A Hero as a Stranger: Some Observations on the Imagography of the A.V. Kolchak

Abstract. Admiral A.V. Kolchak became the leader of the Anti-Bolshevik political regime in the Russian East as a result of the military coup d’etat. Under the circumstances of doubtful legitimacy of power, the propaganda machine of the counterrevolution side did its best to introduce the Supreme Governor as an extraordinary hero and an exclusive figure. However, this scenario of representation of the power of the Russian anti-Bolshevism leader resulted in unexpected negative effects both among the core groups and among the larger strata of society. This article describes the perception of A.V. Kolchak’s figure just before his coming to power, the propaganda trip of the Admiral to the front in February 1919, the representation of the official image of Kolchak in the ceremonial ode by L.P. Kholkin, and the characteristic features of the Supreme Governor image in the relevant propaganda brochure. The hero was described as having the “natural” right for power owing to his otherness in relation to society. The disparity could have been interpreted in social or national terms, but it remained constant that the elite heroism was perceived by the society as dramatically and absolutely alien.

Keywords: Civil War, counterrevolution, White movement, power representation, political propaganda, political communication.