Nestor Makhno

Batko Nestor Makhno
Нестор Махно
Makhno in 1921
Otaman of the Makhnovshchina
In office 30 September 1918 – 28 August 1921
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Viktor Bilash
Chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council
In office 27 July 1919 – 1 September 1919
Preceded by	Ivan Chernoknizhny
Succeeded by	Volin
Personal details
Born	7 November [O.S. 26 October] 1888 Huliaipole, Katerynoslav Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	25 July 1934(1934-07-25) (aged 45) Paris, France
Cause of death	Tuberculosis
Spouse(s)	Nastia Vasetskaia ​ ​ (m. 1917⁠–⁠1918)​ Halyna Kuzmenko ​ ​ (m. 1918⁠–⁠1934)​
Children	Elena Mikhnenko

Nestor Ivanovych Makhno (7 November 1888 – 25 July 1934) was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary. He was the leader of the Makhnovshchina ("Makhno movement") and the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.

Makhno was born in a poor family in Huliaipole, in the south of Ukraine. He was put in prison because of his anarchist activism. During the Russian Revolution, he was set free and returned to his home town. He took property from the rich and gave it to poor farmers. When civil war started, he joined the side of the Bolsheviks. Together with the Red Army, Makhno's anarchist forces fought against the White Army and the Central Powers. After he beat them in battle, he attempted to build anarchist communism in Ukraine. But the Bolsheviks turned against Makhno and attacked the Insurgent Army. Makhno withdrew from Ukraine and went into exile. He moved to Paris, where he wrote his memoirs and articles about anarchism. He argued a lot with other anarchists and was accused of antisemitism. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 45.