Latvian former Imperial colonel who commanded the Red 5th Army at Kazan and the Southern Front in the winter of 1918–1919
A regular officer of the Imperial army from a Latvian peasant family in Vidzeme, he won the St George sword in the First World War and became a colonel in 1917. In 1918, after serving with the Latvian Rifle Division, he commanded the Eastern Front's 5th Army from 16 August to 20 October and took part in the recapture of Kazan; Trotsky recalled appointing "the Latvian officer Slavin" to that command at Sviyazhsk. In November he became commander of the Southern Front and fought the Don Army near Tsaritsyn until January 1919. In March 1919 he was made commander-in-chief of the army of Soviet Latvia, was dismissed in June after failing to hold Riga, crossed the front in July, gave himself up to the Latvian side in November and died of pneumonia in the Valmiera internment camp.
Also known as: Pēteris Slavens · Peteris Slavens
Activities and affiliations
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1893–1918
Russian Empire state institutions
Military command -
1918–1919
Soviet Union state institutionsMain
Military command
Career Timeline
- 1893Graduated from the Kazan military school
- 1914Battle of Warsaw; St George sword
- 1916Chief of staff, 67th Tarutino Infantry Regiment
- 1917Colonel; commander of the 730th Infantry Regiment
- 1918Supply chief of the Latvian Rifle Division
- 1918Commander of the 1st Kazan Infantry Division
- 1918Commander of the 5th Army, Eastern Front; recapture of Kazan
- 1918–1919Commander of the Southern Front
- 1919Commander-in-chief of the army of Soviet Latvia; dismissed in June
- 1919Commander of the 15th Army (June)
- 1919Crossed the front and surrendered to Latvia; died in the Valmiera camp