Ieronim Uborevich
Encyclopedia
Ieronim Petrovich Uborevich ' onMouseout='HidePop("85401")' href="/topics/Užpaliai">Užpaliai
, Utena County
, Lithuania – June 12, 1937 in Moscow
) was a Soviet military commander of the Red Army
during the Russian Civil War
, and eventually attained the rank of Army Commander, 1st Rank, equivalent to General of the Army
after old Imperial ranks were reintroduced in 1940.
in Latvia. In 1914–15 he attended the Petrograd Polytechnic
. He joined the Konstantinovskoye Artillery School in 1915 graduating in 1916 and joining the Imperial Russian Army
.
, serving as a junior officer in the Imperial Russian Army. He joined the Bolshevik
s after the Russian Revolution. In January 1918, he commanded a detachment of Red Guards
in Belarus and was captured by the Germans but escaped. During the Russian Civil War
, he served in a variety of command posts in the Red Army
, commanding the 9th, 13th, and 14th Armies. He fought alongside Mikhail Tukhachevsky
in the Polish–Soviet War and in suppressing the Tambov Rebellion
in 1921. In 1922 he became War Minister of the short-lived Far Eastern Republic
, a buffer state between Soviet Russia and Japan.
In 1925 he became commander of the North Caucasus Military District
, and then in 1928 the Moscow Military District
. He served as the Red Army's Chief of Armaments from 1928–1931 and Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council from 1930 to 1931. From 1931–1937, he was commander of the Belorussian Military District
, one of the two (along with the Kiev Military District
) key commands that would bear the brunt of any Soviet war along its western border.
of the Red Army. In May 1937, Uborevich was tried by the NKVD
in an event known as the Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
. He was executed in June 1937 and posthumously rehabilitated
in 1957.
Užpaliai
Užpaliai is a town in Utena County, Lithuania. According to the 2001 census, the town has a population of 877 people.-References:2. Jewish History - Uzpaliai KehilaLinks site at http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Uzpaliai/Uzpaliai.htm...
, Utena County
Utena County
Utena County is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is the most sparsely-populated county in Lithuania. The capital and the largest city in the county is Utena, which is located from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania...
, Lithuania – June 12, 1937 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...
) was a Soviet military commander of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
during 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...
, and eventually attained the rank of Army Commander, 1st Rank, equivalent to General of the Army
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....
after old Imperial ranks were reintroduced in 1940.
Early life
Uborevich was born into a Lithuanian farming family. From 1909 to 1914 he studied at a high school in DaugavpilsDaugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
in Latvia. In 1914–15 he attended the Petrograd Polytechnic
Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University
Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University is a major Russian technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. Previously it was known as the Peter the Great Polytechnical Institute and Kalinin Polytechnical Institute .-Imperial Russia:...
. He joined the Konstantinovskoye Artillery School in 1915 graduating in 1916 and joining the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
.
Military career
Uborevich began his military career during World War IWorld 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...
, serving as a junior officer in the Imperial Russian Army. He joined the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s after the Russian Revolution. In January 1918, he commanded a detachment of Red Guards
Red Guards (Russia)
In the context of the history of Russia and Soviet Union, Red Guards were paramilitary formations consisting of workers and partially of soldiers and sailors formed in the time frame of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in Belarus and was captured by the Germans but escaped. During 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...
, he served in a variety of command posts in the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, commanding the 9th, 13th, and 14th Armies. He fought alongside Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, commander in chief of the Red Army , and one of the most prominent victims of Joseph Stalin's Great Purge.-Early life:...
in the Polish–Soviet War and in suppressing the Tambov Rebellion
Tambov Rebellion
The Tambov Rebellion which occurred between 1920 and 1921 was one of the largest and best-organized peasant rebellions challenging the Bolshevik regime during the Russian Civil War. The uprising took place in the territories of the modern Tambov Oblast and part of the Voronezh Oblast, less than...
in 1921. In 1922 he became War Minister of the short-lived Far Eastern Republic
Far Eastern Republic
The Far Eastern Republic , sometimes called the Chita Republic, was a nominally independent state that existed from April 1920 to November 1922 in the easternmost part of the Russian Far East...
, a buffer state between Soviet Russia and Japan.
In 1925 he became commander of the North Caucasus Military District
North Caucasus Military District
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Ground Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also includes the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla....
, and then in 1928 the Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
. He served as the Red Army's Chief of Armaments from 1928–1931 and Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council from 1930 to 1931. From 1931–1937, he was commander of the Belorussian Military District
Belorussian Military District
The Byelorussian Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally in the times of Russian Civil War it formed as the Western Front, and in April 1924 it was renamed to the Western Military District. In October 1926 it was redesignated the Belorussian Military...
, one of the two (along with the Kiev Military District
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District was a Russian unit of military-administrative division of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Ukrainian Army, RKKA, and Soviet Armed Forces...
) key commands that would bear the brunt of any Soviet war along its western border.
Great Purge
Uborevich was arrested during the Great PurgeGreat Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
of the Red Army. In May 1937, Uborevich was tried by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
in an event known as the Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
The Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization was a 1937 secret trial of the high command of the Red Army, orchestrated by Joseph Stalin as part of the Great Purge.-Defendants:...
. He was executed in June 1937 and posthumously rehabilitated
Rehabilitation (Soviet)
Rehabilitation in the context of the former Soviet Union, and the Post-Soviet states, was the restoration of a person who was criminally prosecuted without due basis, to the state of acquittal...
in 1957.