The Peasant rebellion of Sorokino,[4] officially called the Kulak Rebellion of Sorokino[2] by the Soviet authorities, was a popular uprising against the Soviet policy of war communism in what is today eastern Altai Krai. After the Russian SFSR's tax policy had effectively destroyed the economic basis of many peasants, they took up arms in order to force the communist government from their lands in early 1921.[7] Centered in the area east of Barnaul and north of Biysk,[2] the peasant rebels, around 5,000–10,000 men strong,[4] rallied around the mottos "For a clean Soviet power" and "Soviets without communists".[4]
Supported by White Army veterans,[1] the peasant rebels formed units, elected commanders and began to fight both the Red Army as well as local pro-government paramilitaries.[8] The exact course of the rebellion is unclear, but the government eventually crushed the uprising,[7] and went on to denounce the rebels as rich Kulaks and bandits.[9] The history of the Sorokino rebellion eventually regained some importance when NKVD Order No. 00447 was implemented in 1937, as many former rebels were again put on trial and convicted,[10] with those identified as insurgent commanders[11] and former White Army officers mostly being executed.[12]
Notes[]
↑The Časti osobogo naznačeniâ (ČON) were paramilitary units that were organized by the RCP(b) to combat counter-revolutionary groups since 1919.[3]
↑Even though Listkov, a former Imperial Russian Army soldier and World War I veteran, reportedly served as rebel commander during the uprising, he was not put on trial until 1938, leaving the actual extent of his activity as insurgent unclear. In that year, he was convicted and executed in course of the NKVD Order No. 00447 purges.[6]
