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. Family of the future admiralThe 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 College, 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 garrisonsPacific 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 moved to 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 goal of the campaign was to find the members of E. Toll's 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 "Golden Konstantinovskayamedal". 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 Navy
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 the Naval General Staff. In his scientific report, he expresses his thoughts about 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 vessels. 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 B altic 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 minebarriers 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 rebellion of 1917
The events of the February coup of 1917 caughtKolchak 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 B altic 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.”
Russian admiral's family life
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. Harlampievskaya 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 loy alty 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 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 belongings, Sophia moves to her husband in Helsingfors, where at that time the headquarters of the B altic Fleet was located.
It was in this city that Sophia met Anna Timireva, the admiral's last love. 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, Sophia Kolchak was able to give a decent education to her son. Rostislav Alexandrovich Kolchak graduated from the Higher Diplomatic School and worked for some time in the Algerian banking system. In 1939, Kolchak's son joined the French army and soon fell into German captivity.
Sofya 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 executionAdmiral 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 of the US Navy.
Nevertheless, Kolchak believed that his foreign voyage had failed, and it was decided 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.
The 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 Russianpublic with a proposal to lead the fight against the Bolsheviks. October 13, 1918 Kolchak arrives in Omsk to establish the overall 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.
The battle path and the arrest of the admiral
Over 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, numeric althe superiority of the Red Army did not allow for a grandiose capture of the western borders of Russia. An important factor was the betrayal of the allies.
January 15, 1920 Kolchak is 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 Fatherland 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, authored by S. V. Volkov.
Truth and fiction
To this day, the fate of this man has not been fully studied. 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 his Motherland.
