Topic summary
Deserters
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Desertion.
Russian Civil War
In 1919, 616 "hardcore" deserters of the total 837,000 draft dodgers and deserters were executed following People's CommissarLeon Trotsky's draconian measures. According to Figes, "a majority of deserters (most registered as 'weak-willed') were handed back to the military authorities, and formed into units for transfer to one of the rear armies or directly to the front". Even those registered as "malicious" deserters were returned to the ranks when the demand for reinforcements became desperate". Figes also noted that the Red Army instituted amnesty weeks to prohibit punitive measures against desertion which encouraged the voluntary return of 98,000-132,000 deserters to the army.