Russia (bbabo.net), - Excerpts from the diaries of Karel Praszil and Frantisek Nowak were published as separate books, their publication was paid for by the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Yekaterinburg. The translator and editor was Konstantin Brylyakov, head of the Yekaterinburg Center for Guides. He did most of the work when he was stuck in Prague for half a year at the beginning of the pandemic.

- At this time, my business associated with the reception of foreigners in the Urals completely collapsed, I literally went crazy. Then the Czech friends threw these texts to me. We translated them together with my son, he has been living in Prague for a long time and speaks the language perfectly, - said Konstantin at the presentation. - I am a historian by education, the topic of the Czechoslovak Legion has long occupied me. Of course, memoirs reflect a subjective view of events, but at the same time they remain an important historical document.

Consul Stepan Gilar, who worked in Yekaterinburg for four and a half years, says, pointing to the books:

- It was my dream! Russia is not the Soviet Union. Now you can speak freely on many topics that were banned.

As it turned out, in the Czech Republic, too, these pages of history were silent for a long time. The memoirs of legionnaires were published in Czech only a few years ago. And now in Russian - however, with a circulation of only 300 copies.

- I have already given copies of the books to the library, they will not go to the stores. The consulate cannot conduct commercial activities, including the sale of books. Our diplomats will present this deluxe edition to Russian friends. In addition, memoirs are important as a source of information for historians, - said Mr. Gilar.

Andrey Ganin, one of the leading experts on the history of the Civil War in Russia, agrees with the Czech consul: in his review, he welcomed "the introduction of new historical sources into scientific circulation."

So, the fighters of the Czechoslovak Corps - a military unit that voluntarily went over to the side of the Russian Empire during the First World War - ended up in Russia at the height of revolutionary events. They sought to return to their homeland, but then got involved in the Civil War and played a prominent role in it.

Two junior officers, Novak and Prashil, spoke about the life of Czechoslovaks in the country engulfed in fire, about meetings with famous people - General Kornilov, writer Hasek.

Frantisek Novak also visited Yekaterinburg on behalf of the battalion commander.

I visited the city museum with a rich collection of Ural stones and a mammoth skeleton, visited an interesting convent, where I bought several small icons.

The legionnaire had a modern excursion program!

Lieutenant Novak personally took part in the transfer of the Russian gold reserves to the Bolsheviks - that same "Kolchak's gold", around which there is still a lot of talk and speculation.

…We loaded a total of 10 American and 8 conventional freight cars. We signed the protocols, then there was a short but touching farewell. The members of the commission and the officials of the State Bank warmly shook hands with me, and then went out to perform the last act: the changing of the guard at the treasures ...

Both guards stood opposite each other. I was wearing a black Astrakhan hat, a new overcoat, a leather harness and a saber. After the usual ceremony, the two commanders came out and greeted each other with drawn sabers. Then we intercepted the sabers in the left hand and gave each other the right. And at that moment something happened that I did not expect at all: the Soviet commander opened his arms, pulled me to him and kissed me sincerely, in Russian, twice ... It happened at the Irkutsk station on March 1, 1920 ("Diary of the Czechoslovak legionnaire Frantisek Novak. Selected chapters on the events of the First World War and the Civil War in Russia. Yekaterinburg, 2021).

The second legionnaire, Karel Prashil, captured not only the battles and the cold of the Siberian winter, but also meetings with young ladies from Zlatoust, dancing and going to the market.

In Chelyabinsk, I survived the first Siberian winter. I have learned to cover my ears as a precaution in the cold, to always remember that with my uncovered hand I must not touch the metal, otherwise the hand will "stick", and when you start tearing it off with force, you can lose some skin. When opening the car, you must wear a good mitten, or at least wrap the handle with a piece of a raincoat or shirt. The car had to be heated day and night, while those who slept upstairs were languishing from the heat, and those who were downstairs from the cold ...

When the frost is 37.5 degrees Celsius or even colder, young people do not go to school. Therefore, at dance parties, high school girls went to look at the thermometer. If it was very cold, they could dance longer, because they could sleep longer in the morning ("Memories of my army life. Excerpts from the memoirs of Russia by the Czechoslovak legionnaire Karel Prashil". Yekaterinburg, 2020).Ural historians and guides gathered for the presentation. Alexander Kruchinin, a member of the Yekaterinburg military-historical club, spoke about the path of the Czechoslovaks through the revolution-ridden Russia. According to him, the atrocities of the so-called White Czechs were greatly exaggerated. According to the documents in the regional archive, he personally counted all those killed under Kolchak in the Yekaterinburg province, and out of 1450 people on this list, only seven can be recorded on the account of the legionnaires. And the very word "White Czech", the historian believes, is the fruit of propaganda.

In social networks, people from all over Russia and from abroad expressed their desire to get acquainted with the memories of legionnaires.

"I want to read memoirs! One of my grandmothers married such a Czech and disappeared with him in a historical whirlwind," the former Yekaterinburg resident wrote.

“As a lover of history based primarily on facts and direct sources, I am glad that the publication of these memoirs is a contribution to a deeper acquaintance with our common history,” President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman wrote in the preface to the magazine version.

By the way

For all those who are interested in books that immediately became a bibliographic rarity, there is good news: the texts have been published in special issues of the journal "Vesi", including the electronic version.

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