The Bloody White Baron (44 page)
Read The Bloody White Baron Online
Authors: James Palmer
8
The combination of word elements to express compound ideas.
The combination of word elements to express compound ideas.
10
RGAVMF, f. 432, op. 5, d. 8586, p. 1.
RGAVMF, f. 432, op. 5, d. 8586, p. 1.
11
RGAVMF, f. 432, op. 1, d. 2162.
RGAVMF, f. 432, op. 1, d. 2162.
two - THE ENDS OF THE WORLD
2
This was only slightly higher than the percentage of manor houses destroyed across Russia - about 15 per cent. What was unusual in Estonia was how far the destruction extended into towns and cities, where German-owned businesses were singled out by rioters.
This was only slightly higher than the percentage of manor houses destroyed across Russia - about 15 per cent. What was unusual in Estonia was how far the destruction extended into towns and cities, where German-owned businesses were singled out by rioters.
5
Gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Rossiiskoi Federatsii [State Archive of the Russian Federation] (GARF), f. 5431, op. 1, d. 40, 11. 1 - 3 (b).
Gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Rossiiskoi Federatsii [State Archive of the Russian Federation] (GARF), f. 5431, op. 1, d. 40, 11. 1 - 3 (b).
6
Though there's still plenty of room for right-wing esotericism, as Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke demonstrates in his examination of post-war Nazi occultism,
Black Sun
(New York, 2003). Even the relatively cuddly world of English paganism occasionally has some nasty racist overtones, with its emphasis on ânative' religion.
Though there's still plenty of room for right-wing esotericism, as Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke demonstrates in his examination of post-war Nazi occultism,
Black Sun
(New York, 2003). Even the relatively cuddly world of English paganism occasionally has some nasty racist overtones, with its emphasis on ânative' religion.
9
This interest in the occult has revived in post-Soviet Russia. Even popular booksellers - the Russian equivalents of W. H. Smith - commonly carry a substantial âesoteric' selection.
This interest in the occult has revived in post-Soviet Russia. Even popular booksellers - the Russian equivalents of W. H. Smith - commonly carry a substantial âesoteric' selection.
10
Hermann Keyserling,
Reise durch die Zeit
[
A Journey through Time
], vol. II (Vaduz, 1948), p. 53, n. 1
.
Hermann Keyserling,
Reise durch die Zeit
[
A Journey through Time
], vol. II (Vaduz, 1948), p. 53, n. 1
.
12
Available in
The World War I Document Archive: The Willy-Nicky Letters
, at
http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/
, accessed 6 March 2007, originally published New York, 1920.
Available in
The World War I Document Archive: The Willy-Nicky Letters
, at
http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/
, accessed 6 March 2007, originally published New York, 1920.
14
Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv [Russian State Military Archive] (RGVA), f. 39454, op. 1, d. 9, 1. 53 (b).
Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv [Russian State Military Archive] (RGVA), f. 39454, op. 1, d. 9, 1. 53 (b).
15
Especially important, given that conscription was one of the dreads of the ordinary Russian peasant. The chances of ever making it back to home and family were so low that funerals were held when the draftee left the village.
Especially important, given that conscription was one of the dreads of the ordinary Russian peasant. The chances of ever making it back to home and family were so low that funerals were held when the draftee left the village.
17
Think of two recent Hollywood epics, for instance,
The Last Samurai
and
The Return of the King
, both of which featured spectacular cavalry charges against hopeless odds. The Rohirrim in
Return
, Anglo-Saxons of the steppe, even wore the white horsetails of Mongols and Huns.
Think of two recent Hollywood epics, for instance,
The Last Samurai
and
The Return of the King
, both of which featured spectacular cavalry charges against hopeless odds. The Rohirrim in
Return
, Anglo-Saxons of the steppe, even wore the white horsetails of Mongols and Huns.
21
N. Khisight, âBaron Ungern's Mongolian Connection',
Journal of the Institute of Social Sciences, National University of Mongolia
, no. 188 (14), 2002.
N. Khisight, âBaron Ungern's Mongolian Connection',
Journal of the Institute of Social Sciences, National University of Mongolia
, no. 188 (14), 2002.
THREE - SUSPENDED BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL
2
A. V. Burdukov,
V staroi i novoi Mongolii: vospominaniia, pis'ma
[
Old and New Mongolia: Memoirs, Letters
] (Moscow, 1969), pp. 100 - 102.
A. V. Burdukov,
V staroi i novoi Mongolii: vospominaniia, pis'ma
[
Old and New Mongolia: Memoirs, Letters
] (Moscow, 1969), pp. 100 - 102.
3
âLiving Buddha' is a general term for any reincarnating lama -
trulku
in Tibetan - of which there were some 250 in Mongolia in 1911. Western travellers often used it simply to refer to the most senior of them. Throughout I refer to him as the âBogd Khan', or âHoly King', his most commonly used title in Mongolia, although technically the epithet applied only during the period during which he held secular, as well as religious, power.
âLiving Buddha' is a general term for any reincarnating lama -
trulku
in Tibetan - of which there were some 250 in Mongolia in 1911. Western travellers often used it simply to refer to the most senior of them. Throughout I refer to him as the âBogd Khan', or âHoly King', his most commonly used title in Mongolia, although technically the epithet applied only during the period during which he held secular, as well as religious, power.
4
Within Mongolia there are at least fifteen different Mongol groups, of which the Khalkha make up around 85 per cent of the population. âMongolian' in this volume usually means Khalkha and other small Mongol groups within the borders of Mongolia, while I use âMongol' with respect to the wider ethnic and cultural group.
Within Mongolia there are at least fifteen different Mongol groups, of which the Khalkha make up around 85 per cent of the population. âMongolian' in this volume usually means Khalkha and other small Mongol groups within the borders of Mongolia, while I use âMongol' with respect to the wider ethnic and cultural group.
5
At least, if the behaviour of their modern counterparts is anything to go by. Most temples, particularly in China, now cover up the more luridly sexual scenes, such as the
yab-yum
, or âdivine coupling'.
At least, if the behaviour of their modern counterparts is anything to go by. Most temples, particularly in China, now cover up the more luridly sexual scenes, such as the
yab-yum
, or âdivine coupling'.
6
Alcoholism is even more common in modern Mongolia than it was a century ago, with rates among men reaching 50 per cent or higher. Foreign businesses generally employ Chinese immigrant workers, because too many of the Mongolians will vanish after the first month to drink their pay.
Alcoholism is even more common in modern Mongolia than it was a century ago, with rates among men reaching 50 per cent or higher. Foreign businesses generally employ Chinese immigrant workers, because too many of the Mongolians will vanish after the first month to drink their pay.
7
Kam's is one of those head-swapping stories that so often crop up in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. In this case Erlik, a pious monk, was meditating in a cave, an hour away from enlightenment, when two bandits entered to behead a stolen ox. Not men to miss an opportunity, they beheaded Erlik too. His body promptly grabbed the ox-head, put it on and slaughtered the bandits.
Kam's is one of those head-swapping stories that so often crop up in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. In this case Erlik, a pious monk, was meditating in a cave, an hour away from enlightenment, when two bandits entered to behead a stolen ox. Not men to miss an opportunity, they beheaded Erlik too. His body promptly grabbed the ox-head, put it on and slaughtered the bandits.
9
The reverse process is taking place today as the Chinese attempt to legitimise their claims to Inner and Outer Mongolia by appropriating the image of Genghis Khan. At a convivial dinner in Inner Mongolia in 2003 I asked a couple of the diners about a portrait of Genghis and was told, âGenghis Khan! Yes, he is a great Chinese hero!' There was nodding and general approval round the table, and some toasting of Genghis's spirit. We were in Inner Mongolia, but every one of the diners save me were Han Chinese, for all their downing of Mongolian spirits and singing of sentimental songs about the steppe, bows and the deep love between a man and his horse. One of them, a local Communist Party boss, grasped my arm sincerely. âGenghis was
born
in Mongolia,' he said, âbut he was Chinese. He loved China, like we love China.' Genghis loved the Chinese so much that he killed around ten million of them, and seriously considered burning every city in northern China to the ground to create a vast grassland for his horses.
The reverse process is taking place today as the Chinese attempt to legitimise their claims to Inner and Outer Mongolia by appropriating the image of Genghis Khan. At a convivial dinner in Inner Mongolia in 2003 I asked a couple of the diners about a portrait of Genghis and was told, âGenghis Khan! Yes, he is a great Chinese hero!' There was nodding and general approval round the table, and some toasting of Genghis's spirit. We were in Inner Mongolia, but every one of the diners save me were Han Chinese, for all their downing of Mongolian spirits and singing of sentimental songs about the steppe, bows and the deep love between a man and his horse. One of them, a local Communist Party boss, grasped my arm sincerely. âGenghis was
born
in Mongolia,' he said, âbut he was Chinese. He loved China, like we love China.' Genghis loved the Chinese so much that he killed around ten million of them, and seriously considered burning every city in northern China to the ground to create a vast grassland for his horses.
11
The idea of Mongolian cruelty crops up frequently elsewhere; the mute Mongolian human-skinner in Haruki Murakami's novel
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
(New York, 1997), for instance, or Lenin's cold cruelty being attributed to his âMongol blood' - he was a quarter Kalmyk.
The idea of Mongolian cruelty crops up frequently elsewhere; the mute Mongolian human-skinner in Haruki Murakami's novel
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
(New York, 1997), for instance, or Lenin's cold cruelty being attributed to his âMongol blood' - he was a quarter Kalmyk.
12
A remarkable number of Mongols seem to have ended up on the Western Front, though surely many of them were other central Asians, misidentified. Eric Newby, imprisoned in Italy, remarked on his guards that âthey were Mongols, apostates from the Russian Army, dressed in German uniform, hideously cruel descendants of Genghis Khan's wild horsemen who, in Italy, had already established a similar reputation to that enjoyed by the Goums, the Moroccans in the Free French army' (
A Traveller's Life
, London, 1982, p. 130). Central Asian and Mongolian soldiers were also widely blamed by other Russian soldiers for the rapes committed by the Red Army in 1945, in supposed contrast to the heroic - and ethnically Russian - front-line soldiers.
A remarkable number of Mongols seem to have ended up on the Western Front, though surely many of them were other central Asians, misidentified. Eric Newby, imprisoned in Italy, remarked on his guards that âthey were Mongols, apostates from the Russian Army, dressed in German uniform, hideously cruel descendants of Genghis Khan's wild horsemen who, in Italy, had already established a similar reputation to that enjoyed by the Goums, the Moroccans in the Free French army' (
A Traveller's Life
, London, 1982, p. 130). Central Asian and Mongolian soldiers were also widely blamed by other Russian soldiers for the rapes committed by the Red Army in 1945, in supposed contrast to the heroic - and ethnically Russian - front-line soldiers.
16
University Bibliotheca, Oslo, Ethnographical Museum, manuscript 38416, quoted in Alice Sárközi,
Political Prophecies in Mongolia in the 17th-20th Centuries
(Wiesbaden, 1992), p. 120.
University Bibliotheca, Oslo, Ethnographical Museum, manuscript 38416, quoted in Alice Sárközi,
Political Prophecies in Mongolia in the 17th-20th Centuries
(Wiesbaden, 1992), p. 120.
18
Caroline Humphrey, âRemembering an “Enemy”', in Rubie S. Watson (ed.),
Memory, History and Opposition Under State Socialism
(Santa Fe, 1994), p. 31.
Caroline Humphrey, âRemembering an “Enemy”', in Rubie S. Watson (ed.),
Memory, History and Opposition Under State Socialism
(Santa Fe, 1994), p. 31.
21
Karl Gustav Vrangel,
The Memoirs of Count Vrangel: The Last Commander-in-Chief of the Russian National Army,
trans. Sophie Goulston (London, 1929), p. 7.
Karl Gustav Vrangel,
The Memoirs of Count Vrangel: The Last Commander-in-Chief of the Russian National Army,
trans. Sophie Goulston (London, 1929), p. 7.
22
Quoted in Baabar,
History of Mongolia
(Ulaanbaatar, 1999), p. 144, originally from Aleksei Kuropatkin,
What's to be Done with Mongolia and Manchuria
(1913).
Quoted in Baabar,
History of Mongolia
(Ulaanbaatar, 1999), p. 144, originally from Aleksei Kuropatkin,
What's to be Done with Mongolia and Manchuria
(1913).
24
Ripping out the heart of an enemy, however, is a scene occasionally depicted in Mongolian Buddhist art and literature, and there were numerous reports of it from foreign travellers, but always second-hand. It certainly became one of the standard Russian tropes of writing about the Mongols, but may have been actually performed on occasion.
Ripping out the heart of an enemy, however, is a scene occasionally depicted in Mongolian Buddhist art and literature, and there were numerous reports of it from foreign travellers, but always second-hand. It certainly became one of the standard Russian tropes of writing about the Mongols, but may have been actually performed on occasion.
25
GARF, f. 9427, op. 1, d. 392, p. 48.
GARF, f. 9427, op. 1, d. 392, p. 48.
26
Almost all shape-shifters in primal mythologies turn into either bears or snakes, which suggests all manner of wonderful but incredibly speculative connections; the bear cult so strikingly preserved in the Swiss caves, the temptation in Eden, the immortal snakes in Babylonian mythology, the bear-heraldry of King Arthur (whose name in itself means âbear'), dragons, etc. It crops up in odd places; there is a strong suggestion in
Beowulf
that the hero can transform himself into the âbeewolf'; the bear - picked up by Tolkien and used for Beorn in
The Hobbit.
I suspect that bears are so striking because they seem so human, and snakes because they are so alien.
Almost all shape-shifters in primal mythologies turn into either bears or snakes, which suggests all manner of wonderful but incredibly speculative connections; the bear cult so strikingly preserved in the Swiss caves, the temptation in Eden, the immortal snakes in Babylonian mythology, the bear-heraldry of King Arthur (whose name in itself means âbear'), dragons, etc. It crops up in odd places; there is a strong suggestion in
Beowulf
that the hero can transform himself into the âbeewolf'; the bear - picked up by Tolkien and used for Beorn in
The Hobbit.
I suspect that bears are so striking because they seem so human, and snakes because they are so alien.
27
Something which neither community likes to discuss nowadays, but which is strikingly preserved in images found in many northern Indian temples of an elephant, symbolising Hinduism, crushing a deer, symbolising Buddhism, beneath its foot. Conversely, Mongolian and Tibetan gods are sometimes depicted crushing an elephant.
Something which neither community likes to discuss nowadays, but which is strikingly preserved in images found in many northern Indian temples of an elephant, symbolising Hinduism, crushing a deer, symbolising Buddhism, beneath its foot. Conversely, Mongolian and Tibetan gods are sometimes depicted crushing an elephant.
28
Quoted from the temple's notice to visitors.
Quoted from the temple's notice to visitors.
29
Which makes it strange that Roerich doesn't mention Ungern at any point in his books. Perhaps he found the similarity between Ungern's mystical beliefs and his own disturbing, given that he was a leftist pacifist.
Which makes it strange that Roerich doesn't mention Ungern at any point in his books. Perhaps he found the similarity between Ungern's mystical beliefs and his own disturbing, given that he was a leftist pacifist.
FOUR - THINGS Fall APART
2
S. L. Kuzmin (comp.),
Baron Ungern v dokumentakh i memuarakh
[
Baron Ungern in Documents and Memoirs
] (Moscow, 2004), p. 10.
S. L. Kuzmin (comp.),
Baron Ungern v dokumentakh i memuarakh
[
Baron Ungern in Documents and Memoirs
] (Moscow, 2004), p. 10.
6
If there had been no revolution, presumably this violent generation would have been bled off into the frontiers of empire, as were so many of the young French and British men traumatised by war.
If there had been no revolution, presumably this violent generation would have been bled off into the frontiers of empire, as were so many of the young French and British men traumatised by war.
7
Mayne Reid was a Irish-American cavalry officer and writer of American adventure stories, largely forgotten in the West but persistently popular in Russia. Exactly what âa Mayne Reid' hero denotes is well summarised by Jess Nevins in the
Encyclopaedia of Fantastic Victoriana
(New York, 2005): âgallant, skillful at arms, far more at ease around men than around women, has lots of time for trappers and soldiers but little for the
upper classes or intellectuals, and is much happier hunting and killing than thinking'.
Mayne Reid was a Irish-American cavalry officer and writer of American adventure stories, largely forgotten in the West but persistently popular in Russia. Exactly what âa Mayne Reid' hero denotes is well summarised by Jess Nevins in the
Encyclopaedia of Fantastic Victoriana
(New York, 2005): âgallant, skillful at arms, far more at ease around men than around women, has lots of time for trappers and soldiers but little for the
upper classes or intellectuals, and is much happier hunting and killing than thinking'.
12
GARF, f. 9427, op. 1, d. 392.
GARF, f. 9427, op. 1, d. 392.
15
Confusingly known as the October Revolution since it took place on 25 October under the old Julian calendar, but in November according to the modern Gregorian version adopted after the revolution.
Confusingly known as the October Revolution since it took place on 25 October under the old Julian calendar, but in November according to the modern Gregorian version adopted after the revolution.
FIVE - CARRION COUNTRY
3
General Vrangel, Ungern's old commander, also acquired this sobriquet in the Crimea, but it was more common to refer to him by his full name rather than just his title. One of the most popular Red Army songs began mockingly: âWhite Army, Black Baron, prepare for us a Tsarist throne . . .' Probably referring to Vrangel, it was sung about Ungern as well.
General Vrangel, Ungern's old commander, also acquired this sobriquet in the Crimea, but it was more common to refer to him by his full name rather than just his title. One of the most popular Red Army songs began mockingly: âWhite Army, Black Baron, prepare for us a Tsarist throne . . .' Probably referring to Vrangel, it was sung about Ungern as well.
4
US Senate Committee on Education and Labor,
Deportation of Gregorie Semenoff: Hearings Relative to the Deporting of Undesirable Aliens
(Washington, DC, 1922), pp. 21 - 2.
US Senate Committee on Education and Labor,
Deportation of Gregorie Semenoff: Hearings Relative to the Deporting of Undesirable Aliens
(Washington, DC, 1922), pp. 21 - 2.
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