Герои или психопаты? [Рец. на кн.: Тепляков А.Г. Красные партизаны на востоке России. 1918-1922: девиации, анархия и террор. М., 2023]
Heroes or Psychopaths? [Rev. on: Teplyakov A.G. Red Partisans in the East of Russia. 1918-1922: Deviations, Anarchy and Terror. Moscow, 2023]

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of the book by Novosibirsk researcher A.G. Teplyakov, the subject of whose research was the phenomenon of the Red Partisan movement in Siberia during the Civil War. The author’s monograph is based on a huge amount of material that he identified in dozens of central and regional archives, periodicals, and memoirs. The author is well acquainted with the historiography of the problem. The main goal of the book was to dismantle the previous attitudes of Soviet historiography, which perceived the partisan movement in Siberia as a heroic phenomenon and glorified the legendary commanders of partisan detachments, calling them heroes of the Civil War. A.G. Teplyakov, on the contrary, views the Red Partisan movement as a purely negative phenomenon; in his opinion, the basis of the partisan detachments were marginal individuals, and their daily activities consisted of robberies and murders; the number of people who became victims of partisans, according to the author, is estimated at tens of thousands. The authors of the review, noting the rich material on which the book is based, his publicistic talent, point out that A.G. Teplyakov was not always able to comply with the principles of scientific objectivity and academic dispassion. Often the historian’s negative pathos is not confirmed by the data of modern historiography. In addition, the reviewers, as negative aspects noticed when reading the book, point to the not entirely academic tone of scientific polemics used by A.G. Teplyakov in disputes with opponents. The authors of the review, while generally positively assessing the book, which has caused serious scientific controversy, expect more restraint from the author when preparing the second edition of the monograph.

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