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Primary sourcePhotograph1920

Béla Kun with Trotsky and Frunze at the Southern Front, 1920

1920

A photograph of Béla Kun with Leon Trotsky, Mikhail Frunze, and others during the Russian Civil War campaign in Crimea, 1920.

Shows Kun's role in the Russian Civil War's southern front alongside Trotsky, tied to his part in the Crimean Red Terror.

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Black-and-white photograph of five men in a room. Four sit on a sofa and one stands at right, leaning over a large unrolled paper or map. The seated man at center wears a military-style tunic and boots and looks down at the paper. Others wear dark civilian coats, one with a bow tie. A round wall object is visible above.
Béla Kun, Jacques Sadoul, Leon Trotsky, Mikhail Frunze and Sergey Gusev. Kharkiv, Ukraine, 1920.

About this source

What it is

This black-and-white photograph shows five men in a room: Béla Kun, Jacques Sadoul, Leon Trotsky, Mikhail Frunze, and Sergey Gusev. Four sit on a sofa while one leans over a large unrolled map. It was taken in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in 1920, during the Russian Civil War.

Why it matters

After the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic, Kun went to Soviet Russia and took part in the Crimean campaign, where he was involved in the harsh Red Terror reprisals against surrendered White forces. His presence alongside major Soviet military leaders like Trotsky and Frunze shows his continuing role in revolutionary politics beyond Hungary.

Look closer

  • What does the map suggest about what these men were discussing?
  • Why might Kun, a Hungarian, have been working with Soviet Russian military leaders?
  • What is missing from this calm indoor scene that connects to the violent events of the Crimean campaign?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Béla Kun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Vörös Újság: First Editorial

Béla Kun · 7 December 1918

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4 June 1920

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Béla Kun, Leader of the 1919 Hungarian Revolution

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Photograph of a yellowed Nazi propaganda pamphlet titled 'Die Totengräber Russlands' with a headline 'Nicht wegwerfen!' and 'Weitergeben!'. It has rows of ink caricatures of men's faces with text captions naming Soviet communist leaders, and the slogan 'Vor dem bolschewistischen Chaos bewahrt uns nur Adolf Hitler!' at the bottom. A handwritten note 'März 1937' is at the top left.Photograph

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Sepia photograph of a dense crowd of men in hats and coats gathered in a city square in front of a stone building with arched windows. Lamp post and banners rise above them; a large statue on a pedestal stands at right, and a man on the far right holds a flag.Photograph

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Sándor Garbai and Béla Kun, Leaders of the Hungarian Soviet Republic

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