During the civil war, many state entities appeared on the fragments of the Russian Empire. Some of them were comparatively viable and existed for decades, and some still exist (Poland, Finland). The life span of others was limited to several months, or even days. One of these state entities that arose on the ruins of the empire was the Far Eastern Republic (FER).
Background to the creation of the DDA
At the beginning of 1920, the situation in the Far East of the former Russian Empire was rather complicated. At that time, it was on this territory that the most important events of the Civil War took place. During the offensive of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA) and internal uprising, the so-called Russian state of Kolchak, with its capital in Omsk, previously controlling most of Siberia and the Far East, collapsed. The remnants of this formation took the name of the Russian Eastern Outskirts and concentrated their forces in eastern Transbaikalia, with a center in the city of Chita under the leadership of Ataman Grigory Semenov.
The uprising supported by the Bolsheviks won in Vladivostok. But the Soviet government was in no hurry to join this region directly to the RSFSR, since there was a threat from a third force in the person of Japan, which officially expressed its neutrality. At the same time, it was increasing its military presence in the region, clearly making it clear that if the Soviet state moved further east, it would openly enter into armed confrontation with the Red Army.
Birth of the Far Eastern Republic
In order to avoid a direct clash between the forces of the Red Army and the Japanese army, having briefly seized power in Irkutsk in January 1920, the Socialist Revolutionary Political Center had already put forward the idea of creating a buffer state in the Far East. Naturally, he assigned himself a leading role in it. The Bolsheviks also liked this idea, but at the head of the new state they saw only the government from among the members of the RCP (b). Under the pressure of superior forces, the Political Center was forced to cede and transfer power in Irkutsk to the Military Revolutionary Committee.
The formation of the Far Eastern Republic as a buffer state was especially zealously endeavored by the chairman of the Irkutsk revolutionary committee, Alexander Krasnoshchekov. To solve the Far Eastern question in March 1920, a special bureau was created at the RCP (B.). In addition to Krasnoshchekov, the most prominent figures of the Dalbyuro were Alexander Shiryamov and Nikolai Goncharov. It was with their active assistance on April 6, 1920, in Verkhneudinsk (now Ulan-Ude), a new state formation was created - the Far Eastern Republic.
People's Revolutionary Army
The creation of the Far Eastern Republic would not have been possible without the active support of Soviet Russia. In May 1920, she officially recognized the new state entity. Soon, the central Moscow government began to provide the Far East with comprehensive assistance, both political and economic. But the main thing at this stage of the development of the state was military support from the RSFSR. This type of assistance consisted, first of all, of creating on the basis of the East Siberian Soviet Army its own armed forces of the Far Eastern Democratic Republic - the People's Revolutionary Army (NRA).
The creation of the buffer state took the bargaining chip from Japan, which officially expressed its neutrality, and it was forced to begin the withdrawal of its formations from the Far East on July 3, 1920. This allowed the NRA to achieve significant success in the fight against hostile forces in the region, and thereby expand the territory of the Far Eastern Republic.
On October 22, Chita was occupied by the forces of the People's Revolutionary Army, hastily abandoned by Ataman Semenov. Soon after, the FER government moved to Verkhneudinsk from the city.
After the Japanese left Khabarovsk, in the fall of 1920, a conference of representatives of the Trans-Baikal, Primorsky and Amur Regions was held in Chita, at which it was decided to join these territories into a single state - the Far Eastern Democratic Republic. Thus, by the end of 1920, the Far Eastern Republic controlled most of the Far East.
DVR device
The Far Eastern Republic during its existence had a different administrative-territorial structure. Initially, it included five regions: Transbaikal, Kamchatka, Sakhalin, Amur and Primorsky.
As for the authorities themselves, at the stage of the formation of statehood, the constituent assembly elected in January 1921 took on the role of the FER management. It adopted the Constitution, according to which the People’s Assembly was considered the highest authority. It was chosen by a general democratic vote. The Constituent Assembly was also appointed by the Government, headed by A. Krasnoshchekov, who was replaced by N. Matveev at the end of 1921.
White Guard rebellion
On January 26, 1921, White Guard forces, with the support of Japan, overthrew the Bolshevik government in Vladivostok and thereby removed the region from the FER. On the territory of the Primorsky region, the so-called Amur Zemsky Territory was formed. As a result of the further offensive of the White forces, Khabarovsk was torn away from the Far East by the end of 1921.
But with the appointment of Blucher as Minister of War, the affairs of the Far Eastern Republic went much better. A counteroffensive was organized, during which the White Guards suffered a severe defeat, lost Khabarovsk, and by the end of October 1922 were completely driven out of the Far East.
The accession of the Far Eastern Republic to the Soviet state
Thus, the Far Eastern Republic (1920 - 1922) fully fulfilled its mission as a buffer state, the formation of which did not give Japan a formal reason to enter into an open armed confrontation with the Red Army. Due to the expulsion of the White Guard troops from the Far East, the further existence of the Far Eastern Democratic Republic became inexpedient. The question arose about joining this state formation to the RSFSR, which was done on November 15, 1922 on the basis of an appeal from the National Assembly. The Far Eastern People’s Republic ceased to exist.