The role of the “Belochekhs (White Czechs)” in creating the image of the Czechoslovak state in the new ideological space of Russia

Abstract

In the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, numerous Slavic peoples, including Czechs and Slovaks, for a long time possessed little to no political and even national-cultural autonomy. It was the First World War that gave them a chance for a national liberation. Prague gained political fame not only as the capital of a new independent state, but also as a center of attraction for Russian “white” emigration even earlier than Belgrade, Paris and other famous cities. It all began, however, not in these European capitals, but in distant Siberia. The activities of the Czechoslovak Legion during the Civil War from May 1918 to March 1920 had a huge impact on the political and military situation in Soviet Russia. The rebellion of the Belochekhs affected more than half of the country’s territory and a number of cities along the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Czech Legion was perceived as the first phenomenon of a new, unknown state. A representation of “Czechoslovaks” and Czechoslovakia was formed through the Legion. It was intended to become the face of the First Republic. Therefore, it is important to understand what opinion on the Czech Legion as a representative of a young Eastern European state various political forces of the new Russia formed and why, and how it influenced the establishment of allied relations with it in the future.