In Soviet times, scouts were among the favorite characters of propaganda. Amazing legends were created around them, which often turned out to be fabrications upon closer examination. In 1969, the film "The Adjutant of His Excellency" was released, featuring the red scout Pavel Koltsov, who supposedly served as the personal adjutant to General Kovalevsky. However, studying the history of the Civil War reveals that the prototype for Kovalevsky was General Mai-Maevsky, while the real person Koltsov was based on was Pavel Vasilievich Makarov. But was Makarov really a captain or a scout? Let's try to figure it out.

During World War I, the Russian officer corps suffered significant losses, and the army needed new personnel. After accelerated courses, people who would not have become officers in peacetime received officer ranks. Among these warrant officers was Pavel Makarov, a native of Skopin, who was 20 years old. The story then begins, known only from his words. At the end of 1917, Makarov allegedly supported the Bolsheviks and went to Melitopol to create new red units, but he was captured by the whites, calling himself a captain instead of a warrant officer. In his memoirs, he claimed he promoted himself for survival, but this version seems questionable, as no rank was required to join the white forces.

In 1920, Makarov claimed he was connected to the red underground and passed information to them, but there is no evidence for this. In reality, he was involved in getting General Mai-Maevsky drunk at headquarters and selling part of the alcohol, effectively stealing state property. He was arrested in Crimea, but escaped and began to pass himself off as a Bolshevik scout. He managed to receive a reward and join the Cheka. During the purges, he avoided execution, settling for two years in prison, and lived until 1970.