The General Staff of the Civil War Era in A. V. Ganin's New Research

В статье рецензируется двухтомная монография А.В. Ганина «Кадры Генерального штаба в период Гражданской войны в России 1917–1922 гг.». Рецензируемая работа помещена в контекст исследований по истории Генерального штаба в Европе и в Российской империи. Представлены основные выводы автора, проанализирована методология исследования, отмечаются возможные пути развития темы. The article reviews the two-volume monograph by A. V. Ganin “Personnel of the General Staff during the Civil War in Russia 1917–1922.” The work is placed in the context of research on the history of the General Staff in Europe and, in particular, in the Russian Empire. The review presents the author's main conclusions, analyzes the research methodology, and notes possible ways to develop the topic. The work of A.V. Ganin represents the history of the General Staff as a single corporation that split under the influence of the civil war. The historian analyzed the fate of 2,859 graduates of the General Staff Academy and accelerated courses, as well as students who did not complete their studies. The book combines statistical data and descriptions of individual destinies. Using extensive material, A.V. Ganin shows that on the eve of 1917, the bulk of the General Staff were politically immature people who were far from public issues. During revolutionary events, as a rule, they behaved passively and followed events. The choice of one side or another during the civil war was more often determined by random factors. The study is built on a strong archival base, presented in clear and simple language, poses and resolves deep questions that go far beyond the topic of the Civil War in Russia.