Image of the Soviet Authorities in the Perception of the Siberian Peasants during the Russian Civil War and the Period of New Economic Policy

Abstract

The article explores the ideas of the Siberian peasantry regarding Soviet authorities during the Russian Civil War and the Period of Implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP). The importance of this issue lies in the fact that the population’s perception of the governing bodies plays a significant role in the life of any society since it influences  the political sentiments and the behavior of different social groups. However, this topic has not been extensively studied by Russian or international historiography. The research is based on a wide range of official documents, including newly discovered ones, produced by various Communist Party (Bolsheviks) bodies, the Joint State Political Directorate, and letters from ordinary people to authorities. The authors of the article analyze how different categories of Siberian peasants imagined the Soviet power vertical, what factors and how influenced formation and transformation of ideas about authorities during the Russian Civil War and NEP period. The article concludes by arguing that different social groups of the Siberian peasantry had different perceptions of Soviet authorities, which did not remain unchanged but varied over time. From the end of 1917 until the end of 1919, ideas about the Soviet authorities arose mainly independently, without significant external influence. The situation changed after the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The government’s policies and practices of implementation were the determining factors that shaped the image of the Soviet authorities throughout the 1920s