Black Guards () were armed groups of workers formed after the February Revolution and before the final Bolshevik suppression of other left-wing groups. They were the main strike force of the anarchists. They were created in the Summer of 1917 in Ukraine by Maria Nikiforova, and expanded in January 1918 to Moscow, under the control of anarchists at industrial enterprises by Factory and Plant Committees and by Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups cells.
History
Origin
Russian anarchists opposed the creation of a regular Red Army with the call "To arms!" and the widespread organization of rebel committees with the aim of total arming of the populace. The anarchist press of Petrograd, Moscow and other large centers carried out massive agitation with the aim of creating free fighting squads of the "Black Guard". As the newspaper Burevestnik, the organ of the Petrograd Federation, wrote:
Maria Nikiforova organized the Black Guards' first unit. Nikiforova, often known by her nickname Marusya, was a Ukrainian anarchist organiser who put together the first Black Guards cell in the city of Alexandrovsk in Ukraine. Nikiforova started the first Black Guards cell in an attempt to force land reform and wealth redistribution to fruition. Nikiforova, a self-proclaimed terrorist, directed her unit of Black Guards to terrorize the Alexandrovsk local government in order to achieve the political change she desired. Later similar cells were established by Nestor Makhno throughout other portions of Ukraine. Makhno, during the revolution, seized land and distributed wealth among the peasants.
The strength of the Black Guard quickly grew, which was noted, in particular, by the Deputy Chairman of the Cheka Jēkabs Peterss. In addition, by March 1918, anarchists controlled 25 mansions in Moscow, and some of them were located near strategically important points of the city. Since the relations between the allies in the revolutionary camp, the Bolsheviks and the anarchists, were gradually aggravated, they prepared for future clashes. According to the Cheka, an anarchist action against the Bolsheviks was scheduled for April 18, and therefore it was decided to launch a preemptive strike, disarming the Black Guard units.
Suppression in Russia
On the night of April 11, 1918, Felix Dzerzhinsky, director of the Cheka, had a force of approximately 5,000 Soviet troops attack the anarchist headquarters in Moscow. Anarchists returned fire, with the help of artillery, but the Bolsheviks suppressed resistance on Donskaya Street and entered into a firefight on Povarskaya Street. The last stronghold of the Black Guard was the Zeitlin mansion, which was taken by 12 noon, and in general, the fighting between the forces of the Cheka and the anarchists stopped by 2 PM. As a result of this operation, the Bolsheviks killed 40 anarchists, some of whom were shot on the spot. In addition, 10 to 12 security officers and soldiers were killed in the fighting.
Recalling these events, the Russian anarchist Vsevolod Volin wrote in his book The Unknown Revolution:
After the defeat of the Black Guard in Moscow, a search was carried out of the mansions seized from the anarchists, in some of which gold was found. The Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups was accused of having links with criminals and about 500 people were arrested. At the same time, Dzerzhinsky, commenting on what happened, noted: