Sources on the military activities of B.P. Rezukhin, the participant of the White Movement in the East of Russia, before the Civil War

Abstract

The article analyzes the identified set of sources, which record the information on the military activities of B.P. Rezukhin, an associate of Baron R.F. von Ungern-Sternberg in 1905–1917. The study considers B.P. Rezukhin’s stay in Mongolia and at the fronts of the First World War, highlights the episodes of his activities that have not previously become the object of study in historiography. When evaluating the information on the first stay of B.P. Rezukhin in Mongolia, the author identifies the problematics that have not been reflected in detail in the sources, as, for example, Rezukhin’s service as part of the convoy of the Russian Consulate in Urga. His military service during the First World War is recreated mainly on the basis of the archival sources, which have been introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. When working with those sources, the context of their creation was revealed, the information recorded in them was analyzed, and basing on that, a conclusion was made about Rezukhin’s moral qualities and his commanding abilities. The study resulted in a comprehensive assessment of B.P. Rezukhin as a military figure at different time-periods periods. The most significant impact in shaping him as a commander had his stay in Mongolia in 1911–1914 and participation in the First World War. In Mongolia, Rezukhin gained his first experience in commanding units, got acquainted with the specifics of the region and the Chinese tactics of warfare. Participation in the First World War gave the experience of a partisan detachment command. Those abilities turned out to be useful for him during the Civil War.