Fabricius Jan Fritsevich is one of the most famous Red Army officers of the early 20th century. Many Russian streets are named after him, and stamps with his image adorned Soviet envelopes for a long time. Such fame was quite justified, given the number of awards that he managed to receive during his service in the Red Army.
However, today historians do not always agree with how Fabricius Jan Fritsevich appears before us. The biography of this person has many controversial points that can radically change the opinion of him. And therefore, let's try to understand who Fabricius really was: a fearless hero or an obedient punisher?
Youth years
Fabricius Jan Fritsevich was born on June 14, 1877 in the city of Zlekas, Courland province. His parents were hired peasants and because of this they were constantly in need of money. From a young age, Yang wanted to help his family, because he knew that otherwise they would not be able to escape from this hole.
ThanksThrough joint efforts, the mother and father were able to save up enough money to send their son to the local gymnasium. This step played an important role in the boy's life, since it was during his studies that he first heard about revolutionary ideas. At that moment, Jan Fabricius found the meaning of life - the goal for which he was ready to fight to the very end.
Revolution to the masses
After graduation, in 1903, Fabritius got a job at a machine-building plant in Riga. Here he is actively agitating among the workers, calling them to revolutionary action. In the same year, the young man joins the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.
Alas, Jan Fabricius did not take into account the fact that such high-profile speeches will certainly arouse the interest of local authorities. Indeed, in 1904 he was convicted of antisocial behavior and sent to hard labor in Yakutia. However, such a twist of fate does not frighten the hot young man, but only tempers his character.
As a result, Fabricius Jan Fritsevich continues his revolutionary activities even after serving his sentence. As a result, in 1913 he was again sent into exile, but this time to Sakhalin. Here he meets new friends who advise him to join the ranks of the army, thereby knocking off his term.
Underground in the army
In the summer of 1915, Private Fabricius Jan Fritsevich was enrolled in the 1st Latvian battalion. Of course, the former convict is given the rank of private and sent to serve in the hottest spots. However, such an attitude only plays into the hands of the revolutionary, sincehow in places like this one could always find those who did not agree with the ideas of the ruling elite.
Over time, he became the head of the local underground, actively recruiting new candidates. Naturally, among the higher-ranking officers there were those who doubted the loy alty of Jan Fabricius. But he always dispelled their suspicions with his fearless demeanor on the battlefield.
Finally among my own
After the October Revolution, Jan Fabricius becomes chairman of the regimental committee. In 1918, he was appointed commander of the Gdov detachment, thanks to which he manifests himself as an excellent strategist and fearless leader. In general, the chronicles depict Jan Fritsevich as a brave man, ready to go into fire and water.
Such features allowed him to quickly move up the career ladder. So, in 1921 he was already the head of the Joint Courses of the Red Army Command Staff. Moreover, he became the first Soviet officer to receive the Order of the Red Star, the highest award of the time.
Yan Fritsevich died on August 24, 1929. According to the official version, he drowned while trying to save the passengers of a sinking plane.
Criticism and controversial facts
In Soviet times, historians were unwilling to delve into those archives that could ruin the reputation of the party. However, in our time there is no such problem, therefore, in recent years, scientists have found some inaccuracies in the biography of the Red Army hero.
So, experts found some references to the fact that in 1918year, the regiment of Fabricius fired on his compatriots, who fled from the German troops. Also in these archives there is information that Jan Fritsevich tracked down all those who disagreed with the Soviet regime in the city of Gdov, and then they were shot.
Also, historians have doubts about the “heroic” death of Fabricius. It is believed that he accidentally fell into the water during a plane crash. At the same time, the accident itself was allegedly caused by his own order, which was given to the pilot for the sake of spectacular maneuvers in front of the public.
