Who arrested Kolchak. Page not found - Literary Russia. Why did you have to carry
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Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (November 4 (November 16), 1874, St. Petersburg, Obukhov Plant - February 7, 1920, Irkutsk) - Russian oceanographer, one of the largest polar explorers of the late XIX - early XX centuries, military and political figure, naval commander , full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1906), admiral (1918), leader of the White movement, Supreme Ruler of Russia.
Member of a number of polar expeditions of 1900-1909: the Russian Polar Expedition, the Rescue Expedition of 1903, the Hydrographic Expedition of the Arctic Ocean. He was awarded the Great Constantine Medal by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1906).
The author of the fundamental scientific work "The Ice of the Kara and Siberian Seas", the theoretical work "What kind of fleet does Russia need", the founder of the theory of preparation, organization and conduct of joint operations of the army and navy. Author of a number of scientific articles and works. Lecturer at the Naval Academy (1908).
Member of the Russo-Japanese War, Defense of Port Arthur. During the First World War, he commanded the mine division of the Baltic Fleet (1915-1916), the Black Sea Fleet (1916-1917). Georgievsky Cavalier.
The leader of the White movement both on a national scale and directly in the East of Russia. As the Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920), he was recognized by all the leaders of the White movement, "de jure" - by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "de facto" - by the Entente states.
Supreme Commander of the Russian Army.
Supreme Ruler of Russia
The coming to power in Siberia of Admiral A.V. Kolchak, who accepted the title of Supreme Ruler of the Russian State and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, the concentration of military, political and economic power in his hands made it possible for the Whites to recover from the defeats they suffered in the Volga region in the autumn of 1918. The anti-Bolshevik movement after the Omsk events became more consolidated, but the events did not come without losses for him:
the political base of the movement became the same. Thus, as a result of the events of November 18, 1918, the anti-Bolshevik movement was transformed into the White movement.
Kolchak hoped that under the banner of the fight against the Reds he would be able to unite the most diverse political forces and create a new state power.
At first, the situation on the fronts favored these plans. In December 1918, the Siberian Army occupied Perm, which was of great strategic importance and had substantial stocks of military equipment.
If we talk about the role of Western powers in A.V. Kolchak, then we can say unequivocally: the Entente supported Kolchak, but his domestic, Russian anti-Bolshevik forces nominated him.
On November 30, 1918, the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Admiral A.V. Kolchak issued an order not only to restore the day of celebration in honor of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George on November 26 (old style), but also to expand its meaning, commanding:
Consider this day a holiday for the entire Russian Army, whose valiant representatives, with high deeds, courage and courage, imprinted their love and devotion to our Great Motherland on the battlefields.
Investigation of the murder of the Royal Family
The supreme ruler organized a thorough investigation into the case of the massacre of the Bolsheviks with the family of Emperor Nicholas II, it was entrusted to an experienced investigator N.A. Sokolov, who carried out painstaking work and, based on excavations, collection and analysis of documents, search and interrogation of witnesses, established the time, place and circumstances of the tragedy, although the remains of those killed before the retreat of the Russian army from Yekaterinburg in July 1919 could not be found in the USSR, a note by Lenin was published to Trotsky’s deputy E. Sklyansky for transmission by telegraph to a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 5th Army, chairman of the Sibrevkom I. Smirnov, who by this time had been known abroad for 20 years - since the publication of Trotsky’s Papers in Paris:
Cipher. Sklyansky: Send Smirnov (RVS 5) a cipher: Do not spread any news about Kolchak, print absolutely nothing, and after we occupy Irkutsk, send a strictly official telegram explaining that the local authorities before our arrival acted in this and that way under the influence of Kappel's threat and danger Whiteguard conspiracies in Irkutsk. Lenin. The signature is also in cipher.
1. Do you undertake to make archi-reliably?
2. Where is Tukhachevsky?
3. How are things on Kav. front?
4. In the Crimea?
According to a number of modern Russian historians, this telegram should be regarded as Lenin's direct order for the extrajudicial and secret murder of Kolchak.
Historian I.F. Plotnikov notes that in relation to A.V. Kolchak, the Bolsheviks initially put the case on non-legal rails, both in assessing the individual as a political opponent, and as a prisoner of war. Historian V. G. Khandorin draws attention to the fact that the decision to execute Admiral A. V. Kolchak without trial was made shortly after the official decision of the Soviet government of January 17, 1920 on the abolition of the death penalty.
At the same time, Pepelyaev was not even interrogated before being shot.
On November 4, 2004, a monument to Admiral A. V. Kolchak was solemnly opened in Irkutsk. The author of the idea and the sponsor of the project is S. V. Andreev, the sculptor V. M. Klykov.
Photo by G. V. Korobova
The purpose of this article is to find out how the tragic death of Admiral ALEXANDER VASILIEVICH KOLCHAK is incorporated into his FULL NAME code.
Watch in advance "Logicology - about the fate of man".
Consider the FULL NAME code tables. \If there is a shift in numbers and letters on your screen, adjust the image scale\.
11 26 38 62 63 74 75 87 93 104 122 123 137 142 159 162 163 181 191 203 232 238 241 251 275
C O L C A C A L E X A N D R V A S I L E V I C
275 264 249 237 213 212 201 200 188 182 171 153 152 138 133 116 113 112 94 84 72 43 37 34 24
1 13 19 30 48 49 63 68 85 88 89 107 117 129 158 164 167 177 201 212 227 239 263 264 275
ALEKSANDR V A S I L E V I CH K O L CH A K
275 274 262 256 245 227 226 212 207 190 187 186 168 158 146 117 111 108 98 74 63 48 36 12 11
275 = KOLCHAK ALEXANDER VASILYEVICH.
K (hemorrhage) (in p) OL (awn) Ch (erep) A + KA (zn) + (stuck) LE (n) (in the back of the head) K + C (mortal) (r) AN (enie) + (times ) DR (oblena naked) VA + STRENGTH (but) E (cro) V (o) I (pouring) (into the cavity) H (skull)
275 \u003d K, OL, H, A + KA, +, LE, K + C, AN, +, DR, VA + STRENGTH, E, B, I, H,.
18 24 29 58 71 86 92 113 119 122 139 140 152 184
FEBRUARY SEVENTY
184 166 160 155 126 113 98 92 71 65 62 45 44 32
"Deep" decryption offers the following option, in which all columns match:
(ras) C (tr) E (l) + (evil) D (eyanie) + (death) L MO (zga) + (hemorrhage) E + (catastrophe) F (a) + (pool) EV (s) RA (nenie) (go) L (ovy) + (died) I
184 \u003d, C, E, +, D, +, L MO, +, E +, F, +, EB, RA, L, +, I.
Code of full YEARS OF LIFE: 76-FORTY + 96-FIVE = 172.
18 33 50 65 76 92 124 143 172
FORTY FIVE
172 154 139 122 107 96 80 48 29
"Deep" decryption offers the following option, in which all columns match:
C (mortal) O R (anen) (in the back of the head) OK P (st) I (mi) + (death) Th
172 \u003d C, O R, OK P, I, +, Th.
We look at the upper table of the FULL NAME code:
26 = (sor) OK; 74 \u003d (sor) OK PYa (t); 93 \u003d (sor) OK PYAT (b); 122 = (sor) OK FIVE.
122 = (sor)OK FIVE = KILL AT POINT
____________________________________
171 = 63-DEATH + 108-SHOOTING
171 - 122 \u003d 49 \u003d IN THE GOLO (woo).
Let's see what "MEMORY OF THE INFORMATION FIELD" will tell us:
111-MEMORY + 201-INFORMATIONAL + 75-FIELDS = 386.
386 \u003d 275-(FULL NAME code) + 111-SHOOT B (emphasis).
386 = 184-SEVENTH OF FEBRUARY + 202-DEATH OF ADMIRAL A.V. KOLCHAK.
386 = 172-FORTY-FIVE + 214-HEAD SHOT UP(OR); LIFE IS ENDED; BREAKING THE BRAIN.
386 \u003d 172-BREAKING OF THE BRAIN ... + 214-BREAKING OF THE BRAIN.
The officers of Denikin and Wrangel were lambs compared to the admiral's punishers
November 16 marks the 135th anniversary of the birth of one of the leaders of the White movement, the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Alexander Kolchak. Contrary to the popular myth that the evil Bolsheviks arrested the admiral and shot him almost immediately, Kolchak's interrogations went on for 17 days - from January 21 to February 6, 1920.
Kolchak is perhaps one of the most controversial figures of the Civil War. One of the largest explorers of the Arctic, a traveler, an unsurpassed master of minecraft during the First World War, a staunch monarchist. This is one side of the coin.
But there is also a second one. The White movement had many leaders: Kornilov, Denikin, Yudenich, Wrangel, Mai-Maevsky, Shkuro, Semyonov, Kaledin, Slashchev, Alekseev, Krasnov ... But it was Kolchak's troops that were remembered for their particular cruelty.
When the admiral took power in Siberia, the majority of the population took it quite favorably. But Alexander Vasilyevich was not a very good politician or trusted his officers too much, who, fighting partisans and others who disagreed with the authority of the Supreme Ruler, did not stop at nothing. Then, during interrogations, Kolchak said that he knew nothing about the cruelties that some of his officers had committed. But the fact remains - even the Cossacks from the “Wolf Hundred” of Ataman Shkuro, who fought in the ranks of the Volunteer Army of Denikin, and then obeyed Wrangel, were lambs compared to the military foreman Krasilnikov and other punishers of Admiral Kolchak.
In a word, the collapse of Kolchak's army, in many respects, is a consequence of the short-sighted and not always smart policy of the straightforward, albeit loving Russia, admiral. Contrary to the myths according to which the evil Bolsheviks captured Kolchak and immediately put him to death, they planned to hold a trial over the admiral. Moreover, not in Omsk and not in Irkutsk, but in Moscow. But the situation is different.
Here are excerpts from the last interrogation of Admiral Kolchak.
Alekseevsky. To find out your attitude to the coup, it is required to establish some additional points. By the way, it would be interesting for the Commission to know - before the coup, during and after it, did you meet in Siberia, or in the east, with Prince Lvov, who then traveled through Siberia to America?
Kolchak. No, I did not see Prince Lvov - we parted ways. I only saw another Lvov - Vladimir Mikhailovich.
Alekseevsky. Did you have any letters or instructions from Prince Lvov?
Kolchak. It seems that there was some letter from Paris during my stay in Omsk, but that was later, approximately in the summer. This letter did not contain anything important and related mainly to the activities of the political organization that was in Paris and headed by Lvov. Prior to this, I had no personal relations with Lvov and did not receive any instructions transmitted through him from anyone. The letter of which I spoke was transmitted through the consular mission in Paris in the month of July...
... Alekseevsky. Tell me your attitude towards General Kappel, as one of the largest figures in the Volunteer Army.
Kolchak. I did not know Kappel before and did not meet him, but the orders that Kappel gave marked the beginning of my deep sympathy and respect for this figure. Then, when I met with Kappel in February or March, when his units were withdrawn to the reserve, and he came to me, I talked with him for a long time on these topics, and I became convinced that he was one of the most outstanding young commanders ...
... Popov. The Commission has at its disposal a copy of the telegram with the inscription: "Arrest the members of the Constituent Assembly through the Supreme Ruler."
Kolchak. As far as I remember, it was my decision when I received this telegram threatening to open a front against me. Perhaps Vologodsky, having simultaneously received a copy of the telegram, made a resolution, but in any case, Vologodsky did not take any part in this decision. About 20 members of the Constituent Assembly were arrested, and among them there were no persons who signed the telegram, with the exception, it seems, of Devyatov. After reviewing the lists, I called the officer who escorted them, Kruglovsky, and said that I did not know these persons at all; and that they, apparently, did not take any part in the telegram and did not even seem to be persons belonging to the composition of the committee of members of the Constituent Assembly, as, for example, Fomin. I asked why they were arrested; I was told that this was an order from the local command, in view of the fact that they acted against the command and against the Supreme Ruler, that the local command was ordered to arrest them and poison them in Omsk ...
... Popov. How did their fate develop and under whose pressure? But you know that most of them were shot.
Kolchak. They were shot 8 or 9 people. They were shot during the uprising in the twentieth of December ...
... Alekseevsky. Did you give him any special instructions about this?
Kolchak. No, everything was done automatically. In case of alarm, once and for all, a schedule of troops was drawn up - where to which units to be located. The city was divided into districts, everything was taken into account. There were no surprises, and I didn't have to give instructions. On the eve of the speech, in the evening, Lebedev informed me by telephone, or rather, in the morning of the next day, that the headquarters of the Bolsheviks, including 20 people, had been arrested the day before - this was a day before the speech. Lebedev said: "I consider all this sufficient for everything to be exhausted and there will be no performance."
Popov. What did he report about the fate of the arrested headquarters?
Kolchak. He only said that they were arrested.
Popov. And he did not report that there were executions at the place of arrest?
Kolchak. They were shot on the second day after the trial...
... Popov. The executions in Kulomzin were carried out on whose initiative?
Kolchak. Field court, which was appointed after the occupation of Kulomzin.
Popov. You are familiar with the situation of this court. Do you know that in essence there was no trial?
Kolchak. I knew that this was a field court, which was appointed by the head of the suppression of the uprising.
Popov. So, like this: three officers gathered and shot. Was there any business going on?
Kolchak. There was a field court.
Popov. The field court also requires formal proceedings. Do you know that this production was carried out, or you yourself, as the Supreme Ruler, were not interested in this? You, as the Supreme Ruler, should have known that in fact there were no trials, that two or three officers were imprisoned, 50 people were brought in, and they were shot. Surely you didn't have that information?
Kolchak. I did not have such information. I believed that the field court operates in the same way as the field court generally operates during uprisings ...
... Popov. And how many people were shot in Kulomzin?
Kolchak. Man 70 or 80.
Denike. Didn't you know that mass flogging was practiced in Kulomzin?
Kolchak. I knew nothing about flogging, and in general I always forbade any kind of corporal punishment - therefore, I could not even imply that flogging could exist somewhere. And where it became known to me, I prosecuted, deposed, that is, acted in a punitive manner.
Popov. Do you know that the persons who were arrested in connection with the uprising in December were subsequently tortured by the counterintelligence, and what was the nature of these tortures? What was done by the military authorities and by you, the Supreme Ruler, against these tortures?
Kolchak. No one reported this to me, and I believe that there were none.
Popov. I myself saw people detached to the Alexander Prison, who were literally completely covered with wounds and tormented by ramrods - do you know that?
Kolchak. No, I was never reported. If such things were made known, the perpetrators were punished.
Popov. Do you know that this was done at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Kolchak, in counterintelligence at headquarters?
Kolchak. No, I couldn't know because the bet couldn't do it.
Popov. This was done during counterintelligence at headquarters.
Kolchak. Obviously, the people who did this could not report to me, because they knew that I was on legal grounds all the time. If such crimes were committed, I could not know about them. Are you saying that this was done at the rate?
Popov. I say: in counterintelligence at headquarters. I return to the question of the court-martial in Kulomzin.
Kolchak. I believe that the proceedings were the same as those required in a court-martial.
Popov. In Kulomzin, about 500 people were actually shot, they were shot in whole groups of 50-60 people. In addition, in fact, there was no battle in Kulomzin, because only the armed workers began to go out into the street - they were already seized and shot - that was the uprising in Kulomzin.
Kolchak. This point of view is new for me, because there were wounded and killed in my troops, and even Czechs were killed, whose families I gave out benefits. How do you say there was no fight?...
The deputy chairman of the Irkutsk Gub.Ch.K. K.Popov
During interrogations, Kolchak, according to the memoirs of the Chekists, kept calm and confident. But the last interrogation took place in a more nervous atmosphere. Ataman Semenov demanded the extradition of Kolchak, Irkutsk could be captured by parts of General Kappel. Therefore, it was decided to shoot the admiral.
The sentence was carried out on the night of February 6-7, 1920. As Popov later wrote, Admiral Kolchak behaved extremely dignified and calm during the execution. As befits a Russian officer... But the Supreme Ruler did not turn out from a brilliant naval officer...
Alexander Vasilievich Kolchak
Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was born on November 4 (16), 1874 in the village of Aleksandrovskoye, Petersburg district, Petersburg province. His father is Vasily Ivanovich Kolchak, a hero of the defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. Mother - Olga Ilyinichna, nee Posokhova, from the Don Cossacks and Kherson nobles
In 1894 A.V. Kolchak graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps second in seniority and performance with the Admiral Rikord Prize. In addition to military affairs, he was fond of the exact sciences and factory business. He learned to locksmith in the workshops of the Obukhov plant, he mastered the navigational business at the Kronstadt Naval Observatory. In 1894 he was promoted to midshipman. In 1895 - to the lieutenant.
In 1895-1896, the midshipman moved to Vladivostok and served on the ships of the Pacific squadron. He visited China, Korea, Japan and other countries, became interested in Eastern philosophy, studied the Chinese language, independently engaged in an in-depth study of oceanography and hydrology. In "Notes on Hydrography" he published his first scientific work. From 1895 to 1899 Kolchak was three times in circumnavigation. The Russian Geographical Society presented him with a large gold Konstantinovsky medal (previously it was received by N. Nordenskiöld and F. Nansen), and in 1906 elected him a full member.
On March 5, 1904, Alexander Vasilievich Kolchak and Sofya Fedorovna Omirova got married in Irkutsk, from where they parted a few days later.
In March 1905, with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Kolchak went to Port Arthur to serve under Admiral Makarov. After the tragic death of Makarov, Kolchak commands the destroyer "Angry", which made a series of bold attacks on the enemy's strongest squadron. During these combat operations, several Japanese ships were damaged and the Japanese cruiser Takosago was sunk. For this, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne IV degree with the inscription "For Courage". In the last 2.5 months of the siege of Port Arthur, Kolchak successfully commanded a battery of naval guns that inflicted the greatest losses on the Japanese. For the defense of Port Arthur, Kolchak was awarded the Gold Medal with the inscription "For Bravery" and the Order of St. Stanislaus II degree with swords. Respecting his courage and talent, the Japanese command was one of the few who left Kolchak in captivity weapons, and then, without waiting for the end of the war, gave him freedom.
In April-June 1905, Kolchak returned to St. Petersburg via America. In 1906, with the formation of the Naval General Staff, Kolchak became the head of its Statistical Department. Then he headed the division for the development of operational-strategic plans in the event of a war in the Baltic. Appointed as a naval expert in the 3rd State Duma, Kolchak, together with his colleagues, developed the Large and Small shipbuilding programs for the reconstruction of the Navy after the Russo-Japanese War. As part of this project, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak in 1906-1908. personally oversaw the construction of four battleships.
In 1907, Kolchak translated M. Lobeuf's work “The Present and Future of Scuba Diving” from French, prepared an article “Modern battleships” and others. In a report to the naval circle “What kind of fleet does Russia need”, the sailor argued: “Russia needs real naval power, on which the inviolability of its maritime borders could be based and on which an independent policy worthy of a great power could rely, that is, such a policy, which, if necessary, receives confirmation in the form of a successful war. This real strength lies in the battle fleet and only in it, at least for the present, we cannot speak of anything else. If Russia is destined to play the role of a great power, it will have a battle fleet as an indispensable condition for this position.
In 1907 he was promoted to captain-lieutenant, in 1908 - to captain of the 2nd rank. In April 1909, Kolchak wrote his main scientific work, The Ice of the Kara and Siberian Seas, published in 1909.
In 1912, Kolchak was invited by Rear Admiral von Essen to serve in the Headquarters of the Baltic Fleet. Kolchak took command of the destroyer Ussuriets. In December 1913, for excellent service, he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank. Von Essen appoints Kolchak to the post of flag-captain of the operational part of the Headquarters and, together with him, develops plans for preparing for a possible war with Germany at sea. In the first hours of the First World War, on the orders of Admiral von Essen and under the direct supervision of Kolchak, a mine battalion set up 6,000 mines in the Gulf of Finland, which completely paralyzed the actions of the German fleet on the outskirts of the Capital.
In the autumn of 1914, with the personal participation of Kolchak, an operation unparalleled in the world was developed to mine the blockade of German naval bases. Several Russian destroyers made their way to Kiel and Danzig and set up several minefields on the approaches to them (under the noses of the Germans).
In February 1915, the captain of the 1st rank Kolchak, as the commander of a special purpose semi-division, personally undertook a second daring raid. Four destroyers again approached Danzig and put up 180 mines. As a result of this, 4 German cruisers, 8 destroyers and 11 transports were blown up in the minefields (exposed by Kolchak). Later, historians will call this operation of the Russian fleet the most successful in the entire First World War.
In the summer of 1915, at the initiative of Kolchak, the battleship Slava was brought into the Gulf of Riga to cover minelaying off the coast. These productions deprived the advancing German troops of the support of the fleet. Temporarily commanding a mine division since September 1915, since December he was also the head of the defense of the Gulf of Riga. Using the artillery of the ships, the sailor helped the army of General D.R. Radko-Dmitriev to repel the onslaught of the enemy at Kemmern. The landing in the rear of the enemy troops, landed in accordance with the tactical plan of Kolchak, played its role.
For successful attacks on the caravans of German ships that delivered ore from Sweden, Kolchak was presented with the Order of St. George, 4th degree. On April 10, 1916, he was promoted to rear admiral, and on June 28 he was appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet with promotion “for distinction in service” to vice admiral. He became the youngest admiral in Russia.
At the beginning of July 1916, a squadron of Russian ships, in the course of an operation developed by Kolchak, overtakes and during the battle severely damages the German cruiser Breslau, which had previously shelled Russian ports with impunity and sank transports on the Black Sea. Kolchak successfully organizes combat operations to blockade the Eregli-Zongulak coal region, Varna, and other Turkish enemy ports. By the end of 1916, Turkish and German ships were completely locked up in their ports.
Three issues of the Moscow magazine for 2018–19 published the novel The Emperor by Vladislav Artyomov, a writer who is known in literary circles more as a poet than as a prose writer. The richest history of Russian literature knows vivid examples of a wonderful combination of poetic and prose gift. And Artyomov did not deceive expectations.About the book by S.S. Arutyunova "What is always with you" (publishing house "BUKI VEDI" Moscow 2018)
№ 2020/7, 27.02.2020
Poetry S.S. Arutyunov strikes, surprises. Sometimes even revolts, but does not leave cold. It goes far beyond the “ordinary”, bureaucratic, rhyming essays that today abound in the pages of poetry collections, Internet sites, studios, and so on. He is unusual and bright. And with everything, with his experience, conviction and skill, he opposes that pale (sometimes defiant) graphomania, which has overcome all the limits of decency in the current uncensorship.(About the book Dmitry Terentiev, "The Flame of Faith": a story, Nizhny Novgorod, IP Gladkova O.V., 2019, 71 p.)
№ 2020/7, 27.02.2020
A man looks: from under the eyebrows, from under the hat, from under the arm, palms. But, in the end, he always looks, if consciously, then from under the guidance. The kid, holding both his hand and his gaze for his mother, is in charge of the nursery, the house, the yard and its inhabitants. It is overgrown with knowledge every day - no, it is even overgrown with this every day. Sometimes trying to get rid of unnecessary ones, unwanted, unloved or unsuccessful ones. An adult gets rid of it easier: both from days and from people. Only he cannot get rid of the knowledge of people - life will not forgive. Punish for forgetfulness.Heading in the newspaper: For the competition "My native language", No. 2020/7, 27.02.2020
At the end of November, when it suddenly began to snow and it became un-autumn cold, Ivan Vlasovich fell ill. His legs suddenly became cottony, and for this reason his gait deteriorated. Going out into the courtyard in the morning, he clumsily hobbled along the wet, loose snow, trying to think of some urgent business for himself. But there were not many things to do at that time, and only one of the urgent ones: it was necessary urgently, before the big frosts, to pull the boat out of the water and raise it to the high bank. Stumbling, and struggling with breathless breath, he went down to the river.Will the writers of the Tver region unite under the wing of the Writers' Union of Russia, or does nobody need it?
№ 2020/7, 27.02.2020
Once a famous writer and publicist Dmitry Vodennikov came to Tver. At a meeting with him, someone asked the question: “Do you know Tver writers?” The answer of many led to bewilderment, but for me it turned out to be an unexpected discovery. Dmitry Borisovich said that he never classifies writers by place of residence, because then literature turns into local history. Applying his theory to the Tver region, I can say with confidence that many writers live by their own worries, small interest clubs, and do not want to leave the "comfort zone" that they have outlined around them.Artists increasingly prioritize not art, but money
Heading in the newspaper: In search of the ideal, No. 2020/7, 02/27/2020
Anna Russkikh is a ballet dancer of the Bolshoi Theatre, teacher-repetiteur, blogger (she runs the “Notes of a Ballerina” channel on Yandex-Zen). Recently, in collaboration with German and Andrey Sitnikov, she published the book “From the depths of memory. German Borisovich Sitnikov. But we decided to talk with Anna Russkikh not only about the book, but also about modern ballet, about the problems of educating a new generation of artists. 
author: Dmitry FILIPPOV (ST. PETERSBURG)
Heading in the newspaper: And the saved world remembers, No. 2020/7, 27.02.2020
On the morning of October 7, 1941, an unusual silence fell on the front line of defense. The enemy stopped firing. On the Finnish side, powerful loudspeakers turned on, and Mannerheim himself turned to the Soviet soldiers. "Valiant defenders of Hanko!" This is how his speech began. The speech recorded on the radio by the Supreme Commander of the Finnish Army, addressed directly to them, the defenders of Hanko, with an accurate description of the existing situation, a description of the smallest details of life, had a depressing effect on the morale of our troops.From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During the interrogations, the admiral behaved calmly and with great dignity, causing involuntary respect from the investigators, talking in detail about his life and willingly answering questions. Kolchak was quite frank and open, he strove to leave for history both his own biographical data and information about important historical events in which he happened to be a participant.
Reasons for execution
The question of the execution of Kolchak was repeatedly covered in memoirs and research literature. Until the 1990s, it was believed that all the circumstances and causes of this event were thoroughly clarified. Some discrepancies in the literature existed only in the question of who gave the order to shoot Kolchak. Some memoirists and researchers argued, following Soviet historians, that such a decision was made by the Irkutsk Military Revolutionary Committee on its own initiative and due to objectively prevailing military and political circumstances (the threat of an attack on Irkutsk by remnants of the Kolchak army approaching from the west under the command of General Voitsekhovsky), others cited information about the presence of a directive emanating from the chairman of the Sibrevkom and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 5th Army I. N. Smirnov. In a 1983 monograph, G. Z. Ioffe wrote about the reason for the execution without trial: “The fate of Kolchak was actually decided by the Kappelites, who rushed to Irkutsk, and the counter-revolutionary elements who were preparing an uprising in the city.” The historian cited almost the entire text of Decree No. 27, adopted by the Military Revolutionary Committee on February 6:Searches in the city found in many places warehouses of weapons, bombs, machine-gun belts, etc.; a mysterious movement around the city of these items of military equipment has been established; portraits of Kolchak are scattered around the city, etc.
On the other hand, General Voitsekhovsky, responding to the proposal to surrender weapons, in one of the points of his answer mentions the extradition of Kolchak and his headquarters.
All these data force us to admit that there is a secret organization in the city, whose goal is to free one of the worst criminals against the working people - Kolchak and his associates. This uprising is certainly doomed to complete failure, nevertheless, it can entail a number of innocent victims and cause a spontaneous explosion of revenge on the part of the indignant masses who do not want to allow such an attempt to be repeated.
Obliged to prevent these aimless victims and prevent the city from the horrors of civil war, and also based on the data of the investigative material and the decisions of the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, which outlawed Kolchak and his government, the Irkutsk Military Revolutionary Committee decided:
1) the former Supreme Ruler Admiral Kolchak and
2) former Chairman of the Council of Ministers Pepelyaev
shoot.
Better to execute two criminals long worthy of death than hundreds of innocent victims.
The resolution was signed by members of the Military Revolutionary Committee A. Shiryamov, A. Snoskarev, M. Levenson and Oborin.
The text of the decree on their execution was first published in an article by the former chairman of the Irkutsk Military Revolutionary Committee A. Shiryamov. In 1991, L. G. Kolotilo suggested that the decision was drawn up after the execution, as an acquittal document, since it was dated February 7, and S. Chudnovsky and I. N. Bursak arrived in the prison of the governor’s office at two in the morning on February 7, allegedly already with the text of the decree, and before that they made up a firing squad from the communists.
Only in the early 1990s, a note by Lenin to Trotsky's deputy E. Sklyansky was published in the USSR for transmission by telegraph to a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 5th Army, chairman of the Sibrevkom I. Smirnov, which by that time had been known abroad for 20 years - from the moment of publication in Paris editions of Trotsky's Papers:
Cipher. Sklyansky: Send Smirnov (RVS 5) a cipher: Do not spread any news about Kolchak, print absolutely nothing, and after we occupy Irkutsk, send a strictly official telegram explaining that the local authorities before our arrival acted in this and that way under the influence of Kappel's threat and danger Whiteguard conspiracies in Irkutsk. Lenin. The signature is also in cipher.
1. Do you undertake to make archi-reliably?
2. Where is Tukhachevsky?
3. How are things on Kav. front?4. In the Crimea?
According to a number of modern Russian historians, this note should be regarded as Lenin's direct order for the extrajudicial and secret murder of Kolchak.
The chairman of the Sibrevkom, I.N. Smirnov, stated in his memoirs that even during his stay in Krasnoyarsk (from mid-January 1920) he received Lenin's ciphered order, "in which he resolutely ordered Kolchak not to be shot," for he is subject to trial. However, after receiving this order, the headquarters of the vanguard 30th division sent a telegram to Irkutsk, which reported the order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 5th Army, according to which the execution of Kolchak was allowed: “ ... keep Admiral Kolchak under arrest with the adoption of exceptional measures of guard and save his life ..., using execution only if it is impossible to keep Kolchak in his hands", and Smirnov telegraphed Lenin and Trotsky on January 26:" Today ... given ... an order ... that Kolchak, in case of danger, was taken north of Irkutsk, if you fail to save him from the Czechs, then shoot him in prison". “It is hardly possible,” writes Kolchak’s biographer Plotnikov, that Smirnov could give such an order “without the sanction of not only the party center, but also Lenin personally.” Plotnikov believes in connection with this and on the basis of indirect data (circumstances that are not related to the main content mentioned in the note) that Lenin’s note was a response to Smirnov’s telegram, and dates it to the end of the twentieth of January 1920. Thus, the historian considers it obvious , that Smirnov had an installation for the execution of Kolchak directly from Lenin, on the basis of which he chose the right moment - the exit of the White Guards to Irkutsk - and on February 6 sent a telegram to the executive committee of the Irkutsk Council of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies: “ In view of the renewed hostilities with the Czech[Slovak] troops, the movement of the Kappel detachments to Irkutsk and the unstable position of Soviet power in Irkutsk, I hereby order you: Admiral Kolchak, Chairman of the Council of Ministers Pepelyaev, who were imprisoned by you, all those who participated in punitive expeditions, all agents counterintelligence and security department of Kolchak with the receipt of this immediately shoot. Report on performance» .
G.Z. Ioffe drew attention to the fact that although both A.V. Kolchak and “all Kolchak’s henchmen and agents” were outlawed as early as August 1919 by a decree of the Council of People’s Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets, only A.V. Kolchak and V.N. Pepelyaev. The rest of those arrested, held in May 1920, the tribunal, based on the fact that "the acute moment of the civil war had passed", found it possible to bring to trial.
Some modern historians believe that the meaning of Lenin's actions here, as in the case of the murder of the Royal Family, was an attempt to relieve himself of responsibility for extrajudicial execution, presenting the case as a popular initiative and "an act of retribution". The point of view of the historian A. G. Latyshev is close to this opinion, according to which Lenin could have done just that in relation to the royal family, but considered it inappropriate. V. I. Shishkin, without denying the existence of Lenin's directive on the need to shoot Kolchak, does not consider Lenin the only culprit of extrajudicial murder, pointing out that in Soviet Russia at that time there was no other point of view on this issue. In his opinion, the release of A.V. Kolchak was unrealistic, and his execution was initiated by the top of the Bolshevik leadership as an act of political reprisal and intimidation.
G. Z. Ioffe left open the question of the correct dating of Lenin's note to Sklyansky, but drew attention to the ambiguities in the text of the note, if we assume that it was written after the execution.
Kappelevtsy near Irkutsk
General V. O. Kappel, who remained faithful to him to the end, hurried to the rescue of the admiral in trouble, at the head of the remnants of the units of the Eastern Front of the Russian Army that still remained combat-ready, despite the fierce cold and deep snow, sparing neither himself nor people. As a result, while crossing the Can Kappel river, he fell through the ice with his horse, got frostbite on his legs, and on January 26 died of pneumonia.
The White troops under the command of General S. N. Voitsekhovsky continued to move forward. There were only 4-5 thousand fighters left. Voitsekhovsky planned to storm Irkutsk and save the Supreme Ruler and all the officers languishing in the prisons of the city. Sick, frostbitten, on January 30 they went to the railway line and defeated the Soviet troops sent against them at the Zima station. After a short rest, on February 3, the Kappelites moved to Irkutsk. They immediately took Cheremkhovo, 140 km from Irkutsk, dispersing the mining squads and shooting the local Revolutionary Committee.
In response to the ultimatum of the commander of the Soviet troops Zverev on surrender, Voitsekhovsky sent a counter ultimatum to the Reds demanding the release of Admiral Kolchak and the persons arrested with him, the provision of fodder and the payment of an indemnity in the amount of 200 million rubles, promising to bypass Irkutsk in this case.
The Bolsheviks did not comply with the demands of the Whites, and Voitsekhovsky went on the attack: the Kappelites broke through to Innokentievskaya, 7 km from Irkutsk. The Irkutsk Military Revolutionary Committee declared the city under a state of siege, and the approaches to it were turned into continuous lines of defense. The battle for Irkutsk began - according to a number of estimates, it had no equal in the entire civil war in terms of the fierceness and fury of the attacks. No prisoners were taken.
The Kappelites took Innokentievskaya and were able to break through the Reds' urban defense lines. The storming of the city was scheduled for 12 noon. At that moment, the Czechs intervened in the events, having concluded an agreement with the Reds, which was aimed at ensuring their own unhindered evacuation. Signed by the head of the 2nd Czechoslovak division, Kreichy, a demand was sent to the Whites not to occupy the Glazkovsky suburb under the threat of the Czechs coming out on the side of the Reds. Wojciechowski would no longer have the strength to fight a fresh, well-armed Czech contingent. At the same time, news came of the death of Admiral Kolchak. Under the circumstances, General Voitsekhovsky ordered the offensive to be cancelled. The Kappelevites began a fighting retreat to Transbaikalia.
As the historian S.P. Melgunov writes, in this storming of Irkutsk by the Kappelites there was a lot of moral order, which should have been a spiritual relief for the Supreme Ruler going to his death. The admiral could, with a clear conscience, meet firing shots: at the most critical moment of the test, his soldiers and officers did not change the cause that A. V. Kolchak served, they did not change the admiral himself, remaining faithful to him to the end.
Execution
On the night of January 25 (February 7), 1920, a detachment of Red Army soldiers arrived with the head I. Bursak in the prison where A. V. Kolchak and the former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian government V. N. Pepelyaev were kept. First, Pepelyaev was led out from the second floor, then A. V. Kolchak. The admiral walked among the ring of soldiers, completely pale, but calm. All the time of his arrest and until his death, A. V. Kolchak behaved courageously and completely calmly, although he had no illusions about his fate. Internally, the admiral was inhumanly tired during these days, by the day of his death, at the age of 46, he was already completely gray-haired.
Before the execution, A. V. Kolchak was refused the last time to see his beloved - A. V. Timireva, who voluntarily went under arrest with Alexander Vasilyevich, not wanting to leave him. The admiral rejected the offer of the executioners to blindfold and gave Chudnovsky a capsule of potassium cyanide that someone had previously handed over to him, since he considered suicide unacceptable for an Orthodox Christian, asked him to convey his blessing to his wife and son.
The general leadership of the execution was carried out by the chairman of the gubchek Samuil Chudnovsky, the firing squad was led by the head of the garrison and at the same time the commandant of Irkutsk Ivan Bursak.
Full moon, bright, frosty night. Kolchak and Pepelyaev are standing on a hillock. Kolchak refuses my offer to blindfold. The platoon is lined up, rifles at the ready. Chudnovsky whispers to me:
- It's time.I give the command
- Platoon, on the enemies of the revolution - pli!
Both fall. We put the corpses on a sledge, bring them to the river and lower them into the hole. So the "supreme ruler of all Russia" Admiral Kolchak leaves for his last voyage.From the memoirs of I. Bursak
As the historian Khandorin notes, in his “unofficial” memoirs, Bursak explained: “They didn’t bury it, because the Socialist-Revolutionaries could talk, and the people would have been thrown to the grave. And so - the ends in the water ".
Even the executioners themselves, the enemies, later noted that the admiral met death with soldierly courage, retained his dignity in the face of death.
Grave of Admiral Kolchak
The historian Yu. V. Tchaikovsky considers convincing the assumptions of the archivist S. V. Drokov that the official version of the execution of Kolchak on the banks of the Angara was invented and the grave of Alexander Vasilyevich should be sought within the walls of the Irkutsk prison. Pointing to many inconsistencies in the official version (for example, Kolchak's fur coat, which remained in prison and later got into the list of personal belongings), Tchaikovsky agrees with Drokov that the Bolsheviks were afraid to take Kolchak out of the prison walls, while the commander Smirnov had already telegraphed to Moscow that he ordered the authorities of Irkutsk to take Kolchak to the north of the city, and if this fails, then "shoot him in prison." The perpetrators could noisily and publicly lead the bombers in fur coats out of the cells, and kill them secretly in the basement. The official version, writes Tchaikovsky, could only serve to hide the burial place of Kolchak's remains.
Symbolic grave of A.V. Kolchak is located at the place of his "rest in the waters of the Angara" not far from the Irkutsk Znamensky Monastery, where an Orthodox cross is installed.
Legal assessments of the execution
Memory
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Notes
Sources
- Soviet-Polish War: Battles for Dvinsk;
- On January 4, Admiral Kolchak transferred the powers of the Supreme Ruler to General Denikin;
- On January 15, the First Labor Army was formed;
- On January 16, the Russian Eastern Outskirts was founded, headed by the ataman of the Transbaikal Cossacks Semyonov;
- On February 7, Kolchak was shot along with his prime minister V.N. Pepelyaev;
- "Red Flood": on February 20, the Red Army liquidated the Northern Region.
- "Red Flood": the final collapse of the Denikin front. On April 4, General Denikin left Russia;
- 6 April Far Eastern Republic founded;
- Soviet–Polish War: Poles occupied Kiev on 7 May;
An excerpt characterizing the execution of Admiral Kolchak
“If it would cost me a lot of work ...” Prince Andrei answered, as if guessing what was the matter.- Whatever you want, think! I know you are the same as mon pere. Think whatever you want, but do it for me. Do it please! My father's father, our grandfather, wore it in all wars ... - She still did not get what she was holding from her purse. "So you promise me?"
"Of course, what's the matter?"
- Andre, I will bless you with the image, and you promise me that you will never take it off. Promise?
“If he doesn’t drag his neck down to two pounds ... To please you ...” said Prince Andrei, but at the same moment, noticing the distressed expression that his sister’s face assumed at this joke, he repented. “Very glad, really very glad, my friend,” he added.
“Against your will, He will save and have mercy on you and turn you to Himself, because in Him alone is truth and peace,” she said in a voice trembling with excitement, with a solemn gesture holding in both hands in front of her brother an oval ancient icon of the Savior with a black face in silver chasuble on a silver chain of fine workmanship.
She crossed herself, kissed the icon and handed it to Andrey.
– Please, Andre, for me…
Beams of kind and timid light shone from her large eyes. These eyes illuminated the whole sickly, thin face and made it beautiful. The brother wanted to take the scapular, but she stopped him. Andrei understood, crossed himself and kissed the icon. His face was at the same time gentle (he was touched) and mocking.
- Merci, mon ami. [Thank you my friend.]
She kissed him on the forehead and sat back down on the sofa. They were silent.
- So I told you, Andre, be kind and generous, as you have always been. Don't judge Lise harshly, she began. - She is so sweet, so kind, and her position is very difficult now.
- It seems that I didn’t tell you anything, Masha, so that I reproach my wife for anything or be dissatisfied with her. Why are you telling me all this?
Princess Mary blushed in spots and became silent, as if she felt guilty.
“I didn’t say anything to you, but you were already told. And it makes me sad.
Red spots appeared even more strongly on the forehead, neck and cheeks of Princess Marya. She wanted to say something and could not utter it. The brother guessed right: the little princess cried after dinner, said that she foresaw an unfortunate birth, was afraid of them, and complained about her fate, her father-in-law and her husband. After crying, she fell asleep. Prince Andrei felt sorry for his sister.
- Know one thing, Masha, I cannot reproach, have not reproached and will never reproach my wife, and I myself cannot reproach myself with anything in relation to her; and it will always be so, in whatever circumstances I may be. But if you want to know the truth... you want to know if I'm happy? No. Is she happy? No. Why is this? Do not know…
Saying this, he stood up, went over to his sister, and, bending down, kissed her on the forehead. His beautiful eyes shone with an intelligent and kind, unaccustomed brilliance, but he looked not at his sister, but into the darkness of the open door, through her head.
- Let's go to her, we must say goodbye. Or go alone, wake her up, and I'll come right now. Parsley! he shouted to the valet, “come here, clean it up.” It's in the seat, it's on the right side.
Princess Marya got up and went to the door. She stopped.
Andre, si vous avez. la foi, vous vous seriez adresse a Dieu, pour qu "il vous donne l" amour, que vous ne sentez pas et votre priere aurait ete exaucee. [If you had faith, you would turn to God with a prayer, so that He would give you love that you do not feel, and your prayer would be heard.]
- Yes, is it! - said Prince Andrew. - Go, Masha, I'll come right away.
On the way to his sister's room, in the gallery that connected one house with another, Prince Andrei met a sweetly smiling m lle Bourienne, for the third time that day with an enthusiastic and naive smile he came across in secluded passages.
- Ah! je vous croyais chez vous, [Ah, I thought you were in your room,] she said, blushing for some reason and lowering her eyes.
Prince Andrei looked sternly at her. Anger suddenly appeared on the face of Prince Andrei. He said nothing to her, but looked at her forehead and hair, without looking into her eyes, so contemptuously that the Frenchwoman blushed and left without saying anything.
When he approached his sister's room, the princess was already awake, and her cheerful voice, hurrying one word after another, was heard from the open door. She spoke as if, after a long period of abstinence, she wanted to make up for lost time.
- Non, mais figurez vous, la vieille comtesse Zouboff avec de fausses boucles et la bouche pleine de fausses dents, comme si elle voulait defier les annees ... [No, imagine, old Countess Zubova, with fake curls, with fake teeth, like as if mocking the years…] Xa, xa, xa, Marieie!
Exactly the same phrase about Countess Zubova and the same laugh had already been heard five times in front of strangers by Prince Andrei from his wife.
He quietly entered the room. The princess, plump, ruddy, with work in her hands, sat on an armchair and talked incessantly, sorting through Petersburg memories and even phrases. Prince Andrei came up, stroked her head and asked if she had rested from the journey. She answered and continued the same conversation.
The stroller stood in six at the entrance. It was a dark autumn night outside. The coachman did not see the drawbar of the carriage. People with lanterns bustled about on the porch. The huge house burned with lights through its large windows. In the hall crowded the courtyards, who wanted to say goodbye to the young prince; all the household were standing in the hall: Mikhail Ivanovich, m lle Bourienne, Princess Mary and the princess.
Prince Andrei was called to his father's office, who wanted to say goodbye to him face to face. Everyone was waiting for them to come out.
When Prince Andrei entered the office, the old prince, wearing old man's glasses and in his white coat, in which he received no one except his son, was sitting at the table and writing. He looked back.
– Are you going? And he began to write again.
- I came to say goodbye.
- Kiss here, - he showed his cheek, - thank you, thank you!
- What do you thank me for?
- Because you don’t overstay, you don’t hold on to a woman’s skirt. Service first. Thank you, thank you! And he continued to write, so that the spray flew from the crackling pen. - If you need to say something, say it. These two things I can do together,” he added.
“About my wife… I’m so ashamed that I’m leaving her in your arms…”
- What are you lying? Say what you need.
- When your wife has time to give birth, send to Moscow for an obstetrician ... So that he is here.
The old prince stopped and, as if not understanding, stared with stern eyes at his son.
“I know that no one can help if nature does not help,” said Prince Andrei, apparently embarrassed. “I agree that out of a million cases, one is unfortunate, but this is her fantasy and mine. They told her, she saw it in a dream, and she is afraid.
“Hm ... hm ...” the old prince said to himself, continuing to finish writing. - I will.
He crossed out the signature, suddenly turned quickly to his son and laughed.
- It's bad, isn't it?
- What's wrong, father?
- Wife! said the old prince shortly and significantly.
“I don’t understand,” said Prince Andrei.
“Yes, there’s nothing to do, my friend,” the prince said, “they are all like that, you won’t get married.” Do not be afraid; I won't tell anyone; and you yourself know.
He grabbed his hand with his bony little hand, shook it, looked straight into his son's face with his quick eyes, which seemed to see right through the man, and again laughed his cold laugh.
The son sighed, confessing with this sigh that his father understood him. The old man, continuing to fold and print letters, with his usual speed, grabbed and threw sealing wax, seal and paper.
- What to do? Beautiful! I'll do everything. You be calm,” he said curtly while typing.
Andrey was silent: it was both pleasant and unpleasant for him that his father understood him. The old man got up and handed the letter to his son.
“Listen,” he said, “do not worry about your wife: what can be done will be done.” Now listen: give the letter to Mikhail Ilarionovich. I am writing that he will use you in good places and not keep you as an adjutant for a long time: a bad post! Tell him that I remember him and love him. Yes, write how he will accept you. If it's good, serve. Nikolai Andreich Bolkonsky's son, out of mercy, will not serve anyone. Well, now come here.
He spoke in such a rapid way that he did not finish half of the words, but the son was used to understanding him. He led his son to the bureau, threw back the lid, pulled out a drawer, and took out a notebook covered in his large, long, concise handwriting.
“I must die before you.” Know that here are my notes, to transfer them to the sovereign after my death. Now here - here is a pawn ticket and a letter: this is a prize to the one who writes the history of the Suvorov wars. Submit to the academy. Here are my remarks, after me read for yourself, you will find something useful.
Andrei did not tell his father that he would probably live for a long time. He knew he didn't need to say that.
“I will do everything, father,” he said.
- Well, now goodbye! He let his son kiss his hand and hugged him. “Remember one thing, Prince Andrei: if they kill you, the old man will hurt me ...” He suddenly fell silent and suddenly continued in a loud voice: “and if I find out that you did not behave like the son of Nikolai Bolkonsky, I will be ... ashamed! he screeched.
“You could not tell me that, father,” said the son, smiling.
The old man was silent.
“I also wanted to ask you,” continued Prince Andrei, “if they kill me and if I have a son, do not let him go away from you, as I told you yesterday, so that he grows up with you ... please.
- Don't give it to your wife? the old man said and laughed.
They stood silently facing each other. The old man's quick eyes were fixed directly on his son's eyes. Something quivered in the lower part of the old prince's face.
- Goodbye ... go! he suddenly said. - Get up! he shouted in an angry and loud voice, opening the study door.
– What is, what? - asked the princess and princess, seeing Prince Andrei and for a moment the figure of an old man in a white coat, without a wig and in old man's glasses, leaning out screaming in an angry voice.
Prince Andrei sighed and did not answer.
“Well,” he said, turning to his wife.
And this “well” sounded like a cold mockery, as if he was saying: “now you do your tricks.”
Andre, deja! [Andrey, already!] - said the little princess, turning pale and looking at her husband with fear.
He hugged her. She screamed and fell unconscious on his shoulder.
He gently drew back the shoulder on which she was lying, looked into her face, and carefully seated her in a chair.
- Adieu, Marieie, [Farewell, Masha,] - he said quietly to his sister, kissed her hand in hand and quickly left the room.
The princess was lying in an armchair, m lle Bourienne was rubbing her temples. Princess Mary, supporting her daughter-in-law, with tearful beautiful eyes, was still looking at the door through which Prince Andrei went out, and baptized him. From the study were heard, like shots, the often repeated angry sounds of the old man blowing his nose. As soon as Prince Andrei left, the door of the office quickly opened and a stern figure of an old man in a white coat looked out.
- Left? Well, good! he said, looking angrily at the insensible little princess, shook his head reproachfully and slammed the door.
In October 1805, Russian troops occupied the villages and cities of the Archduchy of Austria, and more new regiments came from Russia and, weighing down the residents with billeting, were located near the Braunau fortress. In Braunau was the main apartment of the commander-in-chief Kutuzov.
On October 11, 1805, one of the infantry regiments that had just arrived at Braunau, waiting for the review of the commander-in-chief, stood half a mile from the city. Despite the non-Russian terrain and situation (orchards, stone fences, tiled roofs, mountains visible in the distance), the non-Russian people, who looked at the soldiers with curiosity, the regiment had exactly the same appearance as any Russian regiment preparing for a show somewhere in the middle of Russia.
In the evening, on the last march, an order was received that the commander-in-chief would watch the regiment on the march. Although the words of the order seemed unclear to the regimental commander, and the question arose of how to understand the words of the order: in marching uniform or not? in the council of battalion commanders, it was decided to present the regiment in full dress on the grounds that it is always better to exchange bows than not to bow. And the soldiers, after a thirty-verst march, did not close their eyes, they repaired and cleaned themselves all night; adjutants and company officers counted, expelled; and by morning the regiment, instead of the sprawling disorderly crowd that it had been the day before on the last march, represented a slender mass of 2,000 people, each of whom knew his place, his business, and of whom each button and strap was in its place and shone with cleanliness. . Not only the outer was in good order, but if the commander-in-chief had been pleased to look under the uniforms, then on each he would have seen an equally clean shirt and in each knapsack he would have found a legal number of things, “an awl and a soap,” as the soldiers say. There was only one circumstance about which no one could be calm. It was shoes. More than half of the people had their boots broken. But this shortcoming did not come from the fault of the regimental commander, since, despite repeated demands, the goods from the Austrian department were not released to him, and the regiment traveled a thousand miles.
The regimental commander was an elderly, sanguine general with graying eyebrows and sideburns, thick and broad more from chest to back than from one shoulder to the other. He was wearing a new, brand-new, creased uniform and thick golden epaulettes, which seemed to raise his stout shoulders rather than downwards. The regimental commander looked like a man happily doing one of the most solemn deeds of life. He paced in front of the front and, as he walked, trembled at every step, slightly arching his back. It was evident that the regimental commander was admiring his regiment, happy with them, that all his mental strength was occupied only by the regiment; but, in spite of this, his trembling gait seemed to say that, in addition to military interests, the interests of social life and the female gender also occupy a considerable place in his soul.
“Well, father Mikhailo Mitrich,” he turned to one battalion commander (the battalion commander leaned forward smiling; it was clear that they were happy), “I got nuts this night. However, it seems, nothing, the regiment is not bad ... Eh?
The battalion commander understood the humorous irony and laughed.
- And in the Tsaritsyn Meadow they would not have driven out of the field.
- What? the commander said.
At this time, on the road from the city, along which the machinations were placed, two horsemen appeared. They were the adjutant and a Cossack riding behind.
The adjutant was sent from the main headquarters to confirm to the regimental commander what was not clear in yesterday's order, namely, that the commander-in-chief wanted to see the regiment in exactly the position in which he walked - in overcoats, in covers and without any preparations.
A member of the Hofkriegsrat from Vienna arrived at Kutuzov the day before, with proposals and demands to join the army of Archduke Ferdinand and Mack as soon as possible, and Kutuzov, not considering this connection advantageous, among other evidence in favor of his opinion, intended to show the Austrian general that sad situation in which troops came from Russia. For this purpose, he wanted to go out to meet the regiment, so that the worse the position of the regiment, the more pleasant it would be for the commander in chief. Although the adjutant did not know these details, he conveyed to the regimental commander the indispensable demand of the commander-in-chief that people be in overcoats and covers, and that otherwise the commander-in-chief would be dissatisfied. After hearing these words, the regimental commander lowered his head, silently shrugged his shoulders and spread his arms with a sanguine gesture.
- Done business! he said. - So I told you, Mikhailo Mitrich, that on a campaign, so in overcoats, - he turned with a reproach to the battalion commander. – Oh, my God! he added, and stepped forward resolutely. - Gentlemen, company commanders! he called out in a voice familiar to command. - Feldwebels! ... Will they come soon? he turned to the visiting adjutant with an expression of respectful courtesy, apparently referring to the person he was talking about.
- In an hour, I think.
- Shall we change clothes?
"I don't know, General...
The regimental commander himself went up to the ranks and ordered them to change into their greatcoats again. The company commanders fled to their companies, the sergeants began to fuss (the overcoats were not quite in order) and at the same instant swayed, stretched out and the previously regular, silent quadrangles hummed with a voice. Soldiers ran up and down from all sides, tossed them back with their shoulders, dragged satchels over their heads, took off their greatcoats and, raising their arms high, pulled them into their sleeves.
Half an hour later everything returned to its former order, only the quadrangles turned gray from black. The regimental commander, again with a trembling gait, stepped forward of the regiment and looked at it from afar.
- What else is that? What's this! he shouted, stopping. - Commander of the 3rd company! ..
- Commander of the 3rd company to the general! the commander to the general, the 3rd company to the commander! ... - voices were heard from the ranks, and the adjutant ran to look for the hesitant officer.
When the sounds of zealous voices, distorting, shouting already “the general in the 3rd company”, reached their destination, the required officer appeared from behind the company and, although the man was already elderly and not in the habit of running, awkwardly clinging to his socks, trotted towards the general. The captain's face expressed the anxiety of a schoolboy who is told to say a lesson he has not learned. There were spots on the red (obviously from intemperance) nose, and the mouth did not find position. The regimental commander examined the captain from head to toe as he approached breathlessly, holding his step as he approached.
- You will soon dress people in sundresses! What's this? - shouted the regimental commander, pushing his lower jaw and pointing in the ranks of the 3rd company at a soldier in an overcoat of the color of factory cloth, which differed from other overcoats. - Where were you yourself? The commander-in-chief is expected, and you move away from your place? Eh?... I’ll teach you how to dress people in Cossacks for a review!... Eh?...
The company commander, without taking his eyes off his commander, pressed his two fingers more and more to his visor, as if in this pressing alone he now saw his salvation.
- Well, why are you silent? Who do you have there in the Hungarian dressed up? - strictly joked the regimental commander.
- Your Excellency…
- Well, "your excellency"? Your Excellency! Your Excellency! And what your Excellency - no one knows.
- Your Excellency, this is Dolokhov, demoted ... - the captain said quietly.
- That he was a field marshal, or something, demoted or a soldier? And a soldier should be dressed like everyone else, in uniform.
“Your Excellency, you yourself allowed him to march.
- Allowed? Allowed? That's how you always are, young people,” said the regimental commander, cooling down somewhat. - Allowed? You say something, and you and ... - The regimental commander paused. - You say something, and you and ... - What? he said, getting irritated again. - Please dress people decently ...
And the regimental commander, looking back at the adjutant, with his shuddering gait, went to the regiment. It was evident that he himself liked his irritation, and that, having walked up and down the regiment, he wanted to find another pretext for his anger. Having cut off one officer for an uncleaned badge, another for an irregular row, he approached the 3rd company.
- How are you standing? Where is the leg? Where is the leg? - shouted the regimental commander with an expression of suffering in his voice, another five people did not reach Dolokhov, dressed in a bluish overcoat.
Dolokhov slowly straightened his bent leg and straight, with his bright and insolent look, looked into the general's face.
Why the blue overcoat? Down with… Feldwebel! Change his clothes ... rubbish ... - He did not have time to finish.
“General, I am obliged to carry out orders, but I am not obliged to endure ...” Dolokhov said hastily.
- Do not talk in the front! ... Do not talk, do not talk! ...
“I am not obliged to endure insults,” Dolokhov finished loudly, sonorously.
The eyes of the general and the soldier met. The General fell silent, angrily pulling down his tight scarf.
“If you please, change your clothes, please,” he said, walking away.
- It's coming! shouted the machinist at that time.
The regimental commander, blushing, ran up to the horse, with trembling hands took hold of the stirrup, flung the body over, recovered himself, drew his sword, and with a happy, resolute face, with his mouth open to one side, prepared to shout. The regiment started like a recovering bird and froze.
- Smir r r na! shouted the regimental commander in a soul-shattering voice, joyful for himself, strict in relation to the regiment and friendly in relation to the approaching chief.
Along a wide, tree-lined, high, highwayless road, with a slight rattle of springs, a tall blue Viennese carriage rode in a train at a fast trot. A retinue and a convoy of Croats galloped behind the carriage. Near Kutuzov sat an Austrian general in a strange, among black Russians, white uniform. The carriage stopped at the regiment. Kutuzov and the Austrian general were quietly talking about something, and Kutuzov smiled slightly, while, stepping heavily, he lowered his foot from the footboard, as if there weren’t those 2,000 people who were looking at him and the regimental commander without breathing .
There was a shout of the command, again the regiment, ringing, trembled, making guard. In the dead silence, the weak voice of the commander-in-chief was heard. The regiment bellowed: “We wish you good health, your lordship!” And again everything froze. At first, Kutuzov stood in one place while the regiment moved; then Kutuzov, next to the white general, on foot, accompanied by his retinue, began to walk through the ranks.
From the way the regimental commander saluted the commander-in-chief, glaring at him, stretching out and getting up, how he stooped forward followed the generals along the ranks, barely holding back his trembling movement, how he jumped at every word and movement of the commander-in-chief, it was clear that he was fulfilling his duties subordinate with even greater pleasure than the duties of a boss. The regiment, thanks to the severity and diligence of the regimental commander, was in excellent condition compared to others who came at the same time to Braunau. There were only 217 retarded and sick people. Everything was fine, except for the shoes.
Kutuzov walked through the ranks, occasionally stopping and saying a few kind words to the officers, whom he knew from the Turkish war, and sometimes to the soldiers. Glancing at the shoes, he shook his head sadly several times and pointed at them to the Austrian general with such an expression that he did not seem to reproach anyone for this, but he could not help but see how bad it was. The regimental commander ran ahead each time, afraid to miss the word of the commander-in-chief regarding the regiment. Behind Kutuzov, at such a distance that any weakly spoken word could be heard, walked a man of 20 retinues. The gentlemen of the retinues talked among themselves and sometimes laughed. Closest behind the commander-in-chief was a handsome adjutant. It was Prince Bolkonsky. Beside him walked his comrade Nesvitsky, a tall staff officer, extremely stout, with a kind and smiling handsome face and moist eyes; Nesvitsky could hardly restrain himself from laughing, aroused by the blackish hussar officer walking beside him. The hussar officer, without smiling, without changing the expression of his fixed eyes, looked with a serious face at the back of the regimental commander and mimicked his every movement. Every time the regimental commander shuddered and leaned forward, in exactly the same way, exactly in exactly the same way, the hussar officer shuddered and leaned forward. Nesvitsky laughed and pushed the others to look at the funny man.
Kutuzov walked slowly and listlessly past a thousand eyes that rolled out of their sockets, following the boss. Having leveled with the 3rd company, he suddenly stopped. The retinue, not foreseeing this stop, involuntarily advanced on him.
- Ah, Timokhin! - said the commander-in-chief, recognizing the captain with a red nose, who suffered for a blue overcoat.
It seemed that it was impossible to stretch more than Timokhin stretched, while the regimental commander reprimanded him. But at that moment the commander-in-chief addressed him, the captain stretched out so that it seemed that if the commander-in-chief had looked at him for a little more time, the captain would not have been able to stand it; and therefore Kutuzov, apparently understanding his position and wishing, on the contrary, all the best for the captain, hastily turned away. A barely perceptible smile ran across Kutuzov's plump, wounded face.
“Another Izmaylovsky comrade,” he said. "Brave officer!" Are you happy with it? Kutuzov asked the regimental commander.
And the regimental commander, as if reflected in a mirror, invisibly to himself, in the hussar officer, shuddered, went forward and answered:
“Very pleased, Your Excellency.
“We are all not without weaknesses,” said Kutuzov, smiling and moving away from him. “He had an attachment to Bacchus.
The regimental commander was afraid that he was not to blame for this, and did not answer. The officer at that moment noticed the captain's face with a red nose and a tucked-up stomach, and mimicked his face and posture so similarly that Nesvitsky could not help laughing.
Kutuzov turned around. It was evident that the officer could control his face as he wanted: at the moment Kutuzov turned around, the officer managed to make a grimace, and after that take on the most serious, respectful and innocent expression.
The third company was the last, and Kutuzov thought, apparently remembering something. Prince Andrei stepped out of the retinue and quietly said in French:
- You ordered to be reminded of the demoted Dolokhov in this regiment.
- Where is Dolokhov? Kutuzov asked.
Dolokhov, already dressed in a soldier's gray overcoat, did not wait to be called. The slender figure of a blond soldier with clear blue eyes stepped out from the front. He approached the commander-in-chief and made a guard.
– Claim? - Frowning slightly, asked Kutuzov.
“This is Dolokhov,” said Prince Andrei.
– A! Kutuzov said. – I hope this lesson will correct you, serve well. The Emperor is merciful. And I won't forget you if you deserve it.
Clear blue eyes looked at the commander-in-chief as boldly as they did at the regimental commander, as if by their expression they were tearing away the veil of conventionality that separated the commander-in-chief so far from the soldier.
“I ask you one thing, Your Excellency,” he said in his resonant, firm, unhurried voice. “I ask you to give me a chance to make amends for my guilt and prove my devotion to the emperor and Russia.
Kutuzov turned away. The same smile of his eyes flashed across his face as at the time when he turned away from Captain Timokhin. He turned away and grimaced, as if he wanted to express by this that everything that Dolokhov told him, and everything that he could tell him, he had known for a long, long time that all this had already bored him and that all this was not at all what he needed. . He turned and walked towards the carriage.
The regiment sorted out in companies and headed for the assigned apartments not far from Braunau, where they hoped to put on shoes, dress and rest after difficult transitions.
- You do not pretend to me, Prokhor Ignatich? - said the regimental commander, circling the 3rd company moving towards the place and driving up to Captain Timokhin, who was walking in front of it. The face of the regimental commander, after a happily departed review, expressed irrepressible joy. - The royal service ... you can’t ... another time you’ll cut off at the front ... I’ll be the first to apologize, you know me ... Thank you very much! And he held out his hand to the commander.
“Excuse me, General, do I dare!” - the captain answered, turning red with his nose, smiling and revealing with a smile the lack of two front teeth, knocked out by a butt near Ishmael.
- Yes, tell Mr. Dolokhov that I will not forget him, so that he is calm. Yes, please tell me, I kept wanting to ask, what is he, how is he behaving? And everything...
“He is very serviceable in his service, Your Excellency ... but the carakhter ...” said Timokhin.
- And what, what is the character? asked the regimental commander.
“He finds, Your Excellency, for days,” said the captain, “he is smart, and learned, and kind. And that's a beast. In Poland, he killed a Jew, if you please know ...
- Well, yes, well, yes, - said the regimental commander, - you still have to feel sorry for the young man in misfortune. After all, great connections ... So you ...
“I’m listening, Your Excellency,” Timokhin said, with a smile making it feel that he understood the wishes of the boss.
- Yes Yes.
The regimental commander found Dolokhov in the ranks and reined in his horse.
“Before the first case, epaulettes,” he told him.
Dolokhov looked around, said nothing and did not change the expression of his mockingly smiling mouth.
“Well, that’s good,” continued the regimental commander. “People get a glass of vodka from me,” he added, so that the soldiers could hear. – Thank you all! Thank God! - And he, having overtaken a company, drove up to another.
“Well, he really is a good man; You can serve with him,” Timokhin subaltern said to the officer walking beside him.
- One word, red! ... (the regimental commander was nicknamed the red king) - the subaltern officer said, laughing.
The happy mood of the authorities after the review passed to the soldiers. Rota was having fun. Soldiers' voices were talking from all sides.
- How did they say, Kutuzov crooked, about one eye?
- But no! Totally crooked.
- Not ... brother, more big-eyed than you. Boots and collars - looked around everything ...
- How does he, my brother, look at my feet ... well! think…
- And the other is an Austrian, he was with him, as if smeared with chalk. Like flour, white. I'm tea, how they clean ammunition!
- What, Fedeshow! ... he said, perhaps, when the guards begin, did you stand closer? They said everything, Bunaparte himself is standing in Brunov.
- Bunaparte stands! you lie, fool! What does not know! Now the Prussian is in revolt. The Austrian, therefore, pacifies him. As soon as he reconciles, then war will open with Bounaparte. And then, he says, in Brunov, Bunaparte is standing! It's obvious that he's an idiot. You listen more.
“Look, damn tenants! The fifth company, look, is already turning into the village, they will cook porridge, and we will not reach the place yet.
- Give me a cracker, damn it.
“Did you give tobacco yesterday?” That's it, brother. Well, on, God is with you.
- If only they made a halt, otherwise you won’t eat another five miles of proprem.
- It was nice how the Germans gave us strollers. You go, know: it's important!
- And here, brother, the people went completely frantic. There everything seemed to be a Pole, everything was of the Russian crown; and now, brother, a solid German has gone.
- Songwriters ahead! - I heard the cry of the captain.
And twenty people ran out in front of the company from different ranks. The drummer sings turned around to face the song-books, and, waving his hand, sang a drawn-out soldier's song, beginning: "Isn't it dawn, the sun was breaking up ..." and ending with the words: "That, brothers, will be glory to us with Kamensky father ..." This song was composed in Turkey and was now sung in Austria, only with the change that the words "Kutuzov's father" were inserted in place of "Kamensky father".
November 16 marks the 135th anniversary of the birth of one of the leaders of the White movement, the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Alexander Kolchak. Contrary to the popular myth that the evil Bolsheviks arrested the admiral and shot him almost immediately, Kolchak's interrogations went on for 17 days - from January 21 to February 6, 1920.
Kolchak is perhaps one of the most controversial figures of the Civil War. One of the largest explorers of the Arctic, a traveler, an unsurpassed master of minecraft during the First World War, a staunch monarchist. This is one side of the coin.
But there is also a second one. The White movement had many leaders: Kornilov, Denikin, Yudenich, Wrangel, Mai-Maevsky, Shkuro, Semyonov, Kaledin, Slashchev, Alekseev, Krasnov ... But it was Kolchak's troops that were remembered for their particular cruelty.
When the admiral took power in Siberia, the majority of the population took it quite favorably. But Alexander Vasilyevich was not a very good politician or trusted his officers too much, who, fighting partisans and others who disagreed with the authority of the Supreme Ruler, did not stop at nothing. Then, during interrogations, Kolchak said that he knew nothing about the cruelties that some of his officers had committed. But the fact remains - even the Cossacks from the “Wolf Hundred” of Ataman Shkuro, who fought in the ranks of the Volunteer Army of Denikin, and then obeyed Wrangel, were lambs compared to the military foreman Krasilnikov and other punishers of Admiral Kolchak.
In a word, the collapse of the Kolchak army, in many ways, is a consequence of the short-sighted and not always smart policy of the straightforward, although loving Russia admiral. Contrary to the myths according to which the evil Bolsheviks captured Kolchak and immediately put him to death, they planned to hold a trial over the admiral. Moreover, not in Omsk and not in Irkutsk, but in Moscow. But the situation is different.
Here are excerpts from the last interrogation of Admiral Kolchak.
Alekseevsky. To find out your attitude to the coup, it is required to establish some additional points. By the way, it would be interesting for the Commission to know: before the coup, during and after it, did you meet in Siberia, or in the east, with Prince Lvov, who then traveled through Siberia to America?
Kolchak. No, I did not see Prince Lvov, we parted ways. I only saw another Lvov, Vladimir Mikhailovich.
Alekseevsky. Did you have any letters or instructions from Prince Lvov?
Kolchak. It seems that there was some letter from Paris during my stay in Omsk, but that was later, approximately in the summer. This letter did not contain anything important and related mainly to the activities of the political organization that was in Paris and headed by Lvov. Prior to this, I had no personal relations with Lvov and did not receive any instructions transmitted through him from anyone. The letter of which I spoke was transmitted through the consular mission in Paris in the month of July...
... Alekseevsky. Tell me your attitude towards General Kappel, as one of the largest figures in the Volunteer Army.
Kolchak. I did not know Kappel before and did not meet him, but the orders that Kappel gave marked the beginning of my deep sympathy and respect for this figure. Then, when I met with Kappel in February or March, when his units were withdrawn to the reserve, and he came to me, I talked with him for a long time on these topics, and I became convinced that he was one of the most outstanding young commanders ...
... Popov. The Commission has at its disposal a copy of the telegram with the inscription: "Arrest the members of the Constituent Assembly through the Supreme Ruler."
Kolchak. As far as I remember, it was my decision when I received this telegram threatening to open a front against me. Perhaps Vologodsky, having simultaneously received a copy of the telegram, made a resolution, but in any case, Vologodsky did not take any part in this decision. About 20 members of the Constituent Assembly were arrested, and among them there were no persons who signed the telegram, with the exception, it seems, of Devyatov. After reviewing the lists, I called the officer who escorted them, Kruglovsky, and said that I did not know these persons at all; and that they, apparently, did not take any part in the telegram and did not even seem to be persons belonging to the composition of the committee of members of the Constituent Assembly, as, for example, Fomin. I asked why they were arrested; I was told that this was an order from the local command, in view of the fact that they acted against the command and against the Supreme Ruler, that the local command was ordered to arrest them and poison them in Omsk ...
... Popov. How did their fate develop and under whose pressure? But you know that most of them were shot.
Kolchak. They were shot 8 or 9 people. They were shot during the uprising in the twentieth of December ...
... Alekseevsky. Did you give him any special instructions about this?
Kolchak. No, everything was done automatically. In case of alarm, once and for all, a schedule of troops was drawn up - where to which units to be located. The city was divided into districts, everything was taken into account. There were no surprises, and I didn't have to give instructions. On the eve of the speech, in the evening, Lebedev informed me by telephone, or rather, in the morning of the next day, that the headquarters of the Bolsheviks, including 20 people, had been arrested the day before - this was a day before the speech. Lebedev said: "I consider all this sufficient for everything to be exhausted and there will be no performance."
Popov. What did he report about the fate of the arrested headquarters?
Kolchak. He only said that they were arrested.
Popov. And he did not report that there were executions at the place of arrest?
Kolchak. They were shot on the second day after the trial...
... Popov. The executions in Kulomzin were carried out on whose initiative?
Kolchak. Field court, which was appointed after the occupation of Kulomzin.
Popov. You are familiar with the situation of this court. Do you know that in essence there was no trial?
Kolchak. I knew that this was a field court, which was appointed by the head of the suppression of the uprising.
Popov. So, like this: three officers gathered and shot. Was there any business going on?
Kolchak. There was a field court.
Popov. The field court also requires formal proceedings. Do you know that this production was carried out, or you yourself, as the Supreme Ruler, were not interested in this? You, as the Supreme Ruler, should have known that in fact there were no trials, that two or three officers were imprisoned, 50 people were brought in, and they were shot. Surely you didn't have that information?
Kolchak. I did not have such information. I believed that the field court operates in the same way as the field court generally operates during uprisings ...
... Popov. And how many people were shot in Kulomzin?
Kolchak. Man 70 or 80.
Denike. Didn't you know that mass flogging was practiced in Kulomzin?
Kolchak. I knew nothing about flogging, and in general I always forbade any kind of corporal punishment - therefore, I could not even imply that flogging could exist anywhere. And where it became known to me, I prosecuted, deposed, that is, acted in a punitive manner.
Popov. Do you know that the persons who were arrested in connection with the uprising in December were subsequently tortured by the counterintelligence, and what was the nature of these tortures? What was done by the military authorities and by you, the Supreme Ruler, against these tortures?
Kolchak. No one reported this to me, and I believe that there were none.
Popov. I myself saw people detached to the Alexander Prison, who were literally completely covered with wounds and tormented by ramrods - do you know that?
Kolchak. No, I was never reported. If such things were made known, the perpetrators were punished.
Popov. Do you know that this was done at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Kolchak, in counterintelligence at headquarters?
Kolchak. No, I couldn't know because the bet couldn't do it.
Popov. This was done during counterintelligence at headquarters.
Kolchak. Obviously, the people who did this could not report to me, because they knew that I was on legal grounds all the time. If such crimes were committed, I could not know about them. Are you saying that this was done at the rate?
Popov. I say: in counterintelligence at headquarters. I return to the question of the court-martial in Kulomzin.
Kolchak. I believe that the proceedings were the same as those required in a court-martial.
Popov. In Kulomzin, in fact, about 500 people were shot, they were shot in whole groups of 50-60 people. In addition, in fact, there was no battle in Kulomzin, because only the armed workers began to go out into the street - they were already seized and shot - that was the uprising in Kulomzin.
Kolchak. This point of view is new for me, because there were wounded and killed in my troops, and even Czechs were killed, whose families I gave out benefits. How can you say that there was no fight ...
The deputy chairman of the Irkutsk Gub.Ch.K. K. Popov
During interrogations, Kolchak, according to the memoirs of the Chekists, kept calm and confident. But the last interrogation took place in a more nervous atmosphere. Ataman Semenov demanded the extradition of Kolchak, Irkutsk could be captured by parts of General Kappel. Therefore, it was decided to shoot the admiral.
The sentence was carried out on the night of February 6-7, 1920. As Popov later wrote, Admiral Kolchak behaved extremely dignified and calm during the execution. As befits a Russian officer... But the Supreme Ruler did not turn out from a brilliant naval officer...
