Lavr Georgievich Kornilov born on August 18, 1870 in Ust-Kamenogorsk in a large family of a Siberian Cossack, who later became an official, and an Orthodox Kazakh woman (according to another version, a Cossack woman of Kalmyk blood). Having graduated from the Omsk Siberian Cadet Corps as one of the best students, Lavr Kornilov continued his studies at the prestigious Mikhailovsky Artillery School. Having received the rank of second lieutenant in 1892, he returned to his small homeland, choosing the Turkestan Military District as his place of service, and then, after two years of service, he entered the Academy of the General Staff. Having graduated from the academy with a silver medal, Kornilov, who received the rank of captain ahead of schedule, continued to serve in the Turkestan Military District, holding various staff positions.
Having mastered the German, English, French, Persian, Kazakh, Mongolian and Kalmyk languages well, Kornilov proved himself to be an excellent intelligence officer. Disguised as a Turkmen, he made a series of reconnaissance expeditions in East Turkestan (Kashgaria), Afghanistan and Persia, as a result of which he wrote the book “Kashgaria, or East Turkestan,” which made a significant contribution to geography, ethnography and military science. Then, in 1903‒1904, a reconnaissance mission to India followed, during which Kornilov studied the condition of the British colonial troops.
With the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Lavr Kornilov found himself in the active army, taking part in the battles of Sandepu, Mukden and others, establishing himself as an excellent officer, whose military merits were noted by many orders, including the highest military awards - the Order of St. George, 4th degree and St. George's weapon. Having finished the war with the rank of colonel, Kornilov continued to serve as a military agent in China.
When the First World War began, L.G. Kornilov was appointed head of the 48th Infantry Division (later called "Steel"), which fought under his command in Galicia and the Carpathians as part of the army of General A.A. Brusilova. As Brusilov later noted, Kornilov “he was always ahead and thereby attracted the hearts of the soldiers who loved him”. But at the same time, Brusilov continued, “General Kornilov never spared his division: in all the battles in which it participated under his command, it suffered horrific losses”. Once Brusilov almost put Kornilov on trial for violating an order, which led to great human losses. However, Brusilov, Kornilov made an important note “and he didn’t feel sorry for himself, he was personally brave and climbed forward headlong”. “...This is the head of a dashing partisan detachment - and nothing more...”, - this was the conclusion about the military leadership talents of Kornilov, his immediate superior. According to General A.I., who was more favorable to Kornilov. Denikina, “from a second-rate part of the Kazan district, he made an excellent combat division in a few weeks; determination and extreme perseverance in conducting the most difficult, seemingly doomed operation; extraordinary personal courage, which terribly impressed the troops and created great popularity among them.”. Almost all his contemporaries, regardless of their personal attitude towards Kornilov, paid tribute to him - he was a brave military general who distinguished himself more than once in the most difficult sectors of the front.
In April 1915, while covering the retreat of General Brusilov’s army (later Emperor Nicholas II would award him the Order of St. George, 3rd degree, for this battle), Kornilov, twice wounded in the arm and leg, was taken prisoner by Austria. On the third attempt in the summer of 1916, Kornilov managed to escape and reach his own people. The daring escape from enemy captivity brought the general enormous popularity. His name never left the pages of newspapers and magazines; the Emperor personally received Kornilov, presenting him with a previously deserved order.
The February Revolution found Lavr Kornilov commander of the 25th Army Corps. By this time, the general, who had established close relations with one of the leaders of the liberal opposition, Octobrist A.I. Guchkov, was already on the list of people trusted by the Duma members. On the day of Emperor Nicholas II's abdication from the throne, March 2, 1917, Kornilov accepted the appointment to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Petrograd Military District. This choice was not accidental, because as Denikin noted, “everyone who knew Kornilov even a little felt that he had to play a big role against the background of the Russian revolution.” Having replaced the arrested General S.S. in this key post. Khabalov, Kornilov from the very first days of the revolution declared himself as its staunch supporter. Arriving in Petrograd on March 5, the general told reporters: “I believe that the coup that took place in Russia is a sure guarantee of our victory over the enemy. Only a free Russia, having thrown off the yoke of the old regime, can emerge victorious from a real world war.”.
And soon, by order of the Provisional Government, he personally announced the arrest to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and her children, who were in Tsarskoe Selo. An eyewitness to this event, Guard Lieutenant K.N. Kologrivov recalled: “When I entered the illuminated lobby, I saw in it the Commander-in-Chief of the Petrograd Military District, General Kornilov, the Minister of War of the Provisional Government, Guchkov, and a group of those who had arrived with them. Kornilov and Guchkov were with huge red bows on their chests... Kornilov was in front of the whole group, and Guchkov all the time stayed somewhat behind Kornilov, as if pushing him. I entered the lobby just at the time when Kornilov, in a loud voice and in a rude manner, demanded to see the “former Tsarina.” These were his real words. To this he was told that Her Majesty was probably already asleep at such a late hour, and that all the children were sick. “Now is not the time to sleep,” answered Kornilov, “wake Her up.” (...) Approaching Kornilov and not shaking hands with him, the Empressasked: “What do you need, general?” At this, Kornilov stood up and then, in an extremely respectful tone, which sharply contradicted his entire previous demeanor, said in a broken voice: “Your Imperial Majesty... You don’t know what’s happening in Petrograd and in Tsarskoe... it’s very difficult and unpleasant for me To report to you... but for your safety I am forced to..." and hesitated. To this, the Empress, interrupting him, said: “I know everything very well. Have you come to arrest me?” He became even more confused and finally stammered: “That’s right.” "Nothing else?" - the Empress asked him. “Nothing,” said Kornilov. The Empress, without shaking hands with him, turned and retired to her chambers. This scene made an inexpressibly painful impression on all of us present - the officers, the palace servants and the soldiers (the internal sentries and the Cossacks of His Majesty’s convoy.".
According to the testimony of the Empress's secretary, Count P.N. Apraksina, Alexandra Fedorovna responded to Kornilov’s announcement of arrest with the following words: “I am glad that it was you, general, who announced my arrest, (...) since you yourself experienced all the horror of imprisonment.”. Supporters of General Kornilov interpret this episode as Kornilov’s attempt to protect the Royal Family from violence by the revolutionary mob, but most monarchists were sure of something else, never forgiving the “revolutionary general” for the arrest of the Empress.
Be that as it may, the fact of Kornilov’s support for the February Revolution and his active contribution to its triumph remains obvious. Working together with Minister of War A.I. Guchkov, the general did not show the slightest counter-revolutionary attitude. While actively opposing the influence of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in the army, Kornilov at the same time fully supported the actions of the new government. And it was Kornilov who had to be awarded the St. George Cross for the fact that he “On February 27, having become the head of the battalion’s training team, he was the first to begin the fight for the freedom of the people and the creation of a New System.”.
Unable to cope with the radical revolutionary sentiments that gripped the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison, General Kornilov already at the end of April 1917 resigned from the post of commander-in-chief of the district troops and, in connection with the preparation of the summer offensive at the front, was transferred to the Southwestern Front as commander of the shock 8th army. As General A.I. recalled. Denikin, “his gloomy figure, dry speech, occasionally only warmed by sincere feeling, and most importantly, its content - so far from the dizzying slogans thrown out by the revolution (...) - could neither ignite nor inspire the Petrograd soldiers.”
At the front, Kornilov showed himself well during the June offensive of the Russian army, which generally ended in failure. He managed to break through the Austrian front and take up to 10 thousand prisoners, but the subsequent German breakthrough on the front of the 11th Army neutralized the initial successes of the Russian armies. Promoted to infantry general, on July 7 Kornilov was appointed commander-in-chief of the armies of the Southwestern Front by Kerensky. And on July 19, Kornilov was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief, replacing General Brusilov in this post. The Provisional Government expected decisive measures to restore order from the brave military general, but Kornilov was unable to cope with the situation. Admiral A.D. Bubnov noted: “In addition to his outstanding military qualities, General Kornilov had neither the foresight nor the “elasticity” of thought of a skilled politician and was not aware of the difficulties and even dangers associated with the position of Supreme Commander-in-Chief.”. And soon the Provisional Government considered Kornilov’s popularity in officer circles too dangerous for the revolution.
Hoping to put an end to the Soviets, L.G. Kornilov decided to transfer General Krymov’s 3rd Cavalry Corps and the “Wild Division”, loyal to him, to Petrograd. A.F. Kerensky initially did not object to these measures, but he soon became suspicious that Kornilov was claiming a leading role in a personal or collective dictatorship after the final defeat of the Bolsheviks and the restoration of order in the capital. After Kornilov refused to surrender his position as commander-in-chief and immediately arrive in Petrograd, he was declared a rebel. At the same time, Kornilov was absolutely alien to the idea of a counter-revolutionary coup and restoration of the Romanov dynasty. Despite such proposals, the general, according to Denikin, stated that “He will not agree to any adventure with the Romanovs”. “I, General Kornilov, the son of a Cossack peasant, declare to one and all that I personally do not need anything except the preservation of Great Russia, and I swear to bring the people - through victory over the enemy - to the Constituent Assembly, at which they themselves will decide their destinies and will choose the way of the new state life"“,” he stated.
The struggle between the head of government and the commander-in-chief finally undermined the already shaky foundations of the Provisional Government, thereby making it easier to carry out the October Revolution. After General Krymov’s unsuccessful campaign against Petrograd, Kornilov was arrested and sent to the Bykhov prison.
He managed to be released after the October Revolution, thanks to General N.N. Dukhonin. Having reached Novocherkassk, Kornilov, together with generals M.V. Alekseev and A.I. Denikin formed the Volunteer Army and took an active part in the White movement. At the same time, the general remained in the republican positions. It is characteristic that the original version of the Kornilov march contained the following lines: “We do not regret the past, / The Tsar is not our idol. / We cherish one dream: To give Russia peace.”. According to Denikin, in his views and beliefs, General Kornilov was close "broad layers of liberal democracy". And the revolutionary sailor Fyodor Batkin served as an agitator under Kornilov, about whom one of the participants in the “Ice March” recalled: "..."Sailor" Batkin was never a sailor. A Jew or Karaite by origin, he came to the Black Sea coast in the very first days of the revolution and got a job in the navy as a “staff speaker,” for which position he wore a sailor’s uniform. He took the same role with Kornilov, who for some unknown reason tolerated the shady rogue, who was far from alien to the Bolshevik government spheres.” Therefore, it was not without reason that he who remained loyal to the Emperor spoke about Kornilov in this way, refusing to support his struggle: “Kornilov is a revolutionary general... let him try to save Russian democracy... I can lead an army only with God in my heart and with the Tsar in my soul. Only faith in God and the power of the Tsar can save us, only the old army and popular repentance can save Russia, and not a democratic army and a “free” people. We see what freedom has led us to: shame and unprecedented humiliation.”.
On February 9/22, 1918, Kornilov, at the head of the Volunteer Army, set out on the First Kuban Campaign to create a base in the Kuban for further struggle against the Bolsheviks. He successfully led the Volunteer Army to join the detachment of the Kuban government, but already on March 1 / April 13, 1918, the general was killed during the assault on Ekaterinodar. "Enemy grenade" Denikin recalled , - only one got into the house, only into Kornilov’s room when he was in it, and killed only him alone. The mystical veil of the eternal mystery covered the paths and accomplishments of an unknown will.”
Thus, a decisive Russian military general, completely ignorant of the intricacies of politics, but striving to play an important role in the tragic days for the country political role, found himself in the ranks of the creators of the February Revolution of 1917, making his contribution to the destruction of the “old system”. Summing up the general’s activities in 1917, Count Tatishchev wrote: “Kornilov openly expressed his sympathy for the revolution, he participated in it, he used the authority of his name not to serve his Sovereign, but against Him, he went against those who remained faithful to the Sovereign and for Him, for their loyalty to Him, they gave their lives in minutes struggle against treason, he covered himself with shame, deciding to take upon himself the arrest of the Royal Family, he sanctioned in the face of the entire Russian Army the criminal gesture of a soldier who killed his valiant officer for his loyalty to the oath to the Tsar.” The same thing was said, but in different words, in the obituary written by an anonymous author on the 10th anniversary of Kornilov’s death: “...Perhaps, of all the Russian generals, Kornilov was the leader who had all the data to lead the revolution. Not in the sense of floating obediently along its spontaneous flow, but in bringing it into the mainstream of statehood and weakening its destructive course. Boundless courage, wide popularity in the army, the ability to influence the masses, selflessness, deep love for the native people, the absence of party blinders - all this seemed to predetermine the role of Kornilov as a leader, the role of Kornilov as an organizer of state forces, as a counterweight to revolutionary chaos.. .. Many leftists, not excluding state-minded socialists, were waiting for Kornilov’s speech, seeing in him not at all a representative of the coming reaction, but the leader of democracy...”
However, like almost all the heroes of February, Kornilov was soon swept away by the revolutionary wave and began to be perceived by many as a counter-revolutionary. But the “counter-revolutionary” nature of General Kornilov consisted only in the fact that, being a patriot and sincerely desiring greatness and glory for his Fatherland, he frantically tried to cope with the disintegrating processes caused by the revolution, without denying it itself. This was his fatal mistake and tragedy, which he never had time to realize.
Prepared Andrey Ivanov, Doctor of Historical SciencesKornilov Lavr Georgievich, whose brief biography is closely connected with the Civil War in Russia, was born on August 18 (30), 1870 in the family of a retired Cossack. Graduated from several educational institutions. Participated in several wars. Served as a scout in the East. Before the revolution, there was one of those who organized the White Guard Volunteer Army. Killed during the battles near Ekaterinodar (Krasnodar) in 1918.
early years
The origins of the future commander are ambiguous. Researchers of his biography and local historians are faced with conflicting data in their searches. The appearance and nationality of Lavr Kornilov are the most discussed points in historians' circles. Most sources agree that his father was of Cossack descent and served as a translator for the 7th Siberian Regiment. But the mother, according to one version, is a Kazakh woman who accepted the Orthodox faith as a girl, Maryam (Maria Ivanovna after baptism). From her, Laurus inherited his oriental appearance.
Other studies claim that his mother is from a Cossack family, whose ancestors included Kalmyks. And a completely different version says that, on the contrary, his biological father was a Kalmyk, and his real name was Gavga Deldinov. After the breakup of the family, Gavga was adopted by Georgy Kornilov, his mother’s brother.
Ros Lavr Georgievich grew up in a large family; out of 12 children, he was the fourth child. He was quiet, modest, diligent and persistent in his studies. He easily passed the entrance exams to the Siberian Cadet Corps in Omsk. Only French failed: the poor family could not find a tutor in the outback. His hard work paid off, and each of his academic successes boosted his self-esteem. At the same time, he remained friendly.
Years in the cadet corps
Shy - that was the young Kornilov Lavr Georgievich. A brief biography during the years of study in the cadet corps was not bright until high school. Regarding extracurricular life, of course. He devoted all his energy to studying subjects. Soon Kornilov became a successful student and earned support for the government “kosht” after the first year of study.
Having graduated from the cadet corps with excellent marks, Lavr Kornilov received the right to choose a military school. The most prestigious at that time was the Mikhailovsky Artillery School in St. Petersburg.
Training at the Artillery School and the General Staff Academy
Here he boldly, one might say, entered adulthood. His father could no longer help him with money. Lavr Georgievich worked part-time as a mathematics tutor and published in geographical magazines, which brought him a reasonable income. There was even enough money to help my parents from time to time.
Excellent grades become the norm for him, but his behavior is not at that level. There was an unpleasant situation with a tactless officer, who, if not for General Chernyavsky, could have received a rebuff from non-commissioned officer Kornilov with a sword. The student was respected, so such an offense was forgiven.
He completed the last course of the school (November 1891) as a cadet, and in August of the following year he took an additional course at the artillery school and received the rank of second lieutenant. Despite the prospect of remaining to serve in the capital, he chooses the Turkestan Military District. In addition to his service, he studies oriental languages and educates soldiers.
Perseverance and ambition push him to apply for admission to the General Staff Academy. Of course, here too he showed himself at the highest level. While studying, he marries the daughter of titular councilor Taisiya Markovina.
Upon completion of his studies, again dismissing the prospect of service in St. Petersburg, Lavr Kornilov returned to Turkestan.
Participation in expeditions
While serving as an assistant to the senior adjutant of the district headquarters, and a little later as a staff officer, Lavr Georgievich, dressed as a Turkmen, entered the territory of Deidadi in Afghanistan and inspected the positions of British troops. He took part in expeditions to Kashgaria, Afghanistan and Persia. Along with studying these places, he creates an agent network and establishes business connections.
The short biography of Lavr Georgievich Kornilov indicates that he made a great contribution to the development of geography, ethnography, military and geopolitical science by writing the book “Kashgaria”. For it he receives. This work was also appreciated internationally. The British, in the “Military Report on Kashgaria,” used city plans from Kornilov’s publication.
In 1905, the General Staff published his secret “Report on the Trip to India.” And already in November of the following year, Lavr Georgievich was accepted as a member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society.
Participation in the Russo-Japanese War
In the first month of the summer of 1904, Lieutenant Colonel Kornilov received the appointment of chief of the General Staff. In the short biography of Lavr Georgievich Kornilov, it is indicated that he persistently strived to join the active army. In 1904, he was already the chief of staff of the first rifle brigade.
A memorable battle where Kornilov showed his valor and the courage of a military leader is the battle of Mukden. With his brigade, he covered the retreat of the Russian army and was himself surrounded. Literally on bayonets, under his leadership, the brigade broke through the encirclement and connected with the main units. For which he received the Order of St. George with the St. George's weapon.
As a military agent
Kornilov Lavr Georgievich, whose biography testifies to his abilities in oriental languages, also had an Asian appearance. All this predicted his future career as a military agent in China (1907-1911). Here he meets Mannerheim and Chiang Kai-shek.
During his service, he often travels around the country, studying the language, culture, way of life, history and traditions of the people who inhabited it. He notices the numerical potential of the yet to be formed Chinese army. He carefully documented all observations and sent them to the General Staff. He was awarded high awards for his activities in China.
"Not a man - an element"
With the beginning of the First World War, a turbulent life began, full of danger, failures, manifestations of the character of the real commander Lavr Georgievich Kornilov. In the second half of August 1914, he fought with an infantry division in Galicia under the command of Brusilov. The soldiers idolized him, which made him jealous of the general. Even the captive General Raft called Kornilov like this: “Not a man - an element.”
In January 1915, Kornilov was promoted to lieutenant general. While covering Brusilov's retreat, he was wounded and, after a stubborn bayonet battle of his battalion with the advancing enemy forces, was captured by the Austrians. I was able to escape on the third try, thanks to a Czech pharmacist.
As Supreme Commander
The appointment of General Lavr Kornilov as commander of the troops in Petrograd was approved by Nicholas II. In March 1917, Kornilov arrived in Petrograd and first of all announced to the Empress about the “arrest” in Tsarskoe Selo. But he did this more out of an impulse to save the royal family. He himself was very worried that this mission fell to him.
General Kornilov worked all this time to create the Petrograd Front, placing loyal people in strategic places. But I didn’t achieve success. It was not possible to reach an agreement with the Soviet, as well as with the soldiers of Petrograd. He refuses the post of commander-in-chief of the “collapsing army.” Next, Lavr Georgievich took command of the Eighth Army and raised the issue of banning soldiers’ committees and political propaganda. After the defeats of the decayed Russian troops, Kornilov asks the command for permission to take tough measures.
On July 19, Kornilov was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief instead of Brusilov. He accepts this position on his own terms, which included the reorganization of the army and the non-interference of the Provisional Government.
Unsuccessful performance and arrest
In August 1917, as a result of a successful provocation by Minister Kerensky (pictured above), Kornilov was declared a rebel. Offended by the lies from Petrograd, General Kornilov Lavr Georgievich openly addresses the soldiers and people with a description of these events.
In order to save the Kornilovites, infantry general Alekseev takes on the unpleasant mission of detaining Kornilov and sends them to the Bykhov prison, thereby ensuring their safety. From September 1 to November, the arrested Kornilov and the officers loyal to him stayed in Bykhov.
Death
After the October coup, Dukhonin released Kornilov and his officers. Lavr Georgievich decides to go to the Don with the Tekinsky regiment, but they are tracked down by Bolshevik troops. He himself makes his way to Novocherkassk, where he forms the Volunteer Army. Soon there were countless skirmishes with the Bolsheviks.
On May 31, 1918, during the assault on Yekaterinodar, a shell flew into the hut where the headquarters with Kornilov were located. This is how the biography of Lavr Kornilov ended, whose photos were preserved in the archives.
His grave was secretly razed to the ground during the retreat. But by pure chance, the Bolsheviks, who took this village, discovered the burial, dug up, desecrated and publicly burned Kornilov’s corpse. Kornilov’s wife could not stand the news of this and soon went to fetch her husband.
An outstanding Russian military leader, General of the General Staff from Infantry. Military intelligence officer, diplomat and traveler-researcher. Hero of the Russian-Japanese and First World Wars. Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army (August 1917). Participant of the Civil War, one of the organizers and Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army, leader of the White movement in the South of Russia, pioneer.
Lavr Georgievich Kornilov was born on August 18, 1870 in Ust-Kamenogorsk, in the family of the former cornet of the 7th Siberian Cossack Regiment, Yegor (Georgy) Kornilov, who 8 years before the birth of his son left the Cossack class and became a collegiate registrar. It is believed that Kornilov’s paternal ancestors came to Siberia with Ermak’s squad. In 1869, Georgy Kornilov received the position of clerk at the city police in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a good salary and purchased a small house on the banks of the Irtysh, where the future general was born.
L. G. Kornilov’s mother, Maria Ivanovna, a simple Kazakh woman from the nomadic “Argyn” clan from the banks of the Irtysh, devoted herself entirely to raising children, being illiterate, she was distinguished by an inquisitive mind, a high thirst for knowledge, excellent memory and enormous energy.
According to other sources, the real name and surname of General Lavr Kornilov is Lorya Gildinov (in another spelling Deldinov), and his parents were Kalmyks. Lorya Gildinov-Deldinov allegedly received the name Laurus and the surname Kornilov from his stepfather, captain of the Siberian Cossack army. According to other sources, this is simply a legend: according to the preserved memories of Kornilov’s sister, the boy was born into the family of Georgy Nikolaevich Kornilov in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. In her words, “Kalmyk appearance” is explained by his ancestors not from his father’s side, but from his mother’s side - Praskovya Ilyinichna Khlynovskaya.
However, Marshal of the Soviet Union B. M. Shaposhnikov, who served in Tashkent in the 1st Turkestan Rifle Battalion back in 1903, wrote in his memoirs that second lieutenant Pyotr Kornilov, “the brother of the later notorious General Kornilov,” also served with him. Kornilov’s parents, according to the younger Kornilov’s story, lived in Western Siberia. His father was Russian, he held the position of translator for the district chief, and his mother was a simple Kyrgyz. Hence the Mongolian type of face that the children inherited.” It is known that in Tsarist Russia the Kazakhs were called Kirghiz.
The same Tsvetkov reports: “Suvorin cited evidence from the head of the criminal police, Kolpachev, who remained in Yekaterinodar and was a witness to the destruction of the body: “The corpse was not Kornilov, I can assure you for sure. This man was more than average height (Kornilov was short), - brown-haired - (Kornilov was dark-haired.) The face of the corpse was of the Russian type... The eyes were not at all Kyrgyz, as Kornilov had them - with a slight slant." It is unlikely that General Kornilov hid his Kyrgyz origin from those around him. Everyone knew who he was.
L.G. Kornilov himself wrote the following about himself: “I, General Kornilov, the son of a Cossack peasant, declare to everyone and everyone that I personally do not need anything except the preservation of Great Russia, and I swear to bring the people - through victory over the enemy - until the Constituent Assembly, at which he himself will decide his destinies and choose the way of the new state life.”
At the age of two, little Laurus and his family moved to the village of Karkaralinskaya, Semipalatinsk province, where he spent his childhood and which in some documents is designated as the place of his birth. The ability for foreign languages from his father and grandfather, who served as interpreters in the Cossack army, was passed on to Laurus, which was later used in his service to the Fatherland.
Despite frequent travel, the father was seriously involved in the religious education of his children, and therefore the Law of God became Laurus’s favorite subject. Later, Lavr Georgievich asked to give part of the officer’s salary sent to his sister to the local Orthodox church.
After Lavr graduated from primary school in 1882, the family moved again, this time to the city of Zaisan on the border with China. When his father began serving there as a translator for the head of the local military garrison, all of Lavr’s interests were concentrated around the military, and this situation intensified his love for military service, campaigns and maneuvers.
In Zaisan, Laurus began to prepare to enter the Siberian Emperor Alexander I Cadet Corps, immediately into the 2nd grade. There were no teachers in Zaisan, Lavr prepared on his own, only in mathematics he managed to take a few lessons from one of the garrison officers.
In the cadet corps
In the summer of 1883, young Kornilov was enrolled in the Siberian Cadet Corps in the city of Omsk. At first, he was accepted only by those “coming”: they successfully passed exams in all subjects except French, since there were no appropriate tutors in the Kyrgyz steppe. However, after a year of study, the new student, with his perseverance and excellent certifications (average score 11 out of 12), achieved a transfer to the “state kosht”. His brother Yakov was also enrolled in the same corps.
Having passed the final exams with excellent marks, Laurus receives the right to choose a military school for further education. Love for mathematics and special success in this subject determined Kornilov’s choice in favor of the prestigious (the most capable cadets traditionally flocked here) Mikhailovsky Artillery School in St. Petersburg, where he entered on August 29, 1889.
Service in the Russian Army
Artillery School
Moving from Omsk to St. Petersburg becomes the beginning independent life 19-year-old cadet. The father could no longer help Lavra with money, and Kornilov had to earn his own living. He gives mathematics lessons and writes articles on zoogeography, which brings in some income, from which he even manages to help his elderly parents.
At the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, as well as in the cadet corps, studies went “excellent”. Already in March 1890, Kornilov became a school non-commissioned officer. However, Lavr Georgievich received relatively low points for behavior, due to an unpleasant story that occurred between him and one of the school officers, who allowed himself an offensive tactlessness towards Kornilov, and unexpectedly received a rebuff from the proud cadet. “The officer was furious and had already made a sharp movement, but the imperturbable young man, maintaining an outwardly icy calm, lowered his hand on the hilt of his sword, making it clear that he intended to stand for his honor to the end. The head of the school, General Chernyavsky, saw this and immediately recalled the officer.” Considering the talents and universal respect that Kornilov enjoyed, this offense was forgiven.
In November 1891, in his last year at the school, Kornilov received the title of harness cadet.
On August 4, 1892, Kornilov completed an additional course at the school, which gives priority when assigned to service, and put on the shoulder straps of a second lieutenant. The prospect of serving in the Guard or in the capital's military district opens before him, however, the young officer chooses the Turkestan Military District and is assigned to the 5th battery of the Turkestan Artillery Brigade. This is not only a return to their small homeland, but also an advanced strategic direction in the then emerging conflicts with Persia, Afghanistan and Great Britain.
In Turkestan, in addition to his routine service, Lavr Georgievich is engaged in self-education, educating soldiers, and studying oriental languages. However, Kornilov’s irrepressible energy and persistent character do not allow him to remain a lieutenant, and two years later he submits a report to enter the Academy of the General Staff.
General Staff Academy
In 1895, having brilliantly passed the entrance exams (average score 10.93, in five disciplines - out of a maximum of 12), he was enrolled in the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. While studying at the Academy in 1896, Lavr Georgievich married the daughter of the titular adviser Taisiya Vladimirovna Markovina, and a year later their daughter Natalya was born. In 1897, having graduated from the Academy with a small silver medal and “with his name entered on a marble plaque with the names of outstanding graduates of the Nikolaev Academy in the conference hall of the Academy,” Kornilov, who received the rank of captain ahead of schedule (with the wording “for the successful completion of an additional course”), again refused his place in St. Petersburg and chooses service in
Turkestan Military District.
Geographical expeditions
From 1898 to 1904 he served in Turkestan as an assistant to the senior adjutant of the district headquarters, and then as a staff officer for assignments at headquarters. At the risk of his life, disguised as a Turkmen, he conducted a reconnaissance of the British fortress of Deidadi in Afghanistan. He makes a series of long-term research and reconnaissance expeditions in Eastern Turkestan (Kashgaria), Afghanistan and Persia - he studies this mysterious region, meets with Chinese (Kashgaria was part of China) officials and entrepreneurs, and establishes an agent network. The result of this trip will be the book “Kashgaria or Eastern Turkestan” prepared by Lavr Georgievich, which has become a significant contribution to geography, ethnography, military and geopolitical science and has brought the author well-deserved success. This work was also noticed by British specialists. As the modern researcher M.K. Baskhanov established, cartographic material for English edition The “Military Report on Kashgaria” of 1907 represents plans of cities and fortifications of Eastern Turkestan, published in the work of L. G. Kornilov. Captain Kornilov's service in Turkestan did not go unappreciated - for these expeditions he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd degree, and was soon sent on a new assignment to the little-studied areas of Eastern Persia.
The “Steppe of Despair”, along which the unprecedented campaign of Russian scouts under the command of Captain L. G. Kornilov took place - the first Europeans to pass this way - on the maps of Iran contemporary to the events described was indicated by a white spot with the mark “unexplored lands”: “hundreds of miles of endless sand, wind , scorching rays of the sun, a desert where it was almost impossible to find water, and the only food was flour cakes - all travelers who had previously tried to explore this dangerous area died from unbearable heat, hunger and thirst, so British explorers avoided the “Steppe of Despair”. »
In addition to the mandatory German and General Staff graduates French, mastered English, Persian, Kazakh and Urdu well.
From November 1903 to June 1904 was in India for the purpose of “studying the languages and customs of the peoples of Balochistan”, and in fact - to analyze the state of the British colonial troops. During this expedition, Kornilov visits Bombay, Delhi, Peshawar, Agra (the military center of the British) and other areas, observes British military personnel, analyzes the condition of the colonial troops, and contacts British officers who are already familiar with his name. In 1905, his secret “Report on the Trip to India” was published by the General Staff.
It was in Turkestan that the main talents of Lavr Georgievich, an intelligence officer and researcher, were revealed.
Military agent in China
In 1907-1911 - Having a reputation as an orientalist, Kornilov served as a military agent in China. He is studying Chinese, travels, studies the life, history, traditions and customs of the Chinese. Intending to write a big book about the life of modern China, Lavr Georgievich writes down all his observations and regularly sends detailed reports to the General Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among them, of great interest are, in particular, the essays “On the Police of China”, “Telegraph of China”, “Description of the maneuvers of Chinese troops in Manchuria”, “Security of the Imperial City and the project for the formation of the Imperial Guard”.
In China, Kornilov helps Russian officers arriving on business trips (in particular, Colonel Mannerheim), makes connections with colleagues from different countries, and meets with the future president of China - at that time a young officer - Chiang Kai-shek.
In his new position, Kornilov paid a lot of attention to the prospects for interaction between Russia and China in Far East. Having traveled to almost all the major provinces of the country, Kornilov understood perfectly well that its military-economic potential was still far from being used, and its human reserves were too large to be ignored: “...being still too young and being in the period of its formation, the Chinese army is still discovering there are many shortcomings, but... the available number of Chinese field troops already represents a serious fighting force, the existence of which has to be taken into account as a potential enemy...” As the most significant results of the modernization process, Kornilov noted the growth of the railway network and the rearmament of the army, as well as a change in the attitude towards military service on the part of Chinese society. Being a military man became prestigious; military service even required special recommendations.
In 1910, Colonel Kornilov was recalled from Beijing, however, he returned to St. Petersburg only after five months, during which he traveled through Western Mongolia and Kashgaria in order to get acquainted with armed forces China on the borders with Russia.
The activities of Kornilov as a diplomat of this period were highly appreciated not only in his homeland, where he received the Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree and other awards, but also among diplomats from Britain, France, Japan and Germany, whose awards also did not spare the Russian intelligence officer.
From February 2, 1911 - commander of the 8th Estonian Infantry Regiment. From June 3, 1911 - head of a detachment in the Zaamursky district of a separate border guard corps (2 infantry and 3 cavalry regiments). After a scandal that ended with the resignation of the head of the Zaamursky OKPS district, E.I. Martynov, he was appointed commander of the brigade of the 9th Siberian Rifle Division, stationed in Vladivostok.
Supreme Commander
Already on July 19 of the General Staff, General of the Infantry L. G. Kornilov was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief, replacing General Brusilov in this post, who was led by the soldiers’ committees, which led to the disintegration of the army and the loss of control over the troops, which, at the slightest onslaught of the enemy, left en masse positions and went to the rear. Lavr Georgievich does not immediately accept this position, but first, within three days, he stipulates the conditions under which he is ready to agree to accept it: non-interference by the government in appointments to senior command positions, the speedy implementation of the army reorganization program, the appointment of General Denikin as commander of the Southwestern Front. After long negotiations, the parties managed to reach a compromise, and Kornilov accepted a post that made him the second person in the state, a major political figure capable of influencing events taking place in the country. This appointment was met with great joy among officers and the conservative public. This camp had a leader in whom they saw hope for the salvation of the army and Russia.
To restore discipline in the army, at the request of General Kornilov, the Provisional Government introduces the death penalty. Using decisive and harsh methods, using in exceptional cases the execution of deserters, General Kornilov returns the Army's combat capability and restores the front. At this moment, General Kornilov became a people’s hero in the eyes of many; great hopes began to be placed on him and they began to expect the salvation of the country from him.
Taking advantage of his position as Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Kornilov presents demands to the Provisional Government known as the "Kornilov Military Program". In Moscow at the State Meeting on August 13-15, General. Kornilov, in his extensive report, pointed out the catastrophic situation at the front, the destructive effect on the masses of soldiers of the legislative measures taken by the Provisional Government, and the ongoing destructive propaganda sowing anarchy in the Army and the country.
Under arrest in Bykhov
After the failure of his speech, Kornilov was arrested and the general and his associates spent the period from September 1 to November 1917 under arrest in Mogilev and Bykhov. At first, the arrested were placed in the Metropol Hotel in Mogilev. Along with Kornilov in Mogilev, his chief of staff, General Lukomsky, General Romanovsky, Colonel Plyushchevsky-Plyushchik, Aladin, several officers of the general staff and the entire executive committee of the officers' union were also arrested.
The Tekin Regiment formed by Kornilov provided security for the arrested, which ensured the safety of the arrested. To investigate what happened, an investigative commission was appointed (chaired by the chief military prosecutor Shablovsky, members of the commission were military investigators Ukraintsev, Raupach and Kolosovsky). Kerensky and the Council of Workers' Deputies demanded a military trial of Kornilov and his supporters, but the members of the investigative commission treated those arrested quite favorably.
On September 9, 1917, the cadet ministers resigned as a sign of solidarity with General Kornilov.
Some of those arrested who did not take an active part in the Kornilov uprising (General Tikhmenev, Plyushchevsky-Plyushchik) were released by the investigative commission, while the rest were transferred to Bykhov, where they were placed in the building of an old Catholic monastery. Kornilov, Lukomsky, Romanovsky, General Kislyakov, Captain Bragin, Colonel Pronin, Ensign Nikitin, Colonel Novosiltsev, Captain Rodionov, Captain Soets, Colonel Resnyansky, Lieutenant Colonel Rozhenko, Aladin, Nikonorov were transported to Bykhov.
Another group of arrested supporters of Kornilov: generals Denikin, Markov, Vannovsky, Erdeli, Elsner and Orlov, captain Kletsanda (Czech), official Budilovich were imprisoned in Berdichev. The chairman of the investigative commission, Shablovsky, managed to achieve their transfer to Bykhov.
After the October Revolution, it became clear that the Bolsheviks would soon send a detachment against Headquarters. There was no point in staying in Bykhov. The chairman of the investigative commission, Shablovsky, based on the investigation data, by November 18 (December 1), released all those arrested except five (Kornilov, Lukomsky, Romanovsky, Denikin and Markov).
On November 19 (December 2), the remaining five left Bykhov. Kornilov decided to go to the Don in marching order with his Tekinsky regiment. The Bolsheviks managed to track down the regiment's route and it was fired upon from an armored train. After crossing the Seim River, the regiment found itself in a poorly frozen swampy area and lost many horses. Finally, Kornilov left the Tekins, deciding that it would be safe for them to go without him, and disguised as a peasant, with a false passport, he set off alone by rail. On December 6 (19), 1917, Kornilov arrived in Novocherkassk. Other Bykhov prisoners arrived in different ways on the Don, where they began to form the Volunteer Army to fight the Bolsheviks.
White matter
Kornilov became a co-organizer of the Volunteer Army on the Don. After negotiations with General Alekseev and representatives of the Moscow National Center who came to the Don, it was decided that Alekseev would take charge of financial affairs and issues of foreign and domestic policy, Kornilov - the organization and command of the Volunteer Army, and Kaledin - the formation of the Don Army and all matters concerning the Don Cossacks.
At the request of Kornilov, Alekseev sent General Flug to Siberia with the aim of uniting anti-Bolshevik organizations in Siberia.
Death
March 31 (April 13), 1918 - killed during the assault on Ekaterinodar. “The enemy’s grenade,” wrote General A.I. Denikin, “only one hit the house, only in Kornilov’s room when he was in it, and killed only him alone. The mystical veil of the eternal mystery covered the paths and accomplishments of an unknown will.”
The coffin with Kornilov’s body was secretly buried (and the grave was “razed to the ground”) during the retreat through the German colony of Gnachbau.
The fate of the body of General Kornilov
The next day, April 3 (16), 1918, the Bolsheviks, who occupied Gnachbau, first of all rushed to look for allegedly “treasuries and jewelry buried by the cadets” and accidentally dug up a grave and took the general’s body to Yekaterinodar, where it was burned.
The document of the Special Commission to Investigate the Atrocities of the Bolsheviks stated: “Individual exhortations from the crowd not to disturb the deceased person, who had already become harmless, did not help; the mood of the Bolshevik crowd rose... The last shirt was torn off the corpse, which was torn into pieces and the scraps were scattered around... Several people were already on the tree and began to lift the corpse... But then the rope broke and the body fell onto the pavement. The crowd kept arriving, became agitated and noisy... After the speech, they began to shout from the balcony that the corpse should be torn to shreds... Finally, the order was given to take the corpse out of the city and burn it... The corpse was no longer recognizable: it was a shapeless mass, disfigured by the blows of sabers, throwing it to the ground... Finally, the body was brought to the city slaughterhouses, where they took it off the cart and, covering it with straw, began to burn it in the presence of the highest representatives of the Bolshevik government... One day it was not possible to finish this work: the next day they continued to burn the pitiful remains; burned and trampled underfoot.”
The fact that the Bolsheviks dug the general’s body out of the grave and then, after a long dragging around the city, destroyed it, was not known in the Volunteer Army. After the capture of Yekaterinodar by General Denikin’s army 4 months later during the Second Kuban Campaign, on August 6, 1918, a ceremonial reburial of General Kornilov was scheduled in the tomb of the cathedral.
Organized excavations discovered only the coffin with the body of Colonel Nezhentsev. In the dug up grave of L. G. Kornilov, they found only a piece of a pine coffin. The investigation revealed the terrible truth. Lavr Georgievich's family was shocked by what happened.
The place where General Kornilov died
Taisiya Vladimirovna, the wife of Lavr Georgievich, who came to her husband’s funeral and hoped to see him at least dead, accused generals Denikin and Alekseev of not taking the body of the deceased Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army with the army and refused to attend the funeral service - the widow’s grief was very difficult. She did not survive her husband by much and soon died on September 20, 1918 - six weeks after her husband. She was buried next to the farm where Lavr Georgievich’s life ended. At the site of the death of General Kornilov - he and his wife - two modest wooden crosses were erected by volunteers.
Kornilov
Lavr Georgievich
Battles and victories
Russian military leader, infantry general. Participant and hero of the Russian-Japanese and First World Wars. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army (August 1917). The rebellion against the Provisional Government in August 1917 is named after him. One of the main organizers of the White movement in the South of Russia, Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army.
Lavr Georgievich Kornilov is known primarily as one of the leaders of the White Movement, and only a few know him as an experienced intelligence officer, orientalist and brave general of the First World War.
Born on August 18 (30), 1870 in a large family of a poor official, formerly a cornet, who served as a translator with the 7th Siberian Cossack Regiment. His mother, Maria Ivanovna, was Kazakh, and from her Lavr Georgievich inherited his “oriental appearance.” Among the family friends was the famous ethnographer G.N. Potanin, a man of liberal ideas, an opponent of autocracy and a supporter of “Siberian regionalism.” At the same time, the children in the family were brought up in a religious spirit, and at school Kornilov treated the Law of God with special love.
From adolescence, his life’s path was the struggle of a talented but poor provincial for the opportunity to “get into the public eye.” This is where not only his perseverance originates, but also his great pride, which only strengthened as he conquered new heights. In 1883, he passed all the exams for the Siberian (Omsk) Cadet Corps, except for French: it was impossible to find a decent tutor in this language in the border outback. Therefore, Lavr Georgievich was accepted only as an “incoming” student, but his hard work and excellent completion of the first year of study allowed him to continue his studies at public expense.
Young Kornilov was a shy teenager, and only in high school did a turning point occur, after which Lavr Georgievich began to increasingly join the cadet community, at the same time showing brilliant results in studies, especially in the study of mathematics. Moreover, he began to study oriental languages. After excellent completion of the cadet corps in 1889, L.G. Kornilov entered the Mikhailovsky Artillery School. As stated in the certification of the young cadet: “Quiet, modest, kind, hardworking, obedient, efficient, friendly, but due to insufficient education he seems rude... Being very proud, inquisitive, taking science and military affairs seriously, he promises to be a good officer.”
In 1892, he completed an additional course, which gave priority in further distribution. However, Lavr Georgievich, instead of, for example, the prestigious capital district, chose his native Turkestan region as his place of service - the 5th battery of the Turkestan artillery brigade. Three years later, he entered the elite Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, from which he graduated with a small silver medal and early promotion to captain. As the Don Ataman A.P. wrote. Bogaevsky: “With gen. I was with Kornilov at the Academy of the General Staff. A modest and shy army artillery officer, thin, short in stature, with a Mongolian face, he was little noticeable at the Academy and only during the exams he immediately stood out for his brilliant successes in all sciences.”
However, putting on the aiguillettes of the general staff, he again decided to go to Turkestan, where he served at the district headquarters until the start of the Russo-Japanese War. He participated in reconnaissance expeditions in East Turkestan, Afghanistan, Iran and India, collected the most important cartographic materials, information about local peoples, and also created intelligence networks. As an intelligence officer, he showed excellent analytical skills, and the results of his research had not only military, but also scientific value. I also had to show courage. So, in 1898, he personally crossed the border and, under the guise of a volunteer who was going to serve Emir Abdurahman, made his way to the secret fortress of Deydadi, taking a number of photographs and examining the surrounding area. True, such an initiative caused criticism from the authorities in St. Petersburg: they considered it unreasonable to risk the life of a talented officer.
In 1904, the Russian-Japanese War began, and Lavr Georgievich was eager to go to the front. He managed to win himself the position of headquarters officer of the 1st Brigade of the Combined Rifle Corps (in fact, he served as acting chief of staff). The certification stated: “...Health is good, mental abilities are outstanding, moral qualities are very good... strong will, hardworking and with great ambition... due to excellent abilities, as well as great pride, he will cope with all sorts of things...”.
After the defeat of the Russian army in the Battle of Mukden (February 1905), Kornilov's brigade covered the retreat of individual units. Near the village of Vazye, her regiments were surrounded. Lavr Georgievich personally took command: by going into bayonet attacks, the encircled units managed to get out of the threatening situation. As General M.K. recalled. Diterichs, who met Kornilov shortly after these events: “Modestly, embarrassedly, Kornilov was returning from his heroic deed. He was not aware of the greatness of the personal feat to which his warrior’s courage and understanding of the situation of the land Tsushima that was being prepared near Mukden, for the armies of the unfortunate Kuropatkin, pushed him. Only his eyes burned with the fire of happiness and courage, and one could see in them a conscious readiness to sacrifice himself, but to save the Russian army.
The unsuccessful end of the Russo-Japanese War led to the reform of the entire military system and the promotion of the most distinguished officers. Among them was Kornilov. In 1906, he moved to the Main Directorate of the General Staff, where he was engaged in reconnaissance on the southern borders of the empire. Lavr Georgievich joined a group of military officers led by F.F. Palitsyn, who advocated a radical reform of the armed forces. Among the other participants were other future famous generals, for example, M.V. Alekseev, S.L. Markov, I.P. Romanovsky. All of them will stand at the origins of the White movement.
However, the staff position was not to the liking of Lavr Georgievich, who at that time suffered severe shocks: the death of his father and little son. In 1907, he escaped from the capital and again went into intelligence, becoming a military agent in China. As the famous military intelligence historian Zvonarev wrote: “According to the 5th Office of the General Staff, information from military agents about the development of military reforms in China and about various organizational measures of a military nature undertaken by the Chinese government was quite satisfactory, often extensive, complete and thorough. The most valuable, complete and detailed reports were received from a military agent.” Of course, there were certain “rough edges”. Kornilov's assistant in Mukden, Lieutenant Colonel Afanasyev, repeatedly complained about the overly authoritarian leadership style.
In 1910, Kornilov was recalled from his place of service, and in 1911 he was appointed to serve his military qualifications as commander of the 8th Estland Regiment. But soon the talent of an orientalist-intelligence officer was needed, and Kornilov (having been promoted to the rank of major general) returned to the Far East as the head of the 2nd detachment of the Zaamursky district of a separate border guard corps (which was subordinate to the Ministry of Finance). With the arrival of his new position, Lavr Georgievich developed vigorous activity. He immediately drew attention to the need to clarify the maps of Manchuria, began to conduct maneuvers and war games more often, and also more actively fight the Honghuzi (Chinese criminal groups). As Colonel D.K. recalled. Khotovitsky about those years: “In the service of L.G. was dry, demanding and not talkative, but in free time he was a nice and good conversationalist.”
In 1913, Lavr Georgievich initiated an investigation into the organization of allowances, revealing facts of theft and ultimately confronting Prime Minister Kokovtsov. The “political weight” was unequal, and therefore Kornilov returned to the military department as the commander of the brigade of the 9th Siberian Rifle Division (which was located on Russky Island in Vladivostok).
In the summer of 1914 the First War broke out World War. Kornilov could not stand aside, and therefore went to the front as commander of the 1st Brigade of the 49th Infantry Division (24th Corps of General Tsurikov). He ended up on the left flank of the 8th Army of General A.A. Brusilov, which in turn was on the extreme left flank of the Southwestern Front. At the beginning of August, our general offensive against Austria-Hungary began, which went down in history as the Battle of Galicia.
Initially, the main events unfolded to the north, where the Austrians concentrated their main forces, which allowed them to initially achieve some success. In front of Brusilov's troops (and the neighboring 3rd Army of N.V. Ruzsky), the Austrian command concentrated smaller forces (here we had one and a half superiority). On August 5 (18), the 8th Army crossed the Zbruch and began to rapidly advance westward without encountering serious resistance. Serious fighting soon broke out on the front of the 3rd Army, to whose aid Brusilov hastened. In the battle on the Rotten Lipa River, the enemy suffered a crushing defeat. At this time, the 24th Corps, where Kornilov served, took positions near Galich, covering the flank of the army. On August 22 (after the main forces of the Austrians to the north were finally defeated), this city was occupied almost without a fight. The 49th Division that entered it captured 50 guns.
At the end of August, the Southwestern Front rushed into pursuit, the 8th Army was tasked with securing the left flank of the front and covering the routes to Lvov. However, it was precisely against the troops of Ruzsky and Brusilov that the enemy’s main counterattack fell.
At this time L.G. Kornilov, under the patronage of Tsurikov, was appointed head of the 48th Infantry Division. The assumption of a new position coincided with a major offensive by the Austrians. They sent two of their own against our 24th Corps. A heavy battle ensued near the village of Komarno. Despite initial success, our troops were driven out of their positions and were forced to retreat. As General Denikin (who then commanded the 4th Rifle Brigade) recalled: “The situation was becoming critical, at that moment Kornilov, distinguished by his extreme courage, personally led his last unworn battalion into a counterattack and stopped the enemies for some time. But soon the 48th Division, once again bypassed, had to retreat in great disorder.” Prisoners and 18 guns remained in the hands of the Austrians. Without removing responsibility from Kornilov as the head of the division, we note that it was Brusilov (as the army commander) who had to unravel the enemy’s plans and parry this blow. Denikin noted: “Kornilov had this failure, obviously because the division was not stable, but very soon in his hands it became an excellent combat unit.”
One way or another, the Austrians failed to break through our flank. In general, the situation was very sad for the enemy, which forced him to begin a retreat to the river. San all front.
By mid-September, the main operations moved to Russian Poland: the Austrian and German armies tried to take Warsaw with a powerful offensive. At the end of September, our troops in Galicia withdrew somewhat, but continued to hold the line. Our success near Warsaw and access to the German border forced the Austrians to retreat. At the end of October, the 8th Army crossed the river. San, and a few weeks later she went to the Carpathians.
Brusilov decided to push the enemy back to the passes in the Carpathians. The offensive that began became the “finest hour” of Kornilov and his division, which was later nicknamed “steel”. His troops advanced with battles in the most difficult weather conditions: frosts, blizzards, icy mountain slopes and the almost complete absence of roads. However, thanks to the tenacity and successful leadership of Kornilov, as well as the heroism of the lower ranks and officers, the division successfully pushed back the enemy.
As General Brusilov recalled:It’s a strange thing, General Kornilov never spared his division: in all the battles in which it participated under his command, it suffered horrific losses, and yet the officers and soldiers loved him and believed him. True, he did not spare himself, he was personally brave and climbed forward headlong.
Already on November 5 (18), Kornilov, with the support of cavalry, captured the important Rostock Pass, and on November 9 he took the village of Sinna. The 48th Division crossed the Carpathians and began to descend onto the Hungarian Plain. The next day, according to the order of the corps commander, she captured the village of Gumenny. Moreover, on this day, Lieutenant Colonel Svyatsky’s detachment, during a decisive offensive, captured the commander of the land assault brigade, Major General Raft, 17 officers and 1,200 lower ranks. Moreover, according to legend, the general was so amazed by the successes of the Russians that he said: “Kornilov is not a man, he is a force of nature.” Some works indicate that Kornilov personally led this attack, but the available archival documents do not confirm this.
At the same time, the neighboring 8th Corps defeated the Austrians and forced them to retreat. Seeking revenge, the enemy began to bring up reinforcements and tried to break through the front of Kornilov’s division. The lack of shells and cartridges, as well as the forward position, forced Kornilov to begin a general retreat on November 15 (28), which ended five days later. During the period from October 26 to November 20, Kornilov captured 1 general, 58 officers and 6,756 lower ranks. The total losses were 32 officers and about 5,000 lower ranks (half were wounded).
Note that in the memoirs of A.A. Brusilov gave a negative assessment of Kornilov’s actions: “carried away by the thirst to distinguish himself and his hot temperament, he did not follow the instructions of his corps commander and, without asking permission, rolled down the mountains and ended up, contrary to the orders given to him, in Gumenny.” The above information is based on published archival documents and memories of A.I. Denikin, indicate the opposite. It was Brusilov who did not provide adequate support for Kornilov, who, on the orders of his superiors (and not without permission, as the army commander wrote), fought for five days at Gumenny. However, as A.I. later recalled. Denikin, “Kornilov was declared to be the culprit of the failure.”
Kornilov retained his position. In December, Kornilov's division again fought in the Carpathians, and in January 1915, together with the 24th Corps, captured a number of important passes on the main ridge and many prisoners. A month later, Lavr Georgievich was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. In March, his division again scored a number of tactical successes. In all these battles, Kornilov proved himself to be an excellent tactician who personally conducts reconnaissance and is constantly among the troops, by example inspiring the soldiers.
It is worth considering that by that time the crisis in the supply of weapons and ammunition was growing in the Russian army, which negatively affected the outcome of military operations. Moreover, in 1915, Germany decided to shift the brunt of operations to the Russian front, planning to take Russia out of the war. On April 19, large enemy forces launched a large-scale offensive at Gorlitsa, which threatened the position of the entire Southwestern Front. Our armies began to retreat.
A difficult situation developed at the front of the 24th Corps, which covered the withdrawal of other units. Kornilov's division found itself in the rearguard. The order to withdraw the corps was signed only on the afternoon of April 21, but arrived late at the division headquarters. Road congestion, as well as the lack of management of the authorities, especially the commander of the 2nd brigade, Popovic-Lipovac, also played a role. Tsurikov also did not perform well, who on April 22, having indicated the line of retreat, went to the rear and immediately reported to army headquarters about the successful withdrawal of the units. Moreover, due to communication problems, the order to retreat did not arrive at the headquarters of the 48th division until late in the evening. L.G. Kornilov mistakenly hoped for help from a neighboring division, but after making sure that there would be no support, he sent a telegram for help to corps headquarters. It was received late in the evening, and a few hours later the division was surrounded. Let us note that erroneous reports from lower-ranking officers did not allow the division chief to make the right decisions. As a result, control of the troops slipped out of Kornilov's hands. Attempts to break through were unsuccessful. Some units and subunits nevertheless broke through, but many (including almost all the artillery) fell into the hands of the enemy. On April 29, Lavr Georgievich surrendered to the Austrians.
The reasons for the defeat of the 48th Division were much deeper than just the mistakes of its commander, although it is unlikely that a reference to circumstances can serve as an excuse for him. To the credit of Lavr Georgievich, in the future he did not absolve himself of responsibility for this defeat. However, the division's battles in the rearguard and encirclement allowed other formations to withdraw. In a situation where almost the entire Russian front was under threat of collapse, it apparently seemed necessary to encourage those who fought to the end, and not just fled to the rear. This can explain the fact that for this battle Kornilov received the Order of St. George, 3rd degree, as a reward.
While in captivity, Kornilov made two unsuccessful attempts to escape. Finally, in the summer of 1916, after feigning illness, he was transferred to a camp hospital in the city of Keszeg. Assistant pharmacist Frantisek Mrnjak volunteered to help Kornilov. Being a Czech, he sympathized with Russia, whose victory was associated with the liberation of the Slavic peoples from the rule of the Austrians. Using fake documents, they managed to get to the Romanian border, but the Austrians quickly came to their senses and organized a search. Mrnjak was caught, Lavr Georgievich managed to escape. For several weeks he wandered through the forest until he crossed the border of Romania, where on August 22, 1916 he appeared before our military agent.
Kornilov's return was triumphant. By that time, from the point of view of propaganda, the effect of the Brusilov breakthrough had already passed: the Russian army was bleeding in endless battles at Kovel, and unjustified hopes for a decisive victory only worsened defeatist and anti-government sentiments. And here appeared the figure of Kornilov, a brave general who managed to escape from captivity. The story of the escape, with repeated exaggerations, spread across all the newspapers; Lavr Georgievich himself was summoned to Headquarters, where Emperor Nicholas II personally awarded him the Order of St. George, 3rd class.
Already in mid-September, he was appointed commander of the 25th Corps in the Special Army (General V.I. Gurko), which led fruitless and bloody offensives near Kovel. Unfortunately, the situation did not change with the arrival of Kornilov, but public opinion even failures in these battles do not cast a shadow on his reputation. So, in November 1916, the Siberian Cossacks took the initiative to award him the title of honorary Cossack of the village of Karkaralinskaya (where he lived as a child), as well as the elementary school.
In many ways, it was the image of the hero general that became the “capital” that allowed Lavr Georgievich to advance during the February Revolution. In early March, at the insistence of the Chairman of the State Duma, Rodzianko, he was appointed commander of the Petrograd Military District: he believed that Kornilov would be able to restore order in the capital. Despite the fact that the order was signed by the Tsar, in fact Lavr Georgievich became the first “revolutionary general”.
Of course, he was not a revolutionary. Kornilov stood for maintaining strong power, but as a progressive person he understood the need for change. While advocating order and tough power, he repeatedly declared his commitment to democratic ideals. While in the capital, Lavr Georgievich quickly became friends with Minister of War Guchkov, and also began to establish contacts with various public and business circles. And here we cannot fail to mention V.S. Zavoiko, a famous financier and oilman, who in April 1917 became Kornilov’s orderly, essentially taking up his “promotion” as a political figure.
Against the backdrop of socio-political chaos and the collapse of the army, starting from the spring of 1917, the understanding gradually grew that freedom without stability (i.e. “hard power”) degenerates into anarchy. The number of those who advocated the emergence of a “steady hand” increased. However, for them, Kornilov was not yet an iconic figure - he just had to gain popularity.
The situation changed in April 1917 during the first crisis of the Provisional Government, when Miliukov and Guchkov resigned. Kornilov’s departure is also associated with the latter’s resignation. Guchkov tried to “make” him commander-in-chief of the Northern Front, but Supreme Commander-in-Chief M.V. Alekseev opposed it, rightly pointing out Lavr Georgievich’s lack of proper experience. As a result, on April 29 he received the 8th Army on the Southwestern Front.
By that time, the revolution had undermined the combat effectiveness of the army, minimizing the power of commanders over personnel. Kornilov tried to restore discipline and stop fraternization, but under the current conditions this was practically impossible. At the same time, Lavr Georgievich had some successes. In particular, special shock units began to be created from the most morally stable volunteers. The first battalion was formed already in mid-May, and Kornilov himself took patronage over it. A very remarkable fact, indicating the serious ambitions of the general. For his own protection, he removed the Tekinsky cavalry regiment, which consisted of Turkmen who spoke little Russian, from the front. Lavr Georgievich himself knew Turkmen perfectly, which strengthened his popularity, and his poor knowledge of the Russian language protected the soldiers of the regiment from the influence of revolutionary propaganda.
At the same time, Kornilov met the commissar of the neighboring 7th Army, the famous political figure B.V. Savinkov, who saw in Kornilov an officer capable of ensuring firm revolutionary power. The general's political connections grew. All that was missing was a resounding victory at the front, but even here fate smiled on him.
The next general offensive of the Russian armies was scheduled for the summer of 1917. The new Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General A.A. Brusilov intended to deliver the main blow with the forces of the Southwestern Front, with the 8th Army assigned a secondary role. However, when in mid-June the Russian soldiers (who had overwhelming superiority) went on the offensive, it was Kornilov who managed to achieve certain successes: he broke through the front at Kalush, advanced 25-30 km, and the 12th Corps captured 7,000 prisoners and 48 guns. However, the 8th Army was not supported by its neighbors, and the enemy soon pulled up reserves and launched a counteroffensive. The armies began to retreat, which led to complete demoralization of the units. Front Commander-in-Chief A.E. Gutor did not perform at his best under these conditions, and therefore on July 7 he was replaced by L.G. Kornilov.
The front continued to crumble, the troops lost control and retreated under the pressure of the Austrians. Lavr Georgievich sent a telegram to the Provisional Government, in which he demanded that exceptional measures be taken to restore discipline. At the same time, he gave the order to shoot all deserters, and also began to form special shock troops to fight them: “without trial, shoot those who will rob, rape and kill both civilians and their military comrades, and everyone who dares not to carry out military orders in those moments when the question of the existence of the Fatherland, freedom and revolution is being decided.” On July 12, under pressure from Kornilov, the Provisional Government decided to restore the death penalty at the front.
Very limited successes at the front at the beginning of the June offensive created Kornilov’s reputation as a general capable of achieving serious success under the most difficult conditions. The name of Kornilov, not without the active assistance of certain patriotic circles, turned into a symbol in which those who feared anarchy increasingly believed. And he himself was no longer the shy young man who had once studied at the General Staff Academy: the years of war had strengthened his character. Already on July 19, with the assistance of Savinkov, he was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Moreover, before taking office, he managed to achieve autonomy and guarantees that decisions would soon be made to restore order in the army.
Having become the head of the entire army, Kornilov began to become increasingly involved in the political struggle: he saw perfectly well that without political will Russia was doomed. However, the growth of his popularity caused concern to Kerensky. Moreover, the image of Kornilov turned out to be largely artificial: despite his strong character, he did not intend to become the new Bonaparte. Lavr Georgievich was not a politician, and therefore it is not surprising that in the end Kerensky cleverly circumvented him. At the end of August, after a series of complex intrigues, the advance of the 3rd Cavalry Corps to Petrograd (agreed with the Provisional Government) was declared a rebellion. Kornilov showed fatal indecision, losing an entire day, which ultimately had sad consequences for him. Perhaps the main role in the failure of the Kornilov rebellion was played by the fact that in those days he was seriously ill.
As a result, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and many of his colleagues were arrested. Only after the October Revolution did they manage to escape. Lavr Georgievich rushed to the Don, where General M.V. Alekseev formed a small Volunteer Army. Many saw Kornilov as a future leader, but he himself demanded sole leadership, and therefore a conflict broke out with Alekseev. Moreover, Kornilov himself aggravated it, while declaring that a real anti-Bolshevik movement could only be created in Siberia.
However, as a former deputy wrote State Duma L.V. Polovtsev:Gene. Alekseev understood that the head of the army must be a man of iron will and popular. Kornilov possessed both qualities. His unparalleled courage shown in battles with Germany, his irresistible offensives, his miraculous rescue from an Austrian prison, and finally his last escape from Bykhov made his name legendary. Such a general could perform miracles.
They still believed in Kornilov, and he became commander of the Volunteer Army, giving Alekseev the responsibility for political and economic issues. At the beginning of 1918, the weak Volunteer Army, under pressure from the Reds, was forced to leave the Don. Thus began the legendary Ice Campaign, when a handful of White Guards (just over 3,000 people), without sufficient weapons and food, in difficult weather conditions and under enemy pressure, made their way to Kuban through villages with a hostile population. However, with access to Kuban, it turned out that Ekaterinodar was occupied by the enemy. The decision was made to launch an assault. On March 31 (April 13), Lavr Georgievich Kornilov was killed during shelling of the army headquarters. L.V. Polovtsev wrote: “His death had a stunning effect on the Volunteer Army. The volunteers idolized him, had unlimited faith in him and unquestioningly carried out his orders. He was always among them, and during battle, sometimes even ahead of them.”
Kornilov was a living symbol of the White movement, and therefore it is not surprising that the Bolsheviks dealt with his corpse accordingly. They dug him out of the grave and brought him to Yekaterinodar, where, after much abuse and mockery, he was burned. The photographs taken of the deceased were then passed around in the form of cards.
PAKHALYUK K.,
member of the Russian Association of Historians of the First World War,
head of the Internet project “Heroes of the First World War”
Literature
Bazanov S.N.“German soldiers began... to crawl over to their Russian “comrades” and fraternize with them.” Military-historical magazine. 2002. No. 6
Vavrik V.R. Escape from the captivity of General Kornilov through the Carpathians. Lvov, 1931
Denikin A.I. The path of the Russian officer. M., 2013
Diterichs M.K. The most glorious Siberian. Hourly. 1933. No. 97
Kersnovsky A.A. History of the Russian army. M., 1994
Polovtsev L.V. Knights of the Crown of Thorns. Prague, B.G.
Ushakov A., Fedyuk V. Kornilov. M., 2012
Khotovitsky D.K. Memories of General L.G. Kornilov. Hourly. 1937. No. 201
Internet
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A talented commander who repeatedly showed personal courage in defending the Fatherland in the First World War. He assessed rejection of the revolution and hostility to the new government as secondary compared to serving the interests of the Motherland.
Miloradovich
Bagration, Miloradovich, Davydov are some very special breed of people. They don't do things like that now. The heroes of 1812 were distinguished by complete recklessness and complete contempt for death. And it was General Miloradovich, who went through all the wars for Russia without a single scratch, who became the first victim of individual terror. After Kakhovsky’s shot on Senate Square, the Russian revolution continued along this path - right up to the basement of the Ipatiev House. Taking away the best.
Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich
One of the best Russian generals of the First World War. In June 1916, troops of the Southwestern Front under the command of Adjutant General A.A. Brusilov, simultaneously striking in several directions, broke through the enemy’s deeply layered defenses and advanced 65 km. In military history, this operation was called the Brusilov breakthrough.
Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich
Successes in the Crimean War of 1853-56, victory in the Battle of Sinop in 1853, defense of Sevastopol 1854-55.
Donskoy Dmitry Ivanovich
His army won the Kulikovo victory.
Shein Mikhail
Hero of the Smolensk Defense of 1609-11.
He led the Smolensk fortress under siege for almost 2 years, it was one of the longest siege campaigns in Russian history, which predetermined the defeat of the Poles during the Time of Troubles
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Victory in the Great Patriotic War, saving the entire planet from absolute evil, and our country from extinction.
From the first hours of the war, Stalin controlled the country, front and rear. On land, at sea and in the air.
His merit is not one or even ten battles or campaigns, his merit is Victory, made up of hundreds of battles of the Great Patriotic War: the battle of Moscow, battles in the North Caucasus, the Battle of Stalingrad, the battle of Kursk Bulge, the battles of Leningrad and many others before the capture of Berlin, success in which was achieved thanks to the monotonous inhuman work of the genius of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Svyatoslav Igorevich
I would like to propose the “candidacies” of Svyatoslav and his father, Igor, as the greatest commanders and political leaders of their time, I think that there is no point in listing to historians their services to the fatherland, I was unpleasantly surprised not to see their names on this list. Sincerely.
Paskevich Ivan FedorovichThe armies under his command defeated Persia in the war of 1826-1828 and completely defeated Turkish troops in Transcaucasia in the war of 1828-1829.
Awarded all 4 degrees of the Order of St. George and the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called with diamonds.
Tsarevich and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the second son of Emperor Paul I, received the title of Tsarevich in 1799 for his participation in the Swiss campaign of A.V. Suvorov, and retained it until 1831. In the Battle of Austrlitz he commanded the guards reserve of the Russian Army, took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, and distinguished himself in the foreign campaigns of the Russian Army. For the “Battle of the Nations” at Leipzig in 1813 he received the “golden weapon” “For bravery!” Inspector General of the Russian Cavalry, since 1826 Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland.
Alexey Tribunsky
Denikin Anton Ivanovich
The commander, under whose command the white army with smaller forces won victories over the red army for 1.5 years and took possession Northern Caucasus, Crimea, Novorossiya, Donbass, Ukraine, Don, part of the Volga region and central black earth provinces of Russia. He retained the dignity of his Russian name during the Second World War, refusing to cooperate with the Nazis, despite his irreconcilably anti-Soviet position
KORNILOV Lavr Georgievich (08/18/1870-04/31/1918) Colonel (02/1905). Major General (12/1912). Lieutenant General (08/26/1914). Infantry General (06/30/1917). Graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery School (1892) and with a gold medal from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1898). Officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1889-1904. Participant in the Russian-Japanese War 1904 - 1905: staff officer of the 1st Infantry Brigade (at its headquarters). During the retreat from Mukden, the brigade got surrounded. Having led the rearguard, he broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack, ensuring freedom of defensive combat operations for the brigade. Military attaché in China, 04/01/1907 - 02/24/1911. Participant in the First World War: commander of the 48th Infantry Division of the 8th Army (General Brusilov). During the general retreat, the 48th Division was surrounded and General Kornilov, who was wounded, was captured on 04.1915 at the Duklinsky Pass (Carpathians); 08.1914-04.1915. Captured by the Austrians, 04.1915-06.1916. Dressed in the uniform of an Austrian soldier, he escaped from captivity on 06/1915. Commander of the 25th Rifle Corps, 06/1916-04/1917. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, 03-04/1917. Commander of the 8th Army, 04/24-07/8/1917. On 05/19/1917, by his order, he introduced the formation of the first volunteer “1st Shock Detachment of the 8th Army” under the command of Captain Nezhentsev. Commander of the Southwestern Front...
Shein Alexey Semyonovich
The first Russian generalissimo. Leader of the Azov campaigns of Peter I.
Saltykov Petr Semenovich
One of those commanders who managed to inflict exemplary defeats on one of the best commanders in Europe in the 18th century - Frederick II of Prussia
Vorotynsky Mikhail Ivanovich
“Drafter of the statutes of the watchdog and border service” is, of course, good. For some reason, we have forgotten the Battle of YOUTH from July 29 to August 2, 1572. But it was precisely with this victory that Moscow’s right to many things was recognized. They recaptured a lot of things for the Ottomans, the thousands of destroyed Janissaries sobered them up, and unfortunately they also helped Europe. The Battle of YOUTH is very difficult to overestimate
Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich
Great commander of the Old Russian period. The first known to us Kyiv prince having Slavic name. The last pagan ruler of the Old Russian state. He glorified Rus' as a great military power in the campaigns of 965-971. Karamzin called him “Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history.” The prince freed the Slavic tribes from vassal dependence on the Khazars, defeating the Khazar Khaganate in 965. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 970, during the Russian-Byzantine War, Svyatoslav managed to win the battle of Arcadiopolis, having 10,000 soldiers under his command, against 100,000 Greeks. But at the same time, Svyatoslav led the life of a simple warrior: “On campaigns he did not carry carts or cauldrons with him, did not cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or animal meat, or beef and roasting it on coals, he ate it like that; he did not have a tent , but slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in their heads - the same were all the rest of his warriors. And he sent envoys to other lands [envoys, as a rule, before declaring war] with the words: “I’m coming to you!” (According to PVL)
Field Marshal General Gudovich Ivan Vasilievich
The assault on the Turkish fortress of Anapa on June 22, 1791. In terms of complexity and importance, it is only inferior to the assault on Izmail by A.V. Suvorov.
A 7,000-strong Russian detachment stormed Anapa, which was defended by a 25,000-strong Turkish garrison. At the same time, soon after the start of the assault, the Russian detachment was attacked from the mountains by 8,000 mounted highlanders and Turks, who attacked the Russian camp, but were unable to break into it, were repulsed in a fierce battle and pursued by the Russian cavalry.
The fierce battle for the fortress lasted over 5 hours. About 8,000 people from the Anapa garrison died, 13,532 defenders led by the commandant and Sheikh Mansur were taken prisoner. A small part (about 150 people) escaped on ships. Almost all the artillery was captured or destroyed (83 cannons and 12 mortars), 130 banners were taken. Gudovich sent a separate detachment from Anapa to the nearby Sudzhuk-Kale fortress (on the site of modern Novorossiysk), but upon his approach the garrison burned the fortress and fled to the mountains, abandoning 25 guns.
The losses of the Russian detachment were very high - 23 officers and 1,215 privates were killed, 71 officers and 2,401 privates were wounded (Sytin's Military Encyclopedia gives slightly lower data - 940 killed and 1,995 wounded). Gudovich was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, all the officers of his detachment were awarded, and a special medal was established for the lower ranks.
Grand Duke of Russia Mikhail Nikolaevich
Feldzeichmeister-General (commander-in-chief of the artillery of the Russian Army), youngest son of Emperor Nicholas I, Viceroy in the Caucasus since 1864. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Caucasus in Russian-Turkish War 1877-1878 Under his command the fortresses of Kars, Ardahan, and Bayazet were taken.
Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich
An outstanding commander of the second half of the 16th century. Oprichnik.
Genus. OK. 1520, died on August 7 (17), 1591. At voivode posts since 1560. Participant in almost all military enterprises during the independent reign of Ivan IV and the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich. He has won several field battles (including: the defeat of the Tatars near Zaraisk (1570), the Battle of Molodinsk (during the decisive battle he led Russian troops in Gulyai-gorod), the defeat of the Swedes at Lyamitsa (1582) and near Narva ( 1590)). He led the suppression of the Cheremis uprising in 1583-1584, for which he received the rank of boyar.
Based on the totality of merits of D.I. Khvorostinin stands much higher than what M.I. has already proposed here. Vorotynsky. Vorotynsky was more noble and therefore he was more often entrusted with the general leadership of the regiments. But, according to the commander’s talats, he was far from Khvorostinin.
Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich
Outstanding commander of the First World War, founder new school strategy and tactics, who made a huge contribution to overcoming the positional deadlock. He was an innovator in the field of military art and one of the most prominent military leaders in Russian military history.
Cavalry General A. A. Brusilov showed the ability to manage large operational military formations - the army (8th - 08/05/1914 - 03/17/1916), the front (South-Western - 03/17/1916 - 05/21/1917), group of fronts (Supreme Commander-in-Chief - 05/22/1917 - 07/19/1917).
The personal contribution of A. A. Brusilov was manifested in many successful operations of the Russian army during the First World War - the Battle of Galicia in 1914, the Battle of the Carpathians in 1914/15, the Lutsk and Czartory operations in 1915 and, of course, in the Offensive of the Southwestern Front in 1916 (the famous Brusilov breakthrough).
Kornilov Lavr Georgievich |
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Date of Birth: |
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Place of Birth: |
Ust-Kamenogorsk Ust-Kamenogorsk district Semipalatinsk region (Russian Empire) |
Date of death: |
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A place of death: |
Near the city of Ekaterinodar (Kuban region) now Krasnodar region |
Affiliation: |
Russian Empire, Russian Republic, White Movement |
Type of army: |
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Years of service: |
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General of Infantry (1917) |
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Commanded: |
Petrogradsky V. O.; Southwestern Front; Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army; Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army |
Battles/wars: |
Russo-Japanese War: |
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In the cadet corps
Service in the Russian Army
Artillery School
General Staff Academy
Geographical expeditions
Russo-Japanese War
Military agent in China
World War I
Command of the 8th Army
Supreme Commander
Kornilov speech
Under arrest in Bykhov
White matter
First Kuban campaign
Opinions and ratings
Film incarnations
Essays
Lavr Georgievich Kornilov(August 18 (30), 1870, city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk district, Semipalatinsk region, Russian Empire - March 31 (April 13), 1918, Ekaterinodar, Kuban region, Russia) - Russian military leader, infantry general. Military intelligence officer, diplomat and traveler-researcher. Hero of the Russian-Japanese and First World Wars. Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army (August 1917). Participant of the Civil War, one of the organizers and Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army, leader of the White movement in the South of Russia, pioneer.
Knight of the Order of St. George 3rd and 4th degrees, Order of St. Anna 2nd degree, Order of St. Stanislav 3rd degree, Badge of the 1st Kuban (Ice) Campaign (posthumously), holder of the St. George's Arms.
Childhood
Lavr Georgievich Kornilov was born on August 18, 1870 in Ust-Kamenogorsk, in the family of the former cornet of the 7th Siberian Cossack Regiment Yegor (George) Nikolaevich Kornilov (d. 1906), 8 years before the birth of his son, he left the Cossack class and transferred to the rank of collegiate registrar It is believed that Kornilov’s paternal ancestors came to Siberia with Ermak’s squad. In 1869, Georgy Kornilov received the position of clerk at the city police in Ust-Kamenogorsk, a good salary and purchased a small house on the banks of the Irtysh, where the future general was born. According to my sister:
L.G. Kornilov’s mother is Maria Ivanovna, Maryam’s mother is a Kazakh from the Argyn-Karakesek clan. She studied at a parochial school, converted to Orthodoxy at the age of fourteen and began to be called Marya Ivanovna. At seventeen, Maryam met the Cossack Georgy Kornilov and married him. Apparently, she was an intelligent, strong-willed woman and was a faithful support and support to her husband. Just two years after his marriage, Georgy Kornilov became an officer, and in 1878 he became an official. Very little information has been preserved about Kornilov’s parents, but apparently they loved each other very much, since they had thirteen children. She devoted herself entirely to raising children; She was distinguished by an inquisitive mind, a high thirst for knowledge, excellent memory and enormous energy.
In the cadet corps
In the summer of 1883, young Kornilov was enrolled in the Siberian Cadet Corps in the city of Omsk. At first, he was accepted only by those “coming”: they successfully passed exams in all subjects except French, since there were no appropriate tutors in the Kazakh steppe. However, after a year of study, the new student, with his perseverance and excellent certifications (average score 11 out of 12), achieved a transfer to the “state kosht”. His brother Yakov was also enrolled in the same corps.
Hardworking and capable, Kornilov very soon became one of the best students in the corps. The director of the corps, General Porokhovshchikov, indicated in the certification of the young cadet:
In the final certification after five years you can also read:
Having passed the final exams with excellent marks, Laurus receives the right to choose a military school for further education. Love for mathematics and special success in this subject determined Kornilov’s choice in favor of the prestigious (the most capable cadets traditionally flocked here) Mikhailovsky Artillery School in St. Petersburg, where he entered on August 29, 1889.
Service in the Russian Army
Artillery School
The move from Omsk to St. Petersburg marks the beginning of the independent life of a 19-year-old cadet. The father could no longer help Lavra with money, and Kornilov had to earn his own living. He gives mathematics lessons and writes articles on zoogeography, which brings in some income, from which he even manages to help his elderly parents.
At the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, as well as in the cadet corps, studies went “excellent”. Already in March 1890, Kornilov became a school non-commissioned officer. However, Lavr Georgievich received relatively low points for his behavior, due to an unpleasant story that occurred between him and one of the school officers, who allowed himself an offensive tactlessness towards Kornilov and unexpectedly received a rebuff from the proud cadet. “The officer was furious and had already made a sharp movement, but the imperturbable young man, maintaining an outwardly icy calm, lowered his hand on the hilt of his sword, making it clear that he intended to stand for his honor to the end. The head of the school, General Chernyavsky, saw this and immediately recalled the officer.” Considering the talents and universal respect that Kornilov enjoyed, this offense was forgiven.
In November 1891, in his last year at the school, Kornilov received the title of harness cadet.
On August 4, 1892, Kornilov completed an additional course at the school, which gave priority in assignment to service, and put on the shoulder straps of a second lieutenant. The prospect of serving in the guard or in the capital's military district opened before him, but the young officer chose the Turkestan military district and was assigned to the 5th battery of the Turkestan artillery brigade. This was not only a return to his small homeland, but also a forward strategic direction in the then emerging conflicts with Persia, Afghanistan and Great Britain.
In Turkestan, in addition to routine service, Lavr Georgievich was engaged in self-education, enlightening soldiers, and studied oriental languages. However, Kornilov’s irrepressible energy and persistent character did not allow him to remain a lieutenant, and two years later he applied for admission to the Academy of the General Staff.
General Staff Academy
In 1895, having brilliantly passed the entrance exams (average score 10.93, in five disciplines - out of a maximum of 12), he was enrolled in the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. While studying at the Academy in 1896, Lavr Georgievich married the daughter of the titular councilor Taisiya Vladimirovna Markovina, and a year later their daughter Natalya was born. In 1897, having graduated from the Academy with a small silver medal and “with his name entered on a marble plaque with the names of outstanding graduates of the Nikolaev Academy in the conference hall of the Academy,” Kornilov, who received the rank of captain ahead of schedule (with the wording “for the successful completion of an additional course”), again refused from his place in St. Petersburg and chose service in the Turkestan Military District.
Geographical expeditions
From 1898 to 1904, he served in Turkestan as an assistant to the senior adjutant of the district headquarters, and then as a staff officer for assignments at headquarters. At the risk of his life, disguised as a Turkmen, he conducted a reconnaissance of the British fortress of Deidadi in Afghanistan. He made a number of long-term research and reconnaissance expeditions in Eastern Turkestan (Kashgaria), Afghanistan and Persia - he studied this mysterious region, met with Chinese (Kashgaria was part of China) officials and entrepreneurs, and established an intelligence network. The result of this business trip was the book “Kashgaria, or Eastern Turkestan” prepared by Lavr Georgievich, which became a significant contribution to geography, ethnography, military and geopolitical science and brought the author well-deserved success. This work was also noticed by British specialists. As the modern researcher M.K. Baskhanov has established, the cartographic material for the English edition of “Military Report on Kashgaria” of 1907 represents plans of cities and fortifications of Eastern Turkestan, published in the work of L.G. Kornilov. Captain Kornilov's service in Turkestan did not go unappreciated - for these expeditions he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd degree, and was soon sent on a new assignment to the little-studied areas of Eastern Persia.
The “Steppe of Despair”, along which the unprecedented campaign of Russian scouts under the command of Captain L. G. Kornilov took place - the first Europeans to pass this way - on the maps of Iran contemporary to the events described was indicated by a white spot with the mark “unexplored lands”: “hundreds of miles of endless sands, wind, scorching rays of the sun, a desert where it was almost impossible to find water, and the only food was flour cakes - all travelers who had previously tried to explore this dangerous area died from unbearable heat, hunger and thirst, so British explorers avoided the “Steppe of Despair” " The result of Captain Kornilov’s campaign was a wealth of geographical, ethnographic and military material, which Lavr Georgievich later began to widely use in his essays published in Tashkent and St. Petersburg.
In addition to the German and French languages required for a graduate of the General Staff, he mastered English, Persian, Kazakh and Urdu well.
From November 1903 to June 1904 he was in India for the purpose of “studying the languages and customs of the peoples of Balochistan,” and in fact, to analyze the state of the British colonial troops. During this expedition, Kornilov visited Bombay, Delhi, Peshawar, Agra (the military center of the British) and other areas, observed British military personnel, analyzed the condition of the colonial troops, and contacted British officers who were already familiar with his name. In 1905, his secret “Report on a Trip to India” was published by the General Staff.
It was in Turkestan that the main talents of Lavr Georgievich - an intelligence officer and researcher, like his predecessor Chokan Valikhanov - were revealed.
Russo-Japanese War
In June 1904, Lieutenant Colonel Kornilov was appointed chief of the General Staff in St. Petersburg, but he soon achieved a transfer to the active army. From September 1904 to December 1905 he served as a staff officer, then as chief of staff of the 1st Infantry Brigade. Lavr Georgievich's baptism of fire occurred during the Battle of Sandepu. In February 1905, he proved himself to be a competent and brave military leader during the retreat from Mukden, covering the army's retreat and being with the brigade in the rearguard.
Surrounded by the Japanese in the village of Vazye, Kornilov broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack and led his already considered destroyed brigade with the units assigned to it, with the wounded and banners, maintaining full battle order, to join the army.
The actions of Lavr Georgievich were marked by many orders, including the Order of St. George, 4th degree (“For personal courage and correct actions” during the actions near Mukden), the St. George’s Arms and promoted to the “rank of colonel of military distinction.”
Military agent in China
In 1907-1911, having a reputation as an orientalist, Kornilov served as a military agent in China. He studied the Chinese language, traveled, studied the life, history, traditions and customs of the Chinese. Intending to write a big book about the life of modern China, Lavr Georgievich wrote down all his observations and regularly sent detailed reports to the General Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among them, of great interest are, in particular, the essays “On the Police of China”, “Telegraph of China”, “Description of the maneuvers of Chinese troops in Manchuria”, “Security of the Imperial City and the project for the formation of the Imperial Guard”.
In China, Kornilov helped Russian officers arriving on business trips (in particular, Colonel Mannerheim), made connections with colleagues from different countries, and met with the future president of China - at that time a young officer - Chiang Kai-shek.
In his new position, Kornilov paid a lot of attention to the prospects for interaction between Russia and China in the Far East. Having traveled to almost all the major provinces of the country, Kornilov understood perfectly well that its military-economic potential was still far from being used, and its human reserves were too large to be ignored: “... being still too young and being in the period of its formation, the Chinese army discovers there are still many shortcomings, but... the available number of Chinese field troops already represents a serious fighting force, the existence of which has to be taken into account as a potential enemy...” As the most significant results of the modernization process, Kornilov noted the growth of the railway network and the rearmament of the army, as well as a change in attitude towards the military service from Chinese society. Being a military man became prestigious; military service even required special recommendations.
In 1910, Colonel Kornilov was recalled from Beijing, but returned to St. Petersburg only five months later, during which he traveled through Western Mongolia and Kashgaria in order to familiarize himself with the Chinese armed forces on the borders with Russia.
The activities of Kornilov as a diplomat of this period were highly appreciated not only in his homeland, where he received the Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree and other awards, but also among diplomats from Britain, France, Japan and Germany, whose awards also did not spare the Russian intelligence officer.
From February 2, 1911 - commander of the 8th Estonian Infantry Regiment, from June 3 - head of a detachment in the Trans-Amur District of a separate border guard corps (2 infantry and 3 cavalry regiments). After a scandal that ended with the resignation of the head of the Zaamursky OKPS district, E.I. Martynov, he was appointed commander of the brigade of the 9th Siberian Rifle Division, stationed in Vladivostok.
World War I
On August 19, 1914, Kornilov was appointed head of the 48th Infantry Division (the future "Steel"), which under his command fought in Galicia and the Carpathians as part of the XXIV Army Corps of the 8th Army of General Brusilov (Southwestern Front). Brusilov, who did not like Kornilov, would later give him credit in his memoirs:
At the same time, Brusilov wrote:
The soldiers literally idolized Kornilov: the commander paid great attention to their everyday life, demanded a fatherly attitude towards the lower ranks, but also demanded from them initiative and strict execution of orders.
General Denikin, whose units during Brusilov’s offensive advanced “hand-in-hand” with the units of General Kornilov, subsequently characterized his future associate and like-minded person:
I met Kornilov for the first time in the fields of Galicia, near Galich, at the end of August 1914, when he received 48 infantry. division, and I - the 4th Infantry (Iron) Brigade. Since then, for 4 months of continuous, glorious and difficult battles, our units marched side by side as part of the XXIV Corps, defeating the enemy, crossing the Carpathians, invading Hungary. Due to the extremely extended fronts, we rarely saw each other, but this did not prevent us from knowing each other well. Then the main features of Kornilov, a military leader, were already quite clearly defined for me: great ability to train troops: from a second-rate unit of the Kazan district, he made an excellent combat division in a few weeks; determination and extreme perseverance in conducting the most difficult, seemingly doomed operation; extraordinary personal courage, which terribly impressed the troops and created great popularity for him among them; finally, high observance of military ethics in relation to neighboring units and comrades-in-arms, a property that both commanders and military units often sinned against. |
In many operations of Brusilov’s army, it was Kornilov’s division that distinguished itself.
“Kornilov is not a man, he is an element,” said the Austrian General Raft, who was taken prisoner by the Kornilovites. In November 1914, in a night battle at Takoshany, a group of volunteers under the command of Kornilov broke through the enemy’s positions and, despite their small numbers, captured 1,200 prisoners, including Raft himself, who was shocked by this daring attack. However, then, contrary to the orders of the commander of the 24th Corps, General Tsurikov, Kornilov and his division descended from the Carpathians to the Hungarian Plain, where they were immediately cut off by the Hungarian Honved division. Kornilov's division had to fight its way back along the mountain paths, losing thousands of people, including several hundred prisoners, abandoning a battery of mountain guns, charging boxes and a convoy. For this, Brusilov wanted to put Kornilov on trial and only at the request of Tsurikov limited himself to a reprimand in the army order for both Kornilov and Tsurikov.
Soon after this, during the Battle of Limanov, the “Steel” division, transferred to the most difficult sectors of the front, defeated the enemy in the battles near Gogolev Varzhishe and reached the Carpathians, where it occupied Krepna. In January 1915, the 48th Division occupied the main Carpathian ridge on the Alzopagon - Felzador line, and in February Kornilov was promoted to lieutenant general, his name became widely known in the army.
Capture of Zboro, Austrian captivity and escape from captivity
The capture of Zboro - located at “height 650” - protected by wire fences and lines of trenches with fortified firing points - became one of the most brilliant operations carried out by Kornilov. The day before, the general carefully prepared the plan of the operation, studied the plan of enemy fortifications and attended the interrogations of captured Austrians. As a result, the assault went exactly according to Lavr Georgievich’s plan: the heavy fire of Russian artillery that suddenly fell on the heights and a frontal infantry attack allowed Kornilov’s main striking forces to bypass the enemy unnoticed and put him to flight. The capture of height 650 by Kornilov opened the way to Hungary for the Russian armies.
In April 1915, covering Brusilov’s retreat from beyond the Carpathians with the forces of one of his “Steel” divisions, General Kornilov, who took personal command of one of the battalions at the time of the death of the division, was wounded twice in the arm and leg and was among only 7 survivors The battalion's fighters, who spent four days trying to break through to their own people, eventually (after a stubborn bayonet battle) were captured by Austrians.
The battles given to the superior enemy forces by the 48th “Steel” Division of General Kornilov allowed the 3rd Army, in which it was included as part of the 24th Corps of General Tsurikov, to avoid complete defeat.
The corps commander, General Tsurikov, considered Kornilov responsible for the death of the 48th division and demanded his trial, but the commander of the Southwestern Front, General Ivanov, highly appreciated the feat of the 48th division and sent a petition to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich " about the exemplary rewarding of the remnants of the valiantly fought through units of the 48th division and, especially its hero, the division chief, General Kornilov" Already on April 28, 1915, Emperor Nicholas II signed a Decree awarding General Kornilov the Order of St. George, 3rd degree
After being captured, General Kornilov was placed in a camp for senior officers near Vienna. Having healed his wounds, he tried to escape, but his first two escape attempts ended in failure. Kornilov was able to escape from captivity in July 1916 with the help of the Czech Frantisek Mrnyak, who served as a pharmacist's assistant in the camp.
About the capture of Kornilov in the spring of 1915, the Minister of War of the Provisional Government, who later went over to the side of the Bolsheviks (repressed in 1938), A. I. Verkhovsky wrote in his memoirs:
“Kornilov himself with a group of staff officers fled to the mountains, but a few days later, hungry, he went down and was captured by an Austrian patrol. General Ivanov tried to find at least something that would resemble a feat and could support the spirit of the troops. Deliberately distorting the truth, he glorified Kornilov and his division for their courageous behavior in battle. Kornilov was made a hero to the laughter and surprise of those who knew what this “feat” was (A. I. Verkhovsky. At a difficult pass, M. , Military Publishing House, 1959, p. 65).
In September 1916, L. G. Kornilov, having regained his strength after the events he had experienced, again went to the front and was appointed commander of the XXV Army Corps of the Special Army of General V. I. Gurko (Southwestern Front).
1917
Command of the Petrograd Military District
The question of the appointment of General Kornilov to the post of commander of the troops of the Petrograd Military District was decided by Emperor Nicholas II - the general’s candidacy was nominated by the Chief of the Main Staff, General Mikhnevich, and the head of the Special Department for the appointment of army ranks, General Arkhangelsky, in connection with the need to have a popular military general head the troops in Petrograd , who also made a legendary escape from Austrian captivity - such a figure could moderate the ardor of the emperor’s opponents. A telegram with a petition for the appointment was sent to General Alekseev at Headquarters, was supported by him and was awarded the resolution of Nicholas II - “Execute”. On March 2, 1917, at the first meeting of the self-proclaimed Provisional Government, Kornilov was appointed to the key post of Commander-in-Chief of the Petrograd Military District, replacing the arrested General S.S. Khabalov.
On March 5, Kornilov arrived in Petrograd. By order of the Provisional Government and Minister of War Guchkov, Kornilov, as commander of the Petrograd Military District, announced the arrest of the Empress and her family in Tsarskoe Selo. He did this in order to try to ease the fate of those arrested in the future. And in fact, witnesses say that:
On the night of March 5-6, General Kornilov and Minister of War Guchkov were received by Alexandra Fedorovna for the first time. It was this episode that Lieutenant of the 4th Tsarskoye Selo Rifle Regiment K.N. Kologrivov testified to, writing that the arrest of the Empress was allegedly carried out by General Kornilov, allegedly in a deliberately defiant, rude manner. This first meeting of the general with the empress related to the events described did not have the nature of an “announcement of arrest” (if only because a resolution on this had not yet been adopted) and its purpose was to familiarize visitors with the situation of the protected persons. It should be noted that General Kornilov conducted a personal inspection of the security of the Empress and her family in the very first hours of his tenure as commander of the Petrograd Military District. The episode was also witnessed Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, Count Benkendorf and master of ceremonies of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, personal secretary of the Empress Count P. N. Apraksin. In his study, historian V. Zh. Tsvetkov comes to the conclusion that, as an experienced intelligence officer, the general could play a double game:
There were no humiliating actions for the royal family, no offensive behavior towards the empress on the part of Kornilov.
There is also evidence from contemporaries emphasizing the high opinion of Alexandra Feodorovna, as well as the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, about L. G. Kornilov, for example, this: “After announcing her arrest, Alexandra Fedorovna expressed satisfaction that it was done by the glorious General Kornilov, and not by anyone -or from members of the new government."
For the second time, the general, together with the head of the Tsarskoye Selo garrison, Colonel Kobylinsky, was received by the empress on the morning of March 8. Colonel E. S. Kobylinsky noted Kornilov’s very correct, respectful attitude towards the Empress. The reception of Kornilov and Kobylinsky was noted in the empress’s diary in an entry dated March 8. It was during this reception that Kornilov informed the empress not about “protection”, but about “arrest”, and then introduced Kobylinsky to her. Kobylinsky also testified that he was the only officer in whose presence Alexandra Fedorovna was informed of her arrest. One of the court officials of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, Count P. Apraksin, conveyed the Empress’s answer to Kornilov in these words:
After this, the palace guard was changed: the security guards from the Consolidated Guards Regiment of the “arrest” guards were replaced, after which the guards were again, for the second time, inspected by General Kornilov, about the reliability of which he already reported to Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich.
Kornilov himself was deeply worried about fulfilling the difficult responsibility that fell to him. According to the recollections of Colonel S.N. Ryasnyansky, while under arrest in the city of Bykhov, in September 1917, the general “in the circle of only his closest persons shared with what heavy feeling he had, in pursuance of the order of the Provisional Government, to report The Empress about the arrest of the entire Royal Family. It was one of the hardest days of his life..."
Nevertheless, after the arrest of the empress, Kornilov’s reputation as a revolutionary general was established, and the orthodox monarchists never forgave the general for his participation in this episode.
The general was developing an unrealized project for the creation of the Petrograd Front, which was to include troops from Finland, Kronstadt, the coast of the Revel fortified area and the Petrograd garrison.
Working together with Minister of War A.I. Guchkov, Lavr Georgievich is developing a number of measures to stabilize the situation, trying to protect the army from the destructive influence of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, the influence of which on the army was already expressed in the notorious Order No. 1. Withdraw the decayed garrison and reserve units, as well as introducing new regiments into the city, was impossible due to the same Order No. 1. Guchkov and Kornilov could only quietly place their people in important positions. According to Guchkov, some success was achieved in this regard: front-line officers were appointed to military schools and artillery units, and dubious elements were removed from service. In the future, it was planned to create the Petrograd Front, which would make it possible to re-equip existing units and thereby improve their health.
On April 6, 1917, the Council awarded the St. George Cross to the non-commissioned officer of the Life Guards Volyn Regiment T.I. Kirpichnikov, who was the first to start a rebellion in his regiment at the beginning of the February Revolution and killed Captain Lashkevich.
Guchkov testifies that General Kornilov hoped to the last to reach an agreement with the representatives of the Council. But he failed to do this, just as he failed to find mutual language with soldiers of the Petrograd garrison. Denikin wrote about this: “His gloomy figure, dry speech, occasionally only warmed by sincere feeling, and most importantly, its content - so far from the dizzying slogans thrown out by the revolution, so simple in the confession of soldier’s catechisms - could neither ignite nor inspire Petrograd soldiers."
Command of the 8th Army
At the end of April 1917, General Kornilov refused the post of commander-in-chief of the troops of the Petrograd district, “not considering it possible for himself to be an involuntary witness and participant in the destruction of the army ... by the Council of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies” and, in connection with the preparation of the summer offensive at the front, he was transferred to Southwestern Front commander of the 8th Army - the shock army of the front, which under his command achieved impressive successes during the June offensive of the troops of the Southwestern Front.
At the end of April 1917, before resigning, Minister of War A.I. Guchkov wanted to promote General Kornilov to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front - the most dissolved and propagandized of all Russian fronts, where there were difficulties in management and the “steady hand” of the General could be useful headquarters of the general from infantry L. G. Kornilova. In addition, the post of commander-in-chief of the front remained vacant after General Ruzsky left it. The infantry general, who became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief after the abdication of the tsar, categorically objected to this. V. Alekseev, citing the insufficient command experience of General Kornilov and the fact that many generals, older than Lavr Georgievich in production and merit, are waiting for their turn. The next day, Guchkov sent an official telegram regarding the appointment of Kornilov. Alekseev threatened that if the appointment takes place, he himself will resign. The Minister of War did not dare to risk the resignation of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, which he later, according to some sources, regretted. The described episode subsequently gave rise to quite strong hostility between the two generals - it, like the situation with the arrest of the Kornilovites at Headquarters in the near future by Alekseev after the failure of the Kornilov speech - provides the key to unraveling the very difficult relationship between the two generals.
Having familiarized himself with the situation at the front, General Kornilov was the first to raise the issue of destroying soldiers' committees and prohibiting political agitation in the army, given that the army at the time of its acceptance by General Kornilov was in a state of complete disintegration.
On May 19, 1917, Kornilov, by order of the 8th Army, allowed, at the proposal of the General Staff of Captain M. O. Nezhentsev, to form the First Shock Detachment of volunteers (the first volunteer unit in the Russian Army). In a short time, a detachment of three thousand was formed, and on June 10, General Kornilov reviewed it. Captain Nezhentsev brilliantly carried out the baptism of fire of his detachment on June 26, 1917, breaking through the Austrian positions near the village of Yamshitsy, thanks to which Kalush was taken. On August 11, by order of Kornilov, the detachment was reorganized into the Kornilov Shock Regiment. The regiment's uniform included the letter "K" on the shoulder straps and a sleeve badge with the inscription "Kornilovtsy". The Tekinsky cavalry regiment became Kornilov's personal guard.
During the period of Kornilov’s command of the 8th Army, the commissar of this army, Socialist Revolutionary M. M. Filonenko, who served as an intermediary between Kornilov and the Provisional Government, acquired a major role.
2 days after the start of the development of the offensive in the army led by General Kornilov, on June 25, 1917, his troops broke through the positions of the 3rd Austrian Army of Kirchbach west of Stanislavov. Already on June 26, Kirchbach’s troops, defeated by Kornilov, fled, taking with them the German division that had arrived to their aid.
During the offensive, General Kornilov's army broke through the Austrian front for 30 miles, captured 10 thousand enemy soldiers and 150 officers, as well as about 100 guns. Denikin would later write in his memoirs that “The exit to Lomnitsa opened up Kornilov’s route to the Stryi Valley, and to messages from Count Bothmer’s army. German Headquarters considered the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front critical.»
However, the subsequent breakthrough of the Germans on the front of the 11th Army - which fled before the Germans, despite its enormous superiority in numbers and technology due to its corruption and collapse due to the corrupting revolutionary agitation - neutralized the initial successes of the Russian armies.
After the general failure of the June offensive of the Russian army and the Ternopil breakthrough of the Austro-German troops, General Kornilov, who managed to hold the front in a difficult situation, was promoted to infantry general, and on July 7 Kerensky appointed commander-in-chief of the armies of the Southwestern Front instead of General A. E. Gutor and in the evening of the same day, he sent a telegram to the Provisional Government describing the situation at the front (“An army of maddened dark people… is running…”) and his proposals for rectifying the situation (introducing the death penalty and field courts at the front). General Brusilov opposed this appointment (but on July 8, with his telegram, he confirmed that he considered “it is absolutely necessary to immediately implement the measures requested by General Kornilov”), but Kerensky insisted on the appointment of Kornilov: the situation at the front was catastrophic.
Supreme Commander
Already on July 19, Infantry General L. G. Kornilov was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief, replacing General Brusilov in this post, who was following the lead of the soldiers’ committees, which led to the disintegration of the army and the loss of control over the troops, which, at the slightest onslaught of the enemy, left their positions en masse and went to the rear. Lavr Georgievich does not immediately accept this position, but first, within three days, he stipulates the conditions under which he is ready to agree to accept it: non-interference by the government in appointments to senior command positions, the speedy implementation of the army reorganization program, the appointment of General Denikin as commander of the Southwestern Front. After long negotiations, the parties managed to reach a compromise, and Kornilov accepted a post that made him the second person in the state, a major political figure capable of influencing events taking place in the country. This appointment was met with great joy among officers and the conservative public. This camp had a leader in whom they saw hope for the salvation of the army and Russia.
To restore discipline in the army, at the request of General Kornilov, the Provisional Government introduces the death penalty. Using decisive and harsh methods, using in exceptional cases the execution of deserters, General Kornilov returns the Army's combat capability and restores the front. At this moment, General Kornilov in the eyes of many became a people's hero; great hopes began to be placed on him, and they began to expect the salvation of the country from him. Kornilov’s energetic activity as Supreme Commander-in-Chief allowed him to achieve some results even in a short period of time: the unbridledness of the masses of soldiers subsided, and officers began to manage to maintain discipline. However, despite the success of such measures in terms of ensuring some order, the measures of the High Command could not influence the increasing flow of defeatist propaganda from secret Bolshevik agitators in the army and government representatives who tried to flirt with the lower ranks of the army during their short trips to the front.
Taking advantage of his position as Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Kornilov presents demands to the Provisional Government known as the "Kornilov Military Program". In Moscow at the State Meeting on August 13-15, General. Kornilov, in his extensive report, pointed out the catastrophic situation at the front, the destructive effect on the masses of soldiers of the legislative measures taken by the Provisional Government, and the ongoing destructive propaganda sowing anarchy in the Army and the country.
The inaction of the authorities ultimately paralyzed all the few good undertakings of Kornilov. In the army and navy, everything remained unchanged until the Provisional Government considered the popularity of Kornilov himself in the army too dangerous for the “revolution.”
Kornilov speech
On August 28, 1917, General Kornilov, who had recently spoken at the Moscow meeting (despite Kerensky’s attempts to deprive the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the floor at this meeting) demanding “the elimination of anarchy in the country,” refused Kerensky (who had previously committed a state crime against Russia and a provocation against the Supreme Commander-in-Chief with accusing General Kornilov of treason with an alleged demand for the transfer of “the fullness of civil and military power”) in stopping the advance to Petrograd of the 3rd Cavalry Corps under the command of General Krymov, which was carried out at the request of the Provisional Government and was sanctioned by Kerensky.
This corps was sent to the capital by the Provisional Government with the goal of finally (after the suppression of the July uprising) putting an end to the Bolsheviks and taking control of the situation in the capital:
A.F. Kerensky, who had actually concentrated government power in his hands, found himself in a difficult position during Kornilov's speech. He understood that only the harsh measures proposed by L.G. Kornilov, they could still save the economy from collapse, the army from anarchy, liberate the Provisional Government from Soviet dependence and, ultimately, establish internal order in the country. But A.F. Kerensky also understood that with the establishment of a military dictatorship he would lose all of his power. He did not want to give it up voluntarily, even for the good of Russia. Added to this was personal antipathy between Minister-Chairman A.F. Kerensky and Commander-in-Chief General L.G. Kornilov, they did not hesitate to express their attitude towards each other. |
During the advance of General Krymov’s Cossacks to Petrograd, Kerensky received from the deputy of Lvov various things he had discussed the day before with General Kornilov wishes in the sense of increasing power. However, Kerensky commits a provocation in order to denigrate the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the eyes of the public and thus eliminate the threat to his personal (Kerensky) power:
“It was necessary,” says Kerensky, “to immediately prove the formal connection between Lvov and Kornilov so clearly that the Provisional Government would be able to take decisive measures that same evening ... by forcing Lvov to repeat in the presence of a third person his entire conversation with me.” For this purpose, assistant police chief Bulavinsky was invited, whom Kerensky hid behind a curtain in his office during Lvov’s second visit to him. Bulavinsky testifies that the note was read to Lvov and the latter confirmed its contents, but to the question “what were the reasons and motives that forced General Kornilov to demand that Kerensky and Savinkov come to Headquarters,” he did not answer. Lvov categorically denies Kerensky's version. He says: " Kornilov did not make any ultimatum demands to me. We had a simple conversation, during which we discussed various wishes in terms of strengthening power. I expressed these wishes to Kerensky. I did not and could not present any ultimatum demand (to him), but he demanded that I put my thoughts on paper. I did it, and he arrested me. I didn’t even have time to read the paper I wrote before he, Kerensky, snatched it from me and put it in his pocket.” |
In a telegram without a number and signed “Kerensky,” the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was asked to hand over his position to General Lukomsky and immediately leave for the capital. This order was illegal and was not subject to mandatory execution - “The Supreme Commander-in-Chief was not in any way subordinate to the Minister of War, or the Minister-Chairman, and especially Comrade Kerensky.” Kerensky is trying to appoint a new Supreme Commander-in-Chief, but both “candidate” generals - Lukomsky and Klembovsky - refuse, and the first of them, in response to the offer to take the position of “Supreme,” openly accuses Kerensky of provocation.
General Kornilov comes to the conclusion that...
...and decides not to obey and not to surrender the position of Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Deeply offended by the lies of various government appeals that began to arrive from Petrograd, as well as by their unworthy external form, General Kornilov responded for his part with a number of heated appeals to the army, people, and Cossacks, in which he described the course of events and the provocation of the Chairman of the Government.
On August 28, General Kornilov refuses Kerensky’s request to stop the movement towards Petrograd, sent there by decision of the Government and with the consent of Kerensky’s 3rd Cavalry Corps of General Krymov, and decides
using for this purpose the 3rd Cavalry Corps, which had already been sent to Petrograd at the request of Kerensky, and gives its commander, General Krymov, the corresponding instructions.
On August 29, Kerensky issues a decree expelling General Kornilov and his senior associates from office and putting on trial “for rebellion.”
The method used by Kerensky with the “Lvov mission” was successfully repeated in relation to General Krymov, who shot himself immediately after his personal audience with Kerensky in Petrograd, where he went, leaving the corps in the vicinity of Luga, at the invitation of Kerensky, which was transmitted through a friend of the general, Colonel Samarin, who held the position of assistant to the head of Kerensky’s office. The meaning of the manipulation was the need to painlessly remove the commander from among the troops subordinate to him - in the absence of the commander, revolutionary agitators easily propagandized the Cossacks and stopped the advance of the 3rd Cavalry Corps to Petrograd.
General Kornilov refuses offers to leave Headquarters and “run away.” Not wanting bloodshed in response to assurances of loyalty from units loyal to him
the general replied:
of the General Staff, Infantry General M.V. Alekseev, wanting to save the Kornilovites, agrees to “take the shame on his gray head" - to become the Chief of Staff of the Commander-in-Chief under the "Sovereign in Chief" - Kerensky - in order to save the Kornilovites, he arrests General Kornilov and his associates at Headquarters on September 1, 1917 and sends those arrested to the Bykhov prison, where he ensures security for the prisoners. According to the testimony of the commander of the Kornilovsky shock regiment of the General Staff, Captain M. O. Nezhentsev, “they met [Alekseev and Kornilov] extremely touching and friendly." Immediately after this (a week later), General Alekseev resigns from the post of Chief of Staff under the Supreme Commander-in-Chief - Kerensky. Despite the obvious desire of General Alekseev to help the Bykhov prisoners, this episode turned out to be misunderstood by General Kornilov, and subsequently on the Don had a very negative impact on the relationship between the two general leaders of the young Volunteer Army. General Kornilov, no doubt, should also have previously been upset by the extreme caution of General Alekseev in terms of supporting the speech, who sympathized with General Kornilov’s desire to restore order in the army and the country, but publicly did not agree on any point due to a lack of faith in the success of the risky event.
Immediately after this (a week later), General Alekseev resigns from the post of Chief of Staff under the Supreme Commander-in-Chief - Kerensky; The general always spoke about this short, just a few days, period of his life with deep emotion and sorrow; Kerensky appointed General Dukhonin in his place. Mikhail Vasilyevich expressed his attitude towards the Kornilovites in a letter to the editor of Novoye Vremya, B. A. Suvorin, as follows:
Kerensky's victory in this confrontation became prelude to Bolshevism, because it meant the victory of the Soviets, among whom the Bolsheviks already occupied a predominant position, and with which the Kerensky Government was only able to conduct a conciliatory policy.
Under arrest in Bykhov
After the failure of his speech, Kornilov was arrested, and the general and his associates spent the period from September 1 to November 1917 under arrest in Mogilev and Bykhov. At first, the arrested were placed in the Metropol Hotel in Mogilev. Along with Kornilov in Mogilev, his chief of staff, General Lukomsky, General Romanovsky, Colonel Plyushchevsky-Plyushchik, Aladin, several officers of the general staff and the entire executive committee of the officers' union were also arrested.
Simultaneously with the arrest of the most active and state-minded group of the generals, the Bolsheviks, including Trotsky, who were arrested for the July coup attempt, were released by the Provisional Government.
The Tekin Regiment formed by Kornilov provided security for the arrested, which ensured the safety of the arrested. To investigate what happened, an investigative commission was appointed (chaired by the chief military prosecutor Shablovsky, members of the commission were military investigators Ukraintsev, Raupach and Kolosovsky). Kerensky and the Council of Workers' Deputies demanded a military trial of Kornilov and his supporters, but the members of the investigative commission treated those arrested quite favorably.
On September 9, 1917, the cadet ministers resigned as a sign of solidarity with General Kornilov.
Some of those arrested who did not take an active part in the Kornilov uprising (General Tikhmenev, Plyushchevsky-Plyushchik) were released by the investigative commission, while the rest were transferred to Bykhov, where they were placed in the building of an old Catholic monastery. Kornilov, Lukomsky, Romanovsky, General Kislyakov, Captain Bragin, Colonel Pronin, Ensign Nikitin, Colonel Novosiltsev, Captain Rodionov, Captain Soets, Colonel Resnyansky, Lieutenant Colonel Rozhenko, Aladin, Nikonorov were transported to Bykhov.
Another group of arrested supporters of Kornilov: generals Denikin, Markov, Vannovsky, Erdeli, Elsner and Orlov, captain Kletsanda (Czech), official Budilovich were imprisoned in Berdichev. The chairman of the investigative commission, Shablovsky, managed to achieve their transfer to Bykhov.
After the October Revolution, it became clear that the Bolsheviks would soon send a detachment against Headquarters. There was no point in staying in Bykhov. The new chairman of the investigative commission, Colonel R. R. von Raupach (after the October coup, I. S. Shablovsky was forced to go into hiding), based on the investigation data, by November 18 (December 1) released all those arrested except five (Kornilov, Lukomsky, Romanovsky, Denikin and Markov).
On November 19 (December 2), the remaining five left Bykhov. Kornilov decided to go to the Don in marching order with his Tekinsky regiment. The Bolsheviks managed to track down the regiment's route and it was fired upon from an armored train. After crossing the Seim River, the regiment found itself in a poorly frozen swampy area and lost many horses. Finally, Kornilov left the Tekins, deciding that it would be safe for them to go without him, and disguised as a peasant, with a false passport, he set off alone by rail. On December 6 (19), 1917, Kornilov arrived in Novocherkassk. Other Bykhov prisoners arrived in different ways on the Don, where they began to form the Volunteer Army to fight the Bolsheviks.
During the imprisonment of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in the Bykhov prison, Kerensky once said the following phrase, characterizing both the moral and ethical aspects of the policy of the minister-chairman and his plans for the future General Kornilov:
General Romanovsky, one of the generals arrested along with General Kornilov, said later: “They can shoot Kornilov, send his accomplices to hard labor, but “Kornilovism” will not die in Russia, since “Kornilovism” is love for the Motherland, the desire to save Russia , and these lofty motives should not be thrown under any mud, not trampled upon by any haters of Russia.”
White matter
Kornilov became a co-organizer of the Volunteer Army on the Don. After negotiations with General Alekseev and representatives of the Moscow National Center who came to the Don, it was decided that Alekseev would take charge of financial affairs and issues of foreign and domestic policy, Kornilov - the organization and command of the Volunteer Army, and Kaledin - the formation of the Don Army and all matters relating to the Don Cossacks
At the request of Kornilov, Alekseev sent General Flug to Siberia with the aim of uniting anti-Bolshevik organizations in Siberia.
First Kuban campaign
On February 9 (22), 1918, Kornilov, at the head of the Volunteer Army, set out on the First Kuban Campaign.
The development of events on the Don (lack of support from the Cossacks, the victory of the Soviets, the death of the commander of the only combat-ready unit of the ataman, General Kaledin, Colonel Chernetsov, and then the suicide of the ataman himself) forced the Volunteer Army to move to the Kuban region to create a base in the Kuban for further struggle against the Bolsheviks.
The “Ice March” took place in incredibly difficult weather conditions and in continuous skirmishes with Red Army detachments. Despite the enormous superiority of the Red troops, General Kornilov successfully led the Volunteer Army (about 4 thousand people) to join the detachment of the Kuban government, which had just been promoted to general by V.L. Pokrovsky by the Rada. Kornilov took a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, the Jewish agitator Batkin, with him on the campaign, which caused discontent among some of the officers.
In Soviet historiography, the words of General Kornilov are often quoted, spoken by him during this period of his life - at the beginning of the Ice Campaign: “I give you an order, a very cruel one: do not take prisoners! I take responsibility for this order before God and the Russian people!” A modern historian and researcher of the White movement, V. Zh. Tsvetkov, who studied this issue, draws attention in his work to the fact that no formalized “order” with similar content was found in any of the sources. At the same time, there is evidence of A. Suvorin, the only one who managed to publish his work “hot on the heels” - in Rostov in 1919:
The first battle of the army, organized and given its current name [Volunteer], was an attack on the Hukov in mid-January. When releasing the officer battalion from Novocherkassk, Kornilov admonished him with words that expressed his exact view of Bolshevism: in his opinion, it was not socialism, even the most extreme, but a call by people without conscience to people also without conscience to pogrom all working people and the state in Russia [in his assessment of “Bolshevism,” Kornilov repeated its typical assessment by many social democrats of that time, for example, Plekhanov]. He said: “Don’t take these scoundrels prisoner for me! The more terror, the more victory they will have!” Subsequently, he added to this stern instruction: “We do not wage war with the wounded!”... |
In the white armies, death sentences of military courts and orders of individual commanders were carried out by commandant departments, which, however, did not exclude the participation of volunteers from among the combat ranks in the execution of captured Red Army soldiers. During the “Ice March,” according to N. N. Bogdanov, a participant in this campaign:
Those taken prisoner, after receiving information about the actions of the Bolsheviks, were shot by the commandant's detachment. The officers of the commandant's detachment at the end of the campaign were completely sick people, they were so nervous. Korvin-Krukovsky developed some kind of special painful cruelty. The officers of the commandant's detachment had a heavy duty to shoot the Bolsheviks, but, unfortunately, I knew many cases when, influenced by hatred of the Bolsheviks, officers took upon themselves the responsibility of voluntarily shooting those taken prisoner. Executions were necessary. Under the conditions in which the Volunteer Army was moving, it could not take prisoners, there was no one to lead them, and if the prisoners were released, then the next day they would fight again against the detachment. |
Nevertheless, such actions in the white South, as in other territories in the first half of 1918, were not of the nature of the state-legal repressive policy of the white authorities; they were carried out by the military in the conditions of a “theater of military operations” and corresponded to the universally established practice of “laws of war.” time."
Another eyewitness to the events, A.R. Trushnovich, who later became a famous Kornilovite, described these circumstances as follows: unlike the Bolsheviks, whose leaders proclaimed robbery and terror as ideologically justified actions, the banners of Kornilov’s army were inscribed with slogans of law and order, so it sought to avoid requisitions and unnecessary bloodshed. However, circumstances forced the volunteers at a certain point to begin responding with cruelty to the atrocities of the Bolsheviks:
According to General Denikin, a participant and eyewitness to the events, the Bolsheviks from the very beginning of the civil war set its character: extermination; the white general writes that the reason for the murders and tortures inflicted by the Soviet government was mainly not the bitterness that appeared directly during the battle; the reason for the atrocities was in the context of the influence of the “hand from above” that elevated terror into the system, which saw in such measures “the only means of maintaining its existence and power over the country.”
Already in the very first days of the White movement in the South of Russia, when the Volunteer Army was still being formed, it became obvious, as the White general writes, that “the Bolsheviks are killing all the volunteers captured by them, subjecting them to inhuman torture.”
Their terror did not bashfully hide behind “the elements”, “popular anger” and other irresponsible elements of the psychology of the masses - it marched brazenly and shamelessly. Volynsky, a representative of the Red troops of Sievers who were advancing on Rostov, appeared on the third day after the capture of the city in the council of workers’ deputies, did not make excuses when the word “murderers” was heard from the Menshevik camp. He said: No matter what sacrifices it may cost us, we will do our job, and everyone who rebelled against Soviet power with arms in hand will not be left alive. We are accused of cruelty, and these accusations are fair. But those accusing people forget that a civil war is a special war. In the battles of nations, people fight - brothers, fooled by the ruling classes; in a civil war, there is a battle between real enemies. That's why this war knows no mercy and we are merciless |
More than once, in places that passed from hand to hand, volunteers found the mutilated corpses of their comrades, and heard the chilling story of witnesses to these murders, who miraculously escaped from the hands of the Bolsheviks. I remember the horror that came over me when for the first time eight tortured volunteers were brought from Bataysk - hacked, stabbed, with disfigured faces, in which loved ones, crushed by grief, could barely discern native features... Late in the evening, somewhere far away in the backyard of the freight station, Among the mass of trains, I found a carriage with corpses, driven there by order of the Rostov authorities, “so as not to cause excesses.” And when, in the dim flicker of wax candles, the priest, timidly looking around, exclaimed, “ eternal memory murdered,” my heart sank with pain, and there was no forgiveness for the tormentors... I remember my trip to the “Taganrog Front” in mid-January. At one of the stations near Matveev Kurgan, a body covered with matting lay on the platform. This is the true corpse of the station chief, killed by the Bolsheviks who learned that his sons were serving in the Volunteer Army. They cut off my father’s arms and legs, opened up his abdominal cavity and buried him still alive in the ground. From the twisted limbs and bloody, wounded fingers it was clear what efforts the unfortunate man had made to get out of the grave. His two sons were also here - officers who had come from the reserves to take their father’s body and take it to Rostov. The carriage with the dead man was attached to the train in which I was traveling. At some passing station, one of the sons, seeing a carriage with captured Bolsheviks, went into a frenzy, burst into the carriage and, while the guard came to his senses, shot several people... |
On February 9 (22), 1918, the Volunteer Army left Rostov-on-Don and set out on the First Kuban “Ice” Campaign.
Peter Kenez, an American historian and researcher of the Russian Civil War, provides in his work information about the Bolshevik terror that fell on Rostov, abandoned by volunteers. By order of the Red Commander Sivers, everyone related to the Volunteer Army was to be executed; the order also applied to children of fourteen and fifteen years old who enlisted in the army of General Kornilov, however, perhaps due to the ban of their parents, they did not go with her on the campaign to Kuban.
One of the participants in the campaign recalled the cruelty on the part of ordinary volunteers during the “Ice March” when he wrote about the extrajudicial reprisals of volunteers against those captured at times:
As a result of mutual bitterness in a combat situation, there was no mercy for the volunteers who fell into the hands of the Bolsheviks.
According to the historian Fedyuk, Kornilov drew up an appeal to the residents of Stavropol warning about the possibility of taking harsh retaliatory measures against them in the event of an attack on the officers of the Volunteer Army: Just in case, I warn that any hostile action towards the volunteers and the Cossack detachments operating with them will entail the most severe reprisals, including the shooting of everyone who has weapons, and the burning of villages.
According to V.P. Fedyuk, a researcher of the White movement in the South of Russia, these statements indicate “that it was precisely about terror, that is, violence elevated to a system, pursuing the goal not of punishment, but of intimidation”:
There is evidence from N.N. Bogdanov, a participant in the events, characterizing General Kornilov’s personal attitude towards captured Red Army soldiers, which was often literally expressed in his personal rescue of former Red soldiers doomed to execution:
Death
March 31 (April 13), 1918 - killed during the assault on Ekaterinodar. “The enemy’s grenade,” wrote General A.I. Denikin, “only one hit the house, only in Kornilov’s room when he was in it, and killed only him alone. The mystical veil of the eternal mystery covered the paths and accomplishments of an unknown will.”
The coffin with Kornilov’s body was secretly buried (and the grave was “razed to the ground”) during the retreat through the German colony of Gnachbau.
The fate of the body of General Kornilov
The next day, April 3 (16), 1918, the Bolsheviks, who occupied Gnachbau, first of all rushed to look for allegedly “treasuries and jewelry buried by the cadets” and accidentally dug up a grave and took the general’s body to Yekaterinodar, where it was burned.
The document of the Special Commission for the Investigation of Bolshevik Atrocities stated:
Individual admonitions from the crowd not to disturb the deceased person, who had already become harmless, did not help; the mood of the Bolshevik crowd rose... The last shirt was torn off the corpse, which was torn into pieces and the scraps were scattered around... Several people were already on the tree and began to lift the corpse... But then the rope broke and the body fell onto the pavement. The crowd kept arriving, became agitated and noisy... After the speech, they began to shout from the balcony that the corpse should be torn to shreds... Finally, the order was given to take the corpse out of the city and burn it... The corpse was no longer recognizable: it was a shapeless mass, disfigured by the blows of sabers, throwing it to the ground... Finally, the body was brought to the city slaughterhouses, where they took it off the cart and, covering it with straw, began to burn it in the presence of the highest representatives of the Bolshevik government... One day it was not possible to finish this work: the next day they continued to burn the pitiful remains; burned and trampled underfoot. |
The fact that the Bolsheviks dug the general’s body out of the grave and then, after a long dragging around the city, destroyed it, was not known in the Volunteer Army. After the capture of Yekaterinodar by General Denikin’s army 4 months later during the Second Kuban Campaign, on August 6, 1918, a ceremonial reburial of General Kornilov was scheduled in the tomb of the cathedral.
Organized excavations discovered only the coffin with the body of Colonel Nezhentsev. In the dug up grave of L. G. Kornilov, they found only a piece of a pine coffin. The investigation revealed the terrible truth. Lavr Georgievich's family was shocked by what happened.
Taisiya Vladimirovna, the wife of Lavr Georgievich, who came to her husband’s funeral and hoped to see him at least dead, accused generals Denikin and Alekseev of not taking the body of the deceased Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army with the army and refused to attend the funeral service - the widow’s grief was very difficult. She did not survive her husband by much and soon died on September 20, 1918 - six months after her husband. She was buried next to the farm where Lavr Georgievich’s life ended. At the site of the death of General Kornilov - he and his wife - two modest wooden crosses were erected by volunteers.
Memory
- On October 3, 1918, the commander of the Volunteer Army, General Denikin, established the “Insignia of the First Kuban Campaign.” 3689 participants were registered. Badge number one rightfully belonged to General Lavr Georgievich Kornilov and was solemnly presented to his daughter.
As the modern historian V. Zh. Tsvetkov writes, the death of General Kornilov did not mark the end of the White movement in the south of Russia: the Volunteer Army survived the difficult days of the “Ice March”, and made the general’s name a symbol of high patriotism and selfless love for the Motherland. Abroad, his exploits inspired Russian youth, so in 1930, the Organizational Bureau for the preparation of the founding congress of the National Labor Union of the New Generation (NTSL) noted:
- In 1919, on the farm where the Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army died, the Museum of General Kornilov was created, and nearby, on the banks of the Kuban, a symbolic grave of Lavr Georgievich was built. Nearby was the grave of Taisiya Vladimirovna, the general’s wife.
- In addition, already in the summer of 1919, preparations were underway in Omsk for the installation of a monument to General Kornilov near the building of the cadet corps. The Bolsheviks destroyed the museum and graves in 1920. The farm has been preserved.
- In 2004, the city administration of Krasnodar (in 1918 - Ekaterinodar) decided to recreate the museum exhibition dedicated to General Kornilov and the White movement.
- Monument in Krasnodar. Installed April 13, 2013
Opinions and ratings
The famous General Denikin had a rather positive attitude towards Kornilov and repeatedly mentioned him in his memoirs. Here is one of his excerpts, in which he characterizes Lavr Georgievich as follows:
I met Kornilov for the first time in the fields of Galicia, near Galich, at the end of August 1914, when he received 48 infantry. division, and I - the 4th Infantry (Iron) Brigade...Then the main features of Kornilov, the military leader, were already quite clearly defined for me: great ability to train troops: from a second-rate part of the Kazan district, he made an excellent combat division in a few weeks; determination and extreme perseverance in conducting the most difficult, seemingly doomed operation; extraordinary personal courage, which terribly impressed the troops and created great popularity for him among them; finally, high observance of military ethics in relation to neighboring units and comrades-in-arms, a property that both commanders and military units often sinned against... Everyone who knew Kornilov at least a little felt that he should play a big role against the backdrop of the Russian revolution. |
Awards
- Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class (1901)
- Order of St. Anne, 3rd class (1903)
- Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class (1904)
- Order of St. George, 4th class (09/08/1905)
- swords for the Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class (1906)
- Golden weapon “For bravery” (05/09/1907)
- Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree (12/06/1909)
- Order of St. George, 3rd class (04/28/1915)
Film incarnations
- Peter Barbier (The Fall of the Romanovs, 1917)
- ?? (“Walking Through Torment”, 1958)
- Evgeny Kazakov (“Walking in Torment”, 1977; “December 20”, 1981)
- Mikhail Fedorov (“Syndicate-2”, 1981)
- Alexander Bashirov (“Death of an Empire”, 2005)
Essays
- Brief report on the trip to Northern Mongolia and Western China. RGVIA, f. 1396, op. 6 p., d. 149, l. 39-60.
- China's military reforms and their significance for Russia. RGVIA, f. 2000, op. 1 p., no. 8474.
- Essay on the administrative structure of Xin Jiang. Information concerning countries adjacent to the Turkestan Military District (SSSTVO0), 1901, vol. XXVI.
- Chinese armed forces in Kashgaria. SSSTVO, 1902, issue. XXXII-XXXIII.
- Trip to Deidadi. General outline. Addition to the “Collection of geographical, topographical and statistical materials in Asia" (SMA), 1902, No. 6.
- Seistan question. Turkestan Gazette, 1902, No. 41 (same - SSSTVO, 1903, issue XXXIX).
- Kashgaria or Eastern Turkestan. Experience in military statistical description. Tashkent, ed. Headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1903.
- Message made at the Military Assembly of the Turkestan Military District on March 7, 1903. Fortified points in the regions of China, Persia and Afghanistan adjacent to the district. Turkestan Gazette, 1903, No. 22 (same - SSSTVO, 1903, issue XLV, XLVII).
- Historical information on the issue of the borders of Khorasan with the possessions of Russia and Afghanistan. SSSTVO, 1904, issue. LX (same - SMA, 1905, issue LXXVIII).
- Nushki-Seistan road. Route description of the Nushki-Seistan road (section Qala-i-Rabat - Quetta). SMA, 1905, issue. LXXVIII.
- Report about a trip to India. Addendum to the SMA, 1905, No. 8.
- Chinese Armed Forces. Irkutsk, ed. Headquarters of the Irkutsk Military District, 1911.