Civil war in the East of Russia: opposition of investigations

During the Civil War that lasted almost five years in the Far East (1918-1922), not only the fighting of the armies, but also the stand-off of the Bolsheviks and the White Guard special services were severe. The latter was supported by the Japanese Intelligence service. When the Soviet power fell and the combined socialist revolutionary-Mensheviks' and White governments were set up, the Far Eastern organizations of the Russia's Communist Party (of the Bolsheviks) started to build its underground cells and groups. The underground units were engaged in intelligence collection, preparation of strikes and demonstrations, organizing help to guerrillas, and sometimes creation of guerrilla units, as well as propagation efforts among the population and interventionists' and White Guard troops. The Red Army intelligence officers who worked deep inside the Kolchak regime were in close contact with the communist underground forces of Siberia and the Far East. That is why it was a primary mission of the White Guard intelligence and counterintelligence services to break down the communist underground organization. During staffing and recruiting agents, the army officers and former gendarmes were preferable due to their experience and reliability. Civil law enforcement bodies were also engaged in political investigation work. The methods of the White Guard special services' field activities included surveillance, placing of secret patrols and planting of agents into the underground groups and guerrilla units, as well as provocative actions. Counterintelligence and Kolchak militia units carried out frequent round-ups and arrests of large numbers of people so as to identify guerrillas and underground fighters through "filtering" the arrested men. In the winter and spring of 1919 the White Guard counterintelligence struck a blow on the underground organizations of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. The Chita, Khabarovsk and Blagoveshchensk organizations were disclosed and plans of the Bolsheviks broken to arrange an overall revolt inside the Kolchak's rear. The Red Army victories, guerrilla and underground movements resulted in breakdown of the Kolchak regime. After the establishment of the Far Eastern republic in 1920 the Bolsheviks set up their special services in the region - the State political guard and the Intelligence headquarters of the People's Revolutionary Army. After the White Guard coup in the Primorsk Region on May 26, 1921 the fight between the hostile special services was sharply aggravated. The Primorsk Bolsheviks set up their "party" intelligence and planted their people into the headquarters and establishments. The "party" intelligence maintained close cooperation with the residency of the military intelligence of the People's Revolutionary Army in Vladivostok. A revolt against the White regime was being prepared. However, the net of the Bolsheviks underground was disclosed and defeated by way of multi-step action of the White Guard counterintelligence supported by the Japanese. After the failure of the "Khabarovsk campaign" and defeat of the White Army near Volochayevka in February 1922 the Merkulov regime in Primoriye was hit by the crisis. The decision of Japan to evacuate its troops and the defeat of the White Guard near Spassk put an end to the white regimes in the Russian Far East. Local successes of the White Guard special services could not ensure the most important thing - people's support of the white regimes. No doubt, the communist underground intelligence and the Soviet special services, that increased their experience, played a great role in the defeat of counter revolutionary movement during the time of the Civil War.

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