Mikhail Dieterichs
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Konstantinovich Diterikhs was a general in the Imperial Russian Army
and subsequently a key figure in the White movement
in Siberia
during the Russian Civil War
, noted in particular for his monarchist and anti-Semitic views.
ancestry who served a general of the Russian Imperial Army in the Caucasus
and a Russian noblewoman. In 1900, Diterikhs graduated from the Page Corps
and was assigned a post in the Life Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. In 1900, he graduated from the Nikolaevsky Military Academy
in St. Petersburg
. From 1900 to 1903 he served in various the staff positions in the Moscow Military District
. In 1903 he was appointed commander of the squadron in the 3rd Dragoon
Regiment.
With the start of the Russo-Japanese War
in 1904, Diterikhs became chief officer for special duties at the 17th Army Corps headquarters. He arrived at the front in Manchuria
in August 1904, and participated in the Battle of Liaoyang
, Battle of Shaho
and Battle of Mukden
. By the end of the war, he was a lieutenant. After the end of the warm ge returned to Moscow, and in 1906 was chief officer for special duties at the 7th Army Corps headquarters. The following year, he had the same position at the Kiev Military District
headquarters. He was promoted to colonel in 1909. In 1910, he served as a senior aide at the Kiev Military District headquarters. From 1913, Diterikhs was head of the Mobilization Department of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.
With the start of World War I
, Diterikhs was assigned as Chief of Staff for the Russian Third Army
on the Southwestern Front
under the command of General Aleksei Brusilov
, with whom he assisted in planning the Brusilov Offensive
in August 1916. In September of the same year, he commanded a Russian expeditionary force in Thessaloniki
on the Macedonian front
in support of the Serbian Army
.
After the February Revolution
, Diterikhs was recalled to Russia. In August 1917 the Russian Provisional Government
offered Diterikhs the position of Minister of War, which he refused. By November 3, 1917, Diterikhs was promoted to the chief of staff of the Russian army's headquarters
, but managed to escape arrest during the Bolshevik revolution. Diterikhs escaped to Kiev
, then made his way to Siberia
where the Czechoslovak Legions
asked him to become their staff of staff. He helped the Czech Legion to organize their first resistance in May 1918, and commanded their Irkutsk
-Chita-Vladivostok
armed group.
Diterikhs was ordered by Admiral Kolchak to arrest the Ufa
directory but delayed his move. After a few days on November 26, 1918 he finally agreed to obey to Kolchak's order and simultaneously resigned from the Czech Legion after a period of tense relations.
From January to July 1919 Diterikhs personally supervised the Sokolov's investigation of the murder of Tsar Nicholas II
. He later published a book on the subject when already living abroad titled The Murder of the Royal Family and members of the House of Romanoffs in the Urals (Убийство Царской семьи и членов Дома Романовых на Урале), in which he claimed that the execution of the Romanoffs was a ritual murder.
In July 1919 Diterikhs took command of the Siberian Army of Admiral Kolchak. He assisted in creation of various paramilitary militias in support of the White movement and the Russian Orthodox Church
against the Bolsheviks. In September 1919 he commanded Admiral Kolchak’s last successful offensive against the Red Army, the Toblsk Operation. However, in December 1919 he resigned after a bitter quarrel with Kolchak and emigrated to Harbin
in Manchuria.
Periodically Diterikhs figured in the negotiations between the Provisional Priamurye Government
and other White forces. On June 8, 1922, Diterikhs returned to take over the Army of Verzhbitski as well as the civil administration. Based in the Amur Krai, Diterikhs proceeded to reorganize the army and civil government, much in the way General Pyotr Wrangel had done in the Crimea
two years earlier. Taking a hands-on approach, Diterikhs made efforts to enlist the support of the local population for his cause, calling his battle a religious crusade against Bolshevism. He had also tried, in vain, to convince the Japanese not to withdraw their military support
.
Diterikhs founded the last Zemsky Sobor
on Russian soil on July 23, 1922. On August 8, 1922, the sobor declared that the throne of Russia belongs to the House of Romanov
in the person of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov. It also named Diterikhs as the ruler of the Provisional Priamur Government and its armed forces. On October 25, 1922, the Bolsheviks defeated Diterikhs's army, forcing an evacuation from Vladivostok to China and Korea
via Japan
ese ships.
After May 1923 Diterikhs moved from a military refugee camp to Harbin where many White emigre
s settled. He became the head of the Far East chapter of the Russian All-Military Union
organization. Diterikhs died in Shanghai in 1937, where he was buried.
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...
and subsequently a key figure in the 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 Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
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...
, noted in particular for his monarchist and anti-Semitic views.
Biography
Diterikhs was born to a father of CzechCzech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
ancestry who served a general of the Russian Imperial Army in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and a Russian noblewoman. In 1900, Diterikhs graduated from the Page Corps
Cadet Corps (Russia)
The Cadet Corps is an admissions-based all boys military academy which prepared boys to become commissioned officers. Boys between the ages of 8 and 15 were enrolled. It was founded in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire in 1731 by Tsarina Anne. The term of education was seven years...
and was assigned a post in the Life Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. In 1900, he graduated from the Nikolaevsky Military 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...
in St. 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...
. From 1900 to 1903 he served in various the staff positions in 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...
. In 1903 he was appointed commander of the squadron in the 3rd Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
Regiment.
With the start of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
in 1904, Diterikhs became chief officer for special duties at the 17th Army Corps headquarters. He arrived at the front in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
in August 1904, and participated in the Battle of Liaoyang
Battle of Liaoyang
The Battle of Liaoyang was one of the major land battles of the Russo-Japanese War....
, Battle of Shaho
Battle of Shaho
The Battle of Shaho was a land battle of the Russo-Japanese War fought along a front centered at the Sha River on the Mukden–Port Arthur spur of the China Far East Railway just north of Liaoyang, Manchuria.-Background:...
and Battle of Mukden
Battle of Mukden
One of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I, the , the last major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden in Manchuria...
. By the end of the war, he was a lieutenant. After the end of the warm ge returned to Moscow, and in 1906 was chief officer for special duties at the 7th Army Corps headquarters. The following year, he had the same position at 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...
headquarters. He was promoted to colonel in 1909. In 1910, he served as a senior aide at the Kiev Military District headquarters. From 1913, Diterikhs was head of the Mobilization Department of the Main Directorate of the General Staff.
With the start of 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...
, Diterikhs was assigned as Chief of Staff for the Russian Third Army
3rd Army (Russian Empire)
The Russian Third Army was a World War I Russian field army that fought on the Eastern theatre of war.Field management was established in July 1914 at the headquarters of the Kiev Military District. The unit was disbanded in the beginning of 1918...
on the Southwestern Front
Southwestern Front (Russian Empire)
The Southwestern Front was a major unit of the Imperial Russian Army during the First World War. It was established on 19 August 1914.- Commanders of the Southwestern Front :* 19.07.1914-17.03.1916 — General of Infantry Nikolai Ivanov...
under the command of General Aleksei Brusilov
Aleksei Brusilov
Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov was a Russian general most noted for the development of new offensive tactics used in the 1916 offensive which would come to bear his name. The innovative and relatively successful tactics used were later copied by the Germans...
, with whom he assisted in planning the Brusilov Offensive
Brusilov Offensive
The Brusilov Offensive , also known as the June Advance, was the Russian Empire's greatest feat of arms during World War I, and among the most lethal battles in world history. Prof. Graydon A. Tunstall of the University of South Florida called the Brusilov Offensive of 1916 the worst crisis of...
in August 1916. In September of the same year, he commanded a Russian expeditionary force in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
on the Macedonian front
Macedonian front (World War I)
The Macedonian Front resulted from an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The expedition came too late and in insufficient force to prevent the fall of Serbia, and was complicated by the internal...
in support of the Serbian Army
Serbian Army
-Objectives:The Serbian Army is responsible for:* deterring armed threats* defending Serbia's territory* participation in peacekeeping operations* providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief-Personnel:...
.
After 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...
, Diterikhs was recalled to Russia. In August 1917 the Russian Provisional Government
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
offered Diterikhs the position of Minister of War, which he refused. By November 3, 1917, Diterikhs was promoted to the chief of staff of the Russian army's headquarters
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
, but managed to escape arrest during the Bolshevik revolution. Diterikhs escaped to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, then made his way to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
where the Czechoslovak Legions
Czechoslovak Legions
The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...
asked him to become their staff of staff. He helped the Czech Legion to organize their first resistance in May 1918, and commanded their Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
-Chita-Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
armed group.
Diterikhs was ordered by Admiral Kolchak to arrest the Ufa
Ufa
-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...
directory but delayed his move. After a few days on November 26, 1918 he finally agreed to obey to Kolchak's order and simultaneously resigned from the Czech Legion after a period of tense relations.
From January to July 1919 Diterikhs personally supervised the Sokolov's investigation of the murder of Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. He later published a book on the subject when already living abroad titled The Murder of the Royal Family and members of the House of Romanoffs in the Urals (Убийство Царской семьи и членов Дома Романовых на Урале), in which he claimed that the execution of the Romanoffs was a ritual murder.
In July 1919 Diterikhs took command of the Siberian Army of Admiral Kolchak. He assisted in creation of various paramilitary militias in support of the White movement and the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
against the Bolsheviks. In September 1919 he commanded Admiral Kolchak’s last successful offensive against the Red Army, the Toblsk Operation. However, in December 1919 he resigned after a bitter quarrel with Kolchak and emigrated to Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
in Manchuria.
Periodically Diterikhs figured in the negotiations between the Provisional Priamurye Government
Provisional Priamurye Government
The Provisional Priamurye Government existed in the Siberian region of Priamurye, Russia, between May 27, 1921 and October 25, 1922...
and other White forces. On June 8, 1922, Diterikhs returned to take over the Army of Verzhbitski as well as the civil administration. Based in the Amur Krai, Diterikhs proceeded to reorganize the army and civil government, much in the way General Pyotr Wrangel had done in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
two years earlier. Taking a hands-on approach, Diterikhs made efforts to enlist the support of the local population for his cause, calling his battle a religious crusade against Bolshevism. He had also tried, in vain, to convince the Japanese not to withdraw their military support
Japan during the Siberian Intervention
The ' of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Imperial Japanese Army to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army during the Russian Civil War....
.
Diterikhs founded the last Zemsky Sobor
Zemsky Sobor
The zemsky sobor was the first Russian parliament of the feudal Estates type, in the 16th and 17th centuries. The term roughly means assembly of the land. It could be summoned either by tsar, or patriarch, or the Boyar Duma...
on Russian soil on July 23, 1922. On August 8, 1922, the sobor declared that the throne of Russia belongs to the House of Romanov
Romanov
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the February Revolution abolished the crown in 1917...
in the person of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov. It also named Diterikhs as the ruler of the Provisional Priamur Government and its armed forces. On October 25, 1922, the Bolsheviks defeated Diterikhs's army, forcing an evacuation from Vladivostok to China and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
via Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese ships.
After May 1923 Diterikhs moved from a military refugee camp to Harbin where many White emigre
White Emigre
A white émigré was a Russian who emigrated from Russia in the wake of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, and who was in opposition to the contemporary Russian political climate....
s settled. He became the head of the Far East chapter of the Russian All-Military Union
Russian All-Military Union
The Russian All-Military Union was founded by White Army General Pyotr Wrangel in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on September 1, 1924...
organization. Diterikhs died in Shanghai in 1937, where he was buried.
Honors
- Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd degree, 1902
- Order of St. Anne
Order 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 degree with swords and bow, 1904 (Battle of Liaoyang) - Order of St Vladimir, 4th degree with swords and bow, 1906
- Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd degree with swords, 1905 (Battle of Mukden)
- Order of St. AnneOrder 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...
2nd degree with swords, 1905 - Order of St. Stanislaus 1st degree with swords, 1915
- Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
, with palm branch, 1916 (France) - Order of St Vladimir, 2nd degree with swords, 1917
- Legion of Honor, Officer Cross, 1917 (France)
