Novorossiysk has long become one of the most popular resorts in Russia, and during the peak vacation season, thousands of people pass by a sculpture depicting a man in military uniform leading a horse to the sea. This monument, unveiled in April 2013, is located on the Black Sea coast. Many see it, but few know the story hidden behind it. In late March 1920, a tragedy occurred here, known as the Novorossiysk evacuation or the Novorossiysk catastrophe. It is associated with the retreat of General Denikin's troops to Crimea and the massacre carried out by the Bolsheviks who invaded the city.

After a failed offensive on Moscow, the White Army of the Armed Forces of South Russia retreated to Novorossiysk. A terrible typhus was decimating the ranks of volunteers and Cossacks, there was a shortage of ammunition, reinforcements, and winter clothing, and the frosts intensified their suffering. The Bolsheviks pursued the Whites, uprisings of the Greens flared up in the rear, and the Cossacks tried to save their families, which increased the columns of retreating due to refugees. They failed to break through to other ports and cross the Kerch Strait, so the Whites rushed to Novorossiysk. However, only half of the troops managed to retreat to the city, while the Kuban army and the Don corps were cut off and forced to head towards Gelendzhik and Tuapse.

On March 26, loading began at the port of Novorossiysk, but the Allies provided little help, and there were not enough ships. Due to typhus, people were not allowed to disembark in Constantinople, and the ships could not return to evacuate everyone. The remaining Cossacks and refugees tried to break along the coast, but not everyone succeeded. A massacre began on the shore: the victors drove people through a line and killed every second person, and the remaining ones were not spared either. Some committed suicide and shot their families to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Reds. Such was the horror that unfolded on what is now a hospitable coast.