Antonov uprising in Tambov province

In the pre-revolutionary period, Russia experienced considerable difficulties with food. In 1915, in August, the government fixed the fixed price of bread for purchases. Already in 1916, in December, the developed crisis of the formation of government stocks forced the start of grain distribution. Peasant farms were not able to overpower it. In Tambov province, they demanded a reduction in the amount of supplies.

The seizure of grain from peasants by violent methods led to an uprising in Kozlovsky Uyezd in 1917, in September. The discontent of the peasants quickly spread. For a short period, more than a hundred landlords' estates were burnt. Government organizations unsuccessfully tried to stop the "black redistribution".

The peasantry suffered greatly during the years of the devastating war. Civil war, intervention, crop failures have caused great damage to agriculture. The volume of production decreased in the country seven times. Hunger was increasing among the population. In these conditions, the state introduced a monopoly on the sale of grain, and subsequently, a surplus-appropriation.

The peasants showed resistance to government measures. Massive form of discontent was a sharp decrease in "smell." The fields were sown exactly as much as was necessary for personal consumption. Food resources were sharply reduced in the country. In 1920, the situation became catastrophic, when many regions were struck by drought. In some areas of Tambov province, people found themselves in a desperate situation, on the brink of survival. At the same time, the state did not reduce the level of surplus-appropriation.

The peasants were unhappy not only with the excessively high demands of the government, but also with the way they disposed of the food they had taken. There was not enough storage space, wagons for sending bread. The grain rotted, it was distilled for moonshine, exchanged. In the end, discontent resulted in the insurgency. The Antonov uprising began.

The leader of the movement was an SR. In addition, Antonov served as an assistant to the chief of police in Tambov, and subsequently the chief of police in Kirsanov uyezd.

The uprising of Antonov at first was of an episodic and partisan character. However, the movement gradually spread to other volosts.

Antonovo uprising began in mid-1920. Then the villages Kamenka and Khitrovo refused to give bread, after which they disarmed the squadron.

Antonov's uprising spread with incredible speed. By 1921, the movement, reaching the greatest extent, spread to neighboring counties in the Saratov and Voronezh provinces. In January of the same year, Lunacharskii and Bukharin arrived in Tambov province. Analyzing the situation, they came to the conclusion that the Antonov uprising was an undeniable threat to the existence of the Soviet system. In the circumstances, the Politburo decides to approve the appeal to the Tambov peasants. On February 9, it was announced that the surplus-appropriation was canceled in the province.

In late April, it was decided to liquidate the Antonov gangs. At the same time, it should be noted that by February 21st the rebel movement consisted of about 40,000 soldiers. Subsequently, the number of people began to decline. This is mainly due to the abolition of the surplus-appropriation, as well as the beginning of the decisive actions of the Red Army. By the summer of 1921 the main forces of Antonov had been defeated. In late July, he gave the last order. According to the last order, the fighting detachments were invited to split up and hide in the forests or disperse.

In Russia, all revolutions and insurrections were peasant. When people drove to despair, they made life unbearable, there was a social explosion. Peasant uprisings were always accompanied by bloodshed.