Civil War commander who helped defend Tsaritsyn and establish Soviet power in Ukraine
Captured by Makhno, he pulled out a letter from his anarchist brother Artem urging him that 'it was not too late' — but Makhno shot him anyway.
Born in 1886 to a Ukrainian peasant family in Ekaterinoslav Governorate, he joined the Bolsheviks in 1904 as a worker at the Lugansk locomotive factory. During the 1905 Revolution he led armed worker detachments; after 1917 he helped establish Soviet power in the Donbas alongside Kliment Voroshilov, fought White forces and German occupiers, and cooperated with Stalin and Voroshilov in the defense of Tsaritsyn. As special plenipotentiary of the 1st Cavalry Army and commander of the 14th Cavalry Division, he fought in the Polish-Soviet War and against Wrangel before being killed in a Makhnovist ambush on 3 January 1921. Twice posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner, he was immortalized in Vsevolod Ivanov's novel and the 1942 film Alexander Parkhomenko, entering the pantheon of Soviet Civil War heroes.
Activities and affiliations
- 1917–1918 Military command · Soviet Union · Military and defence
Career Timeline
- 1904–1917Lugansk factory worker, joined Bolsheviks (1904), organized armed detachments in 1905 Revolution, repeatedly arrested
- 1917–1918Chief of staff, Lugansk Red Guard; established Soviet power in Donbas; fought Kaledin and German forces
- 1918Retreated to Tsaritsyn with Voroshilov; special plenipotentiary, RMC of 10th Army
- 1919Military commissar of Kharkov Governorate, garrison commander; suppressed Grigoriev uprising, retook Ekaterinoslav
- 1919–1920Special plenipotentiary, RMC of 1st Cavalry Army; participated in capture of Rostov
- 1920–1921Commander, 14th Cavalry Division; fought in Polish-Soviet War and Northern Taurida Operation; killed fighting Makhno
Related historical events
- 1905–1907The Revolution of 1905commander of armed worker detachmentsDuring the 1905 Revolution, he led armed worker detachments.
- 1917–1921Ukraine’s revolution and warsparticipant in establishing Soviet power in DonbasAlongside Voroshilov, he helped establish Soviet power in Donbas and fought White forces and German occupiers.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionSoviet Civil War commanderIn the Civil War, he fought White forces and German occupiers.
- 1919–1921The Soviet-Polish Warcommander of the 14th Cavalry DivisionHe fought in the Soviet-Polish War as commander of the 14th Cavalry Division.
Military and administrative command in Kharkiv, 1919
In January 1919, Parkhomenko became military commissar of Kharkiv Governorate, commander of the Kharkiv garrison, and plenipotentiary for supply to the Kharkiv Military District. He commanded troops deployed to suppress the Hryhoriv uprising and, on 15 May, drove Hryhoriv's supporters out of Yekaterinoslav. A biographical entry reproducing material from the Soviet Great Encyclopedia records that he received the Order of the Red Banner for leading the operation. He later commanded the Kharkiv fortified zone, organized in response to Denikin's advance. The defense of Kharkiv failed in June 1919, when forces under his command were defeated in a clash with General May-Mayevsky's Volunteer Army.