Analysis of the latest discoveries of French and American newsreels from 1919 featuring views of white Omsk

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-4-1045-1064

For citation

Stelmak, Maxim M., Petin, Dmitry I. (2025). Analysis of the latest finds of French and American newsreels from 1919 with views of white Omsk, Herald of an Archivist, no. 4, pp. 1045-1064, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-4-1045-1064

Stelmak, Maxim M., Historical Archives of the Omsk Region, Omsk, Russia

Petin, Dmitry I., Omsk State Technical University, Omsk, Russia

Analysis of the latest discoveries of French and American newsreels from 1919 featuring views of white Omsk

Abstract

The authors conducted a source study of two previously unanalyzed visual sources from the Russian Civil War. These are minute-long newsreel fragments filmed in anti-Bolshevik Omsk in early 1919 by war journalists serving in the expeditionary army contingents of the United States and France. The videos were distributed online but have not received adequate academic interpretation. This work continues the author's research, which has been ongoing for nearly a decade. The sources under study provide valuable factual insight into the everyday political life of Kolchak's capital, clearly illustrating certain official aspects of the stay in Omsk of prominent representatives of the White movement's foreign allies. The sources are linked to the historiography of the issue, leading to the conclusion that this study is relevant and innovative. Its purpose is to analyze the substantive features of these visual sources, taking into account the specific historical context of their origin. The study's source material consists of the newsreel fragments themselves, interpreted through a diverse set of sources (memoirs, periodicals, reference works, and historiographic research). The theoretical foundation of the work is represented by a combination of institutional and anthropological approaches, the principle of systems, and problem-chronological, comparative historical, historical-genetic, source-study, and biographical methods. This methodological approach allowed us to identify common and specific features of the previously studied and currently analyzed film footage, presenting the captured scenes as part of the political culture of white Omsk and linking them to specific historical figures. According to the study's authors, academic specialists' reliance on visual documents of this kind not only facilitates the representation of history in motion. The use of these testimonies of the past plays an important role in overcoming erroneous judgments about the Civil War in eastern Russia and also helps popularize knowledge about this period through the display of visual heritage, accompanied by commentary, at public history venues. This work may be of interest to researchers studying visual history, the interactions between the anti-Bolshevik authorities in eastern Russia and their foreign allies, everyday life in Siberian cities during this period, and local history.

Keywords

Visual sources, newsreels, Russian Civil War, intervention, White Omsk, everyday life.

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About authors

Stelmak Maxim M., PhD in History, Omsk Region Historical Archive, Center for the Study of the History of the Civil War, Leading Archivist, Omsk, Russia, +7-950-796-58-38, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Petin Dmitry I., PhD in History, Omsk State Technical University, Department of History, Philosophy, and Social Communications, Associate Professor; Omsk, Russia, +7-950-333-56-81, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The article was received in the editorial office on 5.02.2025, recommended for publication on 20.09.2025.