__NOTOC__ The Don Republic (russian: Донская Республика, later known as the Almighty Don Host, or russian: Всевеликое Войско Донское, ''Vsevelikoye Voysko Donskoye'') was an independent self-proclaimed anti-

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

republic formed by the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Arm ...

on the territory of

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До ...

against another self-proclaimed Don Soviet Republic. The Don Republic existed during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

after the collapse of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

from 1918 to 1920." In April 1918, after the liberation of

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as ...

from control of the Don Soviet Republic, a Don Provisional Government was formed under G. P. Ianov. On 11 May, the "krug for the Salvation of the Don" opened, which organized the anti-Bolshevik war. On 16 May, Krasnov was elected

Ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; Russian: атаман, uk, отаман) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military command ...

. On 17 May, Krasnov presented his "Basic Laws of The All Great Don ''voisko''." Its 50 points included the inviolability of private property and abolished all laws promulgated since the abdication of

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pol ...

. Krasnov also encouraged nationalism. According to

Peter Kenez Peter Kenez (born as Péter Kenéz in 1937) is a historian specializing in Russian and Eastern European history and politics. Life Peter Kenez was born and grew up in Pesterzsébet, Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary . His father was arrested in Mar ...

, "This new preoccupation with the glories of the past allowed the Cossacks to regard the struggle against their enemies as a war of national liberation, not merely one for defending their private interests against their fellow citizens." The Don Republic claimed the territory of the Don region with the city of

as its capital. Administratively, the Don Republic was divided into ten okrugs, covering an area located in the Rostov and

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast (russian: Волгогра́дская о́бласть, ''Volgogradskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region of Southern Russia. Its administrative center is Volgograd. The populat ...

s of

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

and in the Lugansk and

Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...

s of the neighboring Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic. According to

, "Krasnov named Semenov, one of the army officers, 'governor' of Voronezh province (the part that had been liberated) and Colonel Manakin 'governor' of Saratov province." The Don Republic ceased to exist after the Don Cossacks, who formed an essential part of the

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

, were defeated by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in the

. Many of the Russian Cossacks on Don were subjected to the

Decossackization De-Cossackization (Russian: Расказачивание, ''Raskazachivaniye'') was the Bolshevik policy of systematic repressions against Cossacks of the Russian Empire, especially of the Don and the Kuban, between 1919 and 1933 aimed at the ...

in 1919–1921, during the Soviet famine of 1932–33 and because of the repatriation of Cossacks after the Second World War by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, resulting in the eventual disappearance of the Don Cossacks' movement of resistance to the Soviet Union.

Gallery

1918-DonGeography.jpg Всевелико Войско Донское.jpg, Medal of the Great Don Army: Defender of the Free Don.

References

External links

Footages of Don Republic (1918)
{{coord, 47.4167, N, 40.1, E, source:kolossus-ukwiki, display=title History of the Don Cossacks Former republics Former Slavic countries Post–Russian Empire states White movement States and territories established in 1918 States and territories disestablished in 1920 Former countries of the interwar period

Gallery

See also

References

External links