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Red Terror in Sevastopol (Winter 1918)

The Red Terror in Sevastopol in the winter of 1917–1918 was the first mass wave of extrajudicial repressions, looting, and executions carried out by Bolsheviks, Bolshevized sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, and "Centroflot" against officers, nobility, intelligentsia, Crimean Tatar figures, and Ukrainian organizations in the city.

Overview

Starting in mid-December 1917, arbitrary "revolutionary tribunals" and executions of army and naval officers began in Sevastopol. In early January 1918, far-left forces carried out a punitive "campaign against the Tatars," accompanied by the destruction of Crimean Tatar national formations in Feodosia, Yevpatoria, and near Sevastopol. On January 20, 1918, the executive committee of the Sevastopol Soviet and "Centroflot" declared non-recognition of the Ukrainian Central Rada, and on January 26, Bolshevik troops led by Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko forcibly dispersed the Sevastopol Ukrainian Council.

The climax of the rampant terror occurred on February 21–23, 1918, following the publication of the Council of People's Commissars' decree "The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger!". Mobs of 2,500–3,000 armed sailors began mass arrests and killings in the city. On the night of February 23, over 250 people were brutally murdered in Sevastopol without trial or investigation. Among the victims were the head of government of the Crimean People's Republic, Mufti Noman Çelebicihan, and the prominent artist of Karaite descent Mykhailo Kazas. The wave of executions spread to Simferopol, Yevpatoria, Yalta, and Alushta, subsiding only after the self-organization of workers and the subsequent liberation of Crimea by German-Ukrainian forces in April 1918.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • "Campaign Against the Tatars" (January 1918): Armed attacks by sailors on Crimean Tatar settlements and national units.
  • Liquidation of Ukrainian Institutions: Bolshevik dispersal of the Sevastopol Ukrainian Council and non-recognition of UNR bodies.
  • St. Bartholomew's Night in Sevastopol (February 23, 1918): Mass atrocities and shootings of over 250 people, including the murder of Noman Çelebicihan.
  • Spread of Terror to Crimea: Shootings of 170 people in Simferopol (February 24), secret executions in Yevpatoria (March 2), violence in Yalta and Alushta.
  • Worker Resistance and Liberation: Opposition by workers' self-defense units and the liberation of the city by the Zaporozhian Corps of Petro Bolbochan and German troops in April 1918.