The Tambov Rebellion: Lenin's Peasant War

In 1920, as the Russian Civil War wound down, the peasants of Tambov province rose up against Bolshevik grain requisitions. Led by Alexander Antonov, the Antonovshchina mobilized tens of thousands of fighters, seizing towns and threatening Bolshevik control over the black earth region. This episode explores the uprising's origins in War Communism, the brutal Red Army counterinsurgency commanded by Mikhail Tukhachevsky, the use of chemical weapons and hostage-taking, and the rebellion's legacy as a precursor to later peasant revolts. We discuss how the Tambov Rebellion exposed the deep rift between the Bolsheviks and the peasantry, forcing Lenin to reconsider his economic policies. Names, places, and events include: Alexander Antonov, Tambov, Kirsanov, Kozlov, War Communism, prodrazvyorstka, Tukhachevsky, chemical weapons, concentration camps, amnesty, NEP.

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