The White ataman who ruled Transbaikal under Japanese protection and defied Kolchak
«…in the conditions of the nascent civil war, all softness and humanity must be cast aside»: justifying his White Terror policy in his memoirs About Myself.
Born a Transbaikal Cossack, he was a capable cavalry officer decorated with the Order of St. George in the First World War. In late 1917 he formed the Special Manchurian Detachment (OMO), opening one of the first fronts of the Siberian civil war; with Japanese military and financial backing he seized the Transbaikal region and established the 'Eastern Outskirts' government. He defied Kolchak's authority and built an independent power base, while the mass White Terror carried out under his rule was so brutal that US Army intelligence investigated it as a war crime. After his defeat in 1920 he continued anti-Soviet activities in Manchuria under Japanese patronage until Soviet forces captured him in 1945 and he was hanged.
Career Timeline
- 1908–1911Graduated Orenburg Cossack Military School, commissioned as khorunzhiy
- 1914–1916Served in WWI, awarded Order of St. George 4th class and St. George's Weapon; promoted to yesaul
- 1917.12–1918Formed Special Manchurian Detachment (OMO), led anti-Bolshevik uprising in Transbaikal
- 1918–1919Captured Chita, elected Ataman of Transbaikal Cossack Host; clashed with Kolchak then reconciled
- 1920.1–10Supreme authority of Russian Eastern Outskirts, formed Far Eastern Army; defeated Oct, fled to Manchuria by plane
- 1921–1945Exile in Japan and Manchuria, collaborated with Japanese military; BREM chairman (1943–1945)
- 1945.8–1946.8Captured by Soviet forces, tried and hanged in Moscow