Histories of the Russian Revolution often present the Bloshevik seizure of power in 1917 as the central point, neglecting the diverse struggles of urban and rural revolutionaries accross the heartlands of the Russian Empire. This book takes as its subject one such struggle, the anarcho-communist peasant revolt led by Nestor Makhno in left-bank Ukraine, locating it in the context of the final collapse of the Empire that began in 1914. Between 1917 and 1921, the Makhnovists fought German and Austrian invaders, reactionary monarchist forces, Ukrainian nationalists, and sometimes the Bolsheviks themselves. Drawing upon anarchist ideology, the Makhnovists gathered widespread support amongst the Ukrainian peasantry, taking up arms when under attack and playing a significant role – in temporary alliance with the Red Army – in the defeats of the White generals Denikin and Wrangel. Often dimissed as a kulak revolt, or a manifestation of Ukrainian nationalism, Colin Darch analyses the successes and failures of the Makhnovist movement in order to shine light on its revolutionary character.