From the photo, a young man looks at us with a cocky gaze. A sailor's peakless cap with the inscription "John Chrysostom" and a hussar dolman embroidered with brandenburs. It is hard not to recognize him - the famous Fedos, Theodosius or Fedor Shchus, one of the closest associates of Batka Makhno, known for his dashing and freedom-loving disposition. Shchus was not eager to obey not only any authority, but also the dad himself. Perhaps it was for this that he paid with his life.
The civil war in Russia inscribed in the history of our country many names of people who, in a different situation, would not have become political figures. The same Shchus, had it not been for the revolution and the Civil War, probably would have continued to serve in the navy, would have become an excellent boatswain, and maybe he would have gotten himself into some bad story because of his temper. But in the turbulent revolutionary years, he became one of the most prominent rebel commanders in the Yekaterinoslav region. His life passed as swiftly as his rise from sailors to the commanders of the Makhnovist cavalry was lightning and bright.
Feodosiy Yustinovich Shchus was born on March 25, 1893 in the family of a poor Cossack - Little Russians in the village of Dibrovki, Alexandrovsky district, Yekaterinoslav province. Now the village is called Velikomikhaylovka and is part of the Pokrovsky district of the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine. Founded in the 18th century, the settlement was actually always called Mikhailovka, and then Velikomikhailovka. But the people preferred to call her Dibrovka - after the dibrov, oak forests that grew nearby. By the time little Fedos lived here, there were more than a thousand households in Velikomikhaylovka, a brick and tile factory, three steam mills and two steam oil mills, a post office and a telephone station worked. That is, the settlement was not a completely seedy place. When the revolutionary events of 1905-1907 began in Russia, Shchus was still too young to take part in them. Unlike his senior comrade in the Civil War, Nestor Makhno, who happened to "fit in" among the participants in the anarchist revolutionary struggle of 1906-1908, nothing is known about Shchus' participation in any political movements at that time.
In 1914, the First World War began, and Feodosiy Shchus was twenty-one years old. In the following year, 1915, he was called up for active military service and was sent to serve as a sailor on the battleship John Chrysostom of the Black Sea Fleet. This ship, built in 1904 and launched in 1906, took an active part in the hostilities - fired at the ports of Varna, Kozlu, Kilimli, Zunguldak, and covered the transport of military units. Fedos quickly became one of the best sailors, although he was not distinguished by high discipline. But on the other hand, thanks to his natural physical characteristics, Shchusu managed to become the champion in boxing and in French wrestling in the Black Sea Fleet. It was said about him that without much difficulty he could "strangle" anyone with a grip - after all, apart from boxing, Shchus also studied the then popular jiu-jitsu. In addition to sports, while serving in the navy, Shchus also developed another passion - he became interested in politics. At that time, it was in the naval crews that anarchist sentiments were very strong. In the revolutionary movement, the fleet was considered the support of the anarchist freemen; many sailors sympathized with the anarchists. Shchus, who joined one of the anarcho-communist groups, was no exception.
When the February Revolution took place in 1917, and then the armed forces of Russia, including the fleet, were actually disorganized, Shchus joined one of the detachments of revolutionary sailors, and then dropped out of service altogether and returned to his homeland - to the Yekaterinoslav region. By this time, anarchists were already active here, having created several groups and detachments. Shchus joined the Black Guard operating in Gulyai-Polye, but then decided to create his own detachment. Despite his youth, and Shchusyu was only 24 years old, he had plenty of ambitions.
Shchus saw himself and only himself as a revolutionary commander, and preferred to gather in his detachment the same reckless anarchists - former front-line soldiers, young villagers and workers. Then, in 1918, a number of similar formations operated in the Yekaterinoslav region. These were the detachments of Makhno, Maksyuta, Dermendzhi, Kurylenko, Petrenko-Platonov and many other "field commanders". The Shchus' detachment stood out among others with special audacity, which allowed the young sailor, who suddenly became the commander of his own detachment, to gain wide popularity in the district and instill fear in wealthy owners and the hetman's warta.
Among the heterogeneous anarchist freemen, who dressed in a lot, Shchus always looked the most "stylish", as they would say in our time. Shchus' costume is a wonderful example of the "rebel uniform of anarchists" during the Civil War. Shchus, emphasizing his maritime past, which he was proud of, always preferred a sailor's cap with the name of the battleship - "John Chrysostom" to his hat. Dressed in an embroidered hussar uniform, the guy from the Yekaterinoslav settlement felt like a dashing hussar, a partisan commander, like Denis Davydov. Shchus had a passion for weapons - he wore a Caucasian dagger around his neck, a saber in his belt, and an old expensive one, and a Colt revolver. Naturally, the commander of such a colorful appearance soon became one of the most famous and popular among the people of the anarchists of the Yekaterinoslav region.
However, for all the courage and unconditional charisma, Shchusy still lacked the political flair and organizational qualities that Nestor Makhno had in abundance. This determined the further course of events - not Fedos Shchus, but Nestor Makhno became an anarchist dad, although Makhno was much smaller and more puny than Fedos and was never a boxing champion. In the summer of 1918, Theodosius Shchus' detachment joined the detachment of Nestor Makhno, and the dashing sailor ataman recognized the supremacy of Batka and retreated to a secondary position in the Makhnovist movement, becoming one of Nestor's assistants.
How Makhno became a “father” is described by Peter Arshinov in his “History of the Makhnovist Movement”. On September 30, 1918, in the Velikomikhaylovka area, the Makhnovists were surrounded by a large Austro-German detachment, which was joined by a detachment of volunteers from the local wealthy youth. Makhno had only thirty people and one machine gun at his disposal. The Makhnovists were in the Dibrivsky forest, where they learned from local peasants that a large detachment of Austro-Hungarian troops was quartered in Dibrivki (the native village of Shchusya). But Makhno decided to attack the superior forces of the enemy.
It was at this moment, according to Arshinov, that Theodosius Shchus turned to Nestor Makhno and asked the latter to be over all the rebels as a dad, vowing to die for the ideas of the insurrection. At the same time, Makhno gave Shchus an order, at the head of a group of five or seven rebels, to hit the Austrian battalion in the side. Makhno himself, at the head of the main forces of the rebels, hit the enemy in the forehead. The surprise attack had a stunning effect on the Austrians. Despite the multiple numerical superiority and much better weapons, the Austrians suffered a crushing defeat from the Makhnovists. In Velikomikhaylovka, Nestor Makhno was proclaimed a rebel dad. As we can see, Shchus found the courage and strength to step aside and let Makhno go ahead, who had more suitable data for a leading role.
In the conditions of the offensive of Denikin's troops, Makhno in February 1919 entered into an alliance with the Red Army. Batka's formations joined the 1st Zadneprovsk Ukrainian Soviet Division, commanded by Pavel Efimovich Dybenko, also a sailor in the past, only of the Baltic Fleet. Makhno's detachments received the name of the 3rd Zadneprovsk brigade and took part in battles against Denikin's troops. Theodosius Shchus was included in the headquarters of the 3rd Zadneprovskaya brigade. However, in May 1919, Makhno, speaking at a congress of rebel commanders in Mariupol, supported the idea of creating an independent rebel army, after which he left with his formations from the Red Army and began to create his own Revolutionary Rebel Army of Ukraine. Feodosiy Shchus, "a sailor in a hussar dolman", took the position of chief of cavalry in the RPAU, but in August 1919 he was appointed commander of the 1st cavalry brigade of the 1st Donetsk corps of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, and then - a member of the headquarters of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine … In May - June 1921 Shchus served as chief of staff of the 2nd group of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.
However, occupying a much less significant place in the insurgent hierarchy than Nestor Makhno, Theodosius Shchus, nevertheless, continued to enjoy great prestige among both the insurgents and ordinary peasants. His charisma and external data played a role. Now Shchusya would be called the “sex symbol” of the Makhnovist movement, and there was a certain grain of truth in this - it is known that a tall and stately sailor, prone to outrageous and expressive behavior, was especially popular with the female part of the Makhnovist movement. In addition, Theodosius Shchus also tried himself in versification. He was the author of the texts of several rebel songs popular among the Makhnovists and peasants of the Yekaterinoslav region. "Black banners in front of the regiments, beware of Budyonny's dad's blades!" - the Makhnovist horsemen sang a song to the verses of the commander of the cavalry brigade. Shchus himself believed that his image would go down in history, and even after his death, the locals would remember him, make him a hero of folk legends and songs. And such songs were really composed about Shchus in the Yekaterinoslav region during the Civil War and in the first years after its end.
Theodosius Shchus retained tremendous influence both on the rebels and on Father Makhno himself. So, when in 1919 Makhno was elected chairman of the Gulyai-Polsky council, Shchus was elected as a comrade chairman. The insurgent headquarters at first was referred to as "the headquarters of Makhno and Shchus", and Shchus himself did not want to yield to the father in anything and was one of the few people who could sharply object to the insurgent leader, who was quite tough in dealing with administrative and military issues.
Together with Nestor Makhno, Feodosiy Shchus went through almost the entire Civil War. His life, like the lives of many such figures, ended tragically, but very predictably. In June 1921, Theodosius Shchus died during the battle of the Makhnovist troops with the 8th Cavalry Division of the Chervonny Cossacks (the head of the division was a former warrant officer of the tsarist army Mikhail Demichev) near the village of Nedrigailov (now the Nedrigailovsky district of the Sumy region of Ukraine). It was near Nedrigailovo that Makhno's detachments suffered a serious defeat from the Red Army, after which the Makhnovists began to retreat, which ended with their flight abroad.
Historians are still arguing about the death of Theodosius Shchus. According to one of the widespread versions, Shchus was killed not by the Reds in battle, but by the Makhnovists themselves, possibly Nestor Ivanovich personally. Allegedly, Theodosius Shchus became disillusioned with the future prospects of the insurrectionary struggle and suggested that Nestor Makhno surrender, refusing to take further part in the battles. After that, Nestor Makhno ordered those who support Shchus to move to one side, and those who support him to the other. Old Man wanted to make sure which side was on the majority. It turned out that most of the rebels still supported Nestor, after which Makhno personally shot Theodosius Shchus. But this version is unlikely. At least there is no documented evidence of her. On the contrary, Makhno always spoke of Shchus with respect, although he noted a certain recklessness and fervor of the “sailor-ataman”. Shchusya was highly appreciated by Pyotr Arshinov, who was in charge of the cultural and educational department in the Makhnovist army. According to Arshinov's recollections, Shchus was distinguished by exceptional energy and personal courage. Among the peasants of the Yekaterinoslav region, as Arshinov noted in his History of the Makhnovist Movement, Theodosius Shchus enjoyed almost the same prestige as Father Nestor Makhno himself.
Shchus was not the only Makhnovist chieftain "among the sailors." In addition to the charismatic Fedos, there were several other outstanding commanders in the Makhnovist movement who came to the insurgent army from the navy. For example, “Maksyut's grandfather” (Artem Yermolaevich Maksyuta), who was already fifty years old by the time of the revolutionary events of 1917, also served in the navy during the First World War, and then created his own anarchist detachment of sailors. The Moldovan Dermendzhi served as a telegraph operator on the battleship Potemkin, during the famous uprising, along with other Potemkinites, he left for Romania, until the 1917 revolution he lived in exile, and then, returning, joined the insurgent detachments of Makhno. Like Shchus and Maksyuta, Dermendzhi first commanded his own, independent anarchist detachment of 200-400 rebels, and then joined his formation to the army of Nestor Makhno and took the post of chief of communications from the Makhnovists, created a separate telegraph battalion. But it was Shchus who was the most charismatic and prominent commander of the Makhnovist army after the father himself.
