Kolchak Alexander Vasilyevich (1874-1920), Russian admiral (1916), one of the leaders of the White movement.

Born November 16, 1874 in St. Petersburg in the family of an engineer, a retired major general of naval artillery.

In 1894 Kolchak graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps; in 1900-1902 participated in the polar expedition of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. commanded a destroyer, a minelayer, and then a battery in Port Arthur; was in captivity.

After the war, Kolchak, with a group of naval officers, prepared proposals for the reform of the Russian navy. In 1914 he was appointed head of the operational department of the Baltic Fleet, and in July 1916 - commander of the Black Sea Fleet with the rank of rear admiral. June 9, 1917, in response to the requirement of the ship's committee to hand over personal weapons, Kolchak with the words "You didn't hand it to me, you won't take it!" threw into the sea a golden saber with the inscription "For bravery". The next day he was recalled to Petrograd and sent to the USA as a mine specialist.

At the end of 1917, Kolchak arrived in the Far East. Heading to the Volunteer Army, he stayed in Omsk and on November 4, 1918 was appointed Minister of Defense of the newly formed All-Russian Provisional Government.

On November 18, after a military coup in Omsk, the admiral, thanks to his great authority, was proclaimed "the supreme ruler of the Russian state." In this capacity, he was recognized by the governments of the Entente countries and the United States, but relations with the allies did not develop. Kolchak's main goal was the armed struggle against the Bolsheviks, but he also had to curb the allies in their encroachments on the sovereign rights of Russia.

After the defeat of the Eastern White Army, on January 4, 1920, the admiral transferred his powers to A. I. Denikin. The troops of the Czechoslovak Corps, commanded by the chief officer of the allied forces in Siberia, French General Janin, transferred Kolchak to the temporary Socialist-Revolutionary-Menshevik "Political Center" in Irkutsk in exchange for free passage to Vladivostok.

A little later, the admiral was in the hands of the Bolsheviks.

Thanks, this is the best I've found. Handsome, quick!

Russian politician, Vice Admiral of the Russian Imperial Fleet (1916) and Admiral of the Siberian Flotilla (1918). Polar explorer and oceanographer, member of the expeditions of 1900-1903 (awarded the Great Konstantinovsky medal by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society). Member of the Russian-Japanese, World War I and Civil Wars. Leader and leader of the White movement in the East of Russia. The Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920) was recognized in this post by the leadership of all white regions, "de jure" - by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, "de facto" - by the Entente states.

The first well-known representative of the Kolchak family was the Crimean Tatar commander Ilias Kolchak Pasha, commandant of the Khotyn fortress, who was taken prisoner by Field Marshal Kh. A. Minikh. After the end of the war, Kolchak Pasha settled in Poland, and in 1794 his descendants moved to Russia.

Alexander Vasilyevich was born into the family of a representative of this family, Vasily Ivanovich Kolchak (1837-1913), a staff captain of naval artillery, later a major general in the Admiralty. 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.

Alexander Vasilyevich himself was born on November 4, 1874 in the village of Aleksandrovskoe near St. Petersburg. The birth document of their first-born son testifies:

“... in the metric book of 1874 of the Trinity Church of the village of Alexandrovsky, St. Petersburg district, under No. 50, it is shown: Naval artillery at the staff captain Vasily Ivanov Kolchak and his legal wife Olga Ilyina, both Orthodox and first-married, son Alexander was born on November 4, and baptized December 15, 1874. His successors were: the naval captain Alexander Ivanov Kolchak and the widow of the collegiate secretary Daria Filippovna Ivanova ”[source not specified 35 days].

Studies

The future admiral received his primary education at home, and then studied at the 6th St. Petersburg classical gymnasium.

In 1894, Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps, and on August 6, 1894 he was assigned to the cruiser of the 1st rank Rurik as an assistant to the chief of the watch, and on November 15, 1894 he was promoted to the rank of midshipman. On this cruiser he departed for the Far East. At the end of 1896, Kolchak was assigned to the cruiser of the 2nd rank "Cruiser" to the position of watch commander. 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."

Toll's expedition

Upon arrival in Kronstadt, Kolchak went to Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov, who was preparing to sail on the Ermak icebreaker in the Arctic Ocean. Alexander Vasilievich asked to be accepted into the expedition, but was refused "due to official circumstances." After that, for some time entering the personnel of the vessel "Prince Pozharsky", Kolchak in September 1899 switched to the squadron battleship "Petropavlovsk" and went to the Far East on it. However, while staying in the Greek port of Piraeus, he received an invitation from the Academy of Sciences from Baron E. V. Toll to take part in the mentioned expedition. From Greece through Odessa in January 1900, Kolchak arrived in St. Petersburg. The head of the expedition suggested that Alexander Vasilievich be in charge of hydrological work, and besides, be the second magnetologist. Throughout the winter and spring of 1900, Kolchak prepared for the expedition.

On July 21, 1901, the expedition on the schooner "Zarya" moved along the Baltic, North and Norwegian seas to the shores of the Taimyr Peninsula, where the first wintering was coming. 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.

In the spring of 1902, Toll decided to go on foot north of the New Siberian Islands, together with the magnetologist F. G. Seberg and two mushers. The rest of the expedition, due to a lack of food supplies, had to go from Bennett Island to the south, to the mainland, and later return to St. Petersburg. Kolchak and his companions went to the mouth of the Lena and arrived in the capital through Yakutsk and Irkutsk.

Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Alexander Vasilyevich reported to the Academy on the work done, and also informed about the enterprise of Baron Toll, from whom no news had been received either by that time or later. In January 1903, it was decided to organize an expedition, the purpose of which was to clarify the fate of Toll's expedition. The expedition took place from May 5 to December 7, 1903. It consisted of 17 people on 12 sledges harnessed by 160 dogs. The journey to Bennett Island took three months and was extremely difficult. On August 4, 1903, having reached Bennett Island, the expedition discovered traces of Toll and his companions: expedition documents, collections, geodetic instruments and a diary were found. It turned out that Toll arrived on the island in the summer of 1902 and headed south with only 2-3 weeks of provisions. It became clear that Toll's expedition had perished.

Wife (Sofya Fedorovna Kolchak)

Sofya Fedorovna Kolchak (1876-1956) - wife of Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak. Sofya Fedorovna was born in 1876 in Kamenetz-Podolsk, Podolsk province of the Russian Empire (now the Khmelnitsky region of Ukraine).

Kolchak's parents

Father - real Privy Councilor V.I. Kolchak. Mother Olga Ilyinichna Kolchak, nee Kamenskaya, was the daughter of Major General, Director of the Forestry Institute F. A. Kamensky, sister of the sculptor F. F. Kamensky. Among the distant ancestors were Baron Munnich (brother of the field marshal, an Elizabethan nobleman) and general-in-chief M. V. Berg (who defeated Frederick the Great in the Seven Years' War).

Upbringing

A hereditary noblewoman of the Podolsk province, Sofya Fedorovna was brought up at the Smolny Institute and was a very educated girl (she knew seven languages, she knew French and German perfectly). She was beautiful, strong-willed and independent by nature.

Marriage

By agreement with Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, they were supposed to get married after his first expedition. In honor of Sophia (at that time the bride) a small island in the Litke archipelago and a cape on Bennett Island were named. The wait dragged on for several years. They got married on March 5, 1904 in the St. Harlampi Church in Irkutsk.

Children

Sofia Fedorovna gave birth to three children from Kolchak:

the first girl (c. 1905) did not live even a month;

daughter Margarita (1912-1914) caught a cold while fleeing from the Germans from Libava and died.

Emigration

During the Civil War, Sofya Fedorovna waited for her husband to the last in Sevastopol. In 1919, she managed to emigrate from there: the British allies provided her with money and provided her with the opportunity to travel by ship from Sevastopol to Constanta. Then she moved to Bucharest, and then went to Paris. Rostislav was brought there too.

Despite the difficult financial situation, Sofya Fedorovna managed to give her son a good education. Rostislav Alexandrovich Kolchak graduated from the Higher School of Diplomatic and Commercial Sciences in Paris, served in an Algerian bank. He married Ekaterina Razvozova, the daughter of Admiral A.V. Razvozov, who was killed by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd.

Sofia Fedorovna survived the German occupation of Paris and the captivity of her son, an officer in the French army.

demise

Sofia Fedorovna died in the Lunjumo hospital in Italy in 1956. She was buried in the main cemetery of the Russian diaspora - Saint-Genevieve de Bois.

Russo-Japanese War

In December 1903, the 29-year-old Lieutenant Kolchak, exhausted by the polar expedition, set off on his way back to St. Petersburg, where he was going to marry his bride Sofya Omirova. Not far from Irkutsk, he was caught by the news of the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. He summoned his father and bride by telegram to Siberia, and immediately after the wedding he left for Port Arthur.

The commander of the Pacific squadron, Admiral S. O. Makarov, offered him to serve on the battleship Petropavlovsk, which was the flagship of the squadron from January to April 1904. Kolchak refused and asked for an assignment to the fast cruiser Askold, which soon saved his life. A few days later, the Petropavlovsk hit a mine and sank rapidly, taking to the bottom more than 600 sailors and officers, including Makarov himself and the famous battle painter V.V. Vereshchagin. Shortly thereafter, Kolchak achieved a transfer to the destroyer "Angry". Commanded a destroyer. By the end of the siege of Port Arthur, he had to command a coastal artillery battery, as severe rheumatism - a consequence of two polar expeditions - forced him to leave the warship. This was followed by a wound, the surrender of Port Arthur and Japanese captivity, in which Kolchak spent 4 months. Upon his return, he was awarded the St. George weapon - the Golden Saber with the inscription "For Courage".

Revival of the Russian fleet

Freed from captivity, Kolchak received the rank of captain of the second rank. The main task of the group of naval officers and admirals, which included Kolchak, was to develop plans for the further development of the Russian navy.

In 1906, the Naval General Staff was created (including on the initiative of Kolchak), which took over the direct combat training of the fleet. Alexander Vasilyevich was the head of his department, was engaged in developments for the reorganization of the navy, spoke in the State Duma as an expert on naval issues. Then the shipbuilding program was drawn up. To receive additional appropriations, officers and admirals actively lobbied for their program in the Duma. The construction of new ships progressed slowly - 6 (out of 8) battleships, about 10 cruisers and several dozen destroyers and submarines entered service only in 1915-1916, at the height of the First World War, and some of the ships laid down at that time were already being completed in the 1930s.

Given the significant numerical superiority of the potential enemy, the Naval General Staff developed a new plan for the defense of St. Petersburg and the Gulf of Finland - in the event of a threat of attack, all ships of the Baltic Fleet, at the agreed signal, were to go to sea and put up 8 lines of minefields at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland, covered by coastal batteries.

Captain Kolchak took part in the design of the special icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach", launched in 1909. In the spring of 1910, these ships arrived in Vladivostok, then went on a cartographic expedition to the Bering Strait and Cape Dezhnev, returning to autumn back to Vladivostok. Kolchak in this expedition commanded the icebreaker "Vaigach". In 1908 he went to work at the Naval Academy. In 1909, Kolchak published his largest study - a monograph summarizing his glaciological research in the Arctic - "The Ice of the Kara and Siberian Seas" (Notes of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Ser. 8. Phys.-Math. Department. St. Petersburg, 1909. T.26, No. 1.).

Participated in the development of an expedition project to explore the Northern Sea Route. In 1909-1910. the expedition, in which Kolchak commanded the ship, made the transition from the Baltic Sea to Vladivostok, and then sailed towards Cape Dezhnev.

Since 1910, at the Naval General Staff, he was involved in the development of a shipbuilding program in Russia.

In 1912, Kolchak transferred to serve in the Baltic Fleet as a flag captain for the operational part of the headquarters of the fleet commander. In December 1913 he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank.

World War I

To protect the capital from a possible attack by the German fleet, the Mine Division, on the personal order of Admiral Essen, on the night of July 18, 1914, set up minefields in the waters of the Gulf of Finland, without waiting for the permission of the Minister of the Navy and Nicholas II.

In the autumn of 1914, with the personal participation of Kolchak, an operation was developed to mine the blockade of German naval bases. In 1914-1915. destroyers and cruisers, including those under the command of Kolchak, laid mines near Kiel, Danzig (Gdansk), Pillau (modern Baltiysk), Vindava, and even near the island of Bornholm. As a result, 4 German cruisers were blown up in these minefields (2 of them sank - Friedrich Karl and Bremen (according to other sources, the submarine E-9 was sunk), 8 destroyers and 11 transports.

At the same time, an attempt to intercept a German convoy carrying ore from Sweden, in which Kolchak was directly involved, ended in failure.

In addition to the successful setting of mines, he organized attacks on the caravans of German merchant ships. From September 1915 he commanded a mine division, then naval forces in the Gulf of Riga.

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 oath to the provisional government

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 (largely due to active Bolshevik agitation). 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 Vasilievich 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 demanded an end to homegrown reforms based on the "conceit of ignorance" and to accept the forms of discipline and organization of internal life already adopted by the allies. On April 29, 1917, with the authorization of Kolchak, a delegation of about 300 sailors and Sevastopol workers left Sevastopol with the aim of influencing the Baltic Fleet and the armies of the front, "to wage war actively with full exertion of forces."

In June 1917, the Sevastopol Council decided to disarm the officers suspected of counter-revolution, including taking away his St. George weapon from Kolchak - the golden saber handed to him for Port Arthur. The admiral preferred to throw the blade overboard with the words: "The newspapers do not want us to have weapons, so let him go to sea." On the same day, Alexander Vasilievich handed over the case to Rear Admiral V.K. Lukin. Three weeks later, the divers raised the saber from the bottom and handed it to Kolchak, engraving the inscription on the blade: "To the Knight of Honor Admiral Kolchak from the Union of Army and Navy Officers." At this time, Kolchak, along with the General Staff General of Infantry L. G. Kornilov, was considered as a potential candidate for military dictators. It was for this reason that in August A.F. Kerensky summoned the admiral to Petrograd, where he forced him to resign, after which, at the invitation of the command of the American fleet, he went to the United States to advise American specialists on the experience of using mine weapons by Russian sailors in the Baltic and Black Seas into the First World War.

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 in a cottage on the ocean. Kolchak refused and went back to Russia.

Defeat and death

On January 4, 1920, in Nizhneudinsk, Admiral A. V. Kolchak signed his last Decree, in which he announced his intention to transfer the powers of the “Supreme All-Russian Power” to A. I. Denikin. Until the receipt of instructions from A.I. Denikin, "the fullness of military and civil power throughout the entire territory of the Russian Eastern Outskirts" was provided to Lieutenant General G.M. Semyonov.

On January 5, 1920, a coup took place in Irkutsk, the city was captured by the SR-Menshevik Political Center. On January 15, A. V. Kolchak, who left Nizhneudinsk in the Czechoslovak echelon, in a carriage flying the flags of Great Britain, France, the USA, Japan and Czechoslovakia, arrived in the suburbs of Irkutsk. The Czechoslovak command, at the request of the Socialist-Revolutionary Political Center, with the sanction of the French General Janin, handed over Kolchak to his representatives. On January 21, the Political Center transferred power in Irkutsk to the Bolshevik Revolutionary Committee. From January 21 to February 6, 1920, Kolchak was interrogated by the Extraordinary Investigative Commission.

On the night of February 6-7, 1920, Admiral A. V. Kolchak and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian government V. N. Pepelyaev were shot on the banks of the Ushakovka River, by order of the Irkutsk Military Revolutionary Committee. The resolution of the Irkutsk Military Revolutionary Committee on the execution of the Supreme Ruler Admiral Kolchak and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Pepelyaev was signed by Shiryamov, the chairman of the committee and its members A. Svoskarev, M. Levenson and Otradny.

According to the official version, this was done out of fear that the units of General Kappel, breaking through to Irkutsk, had the goal of freeing Kolchak. According to the most common version, the execution took place on the banks of the Ushakovka River near the Znamensky Convent. According to legend, sitting on the ice in anticipation of execution, the admiral sang the song "Burn, burn, my star ...". There is a version that Kolchak himself commanded his execution. After the execution, the bodies of the dead were thrown into the hole.

Kolchak's grave

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.

Based on these documents, the Irkutsk historian I.I. Kozlov established the alleged location of Kolchak's grave.

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 Vasilyevich 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 a 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.

Midshipman Kolchak

During interrogation before being shot, Kolchak said about himself: “I grew up in a purely military family. My father, Vasily Ivanovich Kolchak, served in the naval artillery, was the receiver of the Naval Department at the Obukhov plant. When he retired with the rank of major general, he remained at this plant as an engineer ... I was born there.” This event took place on November 4 (16), 1874.

The Kolchak family owed its unusual surname to the Turk of South Slavic origin, Ilias Kolchak Pasha, commandant of the Khotyn fortress, captured by Russian troops in 1739.

Many men from the Kolchak family chose the military path for themselves, and Alexander was no exception. He graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps and was promoted to midshipman. His classmate wrote: “Kolchak, by the seriousness of his thoughts and actions, inspired us boys with deep respect for himself. We sensed in him a moral force which it was impossible to disobey; felt that this is the person who must be unquestioningly followed. Not a single educator officer, not a single corps teacher instilled in us such a sense of superiority as midshipman Kolchak.

At the end of the corps, Kolchak went on voyages on the cruisers "Rurik" and "Cruiser", while, in addition to the service, he was engaged in research in the field of oceanography and hydrology.

In December 1898, Kolchak was promoted to lieutenant. He established himself as a brilliant officer and a thoughtful scientist, and in 1900 he received an invitation from the Academy of Sciences from Baron E. V. Toll to take part in his expedition.

On July 21, 1900, the schooner "Zarya" set off along the Baltic, North and Norwegian seas to the shores of the Taimyr Peninsula. Kolchak patiently endured all the hardships of a difficult expedition, wintering in harsh conditions. Baron Toll wrote: “Our hydrographer Kolchak is not only the best officer, but he is also lovingly devoted to his hydrology. This scientific work was carried out by him with great energy, despite the difficulty of combining the duties of a naval officer with the activities of a scientist. In honor of Kolchak, the island and cape discovered by Toll were named.

But the Zarya was crushed by ice. It was decided to split up - Toll and the magnetologist Zeberg set off on foot north of the New Siberian Islands, and the rest of the members of the polar expedition followed to the mouth of the Lena and returned to St. Petersburg through Yakutsk and Irkutsk.

Upon arrival in the capital, Kolchak reported on Toll's decision and his disappearance. In 1903, an expedition was organized led by Kolchak to rescue the polar explorer, during which it turned out that the baron and his companions were killed ...

Supreme ruler

When Kolchak was returning from a tragic polar expedition, the Russo-Japanese War began. He was assigned to the destroyer "Angry", took part in the siege of Port Arthur. Kolchak was wounded and spent 4 months in captivity.

After the war, Kolchak actively served in the Naval General Staff, and also designed the Taimyr and Vaygach icebreakers. Kolchak commanded the last during a cartographic expedition to the Bering Strait and Cape Dezhnev.

When the First World War began, Kolchak developed and took part in brilliant operations that brought him fame, orders and the rank of admiral.

The February revolution made its own adjustments to the admiral's career, and in 1917 Kolchak was removed from command. He received an invitation from the American mission, and, as a military adviser, went first to England, and then to the USA.

In 1918, he arrived in Russia, where the council of ministers of the "Directory" - the united anti-Bolshevik government, insisted on his proclamation as the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander of the armed forces. He became the leader of the White movement, fought against Bolshevism, launched an offensive throughout the Urals, but failed - due to many reasons that historians still argue about. But, one way or another, the reality is that Kolchak lost and paid for it with his life - his own and many people - both the Bolsheviks and the White Guards ...

Kolchak transferred power to Denikin and found himself under the protection of the Czech allies. But they betrayed the admiral and handed him over to the Bolsheviks - in exchange for free passage through the territory of Russia ...

January 15, 1920 Kolchak was arrested in Irkutsk. Interrogations of the admiral were carried out until February 6, and on February 7 Kolchak was shot on the banks of the Ushakovka River, and his body was thrown into the hole ...

In Soviet times, Kolchak became a purely negative figure, all his services to the fatherland were forgotten.
Today, the name of Kolchak is being actively rehabilitated. The Duma of the Taimyr Autonomous Okrug decided to return the name of Kolchak to an island in the Kara Sea, a memorial plaque was opened on the building of the Naval Corps in St. Petersburg, and a monument to the admiral in Irkutsk.

"My dear dove"...

For many people, Kolchak's difficult personal life is of particular interest. In 1904, after a polar expedition, Alexander Vasilyevich got married in Irkutsk with Sofia Fedorovna Omirova. The wedding was postponed several times due to Kolchak's expeditions, but Sophia patiently waited for the groom, whom she loved very much. They had two daughters, who died in infancy, and a son, Rostislav. Sofya Vladimirovna meekly endured all the hardships of life, moving, constant separation from her husband.

But fate dealt her a heavy blow - in 1915, Kolchak met Anna Timireva, whom he fell in love with with deep love. After the revolution, Sophia and her son ended up in Paris, and Anna Timireva spent the last months of his life with Kolchak and voluntarily went under arrest with him. And it was to her that the last lines of the admiral were addressed: “My dear dove, I received your note, thank you for your kindness and care for me ... Do not worry about me. I only think about you and your fate... I don't worry about myself - everything is known in advance. My every step is being watched, and it is very difficult for me to write... Write to me. Your notes are the only joy I can have. I pray for you and bow before your self-sacrifice. My dear, my adored, do not worry about me and save yourself ... Goodbye, I kiss your hands.

After the death of Kolchak, Anna Timireva cruelly paid for her love. She spent many years in prisons and exile. In the short intervals between the conclusion she was interrupted by odd jobs - she was a librarian, painter, draftswoman. She was rehabilitated in 1960. Advised Sergei Bondarchuk during the filming of the film War and Peace.

She died in 1975. And all these years she continued to love Alexander Kolchak and wrote poetry to him:

And every year on the seventh of February
One with my stubborn memory
I celebrate your anniversary again.
And those who knew you are long gone,
And those who are alive - everyone has long forgotten.
And this, for me, the most difficult day -
For them, the same as everyone else, -
Torn off calendar sheet.

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.

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