The outstanding Russian military leader, national hero of the Bulgarian people Mikhail Skobelev was born in St. Petersburg 172 years ago - September 29, 1843.
Fate decreed that the “white general”, who received this nickname for the light robe that he wore during numerous battles, was awaited by early glory, mysterious death and complete oblivion.
“Tremble, Asians!”
The name of General Skobelev enjoyed incredible popularity in all layers of Russian society. During his lifetime, squares and cities were named after him, and songs were written about his exploits and campaigns. The portrait of the “white general” hung in almost every Russian peasant hut, near the icons.
Popularity came to the general after the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78 to liberate the fraternal Balkan peoples from the Ottoman yoke. Not a single military leader in Russian history has received such popular adoration.
Skobelev faced fame during his lifetime and complete disappearance from history under the Soviet Union. Photo: Public Domain
Mikhail Skobelev was born in the Peter and Paul Fortress. As a child, he was raised by his grandfather Ivan Nikitich Skobelev, the commandant of the main fortress in the country. He was a retired military man, a hero of the battle of Borodino and Maloyaroslavets, and took Paris. It is clear that his grandson, like most noble offspring, was prepared for military service from childhood.
Later, Mikhail went to study in France. The young man spoke eight languages, and spoke French no worse than Russian. In 1861, Skobelev entered St. Petersburg University, but subsequently the craving for military affairs overpowered him - the young man went to serve at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. Unlike many officers who preferred playing cards and carousing to science, Skobelev read a lot and educated himself.
Skobelev received his first serious baptism of fire during the campaign of Russian troops against Khiva in the spring of 1873. The Russian state made an attempt to deal with the center of the slave trade in Central Asia. For a century and a half, the Khanate of Khiva was a market for Russian slaves. Since the time of Catherine II, huge amounts of money have been allocated from the budget to ransom their subjects from Asian captivity. Russian slaves were highly valued because they were considered the most hardy and quick-witted workers. And for a beautiful young woman they sometimes gave up to 1 thousand rubles, which was a colossal sum at that time.
During skirmishes with the enemy, Skobelev received five wounds inflicted by a pike and a saber. With a detachment, he advanced 730 versts through the desert and took Khiva without a fight. More than 25 thousand slaves were immediately freed.
Hot and glorious time
Skobelev was not afraid to personally conduct reconnaissance in enemy territories. He dressed in the clothes of commoners and went on forays. Thus, he earned his first St. George Cross when he studied the route in detail among hostile Turkmen tribes. Later, he also went to Constantinople, studying the preparation of Ottoman troops for the defense of the city.
“General M. D. Skobelev on horseback” N. D. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, (1883). Photo: Public Domain
Contemporaries admitted that the commander received all his awards and distinctions not through patronage, but through battle, showing his soldiers by personal example how to fight. In 1875, Skobelev’s troops defeated the 60 thousand army of Kokand rebels, their number was 17 times greater than the number of Russian troops. Despite this, the enemy was completely defeated, our losses amounted to six people. For these military successes, Mikhail Dmitrievich, at the age of 32, was awarded the rank of major general.
Thanks to the leadership of the young general, slavery and child trafficking were abolished everywhere in Central Asia, post and telegraph appeared, and construction of the railway began.
In 1876, a popular uprising broke out in Bulgaria against the Ottoman yoke. Hundreds of Russian volunteer doctors and nurses went to the Balkans. The uprising was drowned in blood, Turkish troops massacred tens of thousands of Bulgarians. Cities were turned into piles of ash, priests and monks were beheaded, babies were thrown into the air and caught on bayonets. Emperor Alexander II was shocked by the cruelty of the Ottomans. Skobelev could not stay away from these bloody events and in 1877 he returned to the active army. He took part in many battles, later becoming the liberator of Bulgaria.
“A hot and glorious time began, all of Russia rose in spirit and heart,” Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky wrote about those events.
Father to soldiers
Skobelev’s bravery and courage were combined with the foresight and prudence of an experienced military leader. Little things relating to a soldier's life did not escape his attention. Not a single subordinate of the “white general” died from frostbite during the trek through the mountains. He forced everyone to take at least one log with them. And when other soldiers were freezing because they could not make fires, Skobelev’s soldiers were warmed and fed with hot food.
Skobelev did not hesitate to talk with ordinary soldiers; he ate, drank, and slept with the privates. In these qualities, the general was very similar to another great Russian commander, Alexander Suvorov.
Skobelev's most famous exploits in the Russian-Turkish war were the defeat and capture of the entire army of Wessel Pasha and the capture of two fortresses during the assault on Plevna. The general himself led his soldiers under heavy enemy fire.
In total, more than 200 thousand Russian soldiers and officers died during the Russian-Turkish war for the liberation of the Balkan Slavs.
Disappeared from history
Skobelev became the first governor of liberated Plevna. There he met with the Emperor of Russia, who highly appreciated the merits of the commander. After this war, the “white general” became very famous in the country. In 1880, Skobelev took part in the Akhal-Teke expedition. Then, with a detachment of seven thousand people, he took the enemy fortress with a fourfold superiority of the defenders.
Mikhail Skobelev died at the age of 38 under mysterious circumstances. Having received leave, he arrived in Moscow, where, as usual, he stayed at the Dusso Hotel. After several business meetings, I went to the Angleterre Hotel, where ladies of easy virtue lived. In the middle of the night, one of them ran to the janitor and reported that an officer had suddenly died in her room. The cause of death of the fearless commander is still unclear. It was rumored that German intelligence took part in the elimination of the brilliant military leader. The doctor who performed the autopsy stated that death was the result of sudden paralysis of the heart, which was in a terrible state. The general's death shocked all of Russia; his funeral turned into a national event.
After the October Revolution, all the gains of autocratic Russia began to be erased from history. In 1918, the monument to Skobelev in Moscow was barbarically destroyed on Lenin’s personal order. In accordance with the decree on the “removal of monuments erected in honor of the kings and their servants.” All bronze figures and bas-reliefs were sawn, broken into pieces and sent for melting down. And the granite pedestal was simply blown up.
Immediately, Soviet historians, with great zeal and pleasure, declared the general an enslaver and oppressor of the working masses and fraternal peoples of the East. In place of the destroyed monument to the general, a plaster monument to revolutionary freedom was erected. Subsequently, a monument to Yuri Dolgoruky appeared here.
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Infantry General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev (1843–1882). To the 170th anniversary of his birth
N.D. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. General M.D. Skobelev on horseback. 1883 Irkutsk Regional Art Museum named after. V.P. Sukacheva
The 19th century occupied a special place in Russian history. He gave not only the country, but the whole world great scientists and writers, composers and artists, politicians and generals. The name of one of them serves as proof of this. He was called the “second Suvorov”, the Bulgarian brothers called him “the liberator general” in tribute of gratitude, the Turks with respect called him “Ak Pasha”, which means “white general”. Europe has equated M.D. Skobelev to Napoleon I. And the soldiers of the Russian army loved him infinitely and said about him: “He did not send to death, but led him.” Why is there so much honor and respect, veneration and gratitude to this man? Over the 19 years of his military career, M.D. Skobelev managed to visit the hell of 70 battles. He covered the military path from lieutenant to general in a record short time - 11 years (from 1864 to 1875). The geography of his service, his knowledge of religious and everyday traditions, the characteristics of both the peoples of Central Asia and the Balkan Peninsula, including the Turks, were also admired, for whom it was surprising that the famous general knew the Koran and quoted it in Arabic. At the same time, with the establishment of Soviet power in Russia, fearing the combination of “white general” and “White Guard”, his name was erased from literature and people’s memory for many years.
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M.D. Skobelev was born on September 17 (29), 1843 in St. Petersburg. The father of the future commander, Dmitry Ivanovich, rose to the rank of lieutenant general. The fate of M.D.’s mother is tragic. Skobeleva, Olga Nikolaevna, née Poltavtseva. She dedicated herself to helping the sick and wounded. Heading the Bulgarian department of the Red Cross and being on another trip, in 1880 she was killed by a gang of robbers. Mikhail's grandfather, Ivan Nikitich, in was an adjutant to M.I. Kutuzov, rose to the rank of infantry general, was the commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress, a military writer and playwright. He was the main figure in the home education of his grandson, who listened with obvious interest to his grandfather's stories about military campaigns and exploits. But soon I.N. Skobelev died, and the boy was left without his beloved teacher from the age of 6. |
Later, Mikhail was sent to France to study at the Desiderio Girardet boarding school, where the future general mastered a large amount of knowledge and several languages.
Returning to his homeland, in 1861 he entered the mathematics department of St. Petersburg University. But already in the fall of the same year, student unrest broke out at the university, and the authorities temporarily suspended classes. In the end, family traditions prevailed, and in November 1861, Mikhail Dmitrievich entered the Cavalry Guard Regiment as a volunteer. This became a turning point in his entire life. From then until his death, he could no longer imagine his life without the Russian army. 18-year-old Mikhail Skobelev, in the ranks of the cavalry guards, took the oath of allegiance to the sovereign and the Fatherland and with zeal began to learn the basics of military affairs. In March 1863 he was promoted to cornet; the following year, at his request, he was transferred to the Life Guards Grodno Hussar Regiment, stationed in Warsaw. In 1864 he took part in hostilities in Poland: with the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment he pursued a Polish detachment under the command of Shpak; as part of a flying detachment under the command of military foreman K.I. Zankisova received a baptism of fire in a battle with a Polish armed formation led by Shemiot in the Radkowice Forest; for bravery he was awarded his first military order - St. Anna, 4th class. In the memoirs of the officers of the Grodno regiment, he remained “a true gentleman and a dashing cavalry officer.”
In 1866, Lieutenant Skobelev entered the. This was the heyday of the academy, where such prominent military scientists as A.K. taught. Puzyrevsky. He studied unevenly, showing deep knowledge only in those subjects that interested him. He did not graduate from the Academy in the first row, but contrary to academic rules, he was still assigned to the General Staff. The general's biographer, journalist and writer V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko will write the following about this: “During practical tests in the North-Western Territory, Skobelev was asked to find the most convenient point for crossing the Neman. To do this, it was necessary to carry out reconnaissance of the entire course of the river. Instead, Skobelev lived all the time in the same place. A verification commission appeared with Lieutenant General G.A. Leer. Skobelev, when asked about the crossing, without thinking for a long time, jumped on his horse and, encouraging him with a whip, rushed straight into the Neman and swam safely across it both ways. This delighted Leer so much that he immediately insisted on enlisting the decisive and energetic officer in the General Staff.” Shortly before graduation from the Academy, Skobelev was promoted to the next rank - captain, and at the request of G.A. Leer, he was enrolled in the staff of officers of the General Staff.
In 1868, he was sent to Tashkent, where he was an officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District and, commanding the Siberian Cossack Hundred, took part in hostilities on the troubled Bukhara border. He also carried out other assignments there, in particular, he carried out cartographic surveys of the Zarevshansky district, which had recently been annexed to Russia. Despite the zealous performance of his duties with M.D. Skobelev’s service in Turkestan did not work out. Mikhail Dmitrievich’s character traits, described as “a lack of necessary restraint and tact,” often led to conflicts with colleagues, sometimes leading to duels. This behavior of M.D. Skobelev angered the commander of the Turkestan Military District, Lieutenant General K.P. Kaufman, and the officer were sent back to the reserve squadron of the Life Guards of the Grodno Hussar Regiment, and a year later, at the end of 1870, to the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Army. In the spring of 1871 M.D. Skobelev was sent to the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, where, as part of the colonel’s Krasnovodsk detachment, he studied the possibility of Russian troops crossing to Khiva through the northern part of the Karakum desert.
In April 1872 M.D. Skobelev was seconded to the General Staff, where he served on the Military Accounting Committee. But already in July he was appointed senior adjutant of the headquarters of the 22nd Infantry Division, stationed in Novgorod. In August, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel with a transfer to the headquarters of the Moscow Military District, but almost immediately he was seconded for qualification command of a battalion to the 74th Stavropol Infantry Regiment, located in the Maykop region.
In 1873, “for the liberation of our compatriots languishing in heavy captivity,” a campaign was being prepared for the Khanate of Khiva. The Stavropol regiment was not included in the number of units participating in the campaign. But Skobelev was not one of those officers who could be content with serving far from places where bullets whistled. If a direct route is ordered, then the officer asks for leave. The leave was received, and Skobelev arrived in Turkestan in the midst of preparations for the campaign. In April, Russian troops set out on a four-point campaign. Skobelev commands the vanguard of the Mangyshlak detachment of Colonel N.P. Lomakina. On May 6 (18), he distinguished himself in the battle of Itybay, then took part in the capture of Khiva. At the end of the Khiva campaign, Lieutenant Colonel Skobelev with a group of Turkmens made a reconnaissance of the routes into the interior of the country, outstanding in courage and daring. The reward for the daredevil was the Order of St. George, 4th class. In February 1874, Skobelev was promoted to colonel, and in April he was promoted to adjutant wing.
Khiva campaign 1873. Crossing of the Turkestan detachment across the river. Amu Darya. From a painting by N.N. Karazin
At the end of May 1875, he again sought to be sent to Turkestan, where the Kokand uprising broke out. As part of the detachment K.P. Kaufman M.D. Skobelev commanded the Cossack cavalry. He acted heroically during the reconnaissance of the area near Andijan, defeated the enemy near Tyurya-Kurgan, and distinguished himself during the assault on Namangan. Dressed in a white uniform, on a white horse, Mikhail Dmitrievich remained safe and sound after the hottest battles with the enemy (he himself, paying tribute to superstition, inspired himself and others that in white clothes he would never be killed). Already at that time, a legend had developed that he was charmed by bullets. For his distinction, Skobelev is awarded the rank of major general, and for the defeat of the enemy at Balykchymi on November 12 (24), he is awarded a sword with the inscription “For bravery.” During the 1876 campaign, Skobelev was entrusted with commanding a detachment consisting of 16 companies, 7.5 hundred Cossacks, as well as artillery, numbering 22 guns. On February 8 (20), his detachment occupied Kokand as a result of a surprise attack. The Kokand Khanate was annexed to Russia, and the Fergana region was formed on its territory. For his distinction in the Kokand campaign, Skobelev was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd class. and a golden sword decorated with diamonds.
The conquered Khanate was annexed to the Russian Empire under the name of the Fergana region, of which M.D. became the governor. Skobelev. In the summer of 1876, he led an expedition to the borders of Kashgaria, to the Tien Shan, which resulted in the annexation of the Alai land to the Fergana region, the occupation of the Kashgar border and the construction of the Gulchin-Alai road. However, in this position M.D. Skobelev stayed no more than a year, having left for St. Petersburg.
In the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, when Russia came to the aid of the fraternal Slavic peoples, M.D. decided to definitely participate. Skobelev. But in St. Petersburg by that time an unfriendly opinion had formed about the young general: he was accused of excessive ambition and an “intemperate” lifestyle. With difficulty M.D. Skobelev achieved appointment as chief of staff of the Caucasian Cossack division, which was commanded by his father. With the flying squad of M.D. On the day of the declaration of war, April 12 (24), 1877, Skobelev occupied the Barboshsky railway bridge over the Seret River and thereby ensured the unhindered movement of Russian troops towards Bulgaria. After the division was disbanded, he and his father ended up in the emperor's retinue. However, not wanting to sit idly by during the fighting, he left there for the position of orderly to the head of the 14th division, Major General. The division was tasked with crossing the Danube, and in this first major operation of Russian troops M.D. Skobelev again showed himself brilliantly. He saved the situation by rushing with a column of riflemen to attack directly at the Turkish positions bristling with fire, knocking out the enemy from there and thereby securing a bridgehead for the Russian troops.
M.D. Skobelev participated in almost all major clashes: June 25 (July 7) - in the reconnaissance and occupation of the city of Bela, July 3 (15) - in repelling the Turkish attack at Selvi and July 7 (19) -. Then he took part in two sad and bloody battles for our army, which were defended by one of the best military leaders in Turkey with a powerful group. Both attempts to take the city failed. During the Second Plevna, during the retreat of the Russian troops, the active actions of his small detachment saved the left wing of the Russian army, delaying the Turkish camps that intended to attack him. He developed and implemented a plan to capture the city of Lovchi, in which part of the Turkish troops were located. Then the detachment M.D. Skobelev, having captured three ridges of the Green Mountains and 2 redoubts, approached Plevna. However, under pressure from superior enemy forces, without receiving reinforcements, he was forced to retreat. For his heroism and courage, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 1st class. with swords and was appointed head of the 16th Infantry Division. After the fall of Plevna, the division M.D. Skobeleva, as part of the Russian troops, makes a difficult winter transition through the Balkans and participates in the battle of Sheinovo, in which the corps of Wessel Pasha was surrounded. The path to Istanbul was open. Realizing this, M.D. Skobelev, commanding the vanguard, ensures the capture of Andrianople, then takes the city of Chorlu, located 80 km from Istanbul. The Turks requested a truce and on February 19 (31), 1878, a peace treaty was signed between Turkey and Russia. Mikhail Dmitrievich is appointed commander of the 4th Army Corps left in Turkey.
In April 1879 M.D. Skobelev returned to Russia, where he was promoted to adjutant general. By the end of the 1870s. The struggle between Russia and England for influence in Central Asia intensified, and in 1880, Alexander II instructed M.D., who was at the zenith of his fame and popularity. Skobelev to lead the 2nd expedition of Russian troops to the Akhal-Teke oasis of Turkmenistan. The main goal of the campaign was to capture the Geok-Tepe fortress, the main support base of the Tekins. Colonel N.I. became the chief of staff. Grodekov, who has knowledge of geography, ethnography and history of Turkestan. And the second, as the head of the naval part of the expedition, was appointed the future Admiral S.O. Makarov, then still a captain of the 2nd rank. Having familiarized himself with the materials of the 1st expedition, Mikhail Dmitrievich realized that its failures lay in poor material support. Since part of the expedition’s route ran through the desert, M.D. Skobelev organized the supply of troops through sea transportation through the Caspian Sea to Krasnovodsk, and then along the railway built in the sands in the shortest possible time. After a five-month struggle with the Tekins, a 13,000-strong detachment of M.D. Skobelev approached Geok-Tepe, and on January 12, 1881, after the assault, the fortress fell. Then Askhabad was occupied, and other regions of Turkestan were annexed to Russia. On the occasion of the successful completion of the expedition, Alexander II issued an M.D. Skobelev was promoted to infantry general and awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd class. The 2nd Akhal-Teke expedition fully demonstrated the leadership talent of M.D. Skobeleva. Many could now be convinced of the personal courage and determination of Mikhail Dmitrievich, his ability to make extraordinary and difficult decisions, and most importantly, to take responsibility in a difficult situation.
Assault on the Geok-Tepe fortress. 1881 
Medal "For the storming of Geok-Tepe"
Alexander III, who ascended the throne in March 1881, was wary of the great fame of the “white general,” who allowed himself to say everything he thought about the reigning house, the politics of Russia and its relations with the Western powers. Fascinated by the ideas of Slavism, Orthodoxy and the rise of national self-awareness, he repeatedly and publicly declared the danger threatening Russia from the west, which caused a stir in Europe. The general spoke especially harshly about Germany and the “Teutons.” In March and April 1882 M.D. Skobelev had two audiences with the emperor, and although the content of their conversations remained unknown, according to eyewitnesses, Alexander III began to treat the general more tolerantly. M.D. Skobelev wrote to his friend General A.N. Kuropatkin: “If they scold you, don’t believe it too much, I stand for the truth and for the Army and I’m not afraid of anyone.”
On June 22 (July 4), 1882, Mikhail Dmitrievich left Minsk, where he commanded the corps, to Moscow, and on the night of June 26 (July 8) he died at the Angleterre Hotel. The funeral service that took place the next day attracted a huge number of people, and the church was buried in flowers and mourning ribbons. On the wreath from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff there was an inscription in silver: “To the hero Skobelev, equal to Suvorov.” Grand Dukes Alexei and Nikolai came from St. Petersburg for the memorial service. Emperor Alexander III sent a letter to Skobelev’s sister, which contained the following lines: “I am terribly shocked and saddened by the sudden death of your brother. The loss for the Russian army is difficult to replace, and of course, greatly mourned by all true military men. It’s sad, very sad to lose such helpful and dedicated people.” Moscow saw off the hero with a triple salvo of rifles and a salvo of guns. The mournful train set off for Ryazan. There were people standing on both sides of the railroad tracks. At the Ranenburg station, the coffin with Skobelev’s body was awaited by the peasants of the family estate and the village of Spasskoye in the Ryazan region. For the last miles the coffin was carried in their arms. There he was buried in the church next to the graves of his father and mother.
In 1886, the first monument to the commander was built in the Troki district of the Vilna province. In 1902 in Minsk, on the house where M.D. lived. Skobelev, a memorial plaque was installed. In 1911, 2 busts of the general were created - in Warsaw and the village of Ulanovo, Chernigov province, at the Skobelevsky Invalid Home for lower ranks. Unfortunately, none of these monuments have survived to this day.
In June 1912 in Moscow, on the thirtieth anniversary of Skobelev’s death, a monument to Skobelev by sculptor A.P. was erected on Tverskaya Square (then renamed Skobelevskaya and later Sovetskaya) in front of the mayor’s house. Samsonova. Governor General of Moscow V.F. Dzhunkovsky described this monument as follows: “The monument depicted a “white general” on a galloping horse in the middle of a battle. Under his feet are the weapons of killed heroes, broken cannon carriages... Skobelev with a drawn saber seems to be rushing ahead of the troops into an attack - the plot is borrowed from the famous battle on the Green Mountains near Plevna on August 27, 1877, when all the armies of Osman Pasha fell on Skobelev. Somewhat below Skobelev were his “miracle heroes” - soldiers going on the attack. Everyone's faces are serious and concentrated. On the front side there was an inscription: “To Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev 1843-1882”, there were also bas-reliefs: “Assault on Geok-Tepe, January 12, 1881”, “Attack of the Green Mountains” and “Battle of Sheinovo - Shipka December 28, 1877”. " On the reverse side were engraved the words from one of Skobelev’s orders: “I remind the troops that soon we may also have to face a combat test; I ask everyone to know about this and strengthen their spirit with prayer and meditation, in order to sacredly fulfill to the end what the duty of the oath and the honor of the Russian name require of us.”
Monument to General M.D. Skobelev. Sculptor A.P. Samsonov. Moscow, 1912
On May 1, 1918, less than six years after the erection of the monument to the “white general,” it was demolished in accordance with the decree “On the removal of monuments to the kings and their servants and the development of projects for monuments to the Russian Socialist Revolution.” Thus, for many decades, the name of a man who throughout his short but bright life remained a servant of the Fatherland was removed from Russian history.
In 1924, the city of Skobelev received a different name - Fergana. In Bulgaria, where M.D. Skobelev became a national hero, monuments were built: in Plevna - a temple-mausoleum and a bust of the general; near Shipka there is a monument. It is gratifying that most of the monuments dedicated to Russian soldiers in Bulgaria, including M.D. Skobelev, have survived to this day. From 1904 to 1918, the charitable organization “Skobelevsky Committee for the provision of benefits to soldiers who lost the ability to work during the war” functioned. In 2001, for the purpose of military-patriotic education of the population, intensification of the creative work of Russian writers and recognition of their services to society and the Armed Forces, the All-Russian Literary Prize named after M.D. was established. Skobelev for the best literary work of epic, historical and military-patriotic content. The currently active International Skobelev Committee is headed by twice Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut A.A. Leonov. Its branch in St. Petersburg in August 2006 organized the installation of a memorial plaque to Mikhail Dmitrievich on Skobelev Peak in Kyrgyzstan. In April 2007, a memorial plaque to the “white general” was unveiled on the facade of the Commandant’s House of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Since the same year, every September 29, the birthday of the great commander is celebrated there with the participation of cadets, cadets, schoolchildren and representatives of public organizations. Name M.D. Skobelev is worn on the streets, avenues and squares of Russian cities. Busts of the general were installed in Ryazan and on the territory of the memorial complex in the village of Zaborovo (formerly Spasskoye) in the Alexander Nevsky district of the Ryazan region.
Commander M.D. Skobelev was a supporter of bold and decisive actions, and had deep and comprehensive knowledge of military affairs. He was distinguished by great personal courage and was popular among soldiers and officers.
Material prepared by the Research Institute (military history)
Military Academy of the General Staff
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
(Material prepared by O.V. KRISTININA,
head library of the village Alexander Nevsky, Ryazan region)
Equal to Suvorov
One should begin to get acquainted with a great man from that time, which determines the psychology of the individual from his origins, from childhood.
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was born on September 17, 1843 in St. Petersburg, into a family of hereditary military men. His grandfather, Ivan Nikitich Skobelev, went through a difficult path from an ordinary soldier to an infantry general. During the Patriotic War of 1812, he served as an adjutant to Kutuzov himself, fought at Borodino and Maloyaroslavets, participated in foreign campaigns of 1813-1814 and took Paris. On April 14, 1831, in a battle with Polish rebels, Ivan Nikitich had his left hand torn off by a cannonball. At the same time, Ivan Nikitich was an original military writer and playwright. In the last years of his life he served as commandant of the Peter and Paul Fortress, and today his grave can be seen in the fence of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Father, Dmitry Ivanovich, also became a general. He participated in the Hungarian campaign of 1849, the Crimean War of 1853-1856, in the suppression of the uprising of 1863-1864 in Poland, and commanded the Caucasian Cossack division during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Just like his grandfather, Mikhail’s father had the St. George Crosses of the IV and III degrees, and was a holder of the honorary golden sword.
Yes, in this family there was someone to look up to.
The grandfather was the main figure in the home education of his grandson. He was the first to plant in the boy’s soul the idea of duty to the Motherland, ignited in him a love for the soldier, and taught him to speak in a language close and understandable to the soldier. Comparing the orders of Mikhail Skobelev, given to him near Plevna, with the orders and literary works of Skobelev’s grandfather, it becomes clear who was his model.
After the death of Ivan Nikitich, Mikhail's parents decided to send their son to France, to Paris, to the private boarding house of Desiderio Girardet, where he spent five years. From here Mikhail learned a brilliant knowledge of foreign languages and world literature. Subsequently, Mikhail Dmitrievich spoke eight European languages, and spoke French as if he were his native Russian. He could recite large passages from the works of Balzac, Sheridan, Spencer, Byron, and Shelley by heart. Of the Russian authors, Skobelev fell in love with Lermontov, Khomyakov, and Kireevsky.
Mikhail Skobelev continued his further education in Russia. Having successfully passed the exams, he entered the mathematics department of St. Petersburg University. But he was pulled in a completely different direction, and at home Skobelev sat for hours on military science. When the university was closed indefinitely due to student unrest in 1861, Mikhail Dmitrievich petitioned the Tsar to enlist him as a cadet in the Cavalry Regiment. Still, family traditions prevailed. Thus began his military service. On November 22, 1861, 18-year-old Skobelev, in the ranks of the cavalry guards, took the oath of allegiance to the sovereign and the Fatherland and with zeal began to learn the basics of military affairs. Already in one of the first certifications about the cadet of the Cavalry Regiment it is said: “Serves zealously, not sparing himself”. In March 1863, he became an officer, the following year he transferred to the Life Guards Grodno Hussar Regiment, named after the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 Y. Kulnev, and was promoted to lieutenant.
In 1866, Skobelev, having passed the entrance exams brilliantly, entered the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, where he surprised the teachers with his talent and unconventional thinking. Here his extraordinary desire for self-education manifested itself. It must be said that Skobelev constantly studied and read incessantly, sometimes under the most impossible conditions - on bivouacs, on the ramparts of batteries under fire, during intermissions of a hot battle. Even during military expeditions, he knew how to obtain military journals and works in several languages, and not a single one left his hands without notes in the margins. Skobelev was a man who constantly educated himself. IN AND. Nemirovich-Danchenko cites the following episode in his memoirs: “After an extremely difficult transition to Biya, on the way to Zimnitsa, I found him in some hayloft of a Romanian landowner. Skobelev threw himself onto the hay and pulled a book out of his pocket.
- Are you really still going to work? All of our arms and legs were paralyzed from fatigue.
- How could it be otherwise... Aren’t you going to work? and then he’ll probably fly into the tail.
- What are you?
- A French sapper has a book about earthworks.
- Why do you need this?
- What do you mean why? - Skobelev was amazed.
- After all, you will have sapper teams that specifically know this matter...
- Well, this is a mess... The general commanding the detachment must be able to dig the ground himself. He should know everything, otherwise he has no right to force others to do..."
He never parted with the book and shared his knowledge with everyone. Skobelev often told his officers: “Please read in our specialty, read more in our specialty.”
Upon graduation from the academy in 1868, he was enrolled as an officer on the General Staff.
In the next four years, Mikhail Dmitrievich, as a representative of the General Staff, visited the border with the Bukhara Khanate, traveled to the Caucasus, and, under the leadership of N. Stoletov, participated in an expedition to the southeastern shores of the Caspian Sea. In 1872, Skobelev became a lieutenant colonel.
Mikhail Dmitrievich received his baptism of fire in the spring of 1873 during the campaign of Russian troops under the command of General K. Kaufman to Khiva, which for a century and a half, along with Bukhara and Kokand, was a market for Russian slaves.
The lifeless deserts surrounding Khiva were considered insurmountable. Forty-degree heat, hot sands and constant clashes with the enemy, who attacked mainly at night. Having covered 730 versts with his detachment, Skobelev received five wounds inflicted by a pike and a saber, but remained in the ranks. His courage and courage were noticed by everyone.
In the summer of the same year, Skobelev, at the request of the commander of the expedition, General Kaufman, conducted reconnaissance of the path along which one of the Russian detachments could not pass. Accompanied by four local residents, dressed in Asian dress, Mikhail Dmitrievich traveled among hostile Turkmen tribes, compiling a detailed description of the most dangerous route. For this feat, he received his first military award - the Order of St. George, IV degree, and was promoted by the sovereign to the aide-de-camp.
In his memoirs about Skobelev, his artist friend V.V. Vereshchagin wrote that the commander received all his awards and distinctions not through patronage, but won them in battle, showing his soldiers by personal example how to fight.
The following year, he again sought to send him to Turkestan, where the Kokandon uprising broke out. As part of Kaufman's detachment, Skobelev commanded the Cossack cavalry and distinguished himself during the capture of the Makhram fortress. The enemy, who had a seventeen-fold advantage, was completely defeated. During the assault, more than a thousand Kokand residents died, Russian losses amounted to six people. In addition to remarkable courage, he showed organizational talent and a thorough acquaintance with the region and with the tactics of the Asians. Because of these military successes, Skobelev, at the age of thirty-two, was awarded the rank of major general, awarded the Order of St. George, III degree, and St. Vladimir, III degree, and received a gold saber with the inscription “3a courage.”
The first glory came to him.
Since February 1876, M.D. Skobelev is the military governor of the Fergana region. He quickly restores peace and tranquility in the region, and successfully counteracts the spread of British influence in Central Asia.
In April 1876, a popular uprising broke out in Bulgaria against the five-hundred-year Ottoman yoke. All of Russia, holding its breath, watched the desperate struggle of its fellow believers against the cruel enslavers. Hundreds of Russian volunteers, doctors and nurses went to the Balkans, but the forces were unequal. The uprising was literally drowned in blood.
On April 12, 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey. Mikhail Dmitrievich has difficulty achieving appointment to the active army. It was here, in the Balkans, that Skobelev’s leadership talent was fully demonstrated.
On the night of June 15, the 260,000-strong Russian army crossed the Danube and moved deep into Bulgaria. As an assistant to the commander of the 14th division M. Dragomirov, Skobelev skillfully organized the crossing at Zimnitsa, which was successful, despite strong Turkish resistance.
It should be noted that, unlike many generals of that time, Skobelev always prepared his operations very carefully. Before starting any operation, he carried out long reconnaissance work, went on reconnaissance missions himself, risking his life. He had intelligence personnel who were in different places and reported to him. Skobelev knew everything the enemy was doing, and this was his brilliant feature.
After the army crossed the Danube, the advance detachment of General I. Gurko moved forward to the Balkans, and on the instructions of the commander-in-chief, Skobelev helped the detachment in capturing the Shipka Pass. By this time, large Turkish forces under the command of Osman Pasha launched a counter-offensive against the main forces of the Russian army and organized a strong defense of Plevna, a strategically important fortress and city.
Mikhail Dmitrievich had the opportunity to become one of the active participants in the epic struggle for Plevna. The first two assaults on the city (July 8 and 18) ended in failure for the Russian troops and revealed serious flaws in the organization of their actions. Before the third assault on Plevna at the end of August, Skobelev was given command of parts of the 2nd Infantry Division and the 3rd Infantry Brigade.
On the day of the assault, Skobelev, as always, on a white horse and in white clothes, himself led his soldiers under hurricane fire towards the enemy batteries. After fierce battles, he captured two Turkish redoubts. There were no longer any fortifications between the Russian troops and Plevna. Victory seemed assured. However, the bloodless Skobelev units never received reinforcements. By this time, the command had already assessed the battle as unsuccessful, and Skobelev and a handful of soldiers were left alone with the entire forty thousand-strong army of Osman Pasha. But, despite this, he held his positions for another thirty hours, repelling five Turkish counterattacks, after which he retreated, taking all the wounded. During this battle, the Skobelev detachment lost six and a half thousand people killed and wounded. The Vladimir and Suzdal regiments that particularly distinguished themselves lost half of their strength.
As many historians believe, the reason why Skobelev was not given help was banal envy - they envied his youth, his early career, his George on his neck, his knowledge and energy, his ability to communicate with subordinates, they did not understand this active mind. Vsevolod Krestovsky in his book “Twenty Months in the Active Army” quotes Skobelev’s words: “Napoleon the Great was grateful to his marshals if they bought him half an hour of time in battle to achieve victory; I won you a whole day, and you didn’t support me!”
Alexander II, who was near Plevna, awarded the 34-year-old military leader the rank of lieutenant general and the Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st degree.
Here it is necessary to note the following circumstance. In moments of fighting, Skobelev was calm, decisive and energetic. He himself went to his death and did not spare others. Skobelev sometimes directly told people: “I am sending you to your death, brothers. Do you see this position? You can’t take it, and I don’t think about taking it. It is necessary for the Turks to throw all their forces there, and in the meantime I will get close to them from there. They will kill you, but you will give victory to my entire squad. Your death will be an honorable and glorious death.", - and you should have heard how “hurray” these people sent to their death responded.
“I consider the greatest talent to be the one who sacrifices people as little as possible. I treat myself the same way as I treat those who shed blood.”, - said Mikhail Dmitrievich. But after the battle, difficult days and difficult nights came for him. The delight of victory could not kill the heavy doubts in his sensitive soul. At this moment, the commander stepped back and a man came to the fore with repentance, with a painful consciousness of what an expensive, terrible price each success requires. The white general was deeply worried about those warriors who lost their lives in battle. Referring to his enemies, Skobelev exclaimed: “They think that there is nothing better than leading troops under fire, to death. Not if they saw me on sleepless nights. If only you could see what's going on in my soul. Sometimes I myself want to die - it’s so creepy, scary, it’s so painful for these meaningful sacrifices.” Vasily Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko, brother of the founder of the Art Theater, who knew the general well, noted: “He knew that he was leading to death, and without hesitation he did not send, but led. The first bullet was his, the first meeting with the enemy was his, The cause requires sacrifices, and, having resolved the necessity of this matter, he would not back down from any sacrifices.”
After the capitulation of Plevna, which could not withstand the blockade, Skobelev took part in the winter transition of Russian troops through the Balkans. It was a unique transition, which can only be compared with Suvorov’s crossing of the Alps. Foreign military experts were sure that it was impossible to cross the Balkans in winter. The Chief of the German General Staff, H. Moltke, allowed German military observers in the Russian army to go on vacation for the winter, and Bismarck folded up a map of the Balkan Peninsula and said that he would not need it until spring.
The now famous order of General Skobelev before marching into the mountains said: “We have a difficult feat ahead of us, worthy of the tested glory of Russian banners: today we begin to cross the Balkans with artillery, without roads, making our way, in sight of the enemy, through deep snowdrifts. Don’t forget, brothers, that we have been entrusted with the honor of the Fatherland. Our holy cause!” The transition was indeed one of the most difficult in the history of war. With incredible efforts, Russian soldiers dragged guns up the icy cliffs, which often fell into the abyss along with people and horses.
As part of the Central detachment of General F. Radetsky, Skobelev with his division and the forces attached to it overcame the Imetliysky pass, to the right of Shipka, and on the morning of December 28 came to the aid of the column of N. Svyatopolk-Mirsky, who had bypassed Shipka on the left and entered into battle with the Turks at Sheinovo . “The soldiers were very animated. Skobelev, going around the rows, repeated:
Congratulations, well done! Today is the day for battle - the twenty-eighth... Remember, on the twenty-eighth we took the Green Mountains, on the twenty-eighth Plevna surrendered... And today we will capture the last Turkish army! Let's take it, shall we?
- Let's take it... Hurray! - sounded from the ranks.
- Thank you in advance, brothers!
Just as Suvorov knew how to make “miracle heroes” out of his soldiers, instilling in them that they were miracle heroes, so every soldier in Skobelev’s detachment ceased to be a “little little brute”, but performed miracles, amazing everyone with his endurance, resourcefulness, and exceptional courage. The attack of Skobelev's column, carried out almost on the move, without preparation, but according to all the rules of military art, ended in the encirclement of Wessel Pasha's Turkish corps. The Turkish commander surrendered his saber to the Russian general. For this victory, Skobelev was awarded a second golden sword with the inscription “For bravery.”
The general, extremely merciless in battle, who in decisive cases accepted only a bayonet attack, without firing a single shot, in order to see the enemy face to face, taught his soldiers on victorious days: “Strike the enemy without mercy while he is holding a weapon in his hands. But as soon as he surrendered, he asked for amina, he became a prisoner - he is your friend and brother. If you don’t finish it yourself, give it to him. He needs it more. He’s a soldier like you, only in misfortune.”
Desperate courage and personal courage were combined in him with the foresight and prudence of an experienced military leader.
The sharp increase in Skobelev's popularity was largely due to the eccentricity of his personality and ability to win the hearts of soldiers. His associate and permanent chief of staff Kuropatkin recalled: “On the day of the battle, Skobelev each time appeared to the troops as especially joyful, cheerful, and handsome... The soldiers and officers looked with confidence at his warlike, handsome figure, admired him, joyfully greeted him and answered him with all their hearts, “We are glad to try” to his wishes, so that they are well done in the upcoming task"
In this war, no one cared more about his soldiers than Mikhail Dmitrievich. During the crossing of the Balkans, he managed not to lose a single soldier from frost and blizzards where others had entire regiments and divisions frozen out. On the eve of the winter crossing through the Balkans, he used his own money and his father’s money to dress the entire division in sheepskin coats. Preparing his division to cross the mountains, General Skobelev issued several orders, which at first some commanders simply laughed at. In particular, he ordered each soldier to have at least one log of dry firewood with him. When the troops entered the mountains, it suddenly turned out that the local forest was so damp that it was simply impossible to build a fire from it to cook food or keep warm. And only Mikhail Dmitrievich’s soldiers were always warmed and fed. Not a single detail concerning a soldier's life escaped his attention. “After a stubborn battle, exhausted, he rushed to rest, and after three hours he was already on his feet. For what? To go around the soldiers’ cauldrons and find out what’s cooking in them.” . Here are just a few excerpts from his orders:
“Once again I draw the attention of unit commanders to their responsibility to ensure that the lower ranks are well-fed under any conditions. Once and for all, I demand that not a single day passes in which they do not receive hot food; if the lower ranks are not fed, then this is due to the confusion and negligence of the boss. Both may result in removal from office.”
“All unit commanders should inspect the clothing of lower ranks and repair what they can; buy the missing number of sweatshirts, warm socks and mittens along the way in passing cities. Stockings and foot wraps should be smeared with lard, which protects against frostbite; goose lard is best; lamb lard is not allowed.”
“Shoes on a campaign are the first thing that, if not properly maintained, makes a completely healthy, strong and brave soldier incapable of any military activity. In view of the seriousness of this issue, I order that the shoes of the lower ranks be inspected and corrected. Now I ask regimental and company commanders to take this issue to heart.”
Once, in order to take the wounded for treatment, he chartered a ship to Odessa at his own expense.
Mikhail Dmitrievich did not hesitate to not only talk with the soldiers, he ate and slept with them, and shared all the difficulties of camp life. In this he is really close to Suvorov. A petition service was created at Skobelev’s headquarters, where ordinary people could apply for financial assistance. The requests were very different. One day, a soldier reported that his relative’s cow had died in the village, Mikhail Dmitrievich gave him 50 rubles from his salary. General Skobelev repeatedly told his subordinates that he owed his fame, and indeed his whole life, to the Russian soldier, and they paid him the same. The peasants, recent peasants, revered him as one of their own. “He is ours, he is Russian,” they said, “His great-grandfather still plowed the land. When others talk to us, we don’t understand, but when he speaks, we always understand.”
The general could not stand a careless and formal attitude towards service.
Being with him meant the same thing as learning on your own. He told the officers around him about his conclusions and ideas, consulted with them, entered into arguments, listened to every opinion. The chief of staff of the 4th Corps, General Dukhonin, characterized Skobelev as follows: “Other talented generals take only part of a person, they will not be able to take advantage of all his strengths and abilities. Skobelev, on the contrary... Skobelev will take everything that a subordinate has, and even more, because he will force him to go forward, improve, work on himself... He knew how to stir up a person’s mind, make him think..." - “It’s not enough to be brave, you have to be smart and resourceful!”- he said.
His determination and ability to take initiative were enormous and were reflected in everything.
At the beginning of 1878, Mikhail Dmitrievich was subordinate to the head of the Western detachment, General I. Gurko, and, heading the vanguard corps, ensured the occupation of Adrianople (Edirne). After a short rest, his corps set out for Istanbul (Constantinople), and on January 17 broke into Chorlu, which is 80 kilometers from the Turkish capital. Exhausted, Türkiye sued for peace. The peace treaty signed in San Stefano was quite beneficial for Russia and the Balkan peoples, but six months later, under pressure from the European powers, it was revised in Berlin, which caused a sharply negative reaction from M.D. Skobeleva.
General Skobelev returned to Russia as a national hero.
His last military operation was a campaign against the Tekins, who were considered the best warriors in Central Asia. With a detachment of seven thousand people, Skobelev stormed their main fortress Geok-Tepe (1881), completely defeating the enemy, who outnumbered him four times. Then Askhabad was occupied, and other regions of Turkmenistan were annexed to Russia. On the occasion of the successful completion of the expedition, Alexander II promoted Skobelev to infantry general and awarded the Order of St. George, II degree.
F.M. Dostoevsky in his “Diary of a Writer” wrote about the capture of Geok-Tepe by General Skobelev: “Long live the victory at Geok-Tepe! Long live Skobelev and his soldiers, and eternal memory « those who dropped out of the list of “bogatyrs!”
A year and a half after this victory, Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev died in Moscow, having lived only 38 years.
Skobelev's funeral resulted in a grandiose public demonstration. The memorial service attracted a huge number of military personnel and people; people went to say goodbye to M.D. Skobelev all day, the church was buried in flowers, wreaths and mourning ribbons. On the wreath from the Academy of the General Staff there was an inscription in silver: “To the hero Mikhail Dmitrievich SKOBELEV - equal to the commander SUVOROV”.
Skobelev, in the eyes of the people, became the person who raised the glory of Russia and made people feel involved in a great state. Mikhail Dmitrievich was a true Russian patriot. He wanted Russia to be a prosperous country.
“My symbol is short - love for the Fatherland, freedom, science and Slavism. On these four pillars we will build such a force that we will not be afraid of either enemies or friends.”, - the famous general liked to repeat.
Along the entire movement of the funeral train, right up to Skobelev’s homeland - the village of Spassky - peasants with priests came out to the railway, entire villages and towns with banners and banners came out. The peasants carried the coffin of Mikhail Dmitrievich in their arms for 20 versts to Spassky, the family estate of the Skobelevs. There he was buried in the church next to his father and mother.
During his lifetime, he was compared to Alexander Suvorov, cities and squares were named after him, and songs were written about his exploits and campaigns. But after 1917, the Russian commander was forgotten. On May 1, 1918, a monument to the general was barbarously destroyed in Moscow in accordance with the decree on the removal of monuments erected in honor of the tsars and their servants. But it was erected using public funds. All the bronze figures and bas-reliefs, and even the lanterns surrounding the monument, were sawn, broken into pieces and sent for melting down.
Unfortunately, after the revolution, his family estate Zaborovo-Spasskoye was also destroyed. Only two buildings have survived to this day - a school built by Mikhail Dmitrievich for peasant children, and the Church of the Transfiguration. According to Skobelev's will, a house was built on the estate for retired soldiers and military invalids, but it was also destroyed. The church and school were restored on the 160th anniversary of the commander’s birth. The building of the former school today houses a museum dedicated to M.D. Skobelev.
The memory of General Skobelev must live on, and we must draw spiritual strength from his exploits.
SKOBELEV
| One step away from immortality and eternity He prances on a white horse, And Vereshchagin decided to write, Like many people he wrote during the war. Among the unprecedented roses of Kazanlak, Among the bayonets that did not become blunt, Skobelev rides in a white jacket, What kind of thoughts are in my soul now, Our victorious banners flutter, |
 |
V.A. Silkin |
General S.L. Markov (contemporary of M.D. Skobelev)
General M.D. Skobelev
(Abridged)
And if these lines once again attract the reader’s sympathy for Skobelev’s personality, if the consciousness that M.D. Skobelev appeared with us in Russia and was ours, it will make the feeling of national pride speak and give faith in the possibility of a new Skobelev appearing in our army in the future - I will consider my modest task completed.
Perhaps the best assessment of Skobelev’s significance for Russia in general, and for the entire Slavs in particular, was given after his death by foreign newspapers hostile to Mikhail Dmitrievich. “Borsen Courier”, by the way, printed the following: “Well, this one is not dangerous now... Let the Pan-Slavists and Russian Slavists cry at Skobelev’s tomb. As for us, we honestly admit that we are pleased with the death of a zealous enemy. We do not feel any feelings of regret. A man died who was truly capable of using every effort to apply words to deeds.”
Skobelev's father, a rather stern man, stingy and old-fashioned, had less influence on his son. The crosses of St. George, both his grandfather and his father, served as a guiding star for the child Skobelev from childhood and determined his career. Grandfather - Ivan Nikitich Skobelev - earned his two St. George Crosses during the capture of Paris and Warsaw. On June 25, 1807, in the battle of Friedland, he was wounded by a bullet in the right leg. On August 20, 1808, during the conquest of Finland, two fingers of his right hand were torn off and his chest was concussed. On March 18, 1814, near Paris, he was wounded in the left hand, and on April 14, 1831, in a battle with Polish rebels, Ivan Nikitich’s left hand was torn off by a cannonball. The image of the wounded hero-grandfather could not help but capture the impressionable boy.
Skobelev was born into a family that occupied an exceptional position, both in terms of its family ties and material support. His father owned 40,000 acres of land. Until the age of six, Mikhail Dmitrievich was the favorite of his grandfather, who died in 1849. The German Kanitsa, the tutor hired by his father, was chosen very poorly. Extremely cruel, he often beat the boy for a poorly learned lesson and for the slightest prank. Nervous, impressionable, active, independent by nature and hot-tempered to the extreme, Skobelev could not come to terms with such an education system. The absurd enmity between the pupil and the tutor only embittered the former and had to find an outcome. One day, twelve-year-old Skobelev, in the presence of a girl his age, whom he was interested in, was hit in the face by his tutor. The boy could not stand it and returned the slap to the German.
This episode influenced the future fate of Mikhail Dmitrievich. The father realized that the cruel tutor could not cope with his son, and sent the boy to Paris, to the boarding house of the Frenchman Desideria Girardet.
In Girardet, Skobelev found an experienced, educated teacher and an honest person who was sincerely attached to him. Girardet had a great moral influence on Mikhail Dmitrievich, and, according to Skobelev, instilled in him a religion of duty. After the end of Mikhail Dmitrievich’s stay in Paris, Girardet, at the insistence of Skobelev’s mother, closed the boarding school and followed his pupil to Russia.
In 1861, Skobelev entered the mathematics department of St. Petersburg University.
But the young man’s attraction had already been determined - he was attracted to military service with its military exploits.
The appearance of the hero-grandfather, conversations about campaigns in the Caucasus, Hungary, and Crimea between his father and his old comrades in arms long ago determined the life path of Mikhail Dmitrievich. He takes advantage of the first opportunity - the unrest that arose at the university - leaves it and in November of the same 1861 enrolls as a volunteer in the Cavalry Regiment.
Skobelev, like another great Russian commander - Suvorov, forges his own destiny despite the prevailing situation. The lives of both were directed along a channel alien to them, but the calling to military service with all its hardships, labors, capricious happiness, the tempting attraction of risk and the majestic idea - “to lay down one’s soul for one’s friends” - prevailed and helped to overcome all obstacles.
It is a great happiness for everyone to find something they love, to feel their true calling, to work in an area that captures all their thoughts and all their energy. This happiness became available to Skobelev from the moment the university bench was replaced by a horse, and mathematical books by military history works.
In the fall of 1866, Skobelev was admitted to the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. During his stay at the academy, different opinions about him developed - his comrades valued him as an outstanding person, his superiors considered him capable, but lazy.
Such an assessment was quite natural. Like most talented people, he could not fit the general standard. He could not study with equal attention everything that was required by the academic program. But on the other hand, often gathering his fellow academy students around him, Skobelev would read to them some note he had composed concerning Napoleon’s campaigns or some episodes from Russian military history. Such reading always captivated listeners, causing lively debate and reasoning.
Thanks to his knowledge of all European languages and love of reading, Skobelev knew everything that in one way or another related to military affairs. His love for military history reached such an extent that even near Plevna, busy day and night, he found time to read the novelties sent to him from St. Petersburg in this field.
“I ask all officers to read more about what concerns our business.”, writes Skobelev in one of the orders for the troops of the Fergana region. Subsequently demanding this from his subordinates, Mikhail Dmitrievich himself served as a shining example for them. Skobelev not only read - he knew how to read, choosing everything useful and instructive from books, taking notes and forcing the officers around him to comment with him on what he read.
At the same time, Skobelev’s confidence is growing that almost the impossible can be demanded of a soldier, one just needs to know how to demand, and this confidence will create new miracle heroes near Lovcha, Plevna, Sheinov and Geok-Tepe.
A dashing cornet, an athlete, if you like, a hussar-reveler, shows personal courage in the fight against the rebels in Poland. The same personal courage in small expeditions in Turkestan, the ability to captivate his subordinates, to inspire them that the impossible can be possible, characterizes the first period of Skobelev’s service in Turkestan. In the Caucasus, Mikhail Dmitrievich falls into the drill of the famous Prussian regimental commander, Colonel von Schack, and lovingly studies the techniques of combat and rifle training for a soldier. But not only that, Skobelev here experiences from experience the spirit of army camaraderie and the combat spirit of the regiment, developed in continuous struggle and constant hardships.
The second period of Skobelev’s service in Turkestan was associated with the expedition against Khiva in 1873.
Skobelev made every effort to get into this expedition. At first, Mikhail Dmitrievich was assigned to be part of Colonel Lomakin’s detachment moving towards Khiva from the north through the Ust-Urt desert.
This is how Skobelev himself later spoke about the Khiva campaign: “In April, the movement of troops in echelons began. At first I was at one of the columns and carried out various assignments. At the wells of Bash-Akt, I was entrusted with the command of a separate small column. We moved forward slowly, experiencing terrible hardships: the heat reached 45, the stuffiness and dryness of the air were unbearable; All around, wherever you look, there is a lifeless desert, endless sands, sands. The water in the wells was mostly bad and brackish; the wells are deep, sometimes up to 30 fathoms, and it was very difficult to get water under such conditions, and this operation was carried out extremely slowly. Sometimes there was not enough water not only for the horses, camels, and sheep that accompanied the detachment, but even for the people. Finally we climbed to Ust-Urt. The dryness of the air and stuffiness increased even more, there were several sandy hurricanes... In a word, we entered the kingdom of a real desert... In general, this entire hike is a continuous struggle with nature. Not a word from the enemy! People received more modest food; they hardly ate hot food due to lack of fuel.
We moved in the morning and evening, and during the day we rested, or rather, we suffered, baked in the sun, since we did not have tents (we took only the most necessary things). There were cases when people completely lost heart, were pestered during the hike, and even had to resort to drastic measures to support them. Once I led one company under the drum and on the shoulder for six miles to raise their energy. Particularly difficult scenes were observed at wells during the distribution of water: people then almost turned into animals, and only thanks to the officers was order established.
With the further movement of the detachment to the city of Kyat, I received another assignment - to command the vanguard. Moving at the head of the Orenburg and Caucasian detachments, I, with the Cossacks on the heels, pursued the enemy hordes retreating to their capital. The Khiva rearguard tried to spoil the road, destroyed and burned bridges over irrigation ditches, and in general made every effort to impede our movement. I had to literally jump on them several times and prevent them from burning bridges and ruining the road... With raised sabers, my Cossacks rushed at the Khivans, and the latter, abandoning their work, hastily shot back, mounted their horses and ran away at full speed.
We quickly repaired some breakdowns (one bridge, I remember, however, it took the whole night to fix) and the detachment moved forward without hindrance. On May 25, I and the vanguard approached the city of Kot-Kupyr, which is located about 30 versts from Khiva. Noticing that several Khivans were setting fire to the bridge in order to prevent us from entering the city, I and the Cossacks rushed towards the bridge. The Khivans fled to the gardens and opened fire from there. Following this, we approached almost Khiva itself and stopped at the city walls about 5-6 versts.”
This campaign brought enormous benefits to Skobelev, serving as preparation for future operations in the deserts of Central Asia.
Skobelev’s activities and exploits in Turkestan during the period of the Khiva expedition attracted the attention of not only Russia, but also England, which vigilantly followed our successes in Central Asia.
The name Skobelev is beginning to become popular.
By the beginning of the war of 1877-1878, Skobelev’s appearance was finally determined - the ardent young man emerged as an impetuous, full of energy, but understanding the enormous moral responsibility of the military leader.
This is how one of the foreigners describes Skobeleva in 1878:
“Soldiers, townspeople, women - everyone was crazy about him. I can now see his beautiful forehead, adorned with chestnut hair, his blue eyes, light, with a penetrating gaze, looking at you so openly and directly, his straight and long nose, indicating determination, one of those noses that Napoleon I loved to see on the face of his generals, a perfectly defined mouth, endowed with extraordinary mobility and expressiveness; his round powerful chin with a dimple in the middle - in a word, I clearly see before me his courageous, energetic face, bordered by a silky beard falling on his heroic chest...
This man, at 33 years old, has seen everything, done everything, read everything. He made reconnaissance to the very steppes of the Pamirs, around Lake Victoria and to the Indus-Kush. He knew Balzac, Sheridan, Herbert-Spencer and Hemley from memory. He had his own opinion about the favorite at future races, about the cuisine of the Cafe Anglais and the repertoire of Madame Celina Chaumont, just as about the English cavalry and the fords of the Oxus.”
During the crossing at Zimnitsa, Skobelev appointed himself an orderly hunter under General Dragomirov. But Skobelev played this insignificant role in his own way. One has only to remember how he himself, having volunteered, due to the absence of orderlies, to convey Dragomirov’s order to the troops. Calmly, slowly, under heavy Turkish fire, he walked around the long rows of riflemen, talking to them and giving them orders.
Here Skobelev showed himself to be a deep connoisseur of the soldier. When Dragomirov, together with Skobelev, crossed the Danube on the morning of June 15 and looked around, everything seemed terribly stupid to him.
- You can’t make out anything, they climb, they climb, you can’t make out anything,- he repeated.
Skobelev was next to him: both were on foot. M.I. looked thoughtfully and silently. Dragomirov. Suddenly Skobelev’s voice was heard:
- Well, Mikhail Ivanovich, congratulations!
- With what?
- With victory, your fellows won.
– Where, where do you see this?
- Where? On the soldier's face. Look at that face! He only has this face when he has won: how rushing it is - it’s a pleasure to watch.
Here is another of the many examples that depict Skobelev as a deep expert on the soldier’s soul and his psychology: “He [Skobelev] used to ride towards a party of “young soldiers.”
- Hello guys!
- Good wishes, yours...
- Eko, what a great fellow! Just eagles... Fresh from Russia?
- Exactly so, yours.
- It’s a pity that you’re not coming to me!.. What’s your name?- he stops in front of some snub-nosed guy. He answers.
– In the first case, are you sure you’ll get George? A? Will you get George?
- I’ll get it, yours!
- Well, here it is... Apparently, well done... Do you want to come to me?
- Want!..
– Write down his last name... I’ll add him to my squad.
And the conversation continues... He will talk to everyone, say something sincere and pleasant to everyone. « It's fun to die with Skobelev! - the soldiers said... - He sees and knows every need you have.”
Just as Suvorov knew how to make “miracle heroes” out of his soldiers, instilling in them that they were miracle heroes, so every soldier in Skobelev’s detachment ceased to be a “gray brute”, but performed miracles, amazing everyone with his endurance and resourcefulness and exceptional courage . He is a “Skobelevite”, his beloved leader believed in him, and this faith could not help but perform miracles: the Russian peasant became a warrior, the Russian soldier became a hero.
After crossing the Danube, people started talking about Skobelev. But only from the second half of July did Mikhail Dmitrievich begin to gain the confidence of the Commander-in-Chief, and with it more responsible appointments.
By the difficult days of the third Plevna, Skobelev was already becoming popular not only among his subordinates and colleagues, but also in the army. His name is associated with the idea of victory and glory. August 30 and 31, full of heroism, create for him the aura of a beloved leader, an idol of soldiers, more than a folk hero. The image of Skobelev on the memorable day of August 30, depicted by two participants in the battle, completely different both in their position and in their personal properties, is fascinating. One of the authors is civilian correspondent and literary artist Nemirovich-Danchenko. The other is Skobelev’s closest assistant, his comrade in arms in this battle – A.N. Kuropatkin.
Here is a page from “Memoirs of Skobelev” by Nemirovich-Danchenko: “There is an assault on one of the Turkish redoubts near Plevna on August 30.
Someone rode out from behind a ridge-hill on a white horse; behind him are several officers and two or three Cossacks rushing at a trot. In the hands of one is a blue badge with a red eight-pointed cross... Skobelev appears on a white horse - dressed all in white... handsome, cheerful.
- Oh, well done!.. Oh, heroes! Lovchinsky!- he shouts from afar in an excited, nervous voice.
- Exactly so, yours.
- Well, guys... Go finish it. There the regiment was repulsed from the redoubt... You're not like that, are you? A? I have all of you to choose from... Look, what handsome men... Where are you from, such a young fellow?
- Vytep province, yours.
- Yes, the Turks will run away from you alone...
- That’s right, yours - they’ll run away.
- Make sure I don’t see you the day after tomorrow without George... Do you hear? Just watch - don’t shoot pointlessly... Do you hear?
- We hear you, yours.
- And you, gentleman, are not from Sevastopol?- he turned to Parfenov. – Why do you have George?
- For Malakhov, yours...
- I bow low to you! - And the general took off his hat.
– Show the young people how a Russian soldier fights and dies. Captain, after the battle, introduce me to the old man. I will give you the name of George, if you are alive...
- Glad to try, yours...
- What good fellows! I would go with you, but we need to support the newcomers... You are already under fire, in combat... Goodbye, guys... See you in the redoubt. Will you wait for me after?
- We'll wait, yours.
“Well, look, you gave your word, you have to keep it...”
A.N. Kuropatkin in his book “Lovcha and Plevna” gives the following picture of the battle on August 30, full of colors and exciting interest: “The success of the battle finally wavered. Then General Skobelev decided to throw on the scales of military happiness the only reserve remaining at his disposal - himself. Motionless, without taking his eyes off the redoubts, he stood on horseback, descending from the third ridge halfway down the slope to the stream, surrounded by headquarters, with a convoy and a badge. Hiding his excitement, General Skobelev tried to look dispassionately and calmly as regiment after regiment disappeared into the heat of battle. A hail of bullets carried away more and more victims from the convoy, but did not dispel his attention for a second. Any thought about myself personally was far away at that moment. One major concern about the success of the battle entrusted to him completely absorbed him. If General Skobelev did not rush earlier with the advanced troops, as his hot blood told him, it was only because he looked at himself as a reserve, which he had decided in advance to sacrifice without looking back, as soon as the decisive moment came, in his opinion. The moment has come. General Skobelev sacrificed himself and only miraculously emerged alive from the battle into which he selflessly plunged. Having given spurs to his horse, General Skobelev quickly galloped to the ravine, went down, or rather, rolled down to the stream and began to climb the opposite slope to redoubt No. 1. The appearance of the general was noticed even in those minutes, Skobelev was already so popular among the troops. Those who retreated returned, those who were lying stood up and followed him to their death. His loud - “Forward guys!” – gave new strength. The Turks, who occupied lodgements in front of redoubt No. 1, could not stand it, abandoned them and ran back into the redoubts and the trench between them.
The sight of the Turks retreating from the lodgements inspired ours even more. “Hurray,” picked up by thousands of breasts, poured menacingly along the line. Sliding, falling, rising again, losing hundreds killed and wounded, out of breath, hoarse from screaming, our troops behind Skobelev kept climbing and climbing forward. They moved in discordant but friendly groups of various units and single people. The Turkish fire seemed to weaken and its effect, which captured everyone with the determination to reach the Turks and the ever-increasing confidence in success, became less noticeable. There seemed to be hesitation in the ranks of the Turks. A few more difficult moments - and our advanced ones burst into the trench with frenzy and then, from 4 hours 25 minutes in the afternoon, into redoubt No. 1.
General Skobelev, having reached the redoubt, rolled into the ditch with his horse, freed himself from under it and was one of the first to break into the redoubt. A short hand-to-hand fight ensued inside and near the redoubt. The most stubborn Turks were killed, the rest retreated back to their camp, which lay 300 fathoms north of the line of redoubts. Others retreated to redoubt No. 2."
The following episode is interesting: “the battle was not yet over, when the officers and soldiers who were marching to the redoubt behind Skobelev, as if behind a banner, surrounded him and begged him to go back, begging him to take care of himself. A seriously wounded major of the Libau regiment was dragging him by the leg from the saddle. The horse on which Skobelev mounted was turned and led out of the redoubt.
At these moments, everyone was ready from the heart to cover their boss with their chest, since they believed in him and saw his personal example, personal contempt for death...”
The rich literature about the “White General” provides many similar memories.
There are many individual episodes scattered throughout these eyewitness accounts, depicting the vigorous activity of Mikhail Dmitrievich, and his sometimes insane courage, and his warm emotional feeling for the soldiers and subordinates.
Skobelev's care was exceptional. His division was always dressed, shod and fed in the most impossible circumstances.
Every now and then, when meeting with soldiers, during the Plevna sitting, Skobelev stopped them with questions:
-Did you drink tea today?
- Exactly so, yours.
- Both in the morning and in the evening?
- Yes sir.
– Did they give you vodka?.. Did you get as much meat as you needed?
And woe to the company commander if negative answers followed to such questions. In such cases, Mikhail Dmitrievich knew no mercy and found no excuses.
“Our camp is too boring. It would be desirable if bonfires burned more often and songs were sung; appoint one by one before the dawn of the evening to play a choir of music in the center of the position. Singing is also allowed late in the evening.
In all companies, pay serious attention to the education of good singers; a hike without singers is sadness, melancholy.”
And Skobelev had music everywhere and always - they went into battle to the music, the music drowned out the dying groans, the music triumphed in victory, the music finally bewitched the wild Tekins, when the solemn sounds of the evening dawn and prayer were heard under the walls of Geok-Tepe.
But along with caring for the soldier, there was strict punishment for negligence and inattention to service, especially in battle.
Taking command of the troops operating in the Trans-Caspian region, Skobelev wrote in the order:
“... I consider it a sacred duty to remind the valiant troops now entrusted to me that the basis for the combat fitness of an army is strict performance and discipline. Discipline, in the full meaning of the word, cannot exist where superiors allow themselves to treat the orders they receive carelessly. This should respond to the attitude of lower ranks to duty. Strict order in the camp, in bivouacs, strict fulfillment of all, even petty, requirements of the service serves as the best guarantee of the combat fitness of the unit.”
The legality of relationships is the first basis of discipline: “... all actions of military personnel must be governed by the law. Every boss should be guided by this, and not by personal arbitrariness, both in his actions in general and in imposing disciplinary sanctions in particular, so that the lower ranks know what they should be guided by in their official activities, and they themselves would acquire respect for the law.”
Speaking about Mikhail Dmitrievich’s relationship with the soldiers, one cannot fail to note how persistently he developed in them a sense of self-esteem. Once, in front of Skobelev’s eyes, one of the commanders hit a soldier.
- I would ask you not to do this in my detachment... Now I will limit myself to a severe reprimand - next time I will have to take other measures.
In response to the commander’s justification, citing discipline, the soldier’s stupidity, and the need for punching, Skobelev remarked:
– Discipline must be ironclad. There is no doubt about this, but this is achieved by moral authority, and not by massacre... A soldier should be proud of the fact that he defends his Motherland, and you beat this defender like a lackey... Disgusting... Nowadays they don’t even beat lackeys... As for the stupidity of a soldier, you don’t know them well... I owe a lot to the soldier’s common sense. You just need to listen to them.
The soldiers were extremely proud of their belonging to Skobelev’s detachment. “We are Skobelev’s,” they answered when asked what unit or division they were.
And in these two words there was a special meaning and pride, they sounded notes of confidence in future victories, in future glory.
Events after Plevna only further, if possible, raised the admiration of Skobelev both in the army and among the people.
The transition through the Balkans, Sheinovo with the capture of Wessel Pasha's army, command of the vanguard of the army, and even the camp under the walls of Constantinople, where Skobelev rushed with all his being, are full of almost legendary stories about him. Here, real exploits were mixed with anecdotes and memories, often full of naive charm and popular faith in the idol he created.
Popular rumor spread his fame far, and the feeling of delight in Rus' was at the feet of the “White General”.
From Bulgaria, Skobelev returned to Russia with the 4th Corps and turned all his attention to training his troops.
In 1880, a new thunderstorm approached the Central Asian outskirts. A number of failures that befell us in the fight against the Tekins required decisive measures, skillful preparation of the entire operation and the placement of an experienced, talented and energetic person at the head of the expeditionary detachment. At that time, only Skobelev could be such, and he was entrusted with the conquest of the Akhal-Teke oasis.
In early May 1880, Mikhail Dmitrievich arrived in Chikishlyar and immediately threw himself into vigorous activity in preparing funds for the detachment to advance deep into the oasis to the only fortress of the Tekins, Geok-Tepe.
While food was being collected, troops were gathering and the rear was being established, Skobelev with a detachment of 800 people with 10 guns carried out reconnaissance, advancing from Bami 112 versts to Geok-Tepe. According to the Tekins, up to 25,000 people capable of holding weapons were gathered in Geok-Tepe. It is clear that the success of such a reconnaissance, where a handful of Russians boldly walked towards the goal of the entire operation, a goal still inaccessible, should have made an irresistible impression on both the Asian enemy and Skobelev’s entire detachment.
Only Skobelev’s talent and his deep knowledge of the enemy’s properties helped complete this reconnaissance with complete success. The impression was enormous. 25,000 Tekins were unable to crush the handfuls of people who bravely penetrated the walls of their fortress. Despair settled in Geok-Tepe - the future defeat of the Tekins was already foreseen.
Here is one of the scenes that explains to us how Skobelev achieved that moral power in his troops, against which all the obstacles, all the crowds of the enemy were broken.
“During a reconnaissance to the Geok-Tepe fortress on July 6, 1880, at the very beginning of the battle, our horsemen managed to open an ambush of 400 Tekins under the command of Tykma Serdar in time, and to meet it, a hundred rockets were brought into position. The first rocket fell in front of the machine, the servants hesitated, expecting a close explosion. Skobelev noticed the confusion and came to the battery. The same thing happened with the second rocket. The battery commander ordered the people to run away. But Skobelev, with the words “put aside,” forced his horse to stand over the hissing rocket. The rocket exploded, wounded Skobelev’s horse in several places and killed one Cossack.”
“I don’t undertake to describe the feeling of enthusiasm,” says an eyewitness, “that gripped everyone present. “Hurray” thundered, hats flew up... everyone and everyone wanted to rush to this great man, they wanted to kiss him, hug him, touch just his dress.”
Speaking about Skobelev’s personal courage, we should remember the words of the artist V.V. Vereshchagina about Mikhail Dmitrievich:
“Whoever was not in the fire with Skobelev cannot imagine his calmness and composure among bullets and grenades - a composure that was all the more remarkable because, as he confessed to me, he had no indifference to death. On the contrary, he was always, in every case, afraid that he would be slammed and, therefore, waited every minute for death. What kind of willpower, what constant tension of nerves had to be in order to overcome fear and not show it.
Prudent people reproached Skobelev for his reckless courage. They said that he behaved like a boy, that he rushed forward like an ensign, and that, finally, by taking unnecessary risks, he exposed the soldiers to the danger of being left without a high command, etc. It must be said that these are all the speeches of people who care primarily about saving their precious lives - and then whatever God wills. If a soldier goes forward without a superior, that’s fine; if he doesn’t go, what can you do: that’s not why a man rose to the rank of general’s epaulette, to sacrifice his life for cowards.”
On January 12, 1881, the Geok-Tepe fortress fell. The conquest of the oasis according to the plan proposed by Skobelev was planned within two years. Skobelev completed the entire operation in nine months. Russia received an entire country, the name of the Russian became a symbol of power and strength for all of Asia.
3a conquest of Ahal-Teke Skobelev was promoted to infantry general and received the Order of St. George, II degree, and St. Vladimir, I degree.
This operation alone gives Skobelev the right to become one of the most outstanding commanders in the world. In it, Skobelev proved that he was a fully formed military leader, capable of becoming the head of an army and giving it victory.
And the whole Slavic world looked at Skobelev like that. He was the leader who was supposed to lead the Russian regiments, and with them the half-blooded Slavs, against the enemy and achieve victory, no matter how powerful this enemy was.
The last months of Skobelev’s life were full of his work in the 4th building. The corps orders that remained after him should still serve as a reference book for every military man.
Life itself flows from the pages of these government documents and captivates the reader with its simplicity, clarity and deep meaning.
In the last years of his life, Mikhail Dmitrievich emerged both as a statesman and as a politician.
The hour had struck, but a different one - not the star of Mikhail Dmitrievich’s fame and success had set, but the hour of the end of all accounts of the earthly field was approaching.
Many hopes were associated with the name of Skobelev, many ardent dreams could be realized by his talent, his inhuman energy, and all these dreams and hopes collapsed along with the unexpected death of the “White General”.
On June 24, 1882, Mikhail Dmitrievich arrived in Moscow, taking advantage of a month's vacation after the Oran maneuvers.
During the day, Skobelev was cheerful, joked, and talked a lot with the officers on military topics. At 11 o'clock in the evening he left the famous Slavophile I.S. Aksakov, and at 1 a.m. at the Anglia Hotel he felt ill. The called medical help turned out to be late.
The heart, which had been beating vigorously all its life, could not stand it, nor could the iron body, which from its youth had been thrown into a whirlpool of events full of risk, danger, feats of genius, enormous successes and even greater envy, could not stand it.
Skobelev passed away, and with him the man in whose hands the strength of the people could be entrusted - the army and its future successes.
Skobelev's death caused general national grief.
Crowds surrounded the hero's ashes in Moscow, the same crowds saw off and greeted the funeral train all the way from Moscow to the Skobelevs' family estate - Spassky.
The peasant's tears mixed with the deep grief of the army and all of Russia. Generals, merchants, townspeople, the highest persons, clergy, soldiers, women, children - everyone came to say the last “forgive” to their great contemporary, their idol.
The hero's coffin was strewn with flowers and real tears flowed down the faces of the soldiers who paid their last respects to their leader.
During the funeral service, His Eminence Ambrose said among other things:
“Tears flow from our eyes, it’s hard and bitter for us, the Fatherland is losing a dear son, and we are losing a great contemporary. Cry, Russian peasant woman, - he was the father of your children who took up arms against the enemies of the Fatherland. Cry, Russian people, - in him you have lost an enlightened intercessor for your native land and an exponent of your brilliant glory.”
The feelings of a grateful people were reflected in a number of poems and legends associated with the name of Skobelev.
The memory of Skobelev is alive and will live for a long time - the mission of a person like Skobelev does not end with death, posterity should cherish the memory of him as a sacred treasure and draw new strength from his exploits in times of trial.
To the death of a Russian heroOur hero Skobelev, our wondrous commander,The threat of the enemies of the Slavs both in peace and in war, Faded untimely in the midst of our peaceful life, Not in the abysses of the Balkans, not in battle fire. *** Among the thousand deaths hovering above you, By the will of the Almighty you miraculously survived, And a halo of glory, crowning you with itself, Your exploits have been heard far and wide. *** The King who died in God, the Father Liberator, Wherever I sent you to resolve the bloody dispute, Everywhere you struck like a formidable avenging angel, In the Ahalka steppes, in the snows of the Balkan mountains. *** And they fought joyfully at the news from the battlefield All Russian hearts are from your exploits, He himself endured hardships, he just made efforts About brave warriors, about our warriors. *** You were indignant that the Swabians, like wolves, The abandoned sheep are tyrannized by the Krivoshans, And loudly condemned the Magyar rifles, Aimed at the chest of our kindred Slavs! *** You died, but your soul will live in us forever, At your name the blood of Russians will boil. And proud of your impeccable valor, Our people will resurrect all the glory of your deeds. *** Family of Slavs, sorrow: your loss is grievous: Open and secret enemies are not asleep: To protect yourself from the machinations of the adversary, Take vigilant care of everything precious. A. Shanin |
Monument to General Skobelev - a monumental equestrian monument to the hero of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878, Infantry General M.D. Skobelev, opened on June 24, 1912 and demolished on May 1, 1918. It was located on the site of the current monument to Yuri Dolgoruky on Tverskaya Square (simultaneously with the installation of the monument, the square received the name “Skobelevskaya Square,” which it bore until 1918). The design of the monument was created by retired Lieutenant Colonel P. A. Samonov. Not preserved. On May 1, 1918, the monument was demolished in pursuance of the decree “On the removal of monuments to the kings and their servants.”
MAIN DATES IN THE LIFE AND ACTIVITY OF M.D. SKOBELEVA
1843, September 17 in St. Petersburg, Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was born into a hereditary military family.
1855-1860 - studied in Paris at the boarding school of Desiderio Girardet.
1860-1861 - classes at home under the guidance of Professor T.I. Modzalevsky.
1861, August 1 - November - studies at the Faculty of Mathematics of St. Petersburg University.
1864, February - was in the Kingdom of Poland as an orderly of Adjutant General Baranov.
1864, May - awarded the Order of St. Anne, IV degree, for distinction in the battle in the Radkowice Forest.
1864 (end) - 1866 (beginning) - leave, during which he visits the theater of war in the Danish campaign (observer).
1868, November - completed his studies at the academy and received an appointment in Turkestan. 1868, December - arrived in Tashkent.
1869 - took part in the actions of General Abramov on the Bukhara border.
1870, January-March - service in Tiflis, where on March 5 he submitted a “Note on the capture of Khiva” to the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Army.
1871, March 12 - appointed chief of cavalry in the Krasnovodsk detachment of the Trans-Caspian Territory to Colonel N.G. Stoletov, where he conducted a covert reconnaissance (410 versts) to Sarykamysh (lake).
1871, June 23 – annual leave and expulsion from the ranks of the commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Army for amateur activities (they wanted to take Khiva with Stoletov on their own). St. Petersburg, and then rest in Spassky.
1872, April - seconded to the General Staff (the highest body of military command in 1815-1917, not to be confused with the General Staff).
1872, January - arrived in the Trans-Caspian region and was enlisted in the Mangyshlak detachment of Colonel Lomakin as the vanguard commander.
1873, April 14 - May 25 - participated in the Khiva campaign as an officer of the General Staff (learned how not to prepare campaigns).
1873, August 4 - carried out reconnaissance of the route of the Krasnovodsk detachment and for the successful completion of the task was awarded the Order of St. George, IV degree.
1873-1874, winter - well-deserved vacation.
1874, January-February - Southern France, and from there Spain - studying the guerrilla actions of the Carlists (vacation under bullets - learning about war in the war). He witnessed the battles of Estela and Pepo di Murra.
1874, early January - wedding with the Empress's maid of honor, Princess Maria Nikolaevna Gagarina.
1874 – in the General Staff. Task: to put into effect a new military charter and carry out recruitment in the Perm province.
1875, winter-spring – St. Petersburg.
1875, July 13-22 - in Kokand. With a small detachment, he led Khudoyar Khan out of the rebellious city and “for heroic behavior worthy of the Russian name” M.D. Skobelev was awarded a golden saber with the inscription “For bravery.”
1875, October 18 - promoted to major general and included in His Majesty's retinue. Appointed head of the Namangan department.
1875, February 4 - the highest decision to rename the former Kokand Khanate into the Fergana region and appoint Skobelev as its head. February 18 – began his duties.
For Kokand, Andijan, Namangan and other cases of 1875-1876. M.D. Skobelev was awarded a golden saber, a golden sword with diamonds and the inscription “For bravery”, the orders of St. George III degree and St. Vladimir III degree with swords.
1876, July 15 - August - “military-scientific-diplomatic” expedition to the Alai Valley and the Pamirs.
1876, early March - return to St. Petersburg after the “third Turkestan”. Seeks appointment to the Danube Army.
1877, June 14-16 - participated in the crossing of the Danube. I asked to see General M.I. Dragomirov as an orderly (and learn at the same time). Received a reprimand.
1877, September 1 - promoted to lieutenant general, awarded the Order of Stanislav, 1st degree. Appointed commander of the 16th Infantry Division.
1877, November 20 - the fall of Plevna and the capture of the army of Osman Pasha. Appointment of Skobelev as Governor-General of Plevna.
1877, December 28 – Shipko-Sheinovsky battle. Rewarding Skobelev with a golden saber with the inscription “For bravery.”
1877, December 29 - Skobelev is appointed head of the vanguard of the Russian troops. In less than two days, Skobelev makes a rapid, almost 100-kilometer journey with battles and reaches Tarnovo.
1878, January 19 – Skobelev’s detachment reaches Dede-Akau, 12 kilometers from Constantinople. Signing a truce with Turkey.
1878, February 19 - signing of the San Stefano Peace Treaty (collapse of Skobel's plans).
1878, April - appointment of M.D. Skobelev commander of the IV Corps. 1878, April-November - Skobelev’s preparation of gymnastic societies in
Southern Bulgaria. Return to Russia.
1879, March - appointed chief of the Transcaspian troops (temporarily commander of the Transcaspian department).
1881, January 14 - promoted to infantry general and awarded the Order of St. George, II degree.
AWARDS OF THE GENERAL FROM INFANTRY M.D. SKOBELEVA
Order of St. Anne IV class for bravery - 1865
Order of St. George, IV degree – 1873
Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class – 1874
Gold sword with diamonds with the inscription “For bravery” - 1875
Golden saber with diamonds with the inscription “For bravery” - 1876
Order of St. George, 1st class - 1876
Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree - 1876
Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st class – 1878
Gold sword with diamonds with the inscription “For bravery” - 1878
Prussian Order "Pour-Le-Mérit" ("Order of Merit") - 1878
Montenegrin gold medal “For the war with the Turks” - 1878
Serbian Grand Cross “Same with Swords” – 1878
Serbian Gold Medal for Bravery - 1878
Romanian Medal for Military Valor - 1878
Romanian Iron Cross “For the Crossing of the Danube” – 1878
Macklenburg-Schwerin Cross of Merit - 1878
Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 1st class – 1879
Order of St. Anne 1st class for bravery - 1879
Order of St. George, 2nd class - 1881
Medal “For the pacification of the Polish rebellion” - 1864
Medal "For Service in the Caucasus"
Medal “For the Khiva Campaign” - 1873
Medal “For the conquest of the Khanate of Kokand” - 1876
Medal “In memory of the liberation of the Slavs” - 1878
Medal “For Participation in the Russian-Turkish War” – 1878
Medal “For the storming of Geok-Tepe - 1881”
Bibliography1. Nemirovich-Danchenko V.I. Skobelev. – M., 1993. – p. 10–11, 51.
2. Kostin B.A. Skobelev. – M.: Patriot, 1990. – 175 p.
3. Mirovich V.G. Slavophiles and their teaching. – M.: 1915.
4. Polyansky M.A. – Bibliographic index of literature related to the biography of M.D. Skobeleva. St. Petersburg, 1904.
5. Skobelev Mikhail Dmitrievich. "A bright symbol of the greatness of Russia." Collection of materials from the symposium dedicated to the 160th anniversary of the birth of M.D. Skobeleva. September 26-27, 2003, Ryazan.
6. ALEXANDRO-NEVSKY – booklet. – M.: Publishing House “PanInter” 2004. – 20 p.
7. Skobelev M.D. I stand for truth and for the Army! /Skobelev Mikhail. – M.: Eksmo, 2012. – 480 pp.: ill.
8. Booklet “To the 170th anniversary of the birth of M.D. Skobelev" (Selection of materials by O.Yu. Feoktistov). – M.: Young local historian, 2013 – 24 p.
Museum-estate “Memorial complex M.D. SKOBELEVA"
Village 3aborovo. Manor M.D. Skobeleva
Modern village 3aborovo, Alexandro-Nevsky district, Mikhalkovsky rural district, is located 4 km southeast of the center of the rural district, 21 km northeast of the urban-type settlement of Alexandro-Nevsky, in the upper reaches of the river. Vishnevka, left tributary of the river. Khupta (Ranova River basin).
Before s. Aborovo was called Spasskoye, then Zaborovskiye Gai. The first is from the name of the church built in 1763, the second is from the name of the landowner Alexander Mikhailovich Zaborovsky. Gai - in the southern Russian dialect means grove, oak grove.
The village of 3aborovo with its unique wooden Spasskaya Church was mentioned at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1763, the landowner Zaborovsky, who owned the village, built a stone church. In the 1830s, the village was acquired by I.N. Skobelev (grandfather of M.D. Skobelev) and became the family’s favorite residence.
Until the 1860s, the Skobelev family owned huge plots of land, including several large villages (Mikhalkovo, 3aborovo, etc.). After the so-called “liberation of the peasants,” the Skobelevs were left with an estate - an estate with a park, between the village of 3aborovo and the village of Mikhalkovo, on the river. Khupt, and 1500 acres of land. According to data from 1913, the estate included: the Spasskaya Church, a large manor house, a small house, outbuildings (workshop, machine shed, farm), pond. There was a park around the estate. The estate was inherited from father to son, and in 1879 it already belonged to Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev. After his death, the owner of the estate became the elder sister of the “White General” (M.D. Skobelev received such a respectful nickname after successful operations in Central Asia), Princess N.D. Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya.
Spasskaya Church
The initial construction of the wooden Spassky Church in the village. 3aborovo dates back to the beginning of the 18th century. In the 1830s, the village passed from General Zaborovsky to the Skobelev family. In the church there was a silver and gilded altar cross and chalice, donated by Evgeniy Maximilianovich of Leuchtenberg, infantry general, Prince Romanovsky, years of life: 1847-1901.
In 1869, Dmitry Ivanovich Skobelev added two chapels to the church for the Skobelev family tombs. The right side aisle is in honor of St. Dmitry of Rostov, left side chapel - in honor of Archangel Michael. The father and mother of Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev are buried in the right aisle, and M.D. himself is buried in the left aisle. Skobelev.
In the 30s of the twentieth century, the church was almost completely destroyed. In September 2003, on the 160th anniversary of the birth of M.D. Skobelev Spasskaya Church with its chapels was restored and painted.
School in Zaborovo
In 1881 M.D. Skobelev founded a zemstvo school on the estate, building a spacious stone building covered with iron. Peasant children not only from the village studied at the school. 3aborovo, but also from many surrounding villages: Penki, Zeleno-Dmitrievka, Speshnevo, Kreshchenskie Gai, Maly Mezenets, Satino-Gai, Bogoroditskie Gai and Eropkino. Skobelev visited the school more than once, attended classes, and talked with students. Thanks to the experienced teacher invited by Mikhail Dmitrievich, teaching at the Spasskaya school was very successful. The students were supported by the prince. Nadezhda Dmitrievna Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya, sister of the “White General”.
Invalid home
Fulfilling the wishes of M.D. Skobelev about construction in the village. Zaborovo nursing home for veteran soldiers; in 1910, it was built on the estate by Skobelev’s sister, Princess Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya. On Sundays, disabled grenadiers and Knights of St. George came to church in full dress uniform and stood on the carpet in front of M.D.’s grave. Skobeleva.
In 1993, a monument was laid. In 1995, as part of the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the city, a monument to Mikhail Skobelev was unveiled in Ryazan. The Skobelevsky Committee has been created and is working, the president of which is pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Aviation General Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov.
Play Skobelev's march! To the 170th anniversary of the birth of the “White General”.Don’t forget, brothers, that we have been entrusted with the honor of the Fatherland! Our cause is sacred!
M.D. Skobelev
And Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev did not live forty years, but after the heroes of 1812 there was no general in the Russian Empire who was equally beloved among the people.
He was a hereditary military man. His father, Dmitry Ivanovich, was well known both in the army and at court. The elder Skobelev died with the high rank of lieutenant general.
A soldier on the battlefield and a sage in a learned conversation, Mikhail Dmitrievich was a comprehensively educated person, no stranger to literary talent. He loved Lermontov, carefully studied the Slavophiles - Khomyakov, Kireevsky, Aksakov, was friends with many of them, corresponded. He was capable of rhyming impromptu like Suvorov, whose memory he bowed to.
What is the secret of Skobelev’s extraordinary popularity?
It seemed that after the Napoleonic Wars the times of giant heroes had passed. The revolutionaries seized the halo of romance from the commanders... And Skobelev in people's memory managed to stand on a par with Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Bagration...
He was a genius of offensive warfare. His associate and permanent chief of staff Kuropatkin recalled: “On the day of the battle, Skobelev appeared to the troops every time as especially joyful, cheerful, and handsome... The soldiers and officers looked with confidence at his warlike, handsome figure, admired him, joyfully greeted him and answered him with all their hearts.” We are happy to try” to his wishes that they be great in the upcoming task.”
In those years, by and large, the doors to Europe were closed to Russia. The Paris Treaty of 1856, which recorded the results of the Crimean War, deprived the Russian Empire of the unofficial status of a European superpower, which was undeniable during the years of the omnipotence of the Holy Alliance.
Imperial ambitions now had to be satisfied in Central Asia and the Far East. It was there that Russia's rivalry with the British Empire continued. Where the Russian soldier managed to reach, the slave trade ceased and slave markets were closed.
Skobelev considered himself a “Turkestan student.” In his fate, campaigns in Central Asia played a key role: it was there that he studied the character of the Russian soldier, and the soldiers fell in love with their general, endowed with the ability to raise ranks to death - not only against enemy artillery, not only on pikes and sabers, but also in defiance of nature itself .
The Khiva campaign was, as Skobelev himself admitted, “a continuous struggle with nature.” The Khanate was annexed to Russia with “little blood”, although at the cost of cruel trials. Skobelev’s reconnaissance raid became a legend when he, together with five daredevils, covered more than 600 miles in the desert in a week, constantly risking running into armed nomads who knew the area much better.
For that reconnaissance, Skobelev received his first George - 4th degree. Skobelev’s commanding style developed there: he demonstrated miracles of courage to the soldiers, and they responded in kind. Contempt for death is contagious, as is cowardice.
In 1875–1876, it was the turn of the Khanate of Kokand. And in this campaign, Skobelev showed himself to be a star of the first magnitude, his cavalry detachment became a threat to the enemy: the Russians attacked unexpectedly, stunning. In one of the fights, Skobelev was seriously wounded in the leg.
He - like Peter the Great and Suvorov - learned to talk to soldiers with inspiration and persuasiveness.
Over the years, he addressed the soldiers:
“I can only wish for one thing, that I would fight with troops as brave and as valiant as those with whom I had to serve and fight here,”
“Soon we will face a combat test, I ask everyone to know about this and strengthen their spirit with prayer and meditation, which is what duty, oath and honor of the Russian name requires of us,”
“Our attitude towards the defeated people must be not only lawful and correct, but also generous, for the brave Russian army from time immemorial did not know how to beat a lying person,”
“I am convinced that the brave troops entrusted to me will not tarnish their immortal glory.”
It was in Turkestan that he received the rank of general and there they began to call him the White General. In battle, he was seen on an unchanged white horse, in an equally white uniform. It was believed that he was charmed from bullets as long as he was dressed in white. This superstition helped the soldiers to trust their commander. The uniform already bore George of the 2nd degree and the Order of St. of the same degree. Vladimir.
For some time, Skobelev was governor in Fergana, but the administrative field brought his first severe disappointments: denunciations against the young general began to pour into St. Petersburg and he was removed from power. It is clear: the combat cavalryman, imbued with romantic ideals, hated bribery, and in the East bribery flourished, including among Russian administrators.
The war began in the Balkans - the last big war with the Ottomans for the freedom of Orthodox peoples. Perhaps the most noble war of all that Russia waged. Skobelev, like no one else, was soulfully devoted to the cause of liberation of fraternal peoples.
Mosques have risen in the Serbian region;
Janissaries, in the crowd, in broad daylight,
In the bazaars he crushed his wives with his hoof
Your Arabian horse.
– wrote A.N. Maikov.
For Skobelev, Slavic freedom is the dawn of the future glory of Russia, independent, strong, capable of challenging the main European powers of that time - the British Empire and Germany.
But Skobelev arrived in the Balkans in a semi-disgraced position, although in the aura of Turkestan glory. At first, his status was questionable: he was at the Headquarters, and then headed the headquarters of the division commanded by his father.
He managed to distinguish himself in battle while crossing the Danube at Zimnitsa. From then on, Skobelev’s miracles began - miracles of courage and heroism, military ingenuity and military leadership’s firmness. In 1877, the white general accomplished the impossible... On July 7, Skobelev’s detachment fought to occupy the Shipkinsky Pass. Ak Pasha, as he was called in the East, took risks again, again remained invulnerable...
Skobelev showed himself clearly during the third assault on impregnable Plevna. His detachment took on the blow of a third of the Turkish troops, although it was only a fifth of the Russian army that stormed Plevna. “Only Skobelev knows how to lead troops in an assault!” they said in the army. The Skobelevites captured the most important fortifications, the path to Plevna was open, but the command was in no hurry with reinforcements - and they had to begin a long siege.
After taking Plevna and crossing the Balkan ridge, the Russian army overthrew Turkish troops on the Shipka-Sheinovo line, and Skobelev’s troops again played a decisive role in this battle. After this, at the head of the vanguard, Skobelev captured Adrianople and San Stefano. Here it is, Constantinople, Constantinople - just a stone's throw away! Skobelev dreamed of liberating the Orthodox capital. But, as you know, the Turks asked for peace...
The general was not happy with the Berlin peace, although in those days he was showered with awards. He dreamed of a great future for the Slavic peoples.
Skobelev had to prove himself in one more campaign - in the Ahal-Tekin expedition. Mikhail Dmitrievich, demonstrating experience and foresight, drew up a plan for advancing to the Geok-Tepe fortress, which the Tekins intended to defend. They had about 25 thousand troops, Skobelev did not have even 7 thousand, but the superiority of the Russian army in weapons and training was beyond doubt. On January 12, 1881, Skobelev led his troops on an assault.
When the Russians burst into the fortress, most of the Tekin troops fled. Skobelev organized the persecution. After the capture of Geok-Tepe, silence reigned for a long time in the Trans-Caspian possessions of the empire. The losses of the Russian army in the entire expedition were about 1,500 dead and dead...
Skobelev lived in a relatively happy time for Russia: the empire seemed powerful. But the general’s worldview was formed during the days of the tragic Sevastopol epic. The Crimean War knocked complacency out of the patriots - and Skobelev understood that the Motherland was entering a period of crisis. How to save yourself, how to protect yourself from defeat and decay?
The general wrote: “My symbol is short: love for the Fatherland; science and Slavism. On these whales we will build such a political force that we will not be afraid of either enemies or friends! And there is no need to think about the belly, for the sake of these great goals we will make all the sacrifices.”
He dreamed of reviving the “crushed Russian self-consciousness” and very deeply (not at all like a soldier!) analyzed the growing phenomenon of revolutionary nihilism. In recent years, more than once Skobelev fell into apathy; sometimes he stopped believing in his own strength and became disappointed in people. At such moments, he repeated: “I came to the conclusion that everything in the world is a lie, a lie, a lie. All this is glory, and all this glitter is a lie. Is this true happiness? How many are killed, wounded, suffering, ruined.” And then he returned to the fight.
He was a zealous opponent of Germany and German influence in Russia, and foresaw a big war with the Germans. Skobelev proposed relying on an alliance with France: the Russians seemed to have nothing to share with her.
Skobelev’s plans were not Manilov’s: Emperor Alexander III, with whom Skobelev did not have good relations, would after some time choose exactly this tactic. But... the general made a fatal mistake: he rushed into politics. But Suvorov warned: a commander should not plunge into a political whirlwind. There is death there.
And now the White General began talking with his comrades about the crisis of the Romanov dynasty, that it would not be a bad idea to replace it, about how the generals should behave during the revolution... It is unlikely that he was the leader of the conspiracy, but sometimes “it’s better to be a sinner than be considered a sinner." It is much worse that at court he was considered a conspirator.
His is Skobelev, whose word in the army was worth its weight in gold and lead. God forbid you bring such an enemy! And now “all of St. Petersburg is talking about him as a seeker with dynastic claims.”
It was believed that the general would lead a coup during the coronation of Alexander in Moscow. And instead of Alexander III, Skobeleva will be crowned king. He dreamed of a free union of the Slavic peoples with the decisive word of the Russian Tsar, a common army and a common currency, but with the autonomy of governments. Slavic Garibaldi was inspired by the revelations of Khomyakov and Aksakov...
Of course, those around the new emperor were at least wary of Skobelev. And the general was still thinking about how to preserve and strengthen a great power in the conditions of the omnipotence of moneylenders?
He led a life far from ascetic. On the warm evening of June 25, 1882, at the Anglia Hotel, on the corner of Petrovka and Stoleshnikov Lane, Skobelev had dinner in a noisy company of casual acquaintances, after which he went to his room with a certain flirtatious woman - as they said later, a German... In her room, the general and was found dead.
How many times did he walk under bullets on the battlefield - and die in someone else's bed. The report after the autopsy said: “He died from paralysis of the heart and lungs, the inflammation of which he suffered so recently.”
But Moscow, mourning the hero, did not believe the newspapers. Few doubted that Skobelev was killed. They thought the same in Bulgaria, which plunged into mourning. There were all kinds of versions - they blamed the German woman, the policeman, and the merchants who were carousing in the restaurant... It was rumored that a secret court sentenced the conspirator Skobelev to death. The cheerful merchants were agents of the secret police, they carried out the sentence, poisoned the hero... Of course, there were rumors about suicide. It's sad when the death of a hero is overshadowed by such versions.
Farewell to Skobelev took place in the Church of the Three Saints, near the Red Gate (this modest church has not survived). And they buried him in his native village - Spassky-Zaborov, on Ryazan land. The speech at the funeral was made by Bishop Ambrose of Dmitrov. The capitals were already arguing about where to erect a monument to Skobelev...
It will take off in Moscow, near the Governor General’s house, not far from the place of the general’s death, approximately where the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky is now. The wonderful monument will be destroyed at the 1918 May Day.
In Soviet times, Skobelev was not erased from history: he was considered a leading general, a successor to the best Suvorov traditions. And yet Skobelev remained on the sidelines of the parade of history’s heroes.
True, in 1954 the film “Heroes of Shipka” was released, in which the role of Skobelev was played by Evgeny Samoilov, energetically and charmingly. And in the 1970s, Skobelev became the hero of Boris Vasiliev’s epic novel “They Were and They Were Not,” which rediscovered that Russian-Turkish war for many of us...
Skobelev completed the galaxy of Russian heroic commanders, each of whom was the personification of the military valor of the people. In later times, brave people and talented strategists in Rus' did not disappear, but the era of millions of armies, the era of weapons of mass destruction began. The will of one person could not decide the fate of campaigns. That is why Russia remembers Skobelev, the last of the Mohicans.
The commanders of the Great Patriotic War were proud when their exploits were compared with the acts of Skobelev. Let us remember the commander not only on his birthday! Russians, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Serbs - everyone whose freedom he fought for. And let the Skobelevsky March sound for us - breakthrough, cheerful, as it should be.
Audio recording of Skobelev's march.
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Join the group - Dobrinsky Temple
Heroes are not born. They become them. A truth as old as time. But in the entire history of the world there are not many examples that confirm this maxim. Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev can be safely included among these few.
He went through many wars, but he was not destined to die on the battlefield. His death was experienced as a nationwide grief. On the wreath from the Academy of the General Staff there was a silver inscription: “To the hero Mikhail Dmitrievich SKOBELEV - commander SUVOROV’s equal.” The peasants carried the coffin of Mikhail Dmitrievich in their arms 20 miles to Spassky, the Skobelev family estate. There he was buried in the church next to his father and mother. In 1912, in Moscow on Tverskaya Square, a beautiful monument was erected to Skobelev using public funds, but in 1918 it was demolished in accordance with the decree “On the removal of monuments to the kings and their servants and the development of projects for monuments to the Russian Socialist Revolution.”
July 4, 1882, 130 years ago, the great Russian commander Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev tragically died
Russia has experienced two dark periods in its history in recent centuries: after the revolution of 1917 and the democratization that “started” in 1991. But both were marked by the abandonment of their history, the disgrace of their heroes. The massive demolition of monuments, changing the names of streets, squares and cities, and the endless reshaping of history lead to the creation of chaos in people’s minds, to the multiplication of seeds of discord in society, and the loss of guidelines for the civic education of younger generations.
Russia's eternal opponents gloat as they watch how Russians (or rather, present-day Russians) recklessly mutilate their ancestry and throw their yesterday's heroes out of their graves. Their home-grown followers willingly blaspheme their past. For them, Kutuzov is “a gray military leader who did not win a single significant battle”, G. Zhukov is “a cruel commander who paved the path to victory with corpses.” The deheroization of Russian history is the cherished dream of all our adversaries, external and internal. A striking example to illustrate this statement is the life and exploits of Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev - an outstanding commander of the 19th century, who, like A.V. Suvorov, did not lose a single battle, who earned the immense love of the army and the entire people, and is now almost unknown to the younger generation.
Mikhail Skobelev was born in 1843 in the family estate of Spasskoye, Ryazan province, into a family of hereditary military men. His grandfather was a general during the Patriotic War of 1812 and adjutant of M. Kutuzov, his father, with the rank of lieutenant general, participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. along with his famous son. Mikhail Dmitrievich himself spent his entire adult life in the ranks of the Russian army. His military career was rapid. By the end of his life, at the age of 38, he was already an infantry general, a holder of the Order of St. George the Victorious of three degrees, an idol of the Russian army, and a prominent political figure. Rarely do people's rumors assign their own, unique titles. M. Skobelev received such a great honor and went down in Russian history as the “White General” because, as a rule, he appeared before the troops before battle on a white horse and in a white uniform. Some condemned this behavior of the general: he seemed to be turning into a desired target for enemy fire, but M. Skobelev had his own reasons. He recalled that once, while carrying out a task to clarify maps in the area of the Finnish border, he lost his way in disastrous swampy places. It seemed to him that he needed to stick to one side, but the white horse stubbornly pulled him in the opposite direction. Finally, he humbled himself, relied on the will of God, and soon returned safely to the base, where everyone was already pretty worried about his life. Since then, he made a vow: to ride only white horses.
Something similar influenced the color of the combat uniform he chose. During the Russian-Turkish war, his father, the general, gave M. Skobelev a black tanned sheepskin coat to save him from the fierce cold in the Carpathians in the Shipka region. A month later, M. Skobelev wrote a letter to his father, in which he notified him that he was returning the donated sheepskin coat, because he twice came under fire from Turkish batteries in it and received serious concussions, while the white color made him invulnerable to enemy bullets and shrapnel .
The white color of the general's horse and uniform became a powerful mobilizing moral and psychological factor for soldiers and officers of the Russian army. The appearance of the invincible M. Skobelev in front of the regiments in his now usual form was perceived as a guarantee of indispensable success.
The basis for the brilliant victories of the troops under the command of M. Skobelev was the general’s amazing military talent and his inextricable paternal connection with the soldiers, who paid him with love and incredible fortitude in battle. He had to fight twice in Central Asia and once in the Balkans, liberating Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. In all three campaigns, he relied on speed of maneuver and decisiveness in striking. He was irritated by the slowness, unjustified caution, and sluggishness in the actions of the high command, which often became the reason for hostility towards M. Skobelev. When the Russian army trampled for a long time on the left bank of the Danube at the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war, waiting for bridges to be built, M. Skobelev proposed swimming across cavalry units to the Turkish bank to quickly capture bridgeheads. Senior commanders objected: they say, this is unheard of. Then the young general took the first horse he came across, unsaddled it, took off his outer clothing and rushed on horseback into the Danube, swam safely across it and returned back.
The units subordinate to him could make marches of 40-45 km for three days in a row and take the Turkish troops by surprise, who did not expect such speed of movement of the Russian infantry. Mikhail Dmitrievich’s detachment ultimately decided the outcome of the months-long battle on Shipka. Having crossed the Carpathian mountain passes in winter, he bypassed the Turkish positions and found himself in their rear near the village of Sheinovo.
The famous painting by the artist Vereshchagin captured the moment when the triumphant M. Skobelev congratulates the troops on a remarkable victory.
By the end of the war, M. Skobelev’s troops came closest to the gates of Istanbul and at that moment received an order from the command to stop. Mikhail Dmitrievich was openly outraged by the cowardice of the commanders, who seemed to be afraid of a sudden attack by Austria-Hungary on the Russian army. He even told his immediate commanders: “Give me the opportunity to take Constantinople under my responsibility, and then you can put me on trial and even shoot me, if deemed necessary, but Russia will not have another such opportunity!” At this time, under his command there were 40 thousand battle-hardened fighters.
Political and diplomatic considerations took precedence. All of Europe bristled against Russia and forced it to retreat at the Berlin Congress. Orders and new military ranks did not console Mikhail Dmitrievich. He acutely felt that the growing German Empire under the leadership of Bismarck and its ally Austria-Hungary would be the main enemies of Russia in the foreseeable future, which is what happened in the First and Second World Wars.
As a counterbalance to the German threat, he defended the idea of pan-Slavic unity. One of his close friends, the writer Vasily Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (brother of the famous theater figure), noted that M. Skobelev’s ideal was a powerful indivisible Russia, surrounded by Slavic allied countries, free and independent, but welded together by the same blood, the same faith. He repeatedly expressed this idea publicly during speeches in Europe, which aroused hatred of the European authorities and the press towards him. Only in Paris was he received with understanding, where they remembered the monstrous defeat that the Prussians inflicted on the French in the war of 1871.
In 1880, he was sent to Central Asia, where he was supposed to strike a blow at the growing ambitions of England, which sought to turn the feudal princes of the Akhal-Teke region (present-day Turkmenistan) into its vassals. The campaign, designed for 2 years, was brilliantly completed by M. Skobelev in 9 months. In a waterless desert region, he had to solve an atypical task: to storm the Geok-Tepe fortress, in which 25 thousand desperate Tekin warriors settled. Using all engineering and technical innovations, including rocket artillery and mine explosive devices, the Russian army captured Geok-Tepe with minimal losses in January 1881. This was the last military victory of M. Skobelev.
He returned to Russia, took command of the 4th Army Corps, stationed in Minsk, and began improving his military training. At this time he became close to the famous Slavophile I.S. Aksakov. In one of his letters, Skobelev wrote: “Our common holy cause for me, as, I believe, for you, is closely connected with the revival of the now suppressed Russian self-awareness... I had reason to be convinced that even the seditious party in its majority will hear the voice of the fatherland and the government , when Russia will speak Russian, which has not happened for so long, long time.” M. Skobelev's patriotism generated enemies around him. The general's relations with the new Emperor Alexander III were excellent; in March and April 1882, he was received by him twice and, after lengthy conversations with the monarch, left in a great mood. But outside the royal palace the situation was different. On March 23, 1882, he wrote to I.S. Aksakov: “I received several challenges (to a duel - N.L.), which I did not answer. Obviously, it is very desirable for the enemies of the Russian folk revival to get rid of me this way. It is both cheap and cheerful. You know me so well that, of course, you are confident in my calm attitude towards any accident. It is only important, if the inevitable happens, to extract the greatest benefit from the fact for our holy national cause.” He was haunted by a premonition of his imminent death, and he even left a package with important documents for the safekeeping of I.S. Aksakov “just in case.”
Such an incident occurred on July 7, 1882. Going on vacation to his estate, he stopped in Moscow and after dinner with the officers of his corps, he visited the Anglia Hotel, located on the corner of Stoleshnikov Lane and St. Petrovka. There, in a luxurious room, lived the well-known Moscow courtesan Charlotte Altenrose, an Austrian Jew who called herself Eleanor, Rose, or Wanda. She ran out into the yard at night and told the janitor that a Russian officer had died suddenly in her room. And she immediately disappeared from Moscow; nothing is known about her fate.
Pathologists determined that young Skobelev had paralysis of the heart and lungs, although he had never before complained of heart problems and was generally in the prime of his life. All contemporaries agreed that a crime had taken place. M. Skobelev was poisoned, as evidenced by the unusual yellowness of his face and the rapidly appearing blue spots on him - these are signs of a potent poison. All of Russia, from the emperor to the ordinary soldier and peasant, mourned. The country has not seen such a powerful wave of nationwide grief for a long time. The body of M.D. Skobelev was sent by special train to his estate, where peasants carried the coffin in their arms 20 km to the family burial vault.
In 1912, in Moscow, using public voluntary donations, an equestrian monument was erected in his honor on the square in front of the Governor General's Palace (now the Moscow City Hall). The square was named Skobelevskaya. But the political upheavals that soon began in Russia tried to erase the name of the great commander from people’s memory. After the revolution of 1917, on the direct orders of V. Lenin, the monument to Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was one of the first in Moscow to be demolished, and the square was renamed Sovetskaya (now Tverskaya). The Skobelev family nest was destroyed. The Transfiguration Church, where he was buried, was closed, church utensils were confiscated, and a granary was placed in the altar. The marble crypt with Skobelev’s body was opened by security officers in search of orders and jewelry. Nothing was found, but the body of Mikhail Dmitrievich in a general’s uniform was as if alive, according to eyewitnesses.
New times have come, the return of the old names of streets and squares has begun, and a revision of the role of heroic personalities in our history has begun. In 1996, a group of Russian patriots created the Skobelev Committee, which was headed by cosmonaut Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov. Until now, the committee has been unsuccessfully trying to attract the attention of the current Russian government and, first of all, the Moscow mayor's office to the need to revive the memory of M.D. Skobelev, restore the destroyed monument, or at least install a memorial plaque on the building in which the outstanding Russian commander died. The committee sent at least half a dozen letters personally to the then mayor Yu. Luzhkov, but the mayor never deigned to respond to the appeals. In 1999, the current Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill (then Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad) addressed a personal letter on this issue to Luzhkov. The answer is silence.
Once, however, in the Moscow City Duma (in the commission on monumental art) the issue of creating a monument to General Skobelev was considered. They talked more about its location. They seemed to agree that the monument should be erected in Ilyinsky Park, located on the corner of Lubyansky Proezd and Staraya Square, not far from the monument-chapel dedicated to the heroes of Plevna. We talked and talked, and then forgot. The Russian House magazine considers it necessary to remind the capital and federal authorities of their unfulfilled duty to the Russian people and the Fatherland. Moreover, it would not be a sin to restore historical justice in its entirety: return the monument to General M.D. Skobelev to its original place and return the square to its historical name.
The real place for the statue of the founder of Moscow, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, is not where it was placed in 1954, but at the top of the Kremlin hill, in the center of the square, where V.I. Lenin once sat in a marble chair.
Before the revolution, there were 6 monuments to M. Skobelev on the territory of the Russian Empire. Of these, only one bust survived in Ryazan; all other monuments were destroyed. Some restoration work was carried out after 1991 only in the small homeland of the famous general. None of the destroyed monuments have been restored. Shame on you, Russia! In Bulgaria, more than 200 monuments to the famous liberator Skobelev have been erected, hundreds of streets and squares are named after him, and we only chat about the importance of the patriotic education of younger generations, about uniting the nation around glorious historical values.
Everyone who hates everything Russian is trying to erase the memory of Skobelev. The best characteristics of the general are his public statements: “The experience of recent years has convinced us that if a Russian person accidentally remembers that, thanks to his history, he belongs to a great and strong people, if, God forbid, the same Russian person accidentally remembers that the Russian people form one family with the Slavic tribe, now tormented and trampled upon, then cries of indignation rise among home-grown and foreign foreigners.”
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