POLITICAL WORK IN THE SOUTHERN FRONT MILITARY FORCES THROUGHOUT THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR (1918-1920)

Purpose of the study: Recreation of a historically truthful picture, reflecting the role of educational work in the army during the Civil War (1918-1920), which currently continues to be the subject of sharp ideological and scientific discussions. Introduction of previously unknown to the scientific community documents concerning political work in the troops. Generalization of the experience of this work with the aim of shaping the scientific historical consciousness among young people in the context of the modern information struggle. Methodology: The conceptual basis for the study relies on the integral paradigm of historical analysis (introduced by the representatives of the RSSU historical school). It allows not only to compare polar versions of the description of the key problems of the Civil War history to create a multidimensional historical panorama but also to find a consensus between the methodological concepts that guided the development of the national historical science in the Soviet period and the modern paradigms of historical knowledge. Main Findings: 1. The experience of the activities of the political bodies of the Southern Front related educational work in troops during the Civil War has been considered in order to preserve historical heritage. 2. New archival documents, including leaflets that determine the scientific argumentation of the problem, as well as new concepts (“integral paradigm of historical analysis” and “cultural-historiographic space”) have been introduced into the scientific circulation. 3. The main approaches to assessing the events of the Civil War have been defined. Applications of this study: The study can be used in the implementation of various educational programs and projects, scientific and methodological research of problems of national history, as well as training and professional retraining of specialists in the field of history teaching. Novelty/Originality of this study: A holistic picture of the activities of the Red Army political agencies in carrying out party political work in the troops of the Southern Front during the Civil War has been presented. The main forms of cultural, educational and propaganda work carried out among the frontline troops and the enemy forces have been analyzed. An assessment of the effectiveness of the mass political work in the creation and strengthening of the Red Army during the period under study has been given