THE MILITARY POLICY OF THE WHITE REGIMES IN THE DECISIONS OF THE WEST SIBERIAN COMMISSARIAT OF THE PROVISIONAL SIBERIAN GOVERNMENT DURING THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR

The formation and implementation of military policy is of paramount importance in the context of state building. In this regard, it is necessary to note the importance of referring to historical experience in this matter, such as the events of the Russian Civil War. An assessment of the military policy pursued by the anti-Bolshevik forces on the example of the decisions of the West Siberian Commissariat in the context of the process of its formation on the basis of the ideological component of the opponents of the Soviet regime seems to be definitely significant. This will allow us to consider the mechanisms for the formation of military policy as an element of the functioning of the political regime and an instrument that ensures the security of the state. The purpose of the study is to analyze the decisions made by the West Siberian Commissariat of the Provisional Siberian Government on the issues of forming and implementing the military policy, to consider the decisions made by the Commissariat in the context of power structure formation, under the conditions of military–political confrontation in Russia at the turn of the second decade of the XX century. Materials and methods. The main source of the work is archival documents, periodicals and official publications of the West Siberian Commissariat. The research used the methods of content analysis, synthesis and systematization based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, consistency and concreteness. Study results. Taking into account the analysis of historical documents and materials revealing the activities of the West Siberian Commissariat of the Provisional Siberian Government, its decisions in the field of military policy are assessed, its main directions are grouped. The results obtained made it possible to determine the basic principles of the military policy implemented by the West Siberian Commissariat, to point up its consistency and a certain continuity in its content relative to pre-revolutionary foundations. Conclusions. The decisions taken and implemented by the West Siberian Commissariat within the framework of the emerging military policy were aimed at creating an armed force capable of resisting the Soviet power established in the region after October 1917. The West Siberian Commissariat solved the task on the basis of new principles of army formation, which later became the basis to form the main anti-Bolshevik forces in the east of Russia.