Illusions siberiennes : l'echec du gouvernement koltchak novembre 1918-janvier 1920

Siberian illusions the failure of kolchak government november 1918-january 1920

• Auteur / Autrice : Virginie Coulloudon
• Direction : Alain Besançon
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Histoire
• Date : Soutenance en 1997
• Etablissement(s) : Paris, EHESS

Mots clés

Mots clés libres

Koltchac, aleksandr vassilievitch (1870-1920)

Résumé

Le 18 novembre 1918, les membres du parti constitutionnel-democrate (k. D. ) s'associent a plusieurs atamans cosaques et a une poignee d'officiers monarchistes pour renverser le gouvernement russe provisoire issu d'un compromis entre les partis politiques non-bolcheviques. Choisi pour sa fermete, l'amiral koltchak est nomme ''gouverneur supreme'' de russie ; propulse a la tete des armees blanches, il se donne comme objectif de renverser le pouvoir bolchevique. Ecartele entre des interets divergents, alexandre koltchak ne parviendra pourtant pas a se maintenir au pouvoir plus de treize mois. Durant tout son regne. Alexandre koltchak est reste attache a une vision traditionnelle de l'etat. Outre l'elimination des bolcheviks, les priorites de sa politique se resume a maintenir l'empire russe dans ses frontieres d'avant-guerre. Il se desinteresse de la gestion quotidienne de la siberie et, plus encore, des disettes que connaissent les villes et les campagnes. Persuade que toute guerre -fut-elle civile- se gagne avec des duels d'artillerie, l'amiral koltchak se concentre sur le front des operations militaires et ignore ce que lenine qualifie de ''front interieur''. Il perd rapidement l'avantage sur le terrain militaire, comme sur le front politique. Il est bientot contraint de subir le cours des evenements et n'adopte plus desormais qu'une politique defensive. Les raisons de la defaite de l'amiral koltchak resident en grande partie dans son etat d'esprit, celui d'un officier qui considere que rechercher un compromis est un signe de lachete, celui d'un esprit exalte qui confond le destin de la nation avec sa propre destinee. Basee sur de nombreux documents d'archive, cette these vise a offrir de nouvelles cles pour la comprehension de ce personnage enigmatique.

On the 18th of november, 1918, prominent constitutional-democrats (kadets) as well as numerous cossack atamans (warlords) and monarchist officers overthrew the provisional russian government which had been established in ufa as a result of a compromise between non-bolshevik political parties. Admiral kolchak was chosen for his firmness and proclaimed himself the ''supreme ruler'' of russia. Propelled by the events to lead the armies of the whites, he posed himself a task to overthrow the bolshevik power. Torn apart by the divergent interests, kolchak's regime failed to stay in power for more than thirteen months. During his entire rule, alexander kolchak remained devoted to the traditional comprehension of the state. In addition to the elimination of the bolsheviks, the priority of his policy was to restore the russian empire in its borders before the war. He was not interested in the day-to-day matters of government of siberia and even less was he interested in the hunger which was present in the villages and towns. Convinced that any war -even the civil war- can only be won in the artillery duels, admiral kolchak concentrated on the military operations at the front and ignored what lenin called the ''internal front''. Kolchak quickly lost the advantage he had in military operations as well as at the political front. As a result, kolchak submitted himself to the course of the events and adopted increasingly a defensive policy. The causes for the defeat of admiral kolchak can be found to a great extent in his worldview of an officer who considered searching for a compromise as a sign of cowardice. It was an exalted worldview which confused the destiny of the nation with his own destiny. Based on numerous documents from the russian archives, this thesis attempts to offer clues for understanding this enigmatic personality.