A “Red” Bulgarian under “White” Investigation: The Case of Colonel I. G. Pekhlivanov, 1919

Abstract

The article is devoted to the investigation conducted by the White command into the Soviet service of an ethnic Bulgarian, a former colonel, one of the first military specialists of the Red Army, Jordan Georgievich Pekhlivanov (1876–1955), organized by the Whites. Pekhlivanov is known as the head of the defense of Petrograd during the German offensive in late February – early March 1918 in the most dangerous direction, from Pskov. After serving in the Red Army for only a few months, in the fall of 1918, he fled from Soviet Russia to Crimea to live with his family, and later came to Ukraine and again found himself in the territory controlled by the Reds. For a while he hid under a false name, and later he ended up with the Whites. According to the practice of that time, it was necessary to investigate the officer's previous service with the Bolsheviks, which was carried out. During the investigation, both Pekhlivanov himself and some of his former colleagues from the Red Army testified about the military specialist's service. These statements contain previously unknown data about Pekhlivanov's service in the Red Army, about the circumstances of his flight from Soviet Russia, about his life and activities after his flight, and also, most interestingly, about his interaction with the anti-Bolshevik underground. Previously, Pekhlivanov, except for the episode with his desertion from the Red Army, was considered quite a loyal military specialist. Of course, indications of his connection with the underground, given under specific circumstances of the investigation about his involvement with Bolshevism, require verification. In addition, the materials of the investigative case of Pekhlivanov give an idea of the specifics of the policy of the White South in relation to prisoners of war and defectors from among the officers of the General Staff. The case materials are being introduced into academic circulation for the first time.

Received 10 February 2026

Revised 22 April 2026

Accepted 14 May 2026

For citation: Ganin, A. V., 2026. A “Red” Bulgarian under “White” Investigation: The Case of Colonel I. G. Pekhlivanov, 1919. Slavic World in the Third Millennium, 21 (1–2), pp. 285–317. https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2026.21.1-2.16