ČEĽABINSK – MÁJ/JÚN 1918 (NA ZÁKLADE NOVO SPRÍSTUPNENÝCH DOKUMENTOV Z RUSKÝCH ARCHÍVOV)

In the introduction of the published material, the author states that several significant events are connected with the Czechoslovak voluntary – or as they called themselves – revolutionary army, which only got the legion title later on. This concerned the substantial success of the Czechoslovak Brigade in the battles at Zborov on the 2nd July 1917 and later the battles at Bachmac in March 1918, disarmament in Penza etc. The paper points out that further fate of the Czechoslovak Army in Russia was influenced most significantly by the events taking place in May and June 1918 at the railway station in Chelyabinsk, as well as in the vicinity of this important Ural railway junction. And still, one hundred years after the events, different rumours circulate and unsupported articles and studies are published, even recently in Slovakia. Therefore, it is very important also for the Slovak readers to learn about the latest studies of Russian historians about the facts significantly influencing the fate of Czechoslovak legionnaires in Russia, finally putting straight the false interpretations of the Marxist historiography: supposedly, this was a revolt and start (!) of the civil war in Russia, with the legionnaires intervening in the services of Western imperialists, being ordered to revolt by the Entente, etc. Unfortunately, similar opinions are still being spread and published – even if only based on older literature, without any archival research, without participation at professional conferences (the last one taking place in November 2019 in Prague, also presenting a revelatory contribution on the events in Chelyabinsk based on the materials newly made available from Russian archives.