Eastern Okraina

Eastern Okraina Российская Восточная Окраина
1920
Flag
Capital	Chita
Common languages	Russian
Government	Provisional government
• 1920	Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov
Historical era	Russian Civil War
• Established	January 16 1920
• Disestablished	October 28
Preceded by Succeeded by Provisional All-Russian Government Far Eastern Republic

The Eastern Okraina (Russian: Российская Восточная Окраина) was a local government that existed in the eastern part of Russia during the Russian Civil War.

In 1919 White forces in Western Siberia were defeated by the Reds. On 4 January 1920, Supreme Ruler of Russia Alexander Kolchak issued an order transferring to ataman Grigory Semyonov "the whole civil and military power on the territory of Russia eastern outskirts".

Based on this order, on 16 January 1920, Grigory Semyonov announced in Chita the creation of the "Government of the Russia eastern outskirts", with Sergey Taskin as its head. Semyonov's actions were supported by the commanders of Japanese troops in Siberia.

On 6 April 1920, a hastily convened Constituent Assembly gathered at Verkhneudinsk and proclaimed the establishment of the Far Eastern Republic (FER). On May 14, Japanese commanders agreed to talk with the FER, and on May 24 the negotiations began at Gongota Railway Station. The Japanese insisted that the Government of the Russia Eastern Outskirts should be an equal party during the negotiations for the creation of the united Far East government, but the FER disagreed, and negotiations were stopped.

On July 3, Japan issued a proclamation about evacuating Japanese troops from Siberia. Semyonov understood that he could not stand without Japanese support. He asked the Japanese government to delay the evacuation for four months, and tried to talk with the Government of Zemstvo of Maritime Territory about merging, but unsuccessfully.

On July 17, Japanese military officials in Siberia signed the Gongota Agreement of 1920 with representatives of the FER. The Whites understood that they could not stop the Reds without Japanese support, and began to retreat to the southeast, preparing to retreat to China. Only small military forces still held Chita, blocking the Trans-Siberia Railway.

In September, a Provisional Eastern-Transbaikal Assembly was organized, and Semyonov transferred to it the civil powers. At the same time military forces of the FER, masked as independent groups of partisans, began to move to Chita; on September 15, an assembly of workers of the Eastern Transbaikal Region in Nerchinsk proclaimed the creation of the regional Revolution committee. On October 15, Japanese troops left Chita, and the Reds demanded the capitulation of the Whites' garrison. The Whites declined, and the Reds began to advance on Chita on October 19. On October 22, Chita was captured. On October 25, the government of the FER moved to Chita. At the end of October, the Provisional Eastern-Transbaikal Assembly during a joint session with the Nerchinsk Regional Revolution Committee declared dissolution, and three Far Eastern pro-Soviet governments joined in the united FER.