“Red Marshals” by Roman Gul is a unique work in many ways. The author himself, a veteran of the white movement, a participant in the First Kuban (“Ice”) campaign of the Volunteer Army, fought with these “marshals” on the fields of the civil war, saw them primarily as enemies, but as strong, victorious enemies who won that terrible fratricidal war .Curiosity, morbid interest of the vanquished in the winners? What motivated Gul when, in exile, he began to write about the leaders of the Red Army? There was little material, and Gul himself did not always consider it reliable. He did not believe the official biographical information about V. K. Blucher, which was published in the Soviet press, continuing to consider Blucher a German, a revolutionary internationalist. Essays about the Red commanders were created in the 20s and 30s. There was no official title of “marshal” in the Soviet Union at that time. Gul chose a few whom he himself considered worthy of the “marshal’s baton.” And he was not mistaken. Of the four leaders of the Red Army whose biographies he wrote, three - with the exception of the deceased G. I. Kotovsky - actually became marshals of the Soviet Union. Roman Gul also mentioned the fourth, Semyon Budyonny, but Gul did not consider him an independent political and military figure, and gave a short sketch about him as an integral part of the description of the life of the “1st Red Officer” Klim Voroshilov. Another of the five first marshals of the Soviet Union, Alexander Ilyich Egorov, for some reason fell out of sight of the author of “Red Marshals”. It’s a pity, the figure was no less colorful than Tukhachevsky or the same Kotovsky. Naturally, biographies written by the enemy of the Red Army commanders cannot be absolutely objective. There was not enough material in the open press. Gul took some from rumors, some from anecdotes. But he guessed the characters of his heroes correctly, and thanks to this, the book was filled with the charm of authenticity and became a bestseller. It was published and reprinted abroad, and went through several editions in post-Soviet Russia. Journalists and publicists began to refer to Gul; writers who were inspired by the theme of the civil war turned to his work. The proposed edition of “Red Marshals” by Roman Gul is also unique in its own way. A whole system of historical references and comments made by historians has been developed and attached, thanks to which the images of the “Red Marshals” acquired new shades and became more reliable. In addition, to complete the picture, a biography of S. M. Budyonny, who can rightfully be considered one of the legendary, original heroes of that tragic time, has been added to the series of essays written by Roman Gul. The book is designed for a wide range of readers and, undoubtedly, will justify their hopes. Compiled by P. G. Gorelov Comments and editing by Doctor of Historical Sciences A. V. Venkov