u/JohnJohnovich228

An election campaign leaflet for a joint electoral bloc comprising the far-right "Union of the Russian People" – a Black Hundreds organisation, and the moderate-right "Union of October 17," issued during the campaign for the Third State Duma of the Russian Empire.

1. Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov (1870–1918)

A Russian Imperial Army general and one of the early leaders of the White Movement. He became Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in 1917 and is best known for the Kornilov Affair, his failed attempt to establish stronger military authority during the revolutionary crisis. After the Bolshevik takeover, he helped organize the Volunteer Army in southern Russia together with Mikhail Alekseyev. He was killed in April 1918 during the fighting near Yekaterinodar.

2. Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov (1869–1947)

A Cossack general, writer and ataman of the Don Cossack Host. During the Civil War he led the anti-Bolshevik forces of the Don region and briefly headed the Don Republic. After the defeat of the Whites, he lived in exile and became a prolific writer. During World War II he collaborated with Nazi Germany and organized Cossack formations fighting against the Soviet Union. Captured in 1945, he was handed over to the Soviet authorities and executed in Moscow by hanging in January 1947.

3. Anton Ivanovich Denikin (1872–1947)

One of the principal commanders of the White forces in southern Russia. A distinguished Imperial Russian Army officer during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I, he became Kornilov's successor and eventually Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of South Russia. His forces came close to Moscow during the major White offensive of 1919, but the campaign ultimately collapsed. He went into exile in 1920 and later lived in several European countries before settling in the United States in 1945. Denikin refused any German offers of collaboration during World War II and died in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in August 1947.

4. Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (1874–1920)

An admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy, polar explorer and one of the most important leaders of the White Movement. In late 1918 he became Supreme Ruler of Russia and headed the principal anti-Bolshevik government in Siberia. His armies initially achieved major successes but were eventually defeated by the Red Army. Kolchak retreated eastward, was captured by anti-White forces in Irkutsk and handed over to the Bolsheviks. He was executed in February 1920.

5. Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich (1862–1933)

An Imperial Russian general who became famous for his victories against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. During the Civil War he commanded the White forces in northwestern Russia and launched two major offensives against Petrograd in 1919. Both failed, and his army retreated into Estonia. Yudenich subsequently went into exile in France, where he largely withdrew from political activity. He died near Nice in October 1933.

6. Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (1878–1928)

A prominent Imperial Russian cavalry officer and one of the last major White commanders. Known as the “Black Baron,” he succeeded Denikin as commander of the White forces in southern Russia in 1920 and reorganized them as the Russian Army. He evacuated his remaining forces and many civilian refugees from Crimea in November 1920 after the final defeat of the Whites. Wrangel lived in exile afterwards and became one of the leaders of the Russian émigré military organization. He died suddenly in Brussels in 1928.

7. Konstantin Konstantinovich Mamontov (1869–1920)

A prominent Don Cossack cavalry commander and lieutenant general in the White Army. He commanded the 4th Don Cavalry Corps and became famous for his large cavalry raid into the Soviet rear in 1919. His forces later suffered defeat during the Red Army counteroffensive. Mamontov died in Ekaterinodar in February 1920, reportedly from typhus.

8. Grigory Mikhailovich Semyonov (1890–1946)

A Cossack ataman and one of the most prominent White leaders in Transbaikal and the Russian Far East. He established an anti-Bolshevik regime supported by Japan and commanded the Far Eastern Army. Semyonov became notorious for the brutality of his forces and was one of the figures associated with the White Terror in the region. After the Civil War he lived in exile in Japan and China. Captured by Soviet forces in 1945, he was tried in Moscow and executed by hanging in August 1946.

1. Annenkov in his field uniform

2. Annenkov with a comrade during the Civil War

3. Annenkov's Cossacks

4. Annenkov's officers

5. Annenkov's train

6. Annenkov and his officers after their retreat to China

7. Annenkov with his partisans in Western China

8. Annenkov and his men at a Buddhist monastery in China

9. Annenkov with his officers and local Chinese authorities

10. Annenkov on his trial

Boris Vladimirovich Annenkov (1889–1927) was a Russian Imperial Army officer, Cossack commander and one of the most controversial figures of the Russian Civil War. Born in 1889, he graduated from the Alexander Military School in 1908 and served in the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War, where he established a reputation as a courageous and energetic combat officer. His wartime experience, combined with his forceful personality, would later play an important role in his rise among the anti-Bolshevik forces.

After the February and October Revolutions of 1917, Annenkov refused to recognise Bolshevik authority and soon became involved in the armed struggle against Soviet power. In August 1918 he helped organize an uprising in Slavgorod, where anti-Bolshevik forces overthrew the local Soviet. From there, Annenkov's partisan detachment became increasingly important to the growing White forces operating in Siberia and northern Kazakhstan. He soon developed a reputation for operating with considerable independence, relying heavily on his own authority and the loyalty of his followers.

During the second half of 1918 Annenkov's formation fought on the anti-Bolshevik fronts of Siberia and the Urals before being transferred toward Semirechye. By late 1918 his forces had been officially reorganized into the Partisan Division of Ataman Annenkov, which became one of the principal White formations in the region. The division eventually became a substantial fighting force and was closely associated with Annenkov's personal command and autonomy.

Annenkov's arrival in Semirechye coincided with one of the most bitter struggles of the regional Civil War. A large Soviet-aligned stronghold known as the Cherkassk Defence had formed around a group of settlements in the Lepsinsk district. The fortified area was situated behind the White front and represented a major obstacle to further White advances toward Verny, the capital of the Semirechensk Cossack Host. White forces had repeatedly failed to eliminate the stronghold during 1918 and the first half of 1919, making its destruction one of their most important military objectives.

In December 1918 Annenkov's division arrived in the region with roughly 1,800 infantry and 1,770 cavalry, supported by artillery. In January 1919 his men attempted to capture Andreevka, one of the settlements belonging to the Cherkassk defensive area, but the attack failed to produce a quick victory. What followed was a prolonged campaign lasting for most of 1919. Annenkov's forces gradually tightened the pressure around the defensive district while fighting a series of difficult engagements against its defenders.

The decisive phase came in the summer and autumn of 1919. On July 16, White forces under General Vladimir Gulidov and Annenkov launched a major offensive against the Cherkassk Defence. After heavy fighting, the Whites captured much of the surrounding area and reduced the defenders to their remaining strongholds at Cherkasskoye, Petropavlovskoye and Antonovskoye. Attempts by Soviet forces to break through and relieve the besieged area failed. On October 14, 1919, the remaining settlements fell, bringing the long Cherkassk Defence to an end. The battle was one of the most important White victories in Semirechye, but it was also followed by severe reprisals and violence, contributing greatly to Annenkov's later reputation for brutality.

The victory greatly increased Annenkov's standing among the White forces. In August 1919 Admiral Alexander Kolchak appointed him commander of the Separate Semirechye Army. For a time Annenkov became one of the most powerful anti-Bolshevik commanders in the region, commanding Cossack, partisan and other White formations. Yet his relationship with other White leaders remained difficult. He was fiercely independent and was increasingly unwilling to accept interference from commanders whom he considered less effective or less committed to the struggle against the Bolsheviks.

Annenkov's military reputation was inseparable from his reputation for brutality. His troops were accused of executions, reprisals, looting and violence against civilians in areas under their control. Some of the most dramatic allegations were later presented during the Soviet trial that resulted in his execution, and those accounts must be treated critically because the trial took place within the political and propagandistic environment of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, accusations of violence were not limited to Soviet propaganda. Contemporary conflicts between Annenkov's men and civilians, as well as complaints from other White commanders, indicate that his forces had a reputation for harsh and often uncontrolled behaviour. This made Annenkov one of the most feared figures of the White movement in the region.

By the end of 1919, however, the strategic situation of the Whites was rapidly deteriorating. The collapse of Kolchak's forces in Siberia left the remaining anti-Bolshevik armies in an increasingly desperate position. Annenkov continued fighting in Semirechye during the winter of 1919–1920, but the Red Army eventually broke the remaining organized White resistance. His Separate Semirechye Army was defeated in the spring of 1920, and Annenkov was forced to retreat toward the Chinese border with the remnants of his forces. Most Russian archival records place the final collapse of the army in March 1920, followed by the movement of its remnants into China in May.

In the spring of 1920 Annenkov crossed into Xinjiang with several thousand followers. The retreating Russians were now refugees as well as former combatants, but they remained an organized and armed force, creating an immediate problem for the Chinese authorities. Relations between Annenkov and the local administration quickly deteriorated. His followers moved through Xinjiang while attempting to preserve their military organization, and clashes with Chinese officials eventually followed.

One of the most dramatic episodes of this period was the seizure of Guchen, where Annenkov's followers became involved in an armed confrontation with the local Chinese authorities and took control of the fortress. The incident demonstrated how little control the Chinese administration had over the Russian military groups moving through the region. Chinese officials subsequently accused Annenkov's men of disorder and looting, while Annenkov himself attempted to negotiate a future for his followers and continued to hope that the anti-Bolshevik struggle might somehow be resumed.

In March 1921 Annenkov was arrested by the Chinese authorities and imprisoned in Ürümqi. He remained in Chinese custody for almost three years. During his imprisonment, Annenkov's former chief of staff, General Nikolai Denisov, worked to secure his release, while representatives of the Western powers in China also became involved in the diplomatic efforts surrounding the case. Annenkov was finally released in February 1924. The precise circumstances of his release have been described differently in later accounts, but it is clear that pressure from the Russian émigré community and foreign diplomatic representatives played an important role.

After his release, Annenkov attempted to leave his military past behind. Unlike some former White commanders who immediately resumed political activity, he reportedly turned toward a quieter life and became involved in horse breeding, for which he had a passion since his military career in the Russian Imperial Army. For a brief period he appeared to have withdrawn from active political struggle. Yet his reputation and his former position among the White forces continued to make him a person of interest to Soviet intelligence.

In April 1926 Annenkov was captured in China and transferred into Soviet custody by Soviet agents. He was subsequently taken to the Soviet Union, where the authorities prepared a highly publicized trial intended to demonstrate the crimes allegedly committed by the White forces during the Civil War.

Annenkov was tried in Semipalatinsk in the summer of 1927. The prosecution presented him as one of the principal organizers of White terror in Siberia and Semirechye, and numerous accusations concerning executions and reprisals committed by his forces were brought against him. The political nature of the trial obviously means that its testimony must be evaluated critically, but it took place against the background of a Civil War in which Annenkov's forces had undeniably been involved in extensive violence. He was sentenced to death and executed in Semipalatinsk on August 25 1927

1. Members of the expedition

2. Yukagir children

3. Koryaks dragging a hunted whale home

4. Japanese fishermen

5. Traditional dances at an Evenk festival

6. Evenk yurt

7. Russian settlement

8. Koryak standing next to a sacrificed wolf

9. Sacrificed dog

10. Funeral procession of the Tundra Yukagirs

11. Evenk boy and girl

12. Russian sailors and peasant kids posing for a photo with a tall Chinese man

13. Russified Koryaks fishing

14. Yakut woman leading some livestock

15. Members of the expedition

16. Koryak woman with a child

17. Yukagir canoes

18. Lamut girl on a deer

19. Koryaks playing

20. Small Evenk caravan returning home

1. Russian orthodox priest wearing deerskin

2. Two Yakut ladies in modern dresses

3. Old Yukagir man

4. Young Yukagir couple

5. Rich Yakut woman in expensive traditional clothing

6. Two Japanese fishermen

7. Camp of the Tundra Yukagirs

8. Koryaks in wooden ceremonial masks

9. Koryaks in wooden ceremonial masks 2

10. Russian cossack with his family

11. Yakuts meeting with Russian officials

12. Koryak children

13. Koryaks sacrificing a dog

14. Yakut shaman in ceremonial clothing

15. Yukagir shaman in ceremonial clothing

16. Koryak warriors

17. An Evenk with his children

18. Koryak woman fishing

19. Koryak women in grass masks

20. Young Yakut woman

Thought some of you might want to see this

"Bronepekhota" (Armor/armored infantry ) was born in the early 2000s as an experiment by a Gelendzhik company "Technolog". The game became a very affordable yet pretty decent in terms of quality alternative to extremely rare and expensive GW products in the post-Soviet space.

The series grew out of the early developments of "Technolog" for the production of robot and space marine figures in the late 1990s. At the dawn of its existence, "Technolog" released figures that were essentially unlicensed copies of miniatures from  Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy Battles. The company's sculptors took original metal or plastic figures from GW, slightly modified them, sometimes simply by sculpting elements with Green Stuff or changing weapons and then cast them in cheap polyethylene.

Eventually the company progressed to creating their own designs, somewhat decent lore and eventually a proper game system, still, however, the miniatures were obviously influenced by Warhammer and other sci-fi franchises of the time. The peak of popularity saw the appearance of huge starter sets with terrain, vehicles and different distinctive squads of troops (usually consisting of 6 minis each).

Starting around the 2010s, despite initial popularity the creators' failure to properly decide their target audience combined with economic crises, shifts in the tabletop market, and rising raw material costs, forced Technolog to scale back production. Instead of large boxes with fortresses and armies, the game increasingly began to be sold in cheap packs with a reduced number of miniatures without rules, targeting exclusively a children's audience. Official development of the lore and rules ceased, and new units stopped to be released, causing the series to fade into obscurity.

Surprisingly, during the 2020s the game system made a comeback. People that used to play with these toys as kids grew up and formed a decently powerful community. They began restoring rules, holding tournaments, and creating 3D models for printing rare units. The company has launched a reissue of classic molds. Old sets started being reissued on marketplaces, and the game is obviously far from being alive, but it definitely has an audience. When I decided to make a post about it here, I went down an unexpected rabbit hole, this very moment there are people who hold online auctions for these minis. The contribution Technolog made to introducing people from post soviet countries to wargames cannot be underestimated.

Guys, it's the last time WE post about that sub, trust