Английская Википедия:Halyna Kuzmenko

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Use dmy Шаблон:Infobox person Шаблон:Anarcha-feminism sidebar Agafya "Halyna" Andriivna Kuzmenko (Шаблон:Lang-ukr; 1897–1978) was a Ukrainian teacher and anarchist revolutionary. After moving to southern Ukraine, she became a prominent figure within the ranks of the Makhnovshchina, a mass movement to establish a libertarian communist society. Kuzmenko spearheaded the movement's educational activities, promoted Ukrainization and acted as an outspoken advocate of women's rights. Along with her husband, the anarchist military leader Nestor Makhno, in 1921 she fled into exile from the political repression in Ukraine. While imprisoned for subversive activities in Poland, she gave birth to her daughter Elena Mikhnenko, whom she brought with her to Paris. Following the death of her husband, the outbreak of World War II saw her deportation for forced labour, first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets. After her release, she spent her final days with her daughter in Kazakh SSR.

Biography

On Шаблон:OldStyleDateDY, Agafya Andriivna Kuzmenko, later known as Halyna Andriivna Kuzmenko, was born in Kyiv.Шаблон:Sfn After her birth, her parents moved to the village of Шаблон:Ill, in the Elisavetgrad Raion of the Kherson Governorate (now Kirovohrad Oblast).Шаблон:Sfnm Her father, a former farmer,Шаблон:Sfnm worked for Southwestern Railways,Шаблон:Sfnm before returning to farming when Halyna was 10 years old.Шаблон:Sfn In 1916, Kuzmenko graduated from the Women Teachers Seminary in DobrovelychkivkaШаблон:Sfnm and was subsequently appointed to a primary school in the small southern Ukrainian village of Huliaipole,Шаблон:Sfnm where she taught the history of Ukraine and the Ukrainian language,Шаблон:Sfnm as part of the newly-established Ukrainian State's curriculum.Шаблон:Sfn

Revolutionary activities

Шаблон:Stack One of Kuzmenko's friend had warned her against going to Huliaipole, citing stories of a "bandit by the name of Makhno".Шаблон:Sfn In the spring of 1919, she met this Nestor Makhno and began a romantic relationship with him.Шаблон:Sfn By the summer of 1919, she had become his wife.Шаблон:Sfnm Some accounts claim that their wedding was held at a church in Kuzmenko's hometown of Pishchanyi Brid, although Kuzmenko later denied that they ever had a church wedding.Шаблон:Sfnm Like her new husband, who was commonly known throughout southern Ukraine as Batko (Шаблон:Lang-en), Kuzmenko was also bestowed an honorific: Matushka (Шаблон:Lang-en).Шаблон:Sfn

Thereafter she became a leading participant in the Makhnovshchina,Шаблон:Sfn a mass movement to establish a libertarian communist society in southern Ukraine.Шаблон:Sfn Kuzmenko took part in the creation of the Commission for Anti-Makhnovist ActivitiesШаблон:Sfn and actively fought within the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine as a machine gun operator. As a prominent female figure within the Makhnovshchina, she became a "tireless defender" of women and their rights, reportedly having personally executed a number of Makhnovists that committed rape.Шаблон:Sfn

Kuzmenko spearheaded the region's educational initiatives,Шаблон:Sfn which were inspired by the work of the Catalan pedagogue Francesc Ferrer.Шаблон:Sfnm As president of the regional Teachers' Union,Шаблон:Sfn she influenced a number of teachers to join the Makhnovshchina, with a number of teachers from her own hometown even being executed by the Red Army for their Makhnovist sympathies.Шаблон:Sfn Her educational efforts were focused on the funding of these activities, organizing the education in the border territories controlled by the Makhnovists, the management of schools by joint teacher-parent councils, and the development of new school curricula.Шаблон:Sfn Before the military defeat of the anarchists, the system was generally well-received by peasants, teachers, and the children alike, mainly because of the efforts made to feed the often poor school-children.Шаблон:Sfn

Шаблон:Stack Kuzmenko also led a small group of intellectuals in promoting the Ukrainization of the Makhnovshchina,Шаблон:Sfnm working specifically to increase the use of the Ukrainian language in Makhnovist publications and attempting to influence the movement towards Ukrainian nationalism.Шаблон:Sfn This group encouraged a brief rapprochement between the Makhnovists and the Ukrainian People's Republic in September 1919, while also taking a decisive stance against the White movement and putting forward a libertarian approach to national liberation.Шаблон:Sfn But following the discovery of a nationalist plot to overthrow Makhno and integrate the Insurgent Army into the Ukrainian People's Army, allegedly involving Kuzmenko herself, the Makhnovists turned against the forces around Symon Petliura and dislodged the remaining nationalists from the movement's leadership.Шаблон:Sfn Ukrainian cultural workers continued their activities within the Makhnovshchina, with Kuzmenko herself continuing her own Ukrainization efforts, but nationalist tendencies were decisively marginalized within the movement, as the anarchist theory of internationalism won out.Шаблон:Sfn

In the wake of the siege of Perekop in November 1920, the Bolsheviks turned on the Makhnovists, who were put on the back foot. During the subsequent period of guerrilla warfare, the Soviet historian Mikhail Kubanin alleged that the influence of Kuzmenko's "chauvinistic group" increased, with the Makhnovshchina gravitating more towards Ukrainian nationalism, while many of its anarchist ideologues began to exit the movement. Makhno himself rejected this charge, claiming that Kubanin had confused anarchist theories of autonomy with nationalism.Шаблон:Sfn While the American historian Frank Sysyn later rejected that Makhno had ever been a nationalist, he also disputed Makhno's own claims that Kuzmenko had not been a nationalist, stating that "it does not coincide with what is known about her."Шаблон:Sfn Isaac Teper maintained that she continued to espouse nationalist views until 1922, only losing her sympathies towards Ukrainian nationalism during her time in exile.Шаблон:Sfn

On 13 August 1921, Kuzmenko joined her husband and 100 cavalry in a retreat towards Poland.Шаблон:Sfn During the course of the retreat, they passed through Pishchanyi Brid, where she attempted to convince her parents to come with them. But they refused and were shot soon after by the pursuing Red Army.Шаблон:Sfn After a series of clashes with the Red Army, which left Makhno gravely wounded, on 28 August, they crossed the Dniester into Romania.Шаблон:Sfn They briefly stayed at an internment camp in Brașov,Шаблон:Sfn before Kuzmenko and Makhno were granted permission to move to Bucharest.Шаблон:Sfnm

Exile

Photograph of Halyna Kuzmenko, Nestor Makhno and fifteen of their supporters in a Polish internment camp

Halyna Kuzmenko and Nestor Makhno with 15 of their supporters, in a Polish internment camp.

Following a tense period of negotiations between the Romanian and Ukrainian Soviet governments over the extradition of the Makhnovists, on 11 April 1922, they quit Romania and crossed the border into Poland.Шаблон:Sfnm Kuzmenko, Makhno and 17 of their supporters were subsequently moved to an internment camp in Strzałkowo, where they were held for half a year.Шаблон:Sfnm On 18 July, Kuzmenko went to Warsaw to request that the government allow their release, but she was quickly dismissed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.Шаблон:Sfn She then met with representatives of Soviet Ukraine, with whom she discussed their plan for the Makhnovists to lead a separatist uprising in Galicia, asking in exchange for money and support for the disaffected Makhnovist internees. On 22 July, she submitted a request for a visa to visit the Ukrainian Soviet capital of Kharkiv, while also demanding the release of all anarchist political prisoners, the end of political repression, and the extension of a number of civil liberties in Ukraine, offering the complete disarmament of the Makhnovist movement in return. However, these terms were met only with passivity from the Ukrainian Soviet government, which was attempting to entrap the Makhnovists into an anti-Polish conspiracy, hoping that this would subsequently lead to extradition.Шаблон:Sfn

Photograph of Halyna Kuzmenko, Elena Mikhnenko and Nestor Makhno

Family photo of Halyna Kuzmenko (left), Elena Mikhnenko (center) and Nestor Makhno (right).

Soon after, the Makhnovists were accused by the Polish government of plotting a Soviet-backed separatist uprising in Galicia and charged with treason.Шаблон:Sfnm While imprisoned and awaiting trial, on 30 October 1922, Kuzmenko gave birth to her daughter: Elena Mikhnenko.Шаблон:Sfnm The trial of the Makhnovists eventually resulted in their acquittal,Шаблон:Sfnm to which Kuzmenko responded with astonished excitement.Шаблон:Sfn On 3 December 1923, the Makhnovists were finally released from custody and issued with residence permits, granting Makhno and Kuzmenko leave to remain in Toruń.Шаблон:Sfn They arrived in the city a few weeks later, first staying in a local hotel and then finding an apartment, albeit one with an expensive rent.Шаблон:Sfn The strain of life in exile, combined with their constant surveillance and occasional arrest by the authorities, led to a deterioration in Kuzmenko's relationship with Makhno. During this period, the couple frequently argued and Makhno even accused Kuzmenko of having had an affair with their co-defendant Ivan Khmara.Шаблон:Sfn

Photograph of Elena Mikhnenko and Nestor Makhno

Elena Mikhnenko (left) and Nestor Makhno (right), in Paris.

The family eventually moved to Paris, where Kuzmenko and Makhno worked odd jobs in order to make enough money to sustain themselves.Шаблон:Sfnm In 1927, the couple finally divorced, with Kuzmenko leaving Paris to join an organization of pro-Soviet Ukrainian exiles, within which she made repeated unsuccessful attempts to return to Ukraine.Шаблон:Sfn By March 1934, Makhno's health had completely deteriorated and Kuzmenko moved him to a hospital, visiting him regularly during his final days and standing by his side when he died.Шаблон:Sfnm She attended his funeral with their daughter,Шаблон:Sfnm but she was reportedly too overcome with grief to speak.Шаблон:Sfn A few months later, she sent a letter to the anarcho-syndicalist journal Probuzhdenie, in which she defended her late husband from a defamatory article published in the nationalist paper Nova Pora, categorically denying a number of charges against him and writing a brief biography of him and the Makhnovshchina.Шаблон:Sfnm She also took care of the manuscripts for the second and third volumes of Makho's memoirs, entrusting them to an aid committee which in turn passed them onto Volin for publication.Шаблон:Sfn

Kuzmenko remained in France with her daughter until the outbreak of World War II, when they were captured by the Nazis and deported to Berlin, where they were used as forced labour. Following the Battle of Berlin, they were arrested by the Soviets and extradited to Kyiv, where Kuzmenko was sentenced to eight years of hard labour in Mordovia, on charges of counterrevolutionary agitation.Шаблон:Sfnm In the wake of the death of Stalin and the Khrushchev Thaw, Kuzmenko was allowed to reunite with her daughter in Dzhambyl, where she worked in a cotton factory, living in the Kazakh city until her death on 23 March 1978.Шаблон:Sfnm

Controversy around alleged diary

According to Roberts Eidemanis, on 29 March 1920, a diary was discovered in the possession of Feodora Gaenko, who had been killed during a Red assault against Huliaipole.Шаблон:Sfn Dated from 19 February to 26 March 1920 and written in the Ukrainian language, this diary was attributed to "Makhno's wife".Шаблон:Sfnm The document presents Nestor Makhno as an alcoholic and depicts cases of extrajudicial punishment by the Revolutionary Insurgent Army against requisitioning units, all told from the perspective of a woman observing the insurgent campaign first hand.Шаблон:Sfnm

The document was found in Eidemanis' archives by the Soviet historian Шаблон:Ill,Шаблон:Sfn who used it as a source in depicting a clash between violent peasant insurgents and urban officials.Шаблон:Sfn The document was dismissed as counterfeit by Peter Arshinov and Nestor Makhno himself,Шаблон:Sfnm who instead claimed that the diary which had been kept by him and Kuzmenko was used for Arshinov's own history of the Makhnovshchina.Шаблон:Sfn But since Kubanin published his book about the Makhnovshchina in 1927,Шаблон:Sfn the diary has remained a key source in Soviet historiography of the Makhnovshchina.Шаблон:Sfnm

It was only in the 1960s, during her interview with the Russian historian Шаблон:Ill, that Kuzmenko confirmed the legitimacy of the diary.Шаблон:Sfnm She clarified that she had begun keeping the diary, in a notebook she had been given by Feodora Gaenko, as her husband had wanted her to record a history of the Makhnovshchina. She also claimed that the diary had been seized by Red cavalrymen, who had stopped her and Gaenko's wagon, and that it later appeared in a Soviet newspaper – directly disputing Arshinov's denials.Шаблон:Sfnm As to the contents, Kuzmenko claimed that she did not remember what she had written and could not attest to the accuracy of the events depicted in the published version, specifically disputing the characterisation of Makhno as an alcoholic.Шаблон:Sfn

The document's authenticity has been disputed to varying degrees in Makhnovist historiography.Шаблон:Sfn Vladimir Litvinov claimed it had been forged by the Cheka and that Kuzmenko's own admission had been a lie, in order not to bring her and her daughter under further scrutiny by the authorities.Шаблон:Sfnm Sean Patterson disputed that Kuzmenko had any reason to lie, noting that Kuzmenko's account of the seizure of the diary differed drastically from that of Eidemanis, whom he accused of historical revisionism for the purpose of propaganda, detailing differences between the original text and the "falsified version" published by Eidemanis.Шаблон:Sfn Both Patterson and Alexandre Skirda claimed that the diary's authenticity could only be established through graphological analysis.Шаблон:Sfnm Michael Malet also dimissed it as an unreliable source for specific events, due to a lack of corroborating evidence,Шаблон:Sfn while Colin Darch concluded his own analysis on the diary's authenticity by holding the text as a valuable primary source.Шаблон:Sfn

Bibliography

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