Military Personnel of Rear Garrisons of Siberia in March − October 1917: Experience of Political Participation

The article is devoted to the problem of military personnel participation in the struggle for democratic changes in the garrisons of the Omsk and Irkutsk Military Districts after the February Revolution victory.The study examines the main activity areas of the Soviets as representative bodies of soldiers and officers in the field of resolving a set of problems united by the concept of "military issue", and also identifies mechanisms for involving the contingent of rear garrisons in the socio-political movement.The phenomenon of the army of revolutionary times is characterized and the socio-psychological transformation of military personnel during the period under study is shown.Conclusions are drawn that the struggle of military personnel with the assistance of the Soviets for democratization of the army degenerated into a struggle against the army itself as an institution.Due to the absence of a unified system of Soviets in Siberia and, as a consequence, a unified strategy for revolutionary changes within the garrisons, the decisions taken by the Soviets were often inconsistent and contradictory.The destruction of command unity as the basic principle of the troops internal structure contributed to the loss of controllability of the armed forces contingent and led to a decline in the combat effectiveness of the army and its disintegration.Evaluating the place and role of military personnel of rear garrisons in the revolutionary process development in the provinces, we can say that the soldiers' route to peace after February 1917 lay through the collapse of military discipline and the spread of destructive forms of behavior, which contributed to the country's descent into chaos and anarchy.