Alexander Ignatyevich Sedyakin (26 November 1893 – 29 July 1938) was a Soviet division commander and

Komandarm 2nd rank 2nd rank (russian: Командарм 2-го ранга) is the abbreviation to Commanding officer of the Army 2nd class (russian: Командующий армией 2-го ранга, Komanduyushchiy armiyey 2-go ranga; ), and was a military ...

. He was born in St. Petersburg, which was then the capital of the Russian Empire. He fought in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

before going over to the Bolsheviks. He fought against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and the pro-Finnish separatists of the Republic of East Karelia in

East Karelia East Karelia ( fi, Itä-Karjala, Karelian: ''Idä-Karjala''), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox under Russian supremacy ...

. On November 11, 1935, he was one of the 10 people made Komandarm 2nd rank. He received the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

twice (1921 and 1922).

Early life

Sedyakin was born in St. Petersburg, which was then the capital of the Russian Empire. He was the oldest in a family of 4 boys and a girl. A member of his family served in the

Preobrazhensky Regiment The Preobrazhensky Life-Guards Regiment (russian: Преображенский лейб-гвардии полк, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The Pr ...

. His siblings were brothers Konstantin (1898), Theophylakt (1899), Mikhail (1903) and sister Klavdia (1907). In 1908, the family moved to

Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central Asi ...

. After staying briefly in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

, Sedyakin worked as a surveyor in

Tobolsk Governorate Tobolsk Governorate (russian: Тобольская губерния) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic and RSFSR located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its ...

, in modern-day

Tyumen Oblast Tyumen Oblast (russian: Тюме́нская о́бласть, ''Tyumenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Western Siberia region of Siberia, and is administratively part of the Urals ...

World War I

In November 1914, Sedyakin enlisted in the

. After being commissioned an officer in October 1915, he was sent to the front as a lieutenant in the 151st infantry regiment. During his two years on the front lines, he was wounded twice and was promoted to senior captain. He rose from platoon commander to company, battalion and then regiment commander. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

in March 1917, he was made chair of the regimental committee. He was made vice chairman of the soldiers' committee for the 38th Infantry Division in May 1917 and formally joined the Bolsheviks in August 1917. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

in November 1917, he was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

.Радиоконтроль — Тачанка / Н._В._Огаркова.html" ;"title="Огарков, Николай Васильевич">Н. В. Огаркова">Огарков, Николай Васильевич">Н. В. Огаркова — М. : Военное изд-во М-ва обороны СССР, 1980. — С. 311. — ( Советская военная энциклопедия : � 8 т.nbsp;; 1976—1980, т. 7).Автобиография // Военно-исторический журнал, 1989. — № 3. — С. 78-81.

Civil War

In March 1918, Sedyakin formally joined the Red Army alongside soldiers he had formerly commanded. In May 1918, Sedyakin was conscription officer for the 2nd Pskov Rifle Division. On 6 August 1918 Sedyakin was on Eastern Front battling the forces of

Alexander Kolchak Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (russian: link=no, Александр Васильевич Колчак; – 7 February 1920) was an Imperial Russian admiral, military leader and polar explorer who served in the Imperial Russian Navy and fought ...

. In September 1918, he was on the Southern Front, where he was appointed commander of the 2nd Kursk Infantry Brigade in November 1918 and deputy commander of the 13th Army in January 1919. In this capacity, he battled the forces of

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...

. He was appointed commander of the 3rd Rifle Brigade of Voronezh in August 1919 and the 31st Rifle Division on 12 October 1919. On 12 November 1919 he moved his forces against those of

Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (russian: Пётр Никола́евич барон Вра́нгель, translit=Pëtr Nikoláevič Vrángel', p=ˈvranɡʲɪlʲ, german: Freiherr Peter Nikolaus von Wrangel; April 25, 1928), also known by his ni ...

until he was incapacitated by injury. From October 1920 to February 1921, Sedyakin was commander of the 10th Reserve Rifle Brigade. He was executed during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

and posthumously rehabilitated in 1956.

Awards

(1921, 1922) *

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

2nd class *

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

4th class (1917) * Saint George Sword (1917) *

To the Valiant Soldier of the Karelian Front The memorial award badge To the Valiant Soldier of the Karelian Front () was a military decoration introduced in the Red Army. It was the first award of this type. "Karelian Front" was an informal name of the Karelian Battle Region of the Petrog ...

(1933)

References

Bibliography

Радиоконтроль — Тачанка / �од общ. ред. Н. В. Огаркова — М. : Военное изд-во М-ва обороны СССР, 1980. — 693 с. — (Советская военная энциклопедия : � 8 т.; 1976—1980, т. 7).

External links

Звезда и смерть командарма Седякина
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedyakin, Alex 1893 births 1938 deaths Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet komandarms of the second rank Great Purge victims from Russia People executed by the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Old Bolsheviks Russian Constituent Assembly members