The Russian Civil War (1): The Red Army

Description

The main instrument with which the Bolsheviks imposed communism on Russia was the Red Army. Traditionally the origins of this army were among the factory workers who laid down their tools and took up arms as a way of expressing their grievances. Already formed by the time of the revolutions of 1905 and February 1917, these militant workers organised themselves into parliamentary detachments known as the krasnogvardeytsi, or 'Red Guards'. In this first of two volumes [see Men-at-Arms 305: White Armies] focusing on the Russian Civil War, Mikhail Khvostov examines the Red Army's organisation, weaponry, uniforms and insignia.

Mikhail Khvostov was born in Moscow in 1950. He has been interested in military history since childhood. He studied at the Moscow College for Foreign Languages. He has worked as an interpreter and a tour guide, but is now producing Russian toy soldiers - a childhood dream. He previous work for Osprey includes Men-at-Arms 305 The Russian Civil War (2) White Armies. He is married and lives in Moscow. Andrei Karachtchouk was born in 1966 and lives in Moscow. A well established artist in Russia, his work for Osprey includes Men-at-Arms 293, The Russian Civil War (1) The Red Army. Andrei is active in Moscow's re-enactment society.

"Each book is a wealth of information essential to anyone interested in the RCW from Murmansk to the Ukraine and Crimea to Siberia and the Far East... What is most striking about all of these books is the evolution of the skill of the artist Andrei Karachtchouk... These books are an essential part of anyone's Russian Civil War library." --HMG on Russian Civil War (1) and Russian Civil War (2)