Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Alexandrovich Antonov-Ovseyenko , real surname Ovseyenko, party aliases the 'Bayonet' (Штык) and 'Nikita' (Ники́та), a literary pseudonym A. Gal (А. Га́льский), was a prominent Soviet
Bolshevik
leader and diplomat. He was born in Chernigov
into an officer's family.
In 1903, Antonov-Ovseyenko joined the Menshevik party. During the Russian Revolution of 1905
, he led an uprising in Novo-Alexandria in Poland
and Sevastopol
in the Crimea
. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to twenty years' exile in Siberia
. He soon escaped and by 1910 had emigrated
to Paris
.
Soon after the outbreak of World War I
, Antonov-Ovseyenko became a Menshevik in protest at the conflict. In May 1917, he joined the Bolshevik party and returned to Russia, taking part in the October stage of the 1917 Revolution
. On 25 October he led the Bolshevik assault to capture the Winter Palace
, and arrested the ministers of the Russian Provisional Government
(excluding Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky, who had fled prior to the attack). He was elected to the Military Committee of Sovnarkom and soon thereafter given a high position in the Red Army
.
In December 1917, Antonov-Ovseyenko was put in charge of the Red Army in Ukraine
and southern Russia. The army subsequently captured Kharkov, where Soviet power in Ukraine was proclaimed. In 1918 and 1919, Antonov-Ovseyenko oversaw the defeat of Ukrainian nationalist and White Army
forces in Ukraine, ensuring the creation of the Ukrainian SSR.
By the end of the Russian Civil War
, Antonov-Ovseyenko was in charge of the Tambov Governorate
, brutally suppressing the 1920-1921 Tambov Rebellion
alongside Mikhail Tukhachevsky
, with the use of chemical weapons
During the 1920s, Antonov-Ovseyenko was a close ally of Leon Trotsky
in the Soviet government and was later appointed consul for Czechoslovakia
, Lithuania
, and Poland
(1930–1934). In 1934, Antonov-Ovseyenko became the Russian SFSR's chief prosecutor and later the special Soviet consul in Barcelona
during the Spanish Civil War
, where he directed the supply of Soviet aid to the Second Spanish Republic
. He was recalled to Moscow
in August 1937 where he talked with Joseph Stalin
about the events in Spain. After a month without a job he was appointed People's Commissar for Justice of the Russian SFSR in September 1937.
He was arrested in February 1938 during Stalin's Great Purge
and executed.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
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....
leader and diplomat. He was born in Chernigov
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
into an officer's family.
In 1903, Antonov-Ovseyenko joined the Menshevik party. During the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
, he led an uprising in Novo-Alexandria in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
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...
. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to twenty years' exile 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...
. He soon escaped and by 1910 had emigrated
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Soon after the outbreak 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...
, Antonov-Ovseyenko became a Menshevik in protest at the conflict. In May 1917, he joined the Bolshevik party and returned to Russia, taking part in the October stage of the 1917 Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
. On 25 October he led the Bolshevik assault to capture the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
, and arrested the ministers of 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...
(excluding Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky, who had fled prior to the attack). He was elected to the Military Committee of Sovnarkom and soon thereafter given a high position 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...
.
In December 1917, Antonov-Ovseyenko was put in charge of the Red Army in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and southern Russia. The army subsequently captured Kharkov, where Soviet power in Ukraine was proclaimed. In 1918 and 1919, Antonov-Ovseyenko oversaw the defeat of Ukrainian nationalist and White Army
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...
forces in Ukraine, ensuring the creation of the Ukrainian SSR.
By the end 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...
, Antonov-Ovseyenko was in charge of the Tambov Governorate
Tambov Governorate
Tambov Governorate was the administrative unit of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic, and later the Russian SFSR with the center in the city of Tambov. The governorate was located between 51°14' and 55°6' of north latitude and between 38°9' and 43°38' east longitude...
, brutally suppressing the 1920-1921 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...
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:...
, with the use of chemical weapons
During the 1920s, Antonov-Ovseyenko was a close ally of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
in the Soviet government and was later appointed consul for Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(1930–1934). In 1934, Antonov-Ovseyenko became the Russian SFSR's chief prosecutor and later the special Soviet consul in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, where he directed the supply of Soviet aid to the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
. He was recalled to 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...
in August 1937 where he talked with Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
about the events in Spain. After a month without a job he was appointed People's Commissar for Justice of the Russian SFSR in September 1937.
He was arrested in February 1938 during Stalin's Great Purge
Great 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...
and executed.
See also
- Albert Reese Williams, American journalist that wrote numerous books about the revolutionary activities in Petrograd of 1917-1918 as being the primary eyewitness of the events. He mentioned Ovsienko as the military leader of the October RevolutionOctober RevolutionThe 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...
. On several occasions he visited the Soviet Union before the World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.