White guard romantic? Review of the book: Larkov N.S. Siberian white general. Tomsk: Publishing house of Tomsk university, 2017. 312 p.

The article examines the monograph of the Tomsk historian N.S. Larkov, the main character of which is General A.N. Pepelyaev, one of the brightest and most charismatic representatives of the generals of the White movement. The monograph, based on a wide range of archival sources, examines the life of General A.N. Pepelyaev, against the background of an era that included the First World War, the 1917 revolution, and the Civil War. It was at the time of the Russian civil strife that Pepeliaev’s unprecedented career takeoff, who managed to rise to the rank of general, fell. Pepeliaev is shown by the author as a worthy and courageous person, a talented military leader, a deeply and sincerely believing Orthodox Christian, and a true patriot of his country. From the point of view of Larkov, Pepeliaev’ s career rise was not an accident: Anatoly Nikolaevich was a professional military man, a brave officer who won his high authority among his subordinates with blood shed on the battlefields. In a long line of Kolchak generals, Pepeliaev stood apart: he was bribed by his undoubted sincerity, faith in the bright future of Russia, his readiness to give his life for her at any moment and without hesitation - all this, coupled with Pepeliaev’s natural democracy, turned him into a real people’s leader - a reputation that Anatoly Nikolaevich was very proud of. After the defeat of the Whites in the Civil War, Pepeliaev did not try to find a refuge in emigration - the general could not imagine life without Russia. In the USSR, Pepeliaev’ s life was truly tragic: the general spent many years in prison, and in 1938 he was repressed and shot. Pepeliaev is one of the brightest and most charming figures of the White movement, a true White Guard romantic.

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