Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin
Encyclopedia
Alexei Maximovich Kaledin was a Russian
Full General of Cavalry who led the Don Cossack White movement
in the opening stages of the Russian Civil War
.
Military School, the Mikhaylovskoye Artillery School in Saint Petersburg
(1882) and the General Staff Academy
(1889). From 1903 to 1906, he served as principal at the Novocherkassk
Military School. From 1906 to 1910, Kaledin served as Assistant Chief of Staff of the Don Army.
During World War I
, he was a commander of the 12th Cavalry Division
and of the 8th Army of the South-West Front. Kaledin did not accept the February Revolution
of 1917 and was relieved of his commanding post due to his refusal to carry out Provisional Government
's orders regarding democratization
in the army. On June 17, 1917, Kaledin was appointed Ataman
of the Don Cossack Host by the Cossack community and, at the insistence of Mitrofan Bogayevsky, became the head of the newly established Cossack "Army Government
" (Войсковое правительство), restored for the first time since 1709. In August 1917, in Moscow
, Kaledin came forward with his program of suppression of the revolutionary movement.
On August 29, local authorities of Novocherkassk
decided to ask Alexander Kerensky
to relieve General Kaledin of his post and to arrest him for spreading pro-Kornilov
propaganda
among the Cossacks of the Don region. On August 31, the prosecutor
of the Court of Novocherkassk received a telegram from Kerensky, saying that Kaledin had been officially relieved of his post and should be arrested immediately and tried for incitement
.
The Cossack Host
Command decided to listen to what Kaledin had to say, first, and then to send him to Mogilev
to explain himself in the headquarters
of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief
, as Kerensky had requested. On September 6, Kaledin tried to protect Kornilov from the attacks of the Cossack Army Command. On October 25 (the beginning of the October Revolution
), Kaledin stated that until the authority of the Provisional Government in Russia
was fully restored, the Don Cossack Army would assume total control over the Don region.
This statement marked the beginning of the Kaledinschina, a counterrevolutionary rebellion
in the Don region. The loss of Rostov-on-the-Don and the ensuing Ice March
led Kaledin to believe that the whole situation had been hopeless. On January 29, 1918, he resigned from his post and committed suicide.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
Full General of Cavalry who led the Don Cossack White movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
in the opening stages of the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
.
Biography
Kaledin graduated from the VoronezhVoronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
Military School, the Mikhaylovskoye Artillery School in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
(1882) and the General Staff Academy
General Staff Academy (Imperial Russia)
The General Staff Academy was a Russian military academy, established in 1832 in St.Petersburg. It was first known as the Imperial Military Academy , then in 1855 it was renamed Nicholas General Staff Academy and in 1909 - Imperial Nicholas Military Academy The General Staff Academy was a...
(1889). From 1903 to 1906, he served as principal at the Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Tuzlov River and on the Aksay River. Population: 169,039 ; 170,822 ; 178,000 ; 123,000 ; 81,000 ; 52,000 ....
Military School. From 1906 to 1910, Kaledin served as Assistant Chief of Staff of the Don Army.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was a commander of the 12th Cavalry Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
and of the 8th Army of the South-West Front. Kaledin did not accept the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
of 1917 and was relieved of his commanding post due to his refusal to carry out Provisional Government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
's orders regarding democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
in the army. On June 17, 1917, Kaledin was appointed Ataman
Ataman
Ataman was a commander title of the Ukrainian People's Army, Cossack, and haidamak leaders, who were in essence the Cossacks...
of the Don Cossack Host by the Cossack community and, at the insistence of Mitrofan Bogayevsky, became the head of the newly established Cossack "Army Government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
" (Войсковое правительство), restored for the first time since 1709. In August 1917, in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Kaledin came forward with his program of suppression of the revolutionary movement.
On August 29, local authorities of Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Tuzlov River and on the Aksay River. Population: 169,039 ; 170,822 ; 178,000 ; 123,000 ; 81,000 ; 52,000 ....
decided to ask Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
to relieve General Kaledin of his post and to arrest him for spreading pro-Kornilov
Lavr Kornilov
Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov was a military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and the ensuing Russian Civil War...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
among the Cossacks of the Don region. On August 31, the prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
of the Court of Novocherkassk received a telegram from Kerensky, saying that Kaledin had been officially relieved of his post and should be arrested immediately and tried for incitement
Incitement
In English criminal law, incitement was an anticipatory common law offence and was the act of persuading, encouraging, instigating, pressuring, or threatening so as to cause another to commit a crime....
.
The Cossack Host
Don Army
The Don Army was part of the White movement of the Russian Civil War, operating from 1917 to 1919, in the Don region and centered in the town of Novocherkassk.- History :...
Command decided to listen to what Kaledin had to say, first, and then to send him to Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
to explain himself in the headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
, as Kerensky had requested. On September 6, Kaledin tried to protect Kornilov from the attacks of the Cossack Army Command. On October 25 (the beginning of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
), Kaledin stated that until the authority of the Provisional Government in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
was fully restored, the Don Cossack Army would assume total control over the Don region.
This statement marked the beginning of the Kaledinschina, a counterrevolutionary rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
in the Don region. The loss of Rostov-on-the-Don and the ensuing Ice March
Ice March
The Ice March , also called the First Kuban Campaign , a military withdrawal lasting from February to May 1918, was one of the defining moments in the Russian Civil War of 1917 to 1921...
led Kaledin to believe that the whole situation had been hopeless. On January 29, 1918, he resigned from his post and committed suicide.
Honours and awards
- Order of St. AnnaOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
, 3rd class (1897) - Order of Saint StanislausOrder of Saint StanislausThe Order of Saint Stanislaus , also spelled Stanislas, was an Order in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Kingdom of Poland between 1765 and 1831 and of Russian Empire from 1831 to 1917.-History of the Order of Saint Stanislaus:Stanisław August Poniatowski, King of Poland, established the...
, 2nd class (1902) - Order of St. GeorgeOrder of St. GeorgeThe Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
, 4th class for the battle on the river near the village of Hnyla Lypa, October 12, 1914. - Order of St. GeorgeOrder of St. GeorgeThe Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
, 3rd class for the battle of Kalush, September 12, 1915. - Sword of St. GeorgeGold Sword for BraveryThe Gold Sword for Bravery was a Russian Empire award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the St George Sword and considered as one of the grades of the Order...