Participation of front-line soldiers in the pogroms of landlord estates in the Tambov Governorate in the first months of 1918

On the basis of various materials, we describe the process of pogroming landlord estates in the Tambov Governorate in the first months of 1918, the role of front-line soldiers in this process. The collapse of the army, the withdrawal of Russia from the First World War, the weakening and collapse of the old state, the unresolved agrarian issue, pushed the peasants to solve the problem of land shortages by force. The agrarian riots of 1917, often instigated by deserters, were a very serious problem for the Provisional Government. In addition, the very phenomenon of the revolution, partly provoked by the lack of land, war and poor living conditions for servicemen, forced them to resort to violent actions. The events in the Tambov village in the first months of 1918 were a continuation of the next stage of the agrarian revolution, which began in 1917. Another surge in the pogrom movement was associated with the massive return from the front of soldiers called up from the ranks of the peasants. The “democratic organs” of the province, which remained in the leadership of the region until March 1918, tried to resist the pogroms, but did not have the strength to do so. The Bolsheviks who came to power in early 1918 could not resolutely suppress the pogroms, for they had to rely on former soldiers as allies in the struggle for Soviet power in the countryside.