Papers, 1966-1973.

The collection consists of correspondence, articles, and reviews related to Victor Peters research for his book Nestor Makhno: The Life of an Anarchist (Winnipeg: Echo Books, 1970). The book traces the career of Nestor Makhno and the history of his anarchist movement in the Ukrainian revolutionary ferment of 1917-21. In writing the book, Peters appealed to people who lived through those years and later succeeded in leaving the Soviet Union. The correspondence reflects eyewitness reports that the author solicited from Ukrainians, German Mennonite colonists, and others who either knew Makno personally or who witnessed his insurgent activities, such as I. Antypenko, Fotii Meleshko, Father Iahodskyi and Zenon Jaworsky. Peters also established contact with people in France who described Makhno's life in exile, such as May Picqueray, who received Makhno as a refugee in Paris, and Ida Mett, who worked with him for several years. The collection also contains articles (in German, Russian and Ukrainian) that Peters collected during his research, as well as a copy of his book (in German) and its reviews.