first days of the revolution not only by the harshness and extremeness of his judgments, but also by the rude recklessness, the destructive nature of his actions. "Revolutionary" demands in relation to school discipline, attacks against officers and accusing him of "counter-revolutionary", removing him from the walls and beating royal portraits", - these were the speeches of Krivoshlykov," the Cossack magazine Donskaya Volna told about the young officer in 1918.

It was these two who were at the head of the Red Cossacks, and in many respects it was their actions of Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov that led to a mass uprising on the Don, which ended with their death and the tragedy of the entire Don Cossacks.

Brother to brother

The Soviet government, having just established itself on the Don, immediately began to implement its promises, including "land - to the peasants." The trouble was that the main part of the land fund in the region belonged to the Cossacks, and landless peasants could be endowed with allotments only at their expense. The Don Cossacks, to put it mildly, did not like it.

Detachments of the Red Guards did not like the Cossacks. Photo: Wikipedia

The first sparks of rebellions began to flare up, which the Bolsheviks tried to crush by force. Arrests, requisitions, executions began. Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov actively participated in these actions. In addition, Podtelkov stained himself with reprisals against prisoners.

Colonel Vasily Chernetsov became famous for both dashing military operations and punitive actions Photo: Wikipedia

Immediately after the proclamation of the Military Revolutionary Committee, a Cossack detachment was sent to destroy it. Colonel Vasily Chernetsov, however, the Reds managed to break it, and the colonel was captured.

Further, according to the recollections of eyewitnesses, the following happened - “on the way, Podtelkov mocked Chernetsov - Chernetsov was silent. When Podtelkov hit him with a whip, Chernetsov pulled out a small Browning gun from the inner pocket of his sheepskin coat and point-blank ... clicked at Podtelkov, there was no cartridge in the barrel of the pistol - Chernetsov forgot about this, without giving a cartridge from the clip. Podtelkov pulled out his saber, slashed him in the face, and five minutes later the Cossacks rode on, leaving Chernetsov's chopped-up corpse in the steppe.

It was this murder that became the formal reason for the execution of Podtelkov himself, when he, in turn, fell into the hands of the insurgent Cossacks. And it happened already in May of the same year.

The Soviet government started mobilization on the Don, which led to a mass uprising of the Cossacks. The power of the Bolsheviks on the Don collapsed in a matter of days, and the Cossacks made their choice. On May 10, a detachment of Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov was captured. They surrendered almost without a fight, apparently counting on good attitude countrymen, especially since the commanders of the detachments were familiar with each other. However, times have changed Civil War gained momentum, breaking and destroying friendship and family ties. The next day, Podtyolkov and Krivoshlykov were hanged in the Ponomarev village of the village by the verdict of the court of Cossack elders for the execution of the captive Chernetsov. All 78 captured members of his detachment were also shot.

Easter 1918 fell on May 11, and it was on this day that the White Cossacks killed 82 villagers who supported Soviet power. After the execution, in which the leaders of the Red Cossacks Podtelkov and Spiridonov were killed on the Don, a fratricidal war came, and the mass executions carried out by the Cossacks over the Cossacks ceased to surprise anyone. The episode of "Bloody Easter" in 1918 is described in detail in the novel "Quiet Don".

Blazing Don

The end of winter and the spring of 1918 became a turning point and tragic time for the Don, which determined the future place of the Cossacks in history. In February 1914, Ataman Kaledin shot himself, and on February 24 and 25, the Reds first took Rostov, and then Novocherkassk.

On March 23, the Don Soviet Republic was proclaimed by decree of the Don Regional Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK). A month later, the Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Cossacks' Deputies of the new republic opened in Rostov. Fyodor Podtelkov was elected chairman and commissar in charge of military operations.

On the same days, General Lavr Kornilov dies near Ekaterinodar, and the Volunteer Army turns to the Don. The Germans refused to comply with the Brest peace and brought their troops into the Don region, and by May they occupied Rostov.

As early as May 1, in order to mobilize the Cossacks into the revolutionary army in order to fight against the White Cossacks and the Germans, a detachment of one hundred sabers was sent to the Upper Don from the Donsovnarkom. Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov, the head of the Don Revolutionary Committee, were appointed at the head of the mobilization unit.

The capture of Podtelkov

On May 10, in one of the farms, the detachment of Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov was surrounded by white Cossacks. It turned out that the enemies of the revolution were commanded by an old colleague of the commander of the Reds, the Cossack Spiridonov. After dawn, Podtelkov and Spiridonov met face to face on an old mound not far from the farm, and the dismounted Cossacks waited at its foot. After talking, as Spiridonov later said: “about the past,” the commanders dispersed.

In the afternoon there was a short battle, and the demoralized Red Cossacks surrendered to their countrymen, Podtelkov was also captured. For the trial of the apostates, elders were sent to the villages of Krasnokutskaya and Milyutinskaya, who became judges.

Trial of the Red Cossacks

The trial took place at night and without the presence of the defendants. Of the 82 Red Cossacks, 79 were to be shot and one released. Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov, as leaders of the detachment, were going to be hanged. The harsh verdict of the judge was impressed by the centurion Afanasy Popov, who said that the defendants had betrayed the Don and turned their weapons against their own brothers.

The main fault of Fedor Podtelkov for the Cossacks was the murder of the symbol of the Don counter-revolution, Colonel Vasily Chernetsov. According to eyewitnesses, after the wounded Chernetsov was betrayed by his fellow villagers, Podtelkov began to verbally mock him. After a blow to the face with a whip, the colonel could not stand it and tried to shoot Podtelkov with a small Browning pistol, which he hid in a sheepskin coat. The weapon misfired, and Podtelkov cut down Chernetsov, leaving his dead body lying in the steppe.

execution

The execution fell on the Saturday of Bright Week and in pre-revolutionary Russia, and especially on the Don, this holiday was especially revered. On his occasion, no executions were carried out, and the emperor often granted amnesty to prisoners. The Cossacks themselves did not believe in execution either. According to eyewitnesses, villagers from neighboring farms hurried to Ponomarev, fearing that the "podtelkovtsy" and their judge, as a sign of reconciliation and celebration, would drink all the moonshine without them.

However, the court's decision was different. In front of the eyes of the assembled Cossacks and old people, an execution took place, after which there was no turning back. A direct participant in those events, Cossack Alexander Senin, who led the guard that day, described Podtelkov’s behavior as follows: “Of all the dead, Comrade Podtelkov kept himself most staunchly and heroically. On the eve of his death, he asked me to say something. He was allowed. He spoke about the revolution, its significance, that it must win in the end, and he died with words about the revolution. Already with a noose thrown around his neck, Podtelkov shouted: “Only one thing: don’t go back to the old one!”

Sections: Literature

The purpose of the lesson: to show the inevitability of the tragic fate of Grigory Melekhov, the connection of this tragedy with the fate of the country.

Equipment: technological map of the lesson, textbooks, notebooks, the text of the epic novel "Quiet Don" by M.A. Sholokhov, episodes from the film by S.A. Gerasimov "Quiet Flows the Don", color reproductions of the Imperial Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George.

Lesson plan:

1. Organizational moment.
2. Conversation on questions (repetition of the material covered).
3. Learning new material.
4. Summing up.
5. Grading.
6. Homework with an explanation.

DURING THE CLASSES

teacher's word. Announcement of the topic of the lesson.

Students are asked to answer the following questions:

1. Name the genre of the work "Quiet Flows the Don" (Epic novel).
2. List the historical events depicted in the novel (The First World War, the Civil War, the uprising of the Cossacks on the Don).
3. Indicate the name of the village where the events of the novel mainly unfold (Khutor Tatarsky).
4. In what year did Sholokhov receive the Nobel Prize for the novel "Quiet Flows the Don" (1965)
5. What does "Cossack" mean in translation from Turkic? (brave, daring)
6. Why does the author use dialectisms? (To create color)

Learning new material

Teacher's word. Heroes of Sholokhov are simple people, but bright, strong, strong-willed. Grigory Melekhov - main character Romana is a brave, honest, conscientious and truly talented person. He is the Cavalier of St. George, which speaks of the courage and heroism of Melekhov the warrior.

Student message(History of the Imperial Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George).

(Demonstration of color illustrations of the order).

The insignia of the military order, commonly called the "George Cross" was established in 1807 Russian emperor Alexander I. It was intended to reward the lower ranks of the army and navy for feats and courage in wartime. To deserve "Egoriy" was possible only by real courage and fearlessness in battle. It was worn on the chest in front of all medals on a ribbon with equal orange and black stripes in the colors of the Order of St. George. On the front side of the medallion, Saint George was depicted striking a snake with a spear, and on the other side of the medallion, intertwined monograms S. and G.
Among the lower ranks, this was the most honorable and respected award, which was not removed from the chest even during further promotion to the officer rank and, being already in the officer rank, was proudly worn on the chest with other officer awards. The insignia of the military order was the most democratic award for the lower ranks, because. could be awarded regardless of rank, class, and in some cases the recipients were chosen by decision of a meeting of a company or battalion. The lower ranks, awarded the distinction, received a lifetime pension and were exempted from corporal punishment, and also enjoyed a number of benefits due to the status of the order.
Initially, only the lower ranks of the Orthodox faith could receive a distinction, while the rest were awarded medals for courage and zeal. This caused dissatisfaction on the part of the lower ranks, representatives of other faiths, because. any soldier dreamed of having a cross with the image of a warrior on his chest. Since 1844, the insignia of the military order began to be awarded to the lower ranks - non-Christian denominations. Such signs were distinguished by the fact that on the front and back sides in the central medallion was placed the state emblem of Russia - a double-headed eagle.
1st degree - a golden cross on a St. George ribbon with a bow.
2 degree - a golden cross on a St. George ribbon without a bow.
3rd degree - a silver cross on a St. George ribbon with a bow.
4th degree - a silver cross on a St. George ribbon without a bow.

Special rights and benefits of persons awarded the St. George Cross:

- The George Cross has never been removed.
- The widow of the recipient after his death used the money due to him on the cross for another year.
- Cash distributions during the service were carried out as an increase in salary, and after dismissal from active service, as a pension.
- When awarding the St. George Cross of the 4th degree, the next rank complained at the same time.
- Having the St. George Cross, both employees and reserve and retired lower ranks who fell into a crime, were deprived of the St. George Cross only as a matter of court.
- In case of loss or unintentional loss of the St. George Cross by any of the lower ranks, even if it is a reserve or retired, a new cross is issued to him, at the request of the subject authorities, free of charge.

Teacher's word. Grigory is a full cavalier of the Order of St. George's Cross, received an officer's rank. Cossack troops are one of the most combat-ready units of the regular Russian army.

Student's report on the participation of Cossack troops in hostilities.

For the first time, the Don Cossacks began to act jointly with the Russian army during the reign of Ivan 1U. Having mastered the tactical art of the Russian army, the Cossacks developed their own methods of cavalry fighting in battles with the Turks and nomadic peoples. After the suppression of the Bulavin uprising, the tsarist government deprived the Cossacks of many privileges.
During the First World War, the Cossack formations were among the most combat-ready units of the Russian army. Among the Cossacks there were the smallest losses of manpower, for the entire time of hostilities only one banner was lost. The Cossacks were well versed in all types of weapons, they were excellent at dzhigitovka. During the First World War, there was a great shortage of funds, and the government collected donations to the Fatherland Defense Fund. One of these collections was the collection of awards from precious metals to the state fund. Everywhere in the army and navy, lower ranks and officers surrendered their awards of silver and gold. Documents confirming these facts have been preserved in the archives.

teacher's word. Let's see how the hero reacted to military service. A Cossack nicknamed Chubaty teaches Gregory the famous blow that cuts a man in two. Gregory cannot master the technique of this terrible blow in any way.

Question. Why can't Melekhov master this blow?

Episode No. 1. Conversation between Grigory and Chubatoy (book 1, part 3, chapter 12)

- You are strong, but you are a fool to cut. That's how it should be, Chubaty taught, and his saber in an oblique flight hit the target with monstrous force. - Chop the man boldly. He is a soft man, like dough, Chubaty taught, laughing with his eyes. - Don't think how or what. You are a Cossack, your job is to chop without asking, Foul, he is a man ... Evil spirits, stinks on the ground, lives like a toadstool mushroom. You have a liquid heart, but I have a solid one.
“You have a wolf heart, or maybe you don’t have any,” Grigory objected.
Conclusion. Sholokhov uses the antithesis. Chubaty imposes on Grigory his understanding of the war, where there is no mercy, no feeling of compassion. The whole nature of Gregory opposes the cruelty that is behind this blow, the hero feels pain for a person (these are the words of Sholokhov).

teacher's word. Grigory proposes to send the captured officer to headquarters. Chubaty volunteered to escort the prisoner.

Episode No. 2. The capture of an officer (book 1, part 3, chapter 12)

A few minutes later, a horse's head appeared from behind a pine tree. Chubaty rode back.
- Well? .. - the constable jumped in fright. - Missed it?
Waving his whip, Chubaty rode up, dismounted, stretched. - He escaped ... I thought to run away. I cut him down.
"You're lying," shouted Gregory. - Killed for nothing!
- What are you making noise? Do you care? Don't go where you don't have to! Understood? Don't climb! Chubaty repeated sternly.
Pulling the rifle by the belt, Grigory swiftly threw it to his shoulder. His finger jumped, not falling on the trigger, his brown face looked strangely sideways.
- But! the constable shouted menacingly, running up to Grigory.
The shock preceded the shot, and the bullet, upholstering the needles from the pines, sang viscously and loudly. The constable, shoving Grigory in the chest, snatched the rifle from him, only Chubaty did not change his position: he still stood with his leg aside, holding his belt with his left hand.
“I’ll kill you!” Grigory rushed towards him.
- Yes, what are you? Like this? Do you want to go to court, to be shot? Lay down your weapons, the officer yelled, and, pushing Grigory aside, stood between them, swearing his hands with a crucifix.

Question. What is this episode about? Why does Grigory want to kill Chubaty?

Answer. Grigory's attempt to kill Chubaty is an attempt to punish evil.

Conclusion. War as mass murder is not Grigory Melekhov's element. By nature, he is a peaceful person. The tragedy of a man in war is forced murder. Gregory dreams of a house. He says to his brother: “I would have been at home now, I would have flown if I had wings.”

Teacher's word. After the October Revolution, the country split. Many yesterday's friends, fellow soldiers, relatives became on different sides, turned out to be enemies. Each side has its own position, its own, though. But Gregory does not share any of the positions. If the heroes of the novel evaluate what is happening only from the point of view of their own truth, then Grigory thinks on a large scale, in his mind there are other categories: war and peace, life and death. That's why Gregory is sometimes with whites, sometimes with reds. He does not find his truth anywhere.

Episode No. 3 The execution of Chernetsov (book 2, part 5, chapter 12),

Podtelkov, stepping heavily on the fallen snow, approached the prisoners. Chernetsov, who stood in front, looked at him, screwing up his bright, desperate eyes contemptuously. Podtelkov approached him point-blank. He was trembling all over, his unblinking eyes crawling over the pitted snow.
- Gotcha, bastard! - Podtelkov said in a bubbling low voice and took a step back; His cheeks were slashed with a black smile.
- A traitor to the Cossacks! Scoundrel! Traitor! Chernetsov rang through clenched teeth.
Podtelkov shook his head as if dodging slaps. What happened next played out with astonishing speed. It became quiet. The snow creaked distinctly under the boots of Minaev, Krivoshlykov and several other people, who rushed to Podtelkov. But he got ahead of them; he slashed Chernetsov on the head with terrible force. Grigory saw how Chernetsov, trembling, raised his left hand above his head, saw how a severed wrist broke at an angle and the saber soundlessly fell on Chernetsov's thrown back head.
Podtelkov, already lying down, hacked him again, walked away as an aged, overweight marching soldier, wiping the sloping valleys of his checkers, black with blood, as he went.
Grigory tore himself away from the cart, keeping his bloodshot eyes on Podtelkov, quickly hobbled towards him, Minaev grabbed him from behind, wringing his arms, twisting his arms, and took away the revolver.

Question. Why did Gregory want to stand up for the enemies with whom he fought to the death a few hours ago?

Student response. Gregory is against the killing of unarmed prisoners, because. considers it a crime.

teacher's word. Grigory Melekhov decides to leave the Reds and join the Whites.

Episode No. 4. The execution of Podtelkov. Watching an episode from the film by S.A. Gerasimov "Quiet Flows the Don"

Question. Why do you think M.A. Sholokhov placed these two episodes side by side in the novel?

Student response. These two episodes are placed side by side by the author to show wrongness and lawlessness both on the part of the Reds and on the part of the Whites.

Conclusion. Evil begets evil, the flow of violence cannot be stopped.

teacher's word. Gregory's throwing between the Reds and the Whites testifies to the contradiction of his character. When describing the hero, Sholokhov very often uses the technique - antithesis. Peaceful consciousness is opposed to the consciousness of war. The hero wants peace and silence, and all around is war and violence. And this is the tragedy of man, the tragedy of a generation, the tragedy of a people who was drawn into a fratricidal civil war, where there is no place for the observance of the law, there is no place for mercy, where there are no prisoners. It is not the hero who is split in his mind, but the world is torn apart. Guys! Remember the works about the civil war that we studied.

Students response. I. Babel "Letter", "Crossing the Zbruch", M.A. Sholokhov "Mole".

Episode No. 5. A conversation between Grigory and Mikhail Koshevoy in the Melikhovs' house. Viewing frames from the film by S.A. Gerasimov "Quiet Flows the Don"

Mikhail is a friend of Melikhov, they grew up and served together. Michael is married to Gregory's sister.

Question. What cannot Michael forgive a friend of his youth?

Answer. Mikhail cannot forgive Gregory for serving with the Whites.

Question. What thought sounds in the words of Gregory: "If you remember everything, you have to live like wolves."

Student response. A very important thought sounds - reconciliation, unity is necessary.

Conclusion. To live on, you need to forgive each other. But this is also the tragedy of Grigory Melekhov and the hundreds of thousands of Russian people who could not find this reconciliation. Each of the opposing sides had its own truth. Therefore, the ending is tragic: Grigory's family is scattered, his beloved woman dies, the house is devastated, after long ordeals the hero returns home. The whole horror of the civil war lies in the fact that honest, worthy people who passionately love Russia spoke on both sides, but no one wanted to hear the other side, to find common ground for unity and understanding. The tragedy of Gregory lies in the need for truth and the impossibility of achieving it.

Episode No. 6. The death of Aksinya (book 4, part 8, chapter 17)

Aksinya pulled on the reins and, throwing herself back, fell on her side. Grigory managed to support her, otherwise she would have fallen.
- Were you hurt? Where did it go?! Speak now!.. – Grigory asked hoarsely.
She was silent and leaned harder and harder on his arm. As he galloped, clutching her to himself, Grigory gasped and whispered:
- For God's sake! At least a word! Yes, what are you?!
Aksinya died in Grigory's arms shortly before dawn. Consciousness never returned to her. He silently kissed her lips, cold and salty with blood, carefully lowered her onto the grass, stood up. An unknown force pushed him in the chest, and he backed away, fell on his back, but immediately jumped to his feet in fright. And once again he fell, painfully hitting his bare head on a stone. Then, without rising from his knees, he took out a saber from its scabbard and began to dig a grave. The earth was moist and pliable. He was in a hurry, but choking was pressing on his throat, and to make it easier to breathe, he tore his shirt.
He buried his Aksinya in the bright morning light. Already in the grave, he crossed her dead, whitened, swarthy hands on his chest, covered his face with a head scarf so that the earth would not fall asleep her half-open, motionlessly directed to the sky and already beginning to fade eyes, He said goodbye to her, firmly believing that they would part for a short time. …

Question. How does Gregory survive the death of his beloved woman?

Answer. Personal life the protagonist is tragic. With the death of Aksinya comes the realization that the worst tragedy in his life has happened.

Question. What remains for Gregory? Find the answer in the text of the novel.

Student response (Book 4, Part 8, Chapter 17).

Gregory finally returns home, to his father's house, to his native land, takes his son in his arms. Life goes on.

Final word from the teacher. Author's position lies in the fact that it is impossible to achieve the ideal, but this does not mean that one should not strive for it, because we must be responsible to future generations. And when we leave, this heavy burden will fall on your shoulders.

Summarizing, grading.

Homework. Prepare for an essay based on the novel by M.A. Sholokhov "Quiet Don". (Themes for preparation for the composition are announced).

Chernitsov E.P. My grandfather did not shoot at Podtelkov! // Donskoy Vremennik. Year 2008 / Don. state publ. b-ka. Rostov-on-Don, 2007. Issue. 16. P. 117-119..aspx?art_id=626

MY GRANDPA DID NOT SHOT IN PODTYOLKOV!

To the 90th anniversary of the death of V. M. Chernetsov

In the journal Donskoy Vremennik. Year 2006 th ”a search and local history work was published. And in February 2007, we received a letter from the village of Fedorovka, Neklinovsky district. The author of the letter, covering the events of January 1918 in a different way, gives a lot of interesting information about those dramatic days, and we considered it necessary to acquaint the readers of our magazine with this story-response.

I am the grandson of Vasily Mikhailovich Chernetsov, and "memory, my evil lord, torments my sore chest." And therefore it is difficult to remain silent, since the article, like in a good old textbook, reflects the facts of those days of January 1918. Let me make some clarifications.

About the last fight last day Much has been written by V. M. Chernetsov. A lot of fiction, as in the above article.

According to my grandmother, it was like this. It is known that the Don was declared autonomous by Ataman A. M. Kaledin. The Bolsheviks did not want to put up with this state of affairs, especially since they possessed manpower, and there was nothing to take away from the impoverished population of Russia.

What did they bring to the Cossack land? Nothing good. They robbed, raped, ate vodka, played cards, gnawed seeds - there were husks all around - and, of course, a little something was wrong - they rattled weapons and used them on various occasions and without. And who will like it? Especially in such a freedom-loving region as the Don.

These Red Army units invading our lands were opposed by a detachment of partisans under the command of V. M. Chernetsov. Previously, the detachment proved to be glorious deeds: Debaltseve, Zverevo, Likhaya - the stages of its combat way. Today is here, tomorrow is far away. How did they do it? Yes, because the discipline was on high level, looting, drunkenness were suppressed.

Everyone knew their own maneuver, they paid special attention to the technical equipment. Priority was given to machine guns: "Hotchkiss" - very respected. They did not trust the systems of Colt, Shosh, Lewis: they often refused. They were not embarrassed to study, the authority of the chief was at such a height that many would envy. Songs and poems were composed about Chernetsov. And he is small in stature, but strong, with a healthy blush on his cheeks, with an open look, he immediately disposed to himself, especially since he had the glory of an honored officer, sensible. He always emphasized that he knew what he was fighting for, and he was not afraid to die, that he was faithful to the oath. He loved young people, he was young himself - about 28 years old in total.

It is said that he had many officers in the detachment. Yes it is. But that they were yesterday's high school students, cadets, students, etc., are silent. In battle, they knew no fear, so Chernetsov generously appropriated them officer ranks. There were, of course, the Cossacks, the backbone of the detachment. They taught the youth what they themselves had been taught from childhood by their elders. There were also competitions for the best in the profession - hence the success.

Intelligence reported that after the arrival of the Red Guard echelons at Glubokaya station, endless rallies were held there, in the order of things - drinking, turning into excesses. To have some idea of ​​that time, imagine that the drunks were given weapons. And the population of those years lived in such an environment every day.

After two shots from the gun, all this drunkenness fled, because they were useless warriors.

The outcome of the battle was already predictable. But ... how sometimes this “but” changes a lot! So then. The fact is that in the neighboring echelons there was cavalry under the command of the military foreman Golubov, an experienced warrior, brave to the point of madness, an honored officer, an ambitious, adventurer in character, sixteen times wounded in battle. His cherished goal was to seize the ataman power. It was the Red Guard commanders who begged Golubov to save the situation.

Chernetsov immediately noticed that the situation on the battlefield was changing, as the Cossack units entered the battle against him. And the whole point was that Ataman Kaledin, admonishing Chernetsov, ordered: do not engage in battle with the Cossacks! You need to know Colonel Chernetsov, he would have carried out this order at any cost.

Parliamentarians were appointed and negotiations began with the Cossacks, mind you: only with the Cossack units. The fight was stopped on both sides. On horseback, since he had a wound in the foot, Chernetsov rode out to meet Golubov. They reached an agreement on a ceasefire. Chernetsov briefed Golubov on the ataman's order. They wrote a note to General Usachev, commander of the troops fighting in the Donetsk district: “1918, January 21, I, Chernetsov, was taken prisoner with a detachment. In order to avoid completely unnecessary bloodshed, I ask you not to advance. We are guaranteed against lynching by the word of the entire detachment and the military foreman Golubov. Colonel Chernetsov. Under the signature of Chernetsov there is also the signature of Golubov: “Military foreman N. Golubov. 1918, January 21.

With this note, General Usachev was sent as a delegate to the constable Vyryakov.

This note is still kept in the GARO.

The Cossacks of Golubov forced the Red Guards to clear the Glubokaya station and escorted their echelons towards Millerovo. Therefore, the units of General Usachev did not find anyone at the Glubokaya station - it was empty.

And then events developed like this. Podtelkov and his committee members did not like the position and order of Golubov. They learned that Chernetsov's detachment was being escorted to the Astakhov farm to be handed over to units loyal to Ataman Kaledin. This did not suit Podtelkov very much, he had a plan of reprisal against the Chernetsovites. As I wrote, Chernetsov was fully armed, even with orders, and his thirty people - loyal to him vigilantes - walked on foot, carrying machine guns, though without cartridges. Podtelkov, although this was not part of his function, decided to be accompanied.

A few words about the cadet F. G. Podtelkov. In the article about him only laudatory reviews. He fought well in World War I. But then he broke off the chain. Possessing great physical strength, he could force himself to listen to someone who was weaker. And he loved to talk. A drunkard, and most importantly, a mentally ill, ambitious and liar, as they would say now. He loved seeds very much, he was always in the husk. Unclean at hand, he did not hesitate to use the regimental cash desk for selfish purposes. So, he spent money on his election to the committee and, of course, on vodka and moonshine. At all times, elders were greatly respected on the Don - this was the law. But not for people like Podtelkov. An example of this is his meeting with Ataman Kaledin, a respected man on the Don, and not only on the Don. After all, Kaledin was the second checker in the Russian Empire, he was the first ataman, popularly, according to all the rules, chosen by the Circle, he was a general from the cavalry, and, last but not least, he was the matchmaker of Podtelkov, that is, the closest relative.

Truly they say: from rags to riches. Podkhorunzhy behaved defiantly in the ataman's palace on January 15, 1918 - as if power had already passed into the hands of the Military Revolutionary Committee. Kaledin compromised at the meeting, but he rejected all reasonable proposals of the ataman, demanding the transfer of all power into his own hands. In April 1918, Podtelkov was elected chairman of the Council people's commissars Don Soviet Republic. During a punitive expedition to the north of the Don region, his echelon will be broken up at the Belaya Kalitva station; the survivors will transfer to carts and move to the north of the region. The path will be accompanied by looting, violence, drunkenness, beatings, executions...

On May 10, the expedition was taken prisoner by the insurgent Cossacks. 78 members of the expedition were shot by a court verdict, and two of them, Podtelkov and Krivoshlykov, were sentenced "for special merits" to be hanged. Such an honor has always been awarded to absolutely hated "copies". In an old photo, you can see them keeping their hands in their pockets to hold up their trousers, as the buttons have been cut off. It can be seen that they were not mocked - they look quite tolerable. Moreover, the old people of the Ponomarev farm themselves carried out the sentence of the court. This is where history has come to an end. And in 1962, an 11-meter bronze monument by the Rostov sculptor B. Usachev was erected on this site. For what merit? Apparently, for having managed to unleash a civil war on the Don. So someone needed it. The answer can be obtained from Y. Sverdlov's secret directive on universal decossackization. Something Podtyolkov would have been happy if he had survived.

In the 60s, I specifically chose the city of Belaya Kalitva as a place of residence and work - very close to the place where the described event took place. I had to travel, talk to people. Some even remembered those events, and no one defended Podtyolkov. Again, I changed my place of residence and work - albeit only for a year - in order to be closer to the events in the city of Makeevka, where my grandfather served as a military commander. And there he was not a punisher, as he is described in the literature of the Soviet era. They emphasized to me that he did not shoot anyone, did not hang anyone, but poured Cossack whips on someone. People thanked him for putting things in order on the streets, otherwise it was impossible to get out. Therefore, they write one thing, but there is nothing to confirm, since the grandfather was an honest officer, devoted to the oath until the end of his days.

But I will return to the scene on January 21st. It's all a lie that the grandfather pulled out a hidden revolver, which misfired when the grandfather wanted to shoot Podtyolkov. He didn't hide anything. There was absolutely no need for grandfather to shoot at someone. Otherwise, they could be accused of attacking a Cossack, which means that he would not have complied with the order of the ataman. Chernetsov knew this for sure and coolly (and he possessed restraint) did not respond to the antics of Podtelkov, who was only looking for an excuse; although he waved his saber over his grandfather's head, threatening to hack him to death, the grandfather did not use weapons. Then Podtyolkov, seeing that Chernetsov was ignoring threats, decided to act. With a blow from behind, he cut his grandfather on the left shoulder and, when he fell from the horse, inflicted eight more stab wounds on him. In the meantime, Podtyolkov's henchmen began to shoot Chernetsov residents. At dusk, some managed to escape.

In order to dismiss suspicions of arbitrariness from himself, Podtelkov brought to light the eternal excuse of the executioners that, they say, he himself almost became a victim, since Colonel Chernetsov wanted to shoot him. This is from that opera when they say that they were killed, they say, while trying to escape. In the future, this will not apply.

Golubov, when he found out about what had happened, called Podtyolkov a scoundrel.

At the cost of his life, at the cost of the lives of his warriors, Chernetsov, as far as he could, put off the arrival of the Red Guards in Novocherkassk. His body was in the steppe for a day, and after it was found, they buried it in the cemetery of the Astakhov farm according to the Christian rite. Not for long walked, sowing death, the Bolsheviks-podtelkovtsy. The Cossacks rose up for their rights. Many then changed their minds, God be their judge.

The body of Chernetsov, as a recognized hero, was reburied at the Novocherkassk cemetery. At that time, Ataman Kaledin, Chernetsov, Ataman Bogaevsky, Ataman General Nazarov, General Alekseev were lying in one fence, and the grave of L. Kornilov was purely symbolic. Arriving again on the Don, the Bolsheviks destroyed the burial. Now nobody knows where it was...

Yes, many at that Time of Troubles didn't know what they were doing. They are the monuments of reconciliation. As for my grandfather, I will say: "Hallowed be thy name."

When the number was being drawn up, a message came from the author: on November 28, 2007, in the village of Kalitvenskaya, at the Council of Atamans of the All-Great Army of the Don, Astrakhan, Voronezh and Volgograd regions, it was decided to erect monuments to the partisan hero Vasily Mikhailovich Chernetsov in the village of Kalitvenskaya and at the place of death near the Astakhov farm ( both settlements in the Kamensky region).

vladimir kalashnikov

Tragedy of the Quiet Don

Recently shown on the Rossiya TV channel, Sergei Ursulyak's new film Quiet Flows the Don, based on the novel by Mikhail Sholokhov, brings us back to the events of the Civil War, reminding us of its enormous cost and the importance of preserving civil peace and harmony.

For Russia today, this is a hot topic. It is no coincidence that it became central to Vladimir Putin's recent presidential address. But appeals alone cannot ensure civil accord: this is what the lessons of the history of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century speak about.

About the film and novel

The Quiet Flows the Don is the most amazing novel about the Civil War, and I decided in advance to see how a modern director would present it to a modern audience. There was a fear that Sergei Ursulyak would pay tribute to the political situation and lay the blame for the fratricidal conflict on the Bolsheviks, thereby distorting the essence of the novel.

The motive of the Bolsheviks' guilt is present in the film, but presented with a counterweight. The two figures represent the extremes of the conflict. On the one hand, this is Mishka Koshevoy, who kills the surrendered Pyotr Melekhov, the harmless deep old man Korshunov, and then burns down the houses of wealthy Cossacks. The director draws the viewer's attention to the image of Koshevoy with a burning torch in his hand in the center of the burning houses. On the other hand, this is Mitka Korshunov, the son of the first rich man on the Tatarsky farm, who brutally kills the Koshevoy family (mother and small children). The cruelty of these acts cannot be justified. The leitmotif of the film: an emotional condemnation of the Civil War, which brings grief to everyone.

In Sholokhov's novel, this idea is central, but it is presented in a context that is absent in Ursulyak's film.

The writer's intention is not simple and unambiguous. He is on the side of the Reds, but he showed the tragedy of the Don from the Cossack side, separating the Cossacks from the Whites, and the Cossack worker from the Cossack elite. The novel was written for its time and for its reader. Many readers participated in the Civil War and saw in the Don Cossacks those who for the most part were on the other side of the front. And so it was. In the summer - autumn of 1918, about 20% of the Don Cossacks fought for the Reds, the rest - for the Whites. And on the Don, most of the Reds and Whites died.

Sholokhov did not want to justify, but to explain and arouse sympathy for ordinary Cossacks who fell into the epicenter of the Civil War.

And that was hard to do. Anti-Cossack sentiments had deep roots. In Russia, they remembered 1905, when the Cossacks acted as guardsmen: they beat striking workers with whips, flogged and shot peasants who rebelled against the landowners. They also remembered the events of the summer-autumn of 1917, when almost all Cossack regiments were used to fight the peasant "unrest" in the rear and the "unrest" of the soldier units at the front. The peasants of the southern provinces of Russia remembered especially well the robberies and violence that the Cossacks carried out during each offensive in 1918 and 1919. Knowing this, Sholokhov wanted to show that the war was terrible for the Cossacks, that the Reds on the Don also committed violence. Often the writer portrayed the Reds in a more unattractive light than the Cossacks, trying to balance the active anti-Cossack propaganda. The sources used by the writer also played their role: the Don newspapers and magazines of that time, the stories of the Cossacks, diaries and memoirs of the Don intelligentsia.

Sholokhov's idea gave rise to criticism of the writer and difficulties in publishing the third volume of the novel. It was published only after a direct order from Stalin, who considered that, on the whole, the novel "works for us, for the revolution." And for that time and that mass reader, Stalin was right.

Ursulyak's film was created in an era when many viewers did not read Sholokhov's novel, little is known about the events of the Civil War, and the sources of this knowledge can be very different. Unlike the novel, the general historical background in the film is given sparingly, and the actions of the film's characters stem from local events and are motivated by them.

In such a situation, individual episodes from Sholokhov's novel, reproduced in the film, no longer give the effect that Stalin was counting on. Rather, for many viewers, the effect was the opposite. It is no coincidence that many representatives of the older generation rated Ursulyak's film as a direct distortion of the essence of the novel, as the implementation of a social order. One can agree with this and one can argue.

Our task is different - to show some important features of the era against which the events of the novel and film unfolded. Perhaps this will allow us to more objectively evaluate what we saw on the screen.

About Don land:
Cossacks and peasants

The main conflict on the Don lay not within the Cossack estate, but between the Cossacks and the peasants. The intra-Cossack conflict was secondary, less acute, which forced many Cossacks to rush from side to side, as shown in the image of Grigory Melekhov. In the film, the peasants are mentioned, but briefly, they remain, as it were, outside the brackets. But without showing the peasant truth, the Cossack truth becomes one-sided.

It boils down to the monologue of the wealthy Miron Korshunov that he has worked all his life and does not want to be equated with "what finger he did not stir to get out of need." But what about those who worked even harder than Miron, but did not come out of need? After all, there were most of them on the Don.

By 1917, the Cossacks accounted for approximately 43% of the population of the Don region (1.5 million out of 4 million), but the male soul of the Cossacks accounted for an average of 12.8 acres of arable and other land. Don native peasants (0.9 million, former serfs of local landowners) had 1.25 acres of land per male soul. The so-called out-of-town peasants (1.12 million people who arrived in the Don after the abolition of serfdom in 1861) had almost no land, rented it or worked as farm laborers (0.06 acres of their own and rented land per male soul). The Don Army owned 83.5% of all land in the region, while indigenous and nonresident peasants owned only 10% of the land.

Among the Cossacks, the middle peasants dominated - 51.6% of households. The wealthy accounted for 23.8%, the poor - 24.6%.

After February Revolution the Russian peasantry, including the Don, came out for an equalizing redistribution of all land. Seeing this danger, the Cossack congress of the Region of the Don Cossacks already in April 1917 considered plans to allocate land to the indigenous peasants at the expense of the landlords, who owned about 1 million acres on the Don, as well as plans to transfer part of the reserve land to the peasants (2 million dess.). These plans did not remove the problems of out-of-towners and, moreover, remained on paper. The Cossacks were in no hurry to give up the land. Taking into account military force It was clear to the Cossacks that the land issue on the Don was fraught with a bloody war.

Lenin, realizing this, already in the Decree on Land proposed a compromise, adding the last line to the Socialist-Revolutionary project, drawn up on the basis of peasant mandates: "the land ... of ordinary Cossacks will not be confiscated." It was a course to carry out an agrarian reform in the Don only at the expense of withdrawing surplus land from the rich Cossacks and thereby avoiding war.

Ataman Kaledin

However, the proposed compromise was not suitable for the Cossack elite. The issue of land in the film is discussed in the dialogue between Gregory and his father. The son says that the indigenous peasants should be given land. The father is categorically against it. It is clear that it was not Pantelei Melekhov who started the Civil War. It was started by the Cossack elite, having made the middle peasants hostages of their policy. The position of the Cossack leaders is an important starting point of the tragedy. This theme is almost non-existent in the film.

And it was like that. After October, the Don ataman Kaledin immediately announced his refusal to recognize the power of the Soviets and declared the Don region independent until the formation of a legitimate government in Russia, acceptable to the Cossacks. Ataman tried to send several Cossack regiments to Moscow, but ordinary Cossacks did not want to fight the Soviet authorities.

Seeing the position of the Cossacks, at the end of November, the workers of Rostov and the mining villages of the Eastern Donbass proclaimed Soviet power. The Cossacks refused to go to Rostov. Kaledin received help from General M. V. Alekseev, the former commander-in-chief of the Russian army, who came to the Don to raise an army and lead it to Moscow and St. Petersburg. About 500 officers and junkers, who came to the Don at the call of Alekseev, defeated the workers of Rostov, shooting 62 captured Red Guard workers. In December, the Kaledinians shot 73 captive miners of the Yasinovsky mine, who were trying to defend their Soviet. These were the first mass executions on the Don.

Petrograd sent troops to the Don to crush the Kaledin counter-revolution. The Alekseyevites again came to the aid of Kaledin, who were now led by General L. Kornilov. Alekseevskaya organization grew to 3 thousand and became known as " Volunteer army". In the battles near Rostov, Kornilov issued an order: do not take prisoners, which led to a further increase in mutual bitterness. Cruelty did not help, and Kornilov, fleeing from complete defeat, left Rostov at the end of January and took his detachment to the Kuban, where he died during the unsuccessful assault on Yekaterinodar. The Kornilovites are not shown in the film.

Detachments of the Cossack intelligentsia also stood up to defend Kaledin's power, of which the detachment of Yesaul V. M. Chernetsov stood out, consisting mainly of Don junkers and students. On January 17, 1918, Chernetsov's detachment attacked the village of Kamenskaya, where the Donrevkom, which was created by the congress of front-line Cossacks as an alternative to the government of Kaledin, met. Kaledin entered into negotiations with the Donrevkom, and he himself secretly sent a detachment of Chernetsov to Kamenskaya. In these January days, the Chernetsov detachment and the companies of Kornilov officers sent to help shot more than 300 Red Army soldiers who were captured during the fighting. However, on January 21, Chernetsov's detachment was defeated.

On January 29, 1918, ataman Kaledin, having discovered that only 147 Cossacks were ready to defend his government, shot himself.

Soon Soviet power was established on the Don.

Chernetsov and Podtelkov

Let's return to the novel and the film and see how they reflect the events of the Kaledin period. In the novel, Sholokhov told that it was Kaledin who sent the Cossacks and Alekseevites to smash the workers of Rostov and the Soviets in the mining settlements, and then against this background he reproduced the version that the Don newspapers reported on the anniversary of the death of the Chernetsov detachment. Then the whites dominated the Don, and a solemn reburial of Chernetsov was arranged. According to this version, the chairman of the Donrevkom, F. Podtelkov, as Denikin later wrote, “after wild abuses brutally hacked to death Chernetsov” and ordered 40 officers of his detachment to be hacked to death. No other details were given. Sholokhov invented the whole tragic scene described in the novel, trying to show the cruelty of the Civil War.

Ursulyak reproduced this episode exactly after Sholokhov and made it central in the series, which falls on the Kaledin period.

And in the next series, the execution of Podtelkov and his detachment is presented as retribution for the murder of Chernetsov and his officers. Grigory Melekhov directly says this to Podtelkov.

However, the real circumstances of Chernetsov's death were different. Residents of Chernetsov wrote about them in exile, many of whom, it turns out, survived. Three dozen captured Chernetsovites, sent to the rear, escorted by a small convoy, were able to escape from the confused convoy due to the unexpected appearance of an armored train. 15 people reached their own that same night, 5 were captured by a convoy and taken to the village. The fate of the rest is unknown. Chernetsov fled, but was soon extradited and again fell into the hands of Podtelkov. During his arrest, he was not searched, and at a convenient moment Chernetsov drew a small pistol and fired point-blank at Podtelkov. But there was a misfire or there was no cartridge in the barrel of the gun. Podtelkov drew his saber and hacked at Chernetsov without waiting for the second shot. And the head of the Donrevkom did not give orders to hack the captured Chernetsovites.

Against this background, the execution of Podtelkov does not look like a well-deserved retribution for the massacre of 40 captured officers, which was not.

Having made the episode with the massacre of the Chernetsovites central, the director wittingly or unwittingly laid the blame for the beginning of the terror not on the Kaledinians, but on the Red Cossacks.

Sholokhov does not have such an emphasis, although he does not relieve Podtelkov of responsibility for the executions of active Kaledinites, which were carried out in Rostov and Novocherkassk in February immediately after they were captured by the Reds. But this was revenge for the executed captured Red Guards, workers and miners.

* * *

The fight against Kaledin was the sharpest and longest phase of the civil confrontation that took place in Russia from October 1917 to the spring of 1918. In other regions, Soviet power was established peacefully or with little resistance from its opponents.

After the capture of Rostov by the Reds, Lenin believed that the Civil War in Russia was over.

There was hope that peace would also be established on the Don, although the greatest bloodshed had already been shed there.

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