KOLCHAK'S WIDOW - Sofia Fedorovna Kolchak. According to the descriptions of contemporaries, she was tall, beautiful, smart. Her unwitting rival Anna Vasilievna Timireva, who shared the last two years of his life with the admiral, wrote about her this way: “She was a tall and slender woman, probably 38 years old. She was very different from other wives of naval officers, she was intellectual ... She was a very good and intelligent woman and treated me well. She, of course, knew that there was nothing between me and Alexander Vasilyevich, but she also knew something else: what is, is very serious, she knew more than I ... Once, in Helsingfors, S.F. and I were still. we went for a ride in the bay, the day seemed to be warm, but still I was cold, and S.F. she took off a magnificent black-brown fox, put it on my shoulders and said: “This is a portrait of Alexander Vasilyevich.” I say, "I didn't know he was so warm and soft." She looked at me with disdain: "There's a lot you don't know yet, lovely young creature." And until now, when she has long been dead, it seems to me that if we had a chance to meet, we would not be enemies. I’m glad that she didn’t have to go through all that I had to go through. ” But Sofya Fedorovna also had a chance to sip dashingly ...
She was born in Ukraine - in the ancient town of Kamenetz-Podolsk, in those parts where the great-grandfather of her future husband, the Turkish general Kolchak Pasha, was captured. The brother of her maternal ancestor, Field Marshal Munnich, took him prisoner. On the mother's side, Darya Fedorovna Kamenskaya, there was another warlike ancestor - general-in-chief M.V. Berg, who smashed the troops of Frederick the Great in the Seven Years' War. According to his father, Fyodor Vasilyevich Omirov, head of the Podolsk Treasury, the ancestors were much more peaceful - from the clergy.
Sofia Omirova brilliantly graduated from the Smolensk Institute. She loved to read and studied philosophy. She knew seven languages. Moreover, she was fluent in English, French and German ...
Where and how did they meet? I think at one of the balls in the Marine Corps or at the Smolnensk Institute. The courtship lasted several years, and before the departure of Lieutenant Kolchak to the northern expedition of Baron Toll, they were already engaged.
One of the letters addressed to her by her fiancé from the campaign has miraculously survived: “Two months have passed since I left you, my infinitely dear, and the whole picture of our meeting is so alive in front of me, so painful and painful, as if it were yesterday. How many sleepless nights I spent in my cabin, pacing from corner to corner, so many thoughts, bitter, desolate ... without you, my life has neither that meaning, nor that goal, nor that joy. I carried all my best to your feet, as to my deity, I gave all my strength to you ... "
The wedding was played in Irkutsk in 1904. The bride rushed to her beloved in Yakutia from the island of Capri - on steamboats, trains, deer, dogs - to meet him half-dead after a polar expedition. She brought with her provisions for all the participants in that desperate campaign. They got married in the Grado-Irkutsk Archangel-Michael Church hastily - the war with Japan broke out and the husband, a lieutenant, had already secured an appointment in Port Arthur. And already on the second day after the wedding in the Irkutsk Archangel and Mikhail Church, Sophia saw off her betrothed - to the Far East, to Port Arthur, to the war ...
So it was in their life… Always….
From the very first hours of the German war that began in August 1914, Captain 2nd Rank Kolchak was at sea. And Sofya, who lodged in front-line Libau with two children, hastily packed her suitcases under the cannonade of German batteries. Everyone said that Libau would be surrendered, and the families of Russian officers besieged the train cars going to St. Petersburg. Having abandoned everything acquired over ten years, Kolchak's wife, with children in her arms and miserable travel belongings, nevertheless got out of the front-line city.
She honestly bore the cross of an officer's wife: moving from place to place, other people's apartments, illnesses of children, flight from shelling, straw widowhood and eternal fear for her husband - whether she would return from a campaign ... And she did not receive any sovereign awards for this and honors. The husband received orders and military crosses. And she put crosses on the graves of her daughters. First, two-week-old Tanechka died, then - after fleeing from the besieged Libava - and two-year-old Margarita. Only the middle one survived - Slavik, Rostislav.
Her son and husband were at the center of her world. She thought and worried about them only. Sophia wrote to Kolchak:
“My dear Sashenka! I tried to write to you under Slavushkin's dictation, but, as you can see, everything turns out the same: Myyama papa um tsybybe canapa (candy). Everything here is the same as before. Slavushka's two molars erupted... While unpacking, I examined your civilian dress: it's in order, except for a moth-damaged tuxedo. How many beautiful things for a pittance were given at your request to the Tatar.
She wrote to him in Libau from her friends' dacha near Yuriev, where she spent the summer with her children.
June 2, 1912. Dear Sasha! Slavushka starts talking and counting a lot and sings songs to herself when she wants to sleep... How are you? Where are you now? How did the maneuvers go and is your destroyer intact? I'm glad you're happy with your work. I'm afraid there would be no war, there was a lot of talk about it here. I was reading a novel about General Garibaldi in Italian. I sew and count the days. Write about yourself. Has the boss changed for you, having received half a billion for the fleet?
Your loving Sonya.
For a little over a year she was an admiral, the wife of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, the first lady of Sevastopol. Then - an almost sheer fall into the hell of underground life, emigrant lack of money, withering in a foreign land ... In Sevastopol, she did not barge - she organized a sanatorium for the lower ranks, led a ladies' circle to help sick and wounded soldiers. And the husband, if he did not go on military campaigns, then sat up at the headquarters until midnight. The Black Sea Fleet under his command dominated the theater of operations.
“... Despite the hardships of life,” she wrote to him, “I think, in the end, we will settle down and at least we will have a happy old age, but in the meantime, life is struggle and work, especially for you ...” Alas, they are not destined had a happy old age...
The last time she hugged her husband was on the platform of the Sevastopol railway station. In May 1917, Kolchak left for Petrograd, on a business trip, which, against his will, turned into a round-the-world trip that ended in a spread in Siberia. Before his death, Kolchak said: "Tell your wife to Paris that I bless my son." From Irkutsk, these words actually reached Paris ... But then, in Sevastopol, they said goodbye for a short time ...
Sophia was waiting for him in Sevastopol, even when it became unsafe to stay there; she hid in the families of sailors she knew. And although her husband, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, has not yet done anything to label him as an “enemy of the working people,” there would be many people in the city who would willingly tell the Chekists that the wife of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet is hiding there. For nothing, that the former ... She understood all this very well, and therefore, even in the summer of the 17th, she sent her son, ten-year-old Rostik, to Kamenetz-Podolsky, to her childhood friends .. And she remained in Sevastopol - to wait for her husband and tempt fate.
In December, the first wave of executions swept through the city. On the night of December 15-16, 23 officers were killed, among them three admirals. Sofya Fyodorovna listened with horror to every shot, to every loud exclamation in the street, rejoicing that her husband was now far away, and her son was in a quiet and safe place. She herself would have gone there long ago, but faithful people reported that Alexander Vasilyevich was back in Russia, that he was traveling along the Siberian Railway and that he would soon be in Sevastopol. The first thought was - to immediately go to meet him, to warn that it was impossible to enter the city - they would seize and shoot him, they would not see that he was the son of a Sevastopol hero, that he himself was a hero of two wars, a cavalier of St. George ...
Now, like 13 years ago, she was again ready to rush towards him, through the KGB cordons and partisan ambushes ... She was waiting for him from this monstrously protracted business trip. She was waiting for him from polar expeditions. She was waiting for him to return from the war, she was waiting for him from Japanese captivity. But this Sevastopol expectation was the most hopeless. She almost knew that he would not return, and yet she waited, risking being recognized, arrested, "wasted."
She stopped waiting for him only when the news came from Omsk: She was with Kolchak on the train. Anna. The wife of his classmate in the Marine Corps - Captain 1st Rank Sergei Timirev. Young, beautiful, passionate, beloved ... And how cold and cruel could Kolchak be to the woman he once loved, to his wife! Everything that connected them was forgotten - only a detached, icy tone remained. Here are fragments of a letter sent by Kolchak in October 1919 to Sofya Fedorovna, where he requires his wife not to touch on her relationship with Anna Timireva. Honestly, it's just terrifying, God forbid any woman gets this:
“Before my departure from Omsk to Tobolsk, I received your letter from 4-U1, and on the way to Tara I met with V.V. Romanov, who gave me your letter dated 8-U1. I am returning after a detour of the Northern Front from Tobolsk to Omsk by boat along the Irtysh. Almost 21/2 months, from the beginning of August, I spent on the road around the front. From the end of August, the armies began to retreat and, after stubborn and heavy monthly battles, threw the Reds back to the Tobol River. The war took on a very difficult and fierce character, complicated by the autumn time, impassability and the growing epidemics of typhus and relapsing fever ...
It is strange for me to read in your letters that you ask me about representation and some position of yours as the wife of the Supreme Ruler. I ask you to clarify how I myself understand my position and my tasks. They are defined by the old knightly motto... "Ich diene" ("I serve"). I serve the Motherland of my Great Russia in the same way as I served her all the time, commanding a ship, division or fleet.
I am by no means a representative of hereditary or elective power. I look at my rank as a position of a purely official nature. In essence, I am the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who has assumed the functions of the Supreme Civil Power, since for a successful struggle it is impossible to separate the latter from the functions of the former.
My first and main goal is to erase Bolshevism and everything connected with it from the face of Russia, to exterminate and destroy it. In essence, everything else I do is subject to this position. I do not presume to resolve the issue of everything that should follow the completion of the first task; Of course, I think about this and outline certain operational directions, but with regard to the program, I imitate Suvorov before the Italian campaign and, paraphrasing his answer to the Hofkriegsrat, I say: “I will begin with the destruction of Bolshevism, and then as the Lord God pleases!”
That's all. Thus, I ask you to always be guided by these provisions in relation to me ...
You write to me all the time that I am not attentive and caring enough for you. I think I did everything I had to do. All I can now wish for you and Slavushka is that you would be safe and could live peacefully outside of Russia during the present period of bloody struggle until Her revival. You cannot help me in this matter on any side, except for my confidence in your safety and your peaceful life abroad. Your future life, both figuratively and literally, depends on the outcome of the struggle that I am waging. I know that you care about Slavushka, and from this side I am calm and confident that you will do everything you need to bring him up until the time when I will be able to take care of him myself and try to make him a servant of our Motherland and a good soldier. I ask you to base his education on the history of great people, since their examples are the only way to develop in a child those inclinations and qualities that are necessary for service, and especially in the way I understand it. I have talked to you a lot about this and I believe that you know my opinions and opinions on this subject.
Regarding money, I wrote that I could not send more than 5,000 francs. per month, because when the exchange rate of our ruble falls, 8000 francs. amount to a huge sum of about 100,000 rubles, and I cannot spend that kind of money, especially in foreign currency.
From my letter you will see that not only is no role required in terms of representation and receptions, but, in my opinion, it is unacceptable and can put you in a very unpleasant position. I ask you to be extremely careful in all cases, conversations and meetings with foreign and Russian representatives...
Please do not forget my position and do not allow yourself to write letters that I cannot read to the end, because I destroy every letter after the first phrase that violates decency. If you let people hear gossip about me, then I won't let you tell me. This warning will hopefully be the last.
Bye see you. Your Alexander.
I would immediately die of horror and grief, but Kolchak was lucky for strong women.
Letter to A.V. Kolchak's son:
"October 20, 1919
My dear dear Slavushok.
I haven't had any letters from you for a long time, write me at least postcards of a few words.
I really miss you, my dear Slavushok...
It is hard and difficult for me to bear such a huge work before the Motherland, but I will endure it to the end, until the victory over the Bolsheviks.
I wanted you to go, when you grow up, along the path of serving the Motherland, which I have followed all my life. Read military history and the deeds of great people and learn from them how to act - this is the only way to become a useful servant to the Motherland. There is nothing higher than the Motherland and serving Her.
The Lord God will bless you and keep you, my infinitely dear and dear Slavushok. I kiss you hard. Your dad".

In April, the Bolsheviks hastily left the Crimea and the Kaiser's troops entered Sevastopol. And again I had to hide. The Germans would hardly have left alone the wife of the Russian admiral, who inflicted such tangible blows on them in the Baltic and Black Seas. Luckily, no one denounced her. This most terrible year in her life ended for the admiral's wife only with the arrival of the British. Sofya Fedorovna was supplied with money and, at the first opportunity, was transported on the "ship of Her Majesty" to Constanta. From there she moved to Bucharest, where she discharged her son Rostislav from independent Ukraine, and soon left with him for Paris. Sevastopol-Constanta-Bucharest-Marseille-Longjumeau... Another life began - without a husband, without a homeland, without money... whom he served - went to the pawnshop. She handed over her husband's gold medal, received from the Geographical Society for polar expeditions, and silver teaspoons, which she managed to take out of Sevastopol
Fortunately, she was not a white-handed lady; a large family, the Smolnensk Institute, nomadic military life taught her to do a lot with her own hands. And she altered, turned over old things, knitted, gardened. But the money was sorely lacking. Once, a miracle saved them from starvation: the son of Admiral Makarov, who fought under the banner of Kolchak in Siberia, sends $ 50 to a distressed widow from America - everything that he could scrape together from his income. In her semi-beggarly life, this was a grandiose event. Here is a letter from Sophia Feodorovna to F. Nansen, who in 1900 in Norway A.V. Kolchak was trained before his first polar expedition. In emigration, Sofya Fedorovna went to many humiliations in order to teach her son and survive on her own. She wrote similar letters to other people, she was forced to learn the politely pleading intonation perfectly.
“Dear sir, still hoping without hope, I took the liberty of turning to you ... Until now, we have been assisted by a few modest, more often wishing to remain unknown, friends, but more numerous enemies, merciless and cruel, whose machinations have ruined life my brave husband and brought me through apoplexy to a poor house. But I have my boy, whose life and future are now at stake. Our dear English friend, who has been helping us for the last three years, can no longer provide support; and said that after April 10 of this year she could not do anything for him. Young Kolchak studies at the Sorbonne... with the hope of getting back on his feet and taking his sick mother home. He has been studying for two years now, there are still two or three years left before he receives a diploma and goes out into a big life. Exams will begin in May and will be fully completed by August. But how to survive until this moment? We would only like to borrow some money for the time being to transfer him 1,000 francs a month - an amount sufficient for a young man to make ends meet. I ask you for 5,000 francs, on which he can live and study until he passes his exams...
Remember that we are all alone in this world, no country helps us, no city is only God, whom you saw in the northern seas, where my late husband also visited and where there is a small island called Bennett's Island, where the ashes rest Your friend Baron Toll, where the northern cape of these harsh lands is named Cape Sophia in honor of my wounded and tossing soul - then it is easier to look into the eyes of reality and understand the moral suffering of the unfortunate mother, whose boy on April 10 will be thrown out of life without a penny in his pocket to the very bottom Paris. I hope you understand our position and find those 5,000 francs as soon as possible, and God bless you if so. Sofya Kolchak, Admiral's widow.
Rostislav in 1931 enters the service of the Algiers Bank, marries the daughter of Admiral Razvozov. Sofya Fedorovna will die in 1956... She left an almost inconspicuous trace on the map of Russia. In the distant East Siberian Sea, Bennett Island freezes into the ice. Its southeastern cape bears the name of Sophia, the bride of a desperate lieutenant.

How did the fate of A.N. Timireva after the departure of his wife?
From May 3, 1918, he was a member of the White movement in Vladivostok. When in the autumn A.V. Kolchak took the post of the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Timirev from November 23, 1918 to August 15, 1919 served in the city as an assistant to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief for the Marine Department, and until the spring of 1919 - commander of naval forces in the Far East.
In Chinese emigration, Admiral Timirev sailed as a captain in the merchant fleet of Shanghai, in the early 1930s he was an active member of the Association of the Guards Crew - the Cabin Company, which gathered at his apartment when he chaired this elite community for the first two years. Timirev wrote interesting memoirs in 1922: “Memoirs of a Naval Officer. The Baltic Fleet during the War and Revolution (1914-1918)”. They were published in New York in 1961. In them, in a place of honor, are stories about his midshipman classmate A.V. Kolchak. Died S.N. Timirev on May 31 (June 13), 1932 in Shanghai.
He did not know that his only son had been shot by the Bolsheviks.

From n Kolchak's letter to his son Rostislav: "My dear dear Slavushok ... I would like you to go, when you grow up, along the path of serving the Motherland, which I have been following all my life. Read military history and the deeds of great people and learn from them how to act - this is the only way to become a useful servant of the Motherland. There is nothing higher than the Motherland and service to Her"

And the ice, and the fleet, and the scaffold. Who was, is and will be Admiral Kolchak for Russia?

The name of Admiral Kolchak is again in the center of political and cultural attention today. Why, after almost a century, they started talking about him again? On the one hand, his Arctic research is of particular relevance due to the fact that an active struggle is now underway on the international arena for the redistribution of the territories of the Arctic Ocean. On the other hand, on October 9, a large-scale premiere of the film “ Admiral "(the picture comes out with a record number of copies - 1250), dedicated to life, career, love and death Kolchak. About about how great the role of Kolchak in Russian history, and about how interesting his fate can be today for a wide audience, " AiF ” asked the editor and one of the authors of the book to tell “ Admiral . Encyclopedia of Film” by Doctor of Historical Sciences Yuliya KANTOR.

Arctic Kolchak

- In my opinion, in Russian history, the beginning XX century it is difficult to find a figure more striking and ambiguous than Kolchak. If the historical and political mission of Kolchak can still be interpreted in different ways and needs a comprehensive study free from ideology, then his role as a scientist, researcher of the Arctic is unlikely to cause conflicting assessments. But, alas, until now it is still underestimated and little known.

The role of Kolchak as an outstanding military leader and naval commander during the First World War also deserves attention. He did a lot, firstly, to create the Russian military fleet as such. Secondly, Kolchak made a great contribution to the protection of the shores of the Baltic Sea. And the famous “mine nets” invented by him, placed from the enemy in the First World War, came in handy during the Great Patriotic War.

Path to Calvary

The figure of Kolchak caused and causes considerable controversy, primarily in connection with his activities as a politician. Yes, the admiral was absolutely not a politician. However, he assumed the position of Supreme Ruler with dictatorial powers. He did not have a political program as such, Kolchak did not know how to be a diplomat at all, he was a suggestible and gullible person, and this is disastrous even in simpler historical periods. In addition, the admiral was a man of duty and honor - "uncomfortable" qualities for a politician. But it would be naïve to assume that he is a democrat—his aspirations show a distinct authoritarianism. At the same time, the admiral was very vulnerable, reflective and insecure.

This becomes quite obvious when you read his personal correspondence. And at the same time, you understand what efforts it cost him, as he himself said, "to accept the cross of this power." Kolchak was well aware of what Golgotha ​​he was ascending to, and had a presentiment of how everything could end for him.

Today, a sufficient number of films about historical characters are being released, which filmmakers were forbidden to use in Soviet times. But the interest in Kolchak is special. Both cinema and literature will remember him more than once. He is a complex, multifaceted personality, it is interesting to understand his life. And then, which is important for works of art, a strikingly beautiful, uncomplicated love story passes through Kolchak's biography - to Anna Timiryova . This is a novel, amazing in depth and tragedy, unfolding against the backdrop of dramatic historical events and having a documentary basis. And love is a theme for all time.

http://amnesia.pavelbers.com

Authors: Member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, participant and invalid of the 2nd group of the Second World War, participant in the defense of Moscow, retired lieutenant colonel of the guard Ulyanin Yuri Alekseevich;
Chairman of the Public Council for the Protection and Preservation of the Memorial and Monuments near the Church of All Saints on the Sokol, participant and disabled person of the 2nd group of the Second World War, participant in the defense of Moscow Gitsevich Lev Aleksandrovich;
General Director of the Orthodox Funeral Center of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, participant in the Second World War, former partisan Kuznetsov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich;
Chairman of the Board of REVISTOO "Volunteer Corps", grandson of Staff Captain Vinogradov Dmitry Sergeevich - participant of the 1st Kuban "Ice" campaign of the Volunteer Army in 1918. Lamm Leonid Leonidovich.

Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was born on November 4 (16), 1874. His father, Vasily Ivanovich Kolchak, became a hero of the defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. Having retired with the rank of Major General of Artillery, he wrote the famous book "On the Malakhov Kurgan".

A.V. Kolchak graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps with the Admiral Rikord Prize. In 1894 he was promoted to midshipman. In 1895 - to the lieutenant.

KOLCHAK - POLAR EXPLORER (early career)

From 1895 to 1899 Kolchak was three times in circumnavigation. In 1900, Kolchak took part in an expedition to the Arctic Ocean with the famous polar explorer Baron Eduard Toll, who was trying to find the legendary lost Sannikov Land. In 1902 A.V. Kolchak is seeking permission from the Academy of Sciences and funding for an expedition to search for Baron Toll and his companions who remained to winter in the North. Having prepared and led this expedition, Kolchak, with six associates on a wooden whaler "Zarya", explored the New Siberian Islands, found Toll's last stop and established that the expedition had died. During this expedition, Kolchak fell seriously ill and almost died from pneumonia and scurvy.

KOLCHAK DURING THE RUSSIAN-JAPANESE WAR

Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, as soon as the Russo-Japanese War began (not fully cured) - in March 1904 he went to Port Arthur to serve under the command of Admiral Makarov. After the tragic death of Makarov, Kolchak commands the destroyer "Angry", which made a series of bold attacks on the enemy's strongest squadron. During these combat operations, several Japanese ships were damaged and the Japanese cruiser Takosago was sunk. For this, he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree. In the last 2.5 months of the siege of Port Arthur, Kolchak successfully commanded a battery of naval guns that inflicted the greatest losses on the Japanese. For the defense of Port Arthur, Kolchak was awarded the Golden Weapon with the inscription "For Courage". Respecting his courage and talent, the Japanese command was one of the few who left Kolchak in captivity weapons, and then, without waiting for the end of the war, gave him freedom. April 29, 1905 Kolchak returned to St. Petersburg.

MILITARY AND SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES OF KOLCHAK From 1906 to 1914

In 1906, with the formation of the Naval General Staff, Kolchak became the head of its Statistical Department. And then he headed the unit for the development of operational-strategic plans in the event of a war in the Baltic. Appointed as a naval expert in the 3rd State Duma, Kolchak, together with his colleagues, developed the Large and Small shipbuilding programs for the reconstruction of the Navy after the Russo-Japanese War. All calculations and provisions of the Program were so flawlessly verified that the authorities allocated the necessary funds without delay. As part of this project, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak in 1906-1908. personally oversaw the construction of four battleships.

In 1908, at the suggestion of the famous polar explorer Vilkitsky, Kolchak organized a sea expedition along the coast of Siberia. This expedition marked the beginning of the development of the Northern Sea Route. To do this, with the active participation of Kolchak in 1908-1909. a project is being developed and the construction of the famous icebreakers "Vaigach" and "Taimyr" is being organized. In 1909-1911. Kolchak is again on a polar expedition. As a result, he obtained the most unique (not outdated so far) scientific data.

In 1906, for the exploration of the Russian North, Kolchak was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir and the "Great Constantine Medal", which was awarded to only three polar explorers, including Fridtjof Nansen. His name was given to one of the islands in the area of ​​Novaya Zemlya (now Rastorguev Island). Kolchak became a full member of the Imperial Geographical Society. From that moment on, it began to be called "Kolchak-polar". The maps of the Russian North compiled by Kolchak were used by Soviet polar explorers (including military sailors) until the end of the 50s.

In 1912, Kolchak was invited by Rear Admiral von Essen to serve in the Headquarters of the Baltic Fleet. Von Essen appoints Kolchak to the post of flag-captain of the operational part of the Headquarters. Together with von Essen, Kolchak is developing plans to prepare for a possible war with Germany at sea.

KOLCHAK IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Blitzkrieg on land against France, the Kaiser's high command expected to start with a sudden treacherous and crushing blow on the Russian Capital - St. Petersburg from the sea. The huge German fleet in the Baltic under the command of Henry of Prussia was preparing in the first days of the war (as in a parade) to enter the Gulf of Finland. German ships, unexpectedly coming close to St. Petersburg, were supposed to bring down heavy fire from 12-inch Krupp heavy-duty guns on government and military institutions, land troops and, within a few hours, capture all the most important objects of the Capital and withdraw Russia from the war.

These Napoleonic plans of Kaiser Wilhelm were not destined to come true. In the first hours of the First World War, on the orders of Admiral von Essen and under the direct supervision of Kolchak, a mine battalion set up 6,000 mines in the Gulf of Finland, which completely paralyzed the actions of the German fleet on the outskirts of the Capital. This disrupted the enemy blitzkrieg at sea, saved Russia and France.

In 1941, at the initiative of the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov (who studied the actions of the Baltic Fleet during World War I), this plan was repeated in the early days of World War II to organize the defense of the Gulf of Finland and Leningrad.

In the autumn of 1914, with the personal participation of Kolchak, a unique (unparalleled in the world) mine blockade of German naval bases was developed. Several Russian destroyers made their way to Kiel and Danzig and set up several minefields on the approaches to them (under the noses of the Germans).

In February 1915, the captain of the 1st rank Kolchak, as the commander of a special purpose semi-division, personally undertook a second daring raid. Four destroyers again approached Danzig and put up 180 mines. As a result of this, 4 German cruisers, 8 destroyers and 11 transports were blown up in the minefields (exposed by Kolchak). Later, historians will call this operation of the Russian fleet the most successful in the entire First World War.

Largely due to the talent of Kolchak, the losses of the German fleet in the Baltic exceeded our losses in warships by 3.5 times, and by the number of transports by 5.2 times.

April 10, 1916 Kolchak was awarded the rank of Rear Admiral. After that, his mine division defeated a caravan of German ore carriers, marching under a powerful escort from Stockholm. For this success, the Sovereign promoted Kolchak to vice admiral. He became the youngest admiral and naval commander in Russia.

June 26, 1916 Kolchak is appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet. At the beginning of July 1916, a squadron of Russian ships (during an operation developed by Kolchak) overtakes and during the battle severely damages the German cruiser Breslau, which had previously shelled Russian ports with impunity and sank transports on the Black Sea. Kolchak successfully organizes combat operations to blockade the Eregli-Zongulak coal region, Varna, and other Turkish enemy ports. By the end of 1916, Turkish and German ships were completely locked up in their ports. Kolchak records in his asset even six enemy submarines that were blown up near the Ottoman coast. This allowed the Russian ships to make all the necessary transportation in the Black Sea, as in peacetime. For 11 months of his command of the Black Sea Fleet, Kolchak achieved the absolute combat dominance of the Russian fleet over the enemy.

FEBRUARY REVOLUTION

Admiral Kolchak began preparations for the Great Bosphorus landing operation, with the aim of capturing Constantinople and withdrawing Turkey from the war. These plans are interrupted by the February revolution. Order No. 1 of the Council of Soldiers' and Workers' Deputies abolishes the disciplinary power of commanders. Kolchak is trying to actively fight against revolutionary defeatist agitation and propaganda conducted by left-wing extremist parties with the money of the German General Staff.

June 10, 1917 The Provisional Government (under pressure from the left-wing radical opposition) recalls the dangerous admiral to Petrograd in order to float away the enterprising and popular naval commander. Members of the Government listen to Kolchak's report on the catastrophic collapse of the army and navy, the possible future loss of statehood and the inevitability of the establishment in this case of a pro-German Bolshevik dictatorship. After that, Kolchak is sent to the United States as a world-famous mine expert (away from Russia). In San Francisco, Kolchak was offered to stay in the United States, promising him a minecraft department at the best naval college and a rich life for his pleasure in a cottage on the ocean. Kolchak said no. Around the world, he moved to Russia.

OCTOBER REVOLUTION AND CIVIL WAR In Yokohama, Kolchak learns about the October Revolution, the liquidation of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander and the negotiations begun by the Bolsheviks with the Germans. The admiral goes to Tokyo. There he hands over to the British ambassador a request for admission to the English active army, at least as a private. The ambassador consults with London and Kolchak is sent to the Mesopotamian front. On the way there, in Singapore, he is overtaken by a telegram from the Russian envoy to China, Kudashev. Kolchak goes to Beijing. In China, he creates the Russian armed forces to protect the CER. In November 1918 Kolchak arrives in Omsk. He is offered the post of Minister of War and Navy in the Government of the Directory.

Two weeks later, the White officers stage a coup and arrest the left-wing members of the Directory - the Socialist Revolutionaries (who, after February 1917, in alliance with the Bolsheviks, Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and anarchists, actively participated in organizing the collapse of the Imperial Army and Navy, atheistic anti-Orthodox agitation and propaganda). After that, the Council of Ministers of the Siberian Government was formed, which offered Kolchak the title of "Supreme Ruler of Russia".

KOLCHAK AND THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

In January 1919, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon blessed the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral A.V. Kolchak to fight the godless Bolsheviks. At the same time, Patriarch Tikhon refused to bless the command of the Volunteer Army of the South of Russia, since among them were the main culprits of the abdication and subsequent arrest of Sovereign Nicholas 2 in February 1917, including Generals Alekseev and Kornilov. Admiral Kolchak was actually not involved in these tragic events. That is why at the beginning of January 1919 (crossing the front line) a priest sent by Patriarch Tikhon came to Admiral Kolchak. The priest brought the Admiral a personal letter from the Patriarch with a blessing and a photograph of the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker from the Nikolsky Gates of the Moscow Kremlin, which were sewn into the lining of a peasant scroll.

TEXT OF PATRIARCH TIKHON'S MESSAGE TO ADMIRAL KOLCHAK

“As is well known to all Russians and, of course, to Your Excellency,” this letter said, “before this image revered by all of Russia, annually on December 6, on the day of winter St. on their knees. And on December 6, 1918, faithful to the Faith and tradition, the people of Moscow, at the end of the prayer service, knelt down and sang: "Save the Lord." The arriving troops dispersed the worshipers, firing at the Image from rifles and guns. with a cross in his left hand and a sword in his right. Bullets of fanatics fell around the Saint, nowhere touching the Saint of God. the hand that held the cross.

On the same day, by order of the authorities of the Antichrist, this Holy Icon was hung with a large red flag with a satanic emblem. An inscription was made on the wall of the Kremlin: "Death to faith - the opium of the people." The next day, December 7, 1918, many people gathered for a prayer service, which, undisturbed by anyone, was coming to an end! But when the people, on their knees, began to sing "God save!" - the flag fell from the Image of the Wonderworker. the atmosphere of prayerful ecstasy is indescribable! It had to be seen, and who saw it, he remembers and feels today. Singing, sobbing, screaming and raising hands, shooting from rifles, many wounded, were killed. and.the place was cleared.

The next early morning, with my Blessing, the Image was photographed by a very good photographer. The Lord showed the Perfect Miracle through His Saint to the Russian people in Moscow. I am sending a photographic copy of this Miraculous Image, as Mine to you, Your Excellency, Alexander Vasilievich - Blessing - to fight against the atheistic temporary power over the suffering people of Rus'. I beg you, consider, venerable Alexander Vasilyevich, that the Bolsheviks managed to beat off the left hand of the Ugodnik with a cross, which is, as it were, an indicator of the temporary trampling of the Orthodox Faith. But the punishing sword in the right hand of the Wonderworker remained to help and Bless Your Excellency, and Your Christian struggle to save the Orthodox Church and Russia.

Admiral Kolchak, after reading the letter of the Patriarch, said: "I know that there is a sword of the state, a surgeon's lancet. I feel that the most powerful one is a spiritual sword, which will be an invincible force in a crusade against the monster of violence!"

At the insistence of the Siberian bishops, a Provisional Higher Church Administration was created in Ufa, headed by Archbishop Sylvester of Omsk. In April 1919, the Omsk Council of the Clergy of Siberia unanimously constituted Admiral Kolchak as the temporary head of the Orthodox Church in the Siberian territories liberated from the Bolsheviks - until the time of the liberation of Moscow, when His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon will be able (not hampered by the atheists) to fully begin his duties. At the same time, the Omsk Cathedral decided to mention the name of Kolchak during official church services. These decisions of the Council have not been repealed to this day!

On the personal instructions of Kolchak, the investigator for especially important cases, Sokolov, organized an investigation into the villainous murder of the Romanov Imperial family in Yekaterinburg.

Admiral Kolchak announced a crusade. He gathered more than 3.5 thousand Orthodox clergy, including 1.5 thousand military clergy. At the initiative of Kolchak, separate combat units were formed, consisting only of clergy and believers (including the Old Believers), which Kornilov, Denikin and Yudenich did not have. These are the Orthodox squad of the "Holy Cross", the "333rd Regiment named after Mary Magdalene", the "Holy Brigade", three regiments of "Jesus Christ", "Theotokos" and "Nicholas the Wonderworker".

Military units were created from believers and clergy of other faiths. For example, the Muslim detachments of the Green Banner, the Battalion of the Defenders of the Jewish Faith, etc.

URAL WORKERS IN KOLCHAK'S ARMY

Kolchak's army numbered only 150 thousand people at the front. Its main striking force was the Izhevsk and Votkinsk divisions (under the command of General Kappel), formed entirely of craftsmen and workers who raised an uprising at the end of 1918 against the policy of war communism, expropriation and leveling. These were the best in Russia and in the world, highly skilled workers of military factories in the Ural cities of Izhevsk and Votkinsk. The workers went into battle against the Bolsheviks under a red banner on which was written "In the struggle you will find your right." They had almost no ammo. They were obtained from the enemy in psychic bayonet attacks. The Ural workers went into bayonet attacks to the dashing sounds of harmonicas and the music "Varshavyanka", the words to which they composed their own. Izhevtsy and Votkintsy literally terrified the Bolsheviks, sweeping away entire regiments and divisions.

ZINOVY SVERDLOV (PESHKOV) IN THE SERVICE OF KOLCHAK

Zinovy ​​Sverdlov (Peshkov), the brother of Yakov Sverdlov, who was the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee among the Bolsheviks and Lenin's right hand, participated in the struggle against the Bolsheviks at Kolchak. At the beginning of 1919, Zinovy ​​sent a telegram to his brother Yakov: "Yashka, when we take Moscow, we will hang Lenin first, and you second, for what you did to Russia!"

THE GENUINE RELATIONS OF KOLCHAK WITH THE INTERVENTORS

Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was never a "puppet of the interventionists", as the Soviet agitprop claimed. His relations with the "intervening allies" were extremely strained. At the beginning of 1919, French General Janin arrived in Omsk. On behalf of Lloyd George and Clemenceau, he presented Kolchak with an ultimatum to subordinate to him (Zhanin) not only the allied, but also all Russian White troops in Siberia and to declare him (Zhanin) the Supreme Commander. Otherwise, Kolchak will not receive any help from France and England. Kolchak sharply replied that he would rather refuse outside support than agree to the subordination of all Russian troops to a foreign general and the Entente.

In September 1919, the allies of the Entente countries demanded the removal of all Russian units from Vladivostok. Kolchak responded with a telegram to the commander of the Russian garrison, General Rozanov: "I command you to leave all Russian troops in Vladivostok and not to withdraw them anywhere without my order. The demand of the allies is an encroachment on the sovereign rights of Russia.".

At the same time, General Mannerheim offered Kolchak the help of the 100,000-strong Finnish army in exchange for the transfer of part of the Karelian Isthmus to Finland and the deployment of occupying Finnish troops in Petrograd. Kolchak replied: "I do not trade in Russia!"

The admiral made only economic concessions to the Entente. His Government allowed the placement of foreign concessions in Siberia and the Far East (including the creation of free economic zones there) for 15-25 years, the creation of industrial enterprises and the development of natural resources, in order to use the capital of the Entente countries to restore the Russian economy after the Civil War. "When Russia gets stronger and the time comes, we will throw them out of here," said Kolchak.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC GOALS OF KOLCHAK

Admiral Kolchak restored the laws of the Russian Empire in Siberia. He himself and his Government have never set as their goal the destruction of entire social groups and strata of the population. Until now, not a single directive of A.V. Kolchak to the massive White terror against the workers and peasants. The Leninist Bolsheviks (as early as the beginning of the First World War) promised to "transfer the imperialist war into a civil one", and having seized power in October 1917, they openly proclaimed mass revolutionary terror and the complete destruction of all "counter-revolutionary classes" - the gene pool of the Russian nation - officers, cadets, clergymen, merchants, nobles, highly skilled craftsmen and wealthy peasants.

After the end of the Civil War, the Siberian government hoped to achieve class, civil, interethnic and interreligious reconciliation of various segments of the population and political parties (without the extreme left and without the extreme right). Therefore, in 1919, the Kolchak government banned the activities of both extreme left extremist parties (Bolsheviks and Left Social Revolutionaries) and extreme right Black Hundred organizations. A unique economic program for a state-regulated market economy was developed, including the creation of an industrial base in Central and Western Siberia, the development of arable land and natural resources, and an increase in the population of Siberia by 1950-70. up to 200-400 million people.

DEATH OF ADMIRAL KOLCHAK

In 1919 (realizing the catastrophe threatening Soviet power), the Bolsheviks were forced to refuse to export the world revolution. All combat-ready units of the Red Army, intended for the revolutionary conquest of Central and Western Europe, were thrown to the Eastern Siberian Front against Kolchak. By the middle of 1919, more than half a million Soviet troops, including 50,000 "red internationalists": Chinese, Latvians, Hungarians and other mercenaries, were operating against the 150,000-strong Kolchak army. The Lenin government, through its secret emissaries in Paris, London, Tokyo, New York, began secret negotiations with the Entente. The Bolsheviks were forced to agree to a secret compromise agreement with the Entente on leasing and granting concessions to foreign capital after the Civil War, creating a Free Economic Zone in the form of the so-called. Far Eastern Republic. In addition, the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks were promised to create a government coalition with the Bolsheviks.

In the midst of hostilities, a terrible epidemic of typhus began in the troops of Admiral Kolchak. More than half of all troops were disabled. At the same time, the "allies" completely stopped the supply of weapons and medicines, tacitly canceling all previous agreements and military orders already paid for in gold abroad. With the consent of General Zhanen, the Czechoslovak Corps at the most desperate moment completely blocked the strategic railway line Nikolaevsk-Irkutsk. The only artery connecting the rear with the front. With the consent of the ANTANTA, on January 6, 1920, the command of the Czech Corps was transferred to the Irkutsk Bolshevik-Left SR Political Center of Admiral Kolchak (by this time he had resigned all powers and transferred them to Ataman Semenov and General Denikin). For this, General Zhanen (with the consent of the Leninist government) transferred part of Russia's gold reserves to the Czechs. The Izhevsk and Votkinsk divisions marching to Irkutsk to rescue Kolchak (under the command of General Kappel) approached the city suburbs too late.

On February 7, 1920, by the verdict of the Irkutsk Revolutionary Committee, Admiral A.V. Kolchak was shot without trial on the banks of the Ushakovka river, a tributary of the Angara. The murder of the Admiral was authorized (with the knowledge of the ANTANTA) by an arch-secret telegram personally by Ulyanov-Lenin to the Irkutsk Revolutionary Committee. Before the execution, Kolchak refused to blindfold with a bandage and presented his silver cigarette case to the commander of the firing squad.

It is a terrible state to give orders without having real power to ensure the execution of the order, except for one's own authority. (A. V. Kolchak, March 11, 1917)

Alexander Vasilievich Kolchak was born on November 4, 1874. In 1888-1894 he studied at the Naval Cadet Corps, where he transferred from the 6th St. Petersburg classical gymnasium. He was promoted to midshipman. In addition to military affairs, he was fond of exact sciences and factory business: he learned to fitter in the workshops of the Obukhov plant, he mastered the navigational business at the Kronstadt Naval Observatory. V. I. Kolchak served his first officer rank with a severe wound during the defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War of 1853-1856: he turned out to be one of the seven surviving defenders of the Stone Tower on Malakhov Kurgan, whom the French found among the corpses after the assault. After the war, he graduated from the Mining Institute in St. Petersburg and, until his retirement, served as an acceptance officer for the Naval Ministry at the Obukhov Plant, having a reputation as a straightforward and extremely scrupulous person.

At the end of 1896, Kolchak was assigned to the cruiser of the 2nd rank "Cruiser" to the position of chief of the watch. On this ship, for several years he went on campaigns in the Pacific Ocean, in 1899 he returned to Kronstadt. On December 6, 1898, he was promoted to lieutenant. In the campaigns, Kolchak not only performed his official duties, but also actively engaged in self-education. He also became interested in oceanography and hydrology. In 1899, he published an article "Observations on surface temperatures and specific gravity of sea water, made on the cruisers" Rurik "and" Cruiser "from May 1897 to March 1898." July 21, 1900 A. V. Kolchak went on an expedition on the schooner "Zarya" along the Baltic, North and Norwegian seas to the shores of the Taimyr Peninsula, where the first wintering. In October 1900, Kolchak participated in Toll's trip to the Gafner fjord, and in April-May 1901, the two of them traveled around Taimyr. Throughout the expedition, the future admiral carried out active scientific work. In 1901, E. V. Toll immortalized the name of A. V. Kolchak, naming the island in the Kara Sea and the cape discovered by the expedition after him. As a result of the expedition in 1906, he was elected a full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society.

Schooner Zarya

The long polar expeditions of his son, his scientific and military activities pleased the aging General Vasily Kolchak. And they were alarming: his only son was almost thirty years old, and the prospect of seeing grandchildren, heirs of the famous family in the male line was very vague. And then, having received news from his son that he would soon read a report in the Irkutsk Geographical Society, the general takes decisive measures. By that time, Alexander Kolchak had been engaged for several years to a hereditary Podolsk noblewoman. Sofia Omirova.

But, apparently, he was in no hurry to become a loving husband and father of the family. Long polar expeditions, in which he voluntarily took part, followed one after another. Sophia has been waiting for her fiancé for the fourth year. And the old general decided: the wedding should take place in Irkutsk. The chronicle of further events is swift: on March 2, Alexander reads a brilliant report at the Irkutsk Geographical Society, and the next day he meets his father and bride at the Irkutsk railway station. Preparations for the wedding take two days. March fifth Sofia Omirova And Alexander Kolchak get married. Three days later, the young husband leaves his wife and voluntarily goes to the army to defend Port Arthur. The Russo-Japanese War began. The long journey of the last, perhaps the most prominent representative of the Kolchak dynasty of Russian warriors, to the ice hole on the Angara began. And to great Russian glory.

The war with Japan was the first combat test of the young lieutenant. His rapid career growth - from watch officer to commander of a destroyer and, later, commander of coastal guns, corresponded to the amount of work done in the most difficult conditions. Combat raids, minefields approaches to Port Arthur, the destruction of one of the leading enemy cruisers "Takasago" - Alexander Kolchak served his fatherland in good faith. Although he could well retire for health reasons. For participation in the Russo-Japanese War, Alexander Kolchak was awarded two orders and a golden St. George dagger with the inscription "For Courage".

In 1912, Kolchak was appointed head of the First Operational Department of the Naval General Staff, in charge of all the preparation of the fleet for the expected war. During this period, Kolchak participates in the maneuvers of the Baltic Fleet, becomes a specialist in the field of combat firing and, in particular, mine work: since the spring of 1912, he has been in the Baltic Fleet near Essen, then he served in Libau, where the Mine Division was based. Before the start of the war, his family also remained in Libau: wife, son, daughter. Since December 1913, Kolchak has been a captain of the 1st rank; after the start of the war - the flag-captain for the operational part. He developed the first combat mission for the fleet - to close the entrance to the Gulf of Finland with a strong minefield (the same mine-artillery position Porkkala-udd-island Nargen, which was completely successfully, but not so quickly repeated by the sailors of the Red Navy in 1941). Having taken a group of four destroyers into temporary command, at the end of February 1915 Kolchak closes the Danzig Bay with two hundred mines. This was the most difficult operation - not only for military reasons, but also for the conditions of navigation of ships with a weak hull in the ice: here Kolchak's polar experience came in handy again. In September 1915, Kolchak took command, at first temporary, of the Mine Division; at the same time, all naval forces in the Gulf of Riga come under his control. In November 1915, Kolchak received the highest Russian military award - the Order of St. George IV degree. On Easter 1916, in April, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was awarded the first admiral's rank. In April 1916 he was promoted to Rear Admiral. In July 1916, by order of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II, Alexander Vasilyevich was promoted to vice admiral and appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet.

After the February Revolution of 1917, the Sevastopol Soviet removed Kolchak from command, and the admiral returned to Petrograd. After the February Revolution of 1917, Kolchak was the first in the Black Sea Fleet to swear allegiance to the Provisional Government. In the spring of 1917, the Headquarters began preparations for a landing operation to capture Constantinople, but due to the disintegration of the army and navy, this idea had to be abandoned. He received gratitude from the Minister of War Guchkov for his quick reasonable actions, with which he contributed to the preservation of order in the Black Sea Fleet. However, due to the defeatist propaganda and agitation that penetrated into the army and navy after February 1917 under the guise and cover of freedom of speech, both the army and the navy began to move towards their collapse. On April 25, 1917, Alexander Vasilyevich spoke at a meeting of officers with a report “The situation of our armed forces and relations with the allies”. Among other things, Kolchak noted: “We are facing the disintegration and destruction of our armed forces, [because] the old forms of discipline have collapsed, and new ones have not been created.”

Kolchak receives an invitation from the American mission, which officially asked the Provisional Government to send Admiral Kolchak to the United States to provide information on mines and anti-submarine warfare. July 4 A.F. Kerensky authorized the implementation of Kolchak's mission and, as a military adviser, he is serving in England, and then in the USA.

Kolchak returns to Russia, but the October coup delays him in Japan until September 1918. On the night of November 18, a military coup took place in Omsk, which pushed Kolchak to the top of power. The Council of Ministers insisted on proclaiming him the Supreme Ruler of Russia, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and making him a full admiral. In 1919, Kolchak transferred Headquarters from Omsk to the government echelon, and Irkutsk was appointed the new capital. The Admiral stops at Nizhneudinsk.

On January 5, 1920, he agrees to transfer supreme power to General Denikin, and control of the Eastern Outskirts to Semenov, and goes into the Czech carriage, under the protection of the Allies. On January 14, the last betrayal takes place: in exchange for free passage, the Czechs give up the admiral. On January 15, 1920, at 9:50 pm local time, Irkutsk time, Kolchak was arrested. At eleven o'clock in the morning, under a reinforced escort, the arrested were led across the hummocky ice of the Angara, and then Kolchak and his officers were transported in cars to the Alexander Central. The Irkutsk Revolutionary Committee intended to make an open trial of the former Supreme Ruler of Russia and the ministers of his Russian government. On January 22, the Extraordinary Investigative Commission began interrogations, which continued until February 6, when the remnants of Kolchak's army came close to Irkutsk. The Revolutionary Committee issued a decree on the execution of Kolchak without trial. February 7, 1920 at 4 o'clock in the morning Kolchak, together with Prime Minister V.N. Pepelyaev was shot on the banks of the Ushakovka River and thrown into the hole.

Last photo admiral

Monument to Kolchak. Irkutsk

Severe. Haughty. Proudly
Sparkling bronze eyes
Kolchak looks silently
To the place of his death.

The brave hero of Port Arthur,
Wrestler, geographer, admiral -
Carried up by a silent sculpture
He is on a granite pedestal.

Great without any optics
He sees everything around now:
River; slope where the place of execution
Marked wooden cross.

He lived. Was bold and free
And even for a short time
He become the only Supreme
The ruler of Russia could!

Execution ahead of freedom,
And in the red stars of the rebels
Found the grave of a patriot
In the cold bowels of the Angara.

Among the people, a stubborn rumor roams:
He was saved. He is still alive;
He goes to the same temple to pray,
Where he stood under the crown with his wife ...

Now terror has no power over him.
He was able to be reborn in bronze,
And tramples indifferently
Heavy forged boot

Red Guard and sailor,
What, dictatorships again hungry,
Bayonets crossed with a mute threat,
Unable to overthrow Kolchak

Recently, previously unknown documents concerning the execution and subsequent burial of Admiral Kolchak were discovered in the Irkutsk region. Documents classified as "secret" were found during the work on the performance of the Irkutsk city theater "Admiral's Star" based on the play by former state security officer Sergei Ostroumov. According to the documents found, in the spring of 1920, not far from the Innokentyevskaya station (on the Angara bank, 20 km below Irkutsk), local residents discovered a corpse in an admiral's uniform, carried by the current to the Angara bank. Arriving representatives of the investigating authorities conducted an inquiry and identified the body of the executed Admiral Kolchak. Subsequently, investigators and local residents secretly buried the admiral according to Christian custom. The investigators drew up a map on which Kolchak's grave was marked with a cross. Currently, all found documents are under examination.

One command to play Beethoven's symphonies is sometimes not enough to play them well.

A. V. Kolchak, February 1917

One of the most interesting and controversial figures in the history of Russia in the twentieth century is A. V. Kolchak. Admiral, naval commander, traveler, oceanographer and writer. Until now, this historical figure is of interest to historians, writers and directors. Admiral Kolchak, whose biography is shrouded in interesting facts and events, is of great interest to contemporaries. Based on his biographical data, books are created, scripts are written for the theater stage. Admiral Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich - the hero of documentaries and feature films. It is impossible to fully appreciate the significance of this person in the history of the Russian people.

The first steps of a young cadet

A. V. Kolchak, admiral of the Russian Empire, was born on November 4, 1874 in St. Petersburg. The Kolchak family comes from an ancient noble family. Father - Vasily Ivanovich Kolchak, Major General of Naval Artillery, mother - Olga Ilyinichna Posokhova, Don Cossack. The family of the future admiral of the Russian Empire was deeply religious. In his childhood memoirs, Admiral Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich noted: “I am Orthodox, until the time I entered elementary school, I received family education under the guidance of my parents.” After studying for three years (1885-1888) at the St. Petersburg Classical Men's Gymnasium, young Alexander Kolchak enters the Naval School. It was there that A. V. Kolchak, admiral of the Russian fleet, first learned naval sciences, which would later become his life's work. Studying at the Naval School revealed A.V. Kolchak's outstanding abilities and talent for maritime affairs.

The future Admiral Kolchak, whose brief biography shows that travel and sea adventures became his main passion. It was in 1890 that, as a sixteen-year-old teenager, a young cadet first went to sea. It happened on board the armored frigate "Prince Pozharsky". Training swimming lasted about three months. During this time, junior cadet Alexander Kolchak received the first skills and practical knowledge of maritime affairs. Later, during his studies at the Naval Cadet Corps, A. V. Kolchak repeatedly went on campaigns. His training ships were Rurik and Cruiser. Thanks to study trips, A.V. Kolchak began to study oceanography and hydrology, as well as navigational charts of underwater currents off the coast of Korea.

polar research

After graduating from the Naval School, young lieutenant Alexander Kolchak submits a report to the naval service in the Pacific Ocean. The request was approved, and he was sent to one of the naval garrisons of the Pacific Fleet. In 1900, Admiral Kolchak, whose biography is closely connected with the scientific research of the Arctic Ocean, sets off on the first polar expedition. On October 10, 1900, at the invitation of the famous traveler Baron Eduard Toll, the scientific group set off. The purpose of the expedition was to establish the geographical coordinates of the mysterious island of Sannikov Land. In February 1901, Kolchak made a big report about the Great Northern Expedition. In 1902, on the wooden whaling schooner Zarya, Kolchak and Toll again set off for the northern voyage. In the summer of the same year, four polar explorers, led by the head of the expedition, Eduard Toll, left the schooner and set off on dog sleds to explore the coast of the Arctic. Nobody came back. A long search for the missing expedition did not bring any results. The entire crew of the Zarya schooner was forced to return to the mainland. After some time, A.V. Kolchak submits a petition to the Russian Academy of Sciences for a second expedition to the Northern Islands. The main purpose of the campaign was to find the members of the team. As a result of the search, traces of the missing group were found. However, the living members of the team were no longer there. For participation in the rescue expedition, A. V. Kolchak was awarded the Imperial Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, 4th degree. According to the results of the work of the research polar group, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was elected a full member of the Russian Geographical Society.

Military conflict with Japan (1904-1905)

With the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, A.V. Kolchak asks to be transferred from the scientific academy to the Naval War Department. Having received approval, he goes to serve in Port Arthur to Admiral S. O. Makarov, commander of the Pacific Fleet. A. V. Kolchak is appointed commander of the destroyer "Angry". For six months, the future admiral fought valiantly for Port Arthur. However, despite the heroic confrontation, the fortress fell. The soldiers of the Russian army capitulated. In one of the battles, Kolchak is wounded and ends up in a Japanese hospital. Thanks to American military intermediaries, Alexander Kolchak and other officers of the Russian army were returned to their homeland. For his heroism and courage, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak was awarded a nominal gold saber and a silver medal "In memory of the Russian-Japanese war."

Continuation of scientific activity

After a six-month vacation, Kolchak again starts research work. The main theme of his scientific works was the processing of materials from polar expeditions. Scientific works on oceanology and the history of polar research helped the young scientist to win honor and respect in the scientific community. In 1907, his translation of Martin Knudsen's "Tables of Freezing Points of Sea Water" was published. In 1909, the author's monograph "The Ice of the Kara and Siberian Seas" was published. The significance of the works of A. V. Kolchak was that he was the first to lay the foundation for the doctrine of sea ice. The Russian Geographical Society highly appreciated the scientific activity of the scientist, presenting him with the highest award "Gold Konstantinovsky Medal". A. V. Kolchak became the youngest of the polar explorers who were awarded this high award. All predecessors were foreigners, and only he became the first Russian owner of a high distinction.

Revival of the Russian fleet

The loss in the Russo-Japanese War was very hard for the Russian officers. A.V. was no exception. Kolchak, an admiral in spirit and a researcher by vocation. Continuing to study the reasons for the defeat of the Russian army, Kolchak is developing a plan to create a Naval General Staff. In his scientific report, he expresses his thoughts on the reasons for the military defeat in the war, about what kind of fleet Russia needs, and also points out shortcomings in the defensive ability of naval ships. The speech of the speaker in the State Duma does not find due approval, and A. V. Kolchak (admiral) leaves the service in the Naval General Staff. Biography and photos of that time confirm his transition to teaching at the Naval Academy. Despite the lack of an academic education, the leadership of the academy invited him to lecture on the joint actions of the army and navy. In April 1908, A. V. Kolchak was awarded the military rank of captain of the 2nd rank. Five years later, in 1913, he was promoted to the rank of captain of the 1st rank.

Participation of A. V. Kolchak in the First World War

Since September 1915, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak has been in charge of the Mine Division of the Baltic Fleet. The place of deployment was the port of the city of Revel (now Tallinn). The main task of the division was the development of minefields and their installation. In addition, the commander personally conducted sea raids to eliminate enemy ships. This caused admiration among ordinary sailors, as well as among the officers of the division. The courage and resourcefulness of the commander received wide appreciation in the fleet, and this reached the capital. April 10, 1916 A.V. Kolchak was promoted to the rank of rear admiral of the Russian fleet. And in June 1916, by decree of Emperor Nicholas II, Kolchak was awarded the rank of vice admiral, and he was appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet. Thus, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, admiral of the Russian fleet, becomes the youngest of the naval commanders. The arrival of an energetic and competent commander was received with great respect. From the first days of work, Kolchak established strict discipline and changed the command leadership of the fleet. The main strategic task is to clear the sea of ​​enemy warships. To accomplish this task, it was proposed to block the ports of Bulgaria and the waters of the Bosphorus Strait. An operation began to mine enemy coastlines. Admiral Kolchak's ship could often be seen performing combat and tactical missions. The commander of the fleet personally controlled the situation at sea. The special operation to mine the Bosphorus Strait with a swift blow to Constantinople was approved by Nicholas II. However, a daring military operation did not happen, all plans were violated by the February Revolution.

Revolutionary uprising of 1917

The events of the February coup of 1917 found Kolchak in Batumi. It was in this Georgian city that the admiral held a meeting with Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, commander of the Caucasian Front. The agenda was to discuss the schedule of shipping and the construction of a seaport in Trabzon (Turkey). Having received a secret dispatch from the General Staff about a military coup in Petrograd, the admiral urgently returns to Sevastopol. Upon returning to the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral A.V. Kolchak orders the termination of the telegraph and postal communications of the Crimea with other regions of the Russian Empire. This prevents the spread of rumors and panic in the fleet. All telegrams were sent only to the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet. Unlike the situation in the Baltic Fleet, the situation in the Black Sea was under the control of the admiral. A. V. Kolchak kept the Black Sea flotilla from revolutionary collapse for a long time. However, political events did not pass by. In June 1917, by decision of the Sevastopol Soviet, Admiral Kolchak was removed from the leadership of the Black Sea Fleet. During the disarmament, Kolchak, before the formation of his subordinates, breaks the award golden saber and says: “The sea rewarded me, I return the award to the sea.”

Family life of the Russian admiral

Sofya Fedorovna Kolchak (Omirova), the wife of the great naval commander, was a hereditary noblewoman. Sophia was born in 1876 in Kamenetz-Podolsk. Father - Fedor Vasilyevich Omirov, Privy Councilor of His Imperial Majesty, mother - Daria Fedorovna Kamenskaya, came from the family of Major General V.F. Kamensky. Sofya Fedorovna was educated at the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens. A beautiful, strong-willed woman who knew several foreign languages, she was very independent in character. The wedding with Alexander Vasilievich took place in the St. Kharlampievskaya Church in Irkutsk on March 5, 1904. After the wedding, the young spouse leaves his wife and goes to the army to defend Port Arthur. S.F. Kolchak, together with his father-in-law, goes to St. Petersburg. All her life, Sofya Fedorovna kept loyalty and devotion to her lawful spouse. She invariably began her letters to him with the words: "My dear and beloved, Sashenka." And she finished: “Sonia, who loves you.” Admiral Kolchak kept the touching letters of his wife until the last days. Constant separation did not allow the spouses to see each other often. Military service required the fulfillment of duty. And yet, rare moments of joyful meetings did not bypass loving spouses. Sofia Fedorovna gave birth to three children. The first daughter, Tatyana, was born in 1908, however, without having lived even a month, the child died. Son Rostislav was born on March 9, 1910 (died in 1965). The third child in the family was Margarita (1912-1914). When escaping from the Germans from Libava (Liepaja, Latvia), the girl caught a cold and soon died. Kolchak's wife lived for some time in Gatchina, then in Libau. During the shelling of the city, the Kolchak family was forced to leave their refuge. Having collected her things, Sophia moves to her husband in Helsingfors, where at that time the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet was located. It was in this city that Sophia met Anna Timireva, the last love of the admiral. Then there was a move to Sevastopol. Throughout the Civil War, she waited for her husband. In 1919, Sophia Kolchak emigrated with her son. British allies help them get to Constanta, then there was Bucharest and Paris. Experiencing a difficult financial situation in exile, Sofya Kolchak was able to give a decent education to her son. Rostislav Aleksandrovich Kolchak graduated from the Higher Diplomatic School and worked for some time in the Algerian banking system. In 1939, Kolchak's son entered the service of the French army and soon fell into German captivity. Sofia Kolchak will survive the German occupation of Paris. The death of the admiral's wife will occur in the Lunjumo hospital (France) in 1956. S.F. Kolchak was buried at the cemetery of Russian emigrants in Paris. In 1965, Rostislav Alexandrovich Kolchak died. The last refuge of the wife and son of the admiral will be the French tomb in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.

The last love of the Russian admiral

Anna Vasilievna Timireva is the daughter of the outstanding Russian conductor and musician V. I. Safonov. Anna was born in Kislovodsk in 1893. Admiral Kolchak and Anna Timireva met in 1915 in Helsingfors. Her first husband is Captain 1st Rank Sergei Nikolaevich Timirev. The love story with Admiral Kolchak still inspires admiration and respect for this Russian woman. Love and devotion made her go to a voluntary arrest after her lover. Endless arrests and exile could not destroy tender feelings, she loved her admiral until the end of her life. Having survived the execution of Admiral Kolchak in 1920, Anna Timireva was in exile for many years. Only in 1960 she was rehabilitated and lived in the capital. Anna Vasilievna died on January 31, 1975.

Foreign trips

Upon his return to Petrograd in 1917, Admiral Kolchak (his photo is presented in our article) receives an official invitation from the American diplomatic mission. Foreign partners, knowing his extensive experience in the mine business, ask the Provisional Government to send A. V. Kolchak as a military expert in the fight against submarines. A.F. Kerensky gives his consent to his departure. Soon, Admiral Kolchak went to England, and then to America. There he held military consultations and also took an active part in training maneuvers for the US Navy. Nevertheless, Kolchak believed that his foreign voyage had failed, and a decision was made to return to Russia. While in San Francisco, the admiral receives a government telegram proposing to run for the Constituent Assembly. The October Revolution broke out and disrupted all Kolchak's plans. The news of the revolutionary uprising finds him in the Japanese port of Yokohama. The temporary stop lasted until the autumn of 1918.

Events of the Civil War in the fate of A. V. Kolchak

After long wanderings abroad, A.V. Kolchak on September 20, 1918 returns to Russian soil in Vladivostok. In this city, Kolchak studied the state of military affairs and the revolutionary mood of the inhabitants of the eastern outskirts of the country. At this time, the Russian public more than once turned to him with a proposal to lead the fight against the Bolsheviks. October 13, 1918 Kolchak arrives in Omsk to establish a common command of the volunteer armies in the east of the country. After some time, a military seizure of power takes place in the city. A. V. Kolchak - Admiral, Supreme Ruler of Russia. It was this position that the Russian officers entrusted to Alexander Vasilyevich. Kolchak's army numbered more than 150 thousand people.

The coming to power of Admiral Kolchak inspired the entire eastern region of the country, hoping for the establishment of a tough dictatorship and order. A strong administrative vertical and the correct organization of the state were established. The main goal of the new military formation was to unite with the army of A.I. Denikin and march on Moscow. During the reign of Kolchak, a number of orders, decrees and appointments were issued. A. V. Kolchak was one of the first in Russia to begin an investigation into the death of the royal family. The award system of tsarist Russia was restored. At the disposal of Kolchak's army was a huge gold reserve of the country, which was taken from Moscow to Kazan with the aim of further moving to England and Canada. With this money, Admiral Kolchak (whose photo can be seen above) provided his army with weapons and uniforms.

Battle path and the arrest of the admiral

During the entire existence of the eastern front, Kolchak and his comrades-in-arms carried out several successful military attacks (Perm, Kazan and Simbirsk operations). However, the numerical superiority of the Red Army prevented a grandiose capture of the western borders of Russia. An important factor was the betrayal of the allies. On January 15, 1920, Kolchak was arrested and sent to the Irkutsk prison. A few days later, the Extraordinary Commission began the procedure for investigative measures to interrogate the admiral. A. V. Kolchak, admiral (the protocols of interrogation testify to this), during the conduct of investigative measures, he behaved very worthily.

Cheka investigators noted that the admiral answered all questions willingly and clearly, while not giving out a single name of his colleagues. The arrest of Kolchak lasted until February 6, until the remnants of his army came close to Irkutsk. On February 7, 1920, on the banks of the Ushakovka River, the admiral was shot and thrown into an ice hole. This is how the great son of his Motherland ended his journey. Based on the events of hostilities in eastern Russia from the autumn of 1918 to the end of 1919, the book “Eastern Front of Admiral Kolchak” was written, the author is S. V. Volkov.

Truth and fiction

To this day, the fate of this man is not fully understood. A. V. Kolchak is an admiral, unknown facts from whose life and death are still of interest to historians and people who are not indifferent to this person. One thing can be said quite definitely: the life of the admiral is a vivid example of courage, heroism and high responsibility to their homeland.