Lazar Fedorovich Bicherakhov (russian: Бичерахов, Лазарь Фёдорович; os, Бичерахты Лазæр; 15 November 1882 – 22 June 1952) was a Russian army officer who participated in

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 ...

and the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, as a member of the

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

and White Russian armies respectively.

Biography

Bicherakhov hailed from a

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

family of Ossetian descent. He graduated from the

real school ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

in St. Petersburg and Alekseevsky military school in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

.''Безугольный А. Ю.'' Генерал Бичерахов и его Кавказская армия. 1917—1919. — М.: Центрполиграф, 2011. — (Россия забытая и неизвестная. Золотая коллекция). ISBN 978-5-227-02536-4, c.16-17 He served in the 1st Gorsko-Mozdok regiment of the

Terek Cossack Host The Terek Cossack Host (russian: Терское казачье войско, ''Terskoye kazach'ye voysko'') was a Cossack host created in 1577 from free Cossacks who resettled from the Volga to the Terek River. The local aboriginal Terek Cossacks ...

(1911–1914) of the 1st Caucasus Cossack Division, which had its headquarters in the town of

Oltu Oltu (; ) is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is Necmettin Taşçı, from the AKP. The population was 31,087 in 2020. History An inscription found in Oltu’s castle has been dated to the ...

Kars Oblast The Kars Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was the city of Kars, presently in Turkey. The ''oblast'' bordered the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Batum Oblast ...

. In 1912, L. Bicherakhov had the rank of sotnik. During

, Bicherakhov served in 1915–1918 in the expeditionary corps of General Nikolai Baratov in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

as the commander of the Terek Cossack detachment with the rank of army

starshina ( rus, старшина, p=stərʂɨˈna, a=Ru-старшина.ogg or in Ukrainian transliteration) is a senior non-commissioned rank or designation in the military forces of some Slavic states, and a historical military designation. In army ...

. He was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree. In June 1918, Bicherakhov made an alliance in

Enzeli Bandar-e Anzali ( fa, بندرانزلی, also Romanized as Bandar-e Anzalī; renamed as Bandar-e Pahlavi during the Pahlavi dynasty) is a city of Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 144,664. Anzali is one of the mo ...

with British General

Lionel Dunsterville Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville, (9 November 1865 – 18 March 1946) was a British Army officer, who led Dunsterforce across present-day Iraq and Iran towards the Caucasus and Baku during the First World War. Early life Lionel Charles ...

to take joint action against Ottoman and Soviet forces in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

. Since Dunsterville had no troops available for immediate deployment to prevent the advance of the Ottoman army, it was agreed to allow Bicherakhov to temporarily cooperate with the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. On 1 July 1918, by agreement with the leaders of the Baku Commune Bicherakhov arrived with a unit of 600 Cossacks to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

to fight against the Islamic Army of the Caucasus under the command of Turkish general Nuri Pasha Killigil and the armed forces of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the

battle of Baku The Battle of Baku ( az, Bakı döyüşü, tr, Bakü Muharebesi, russian: Битва за Баку) was a battle in World War I that took place between August–September 1918 between the Ottoman– Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pas ...

. However, battlefield failures forced Bicherakov to withdraw with his men to Petrovsk-Port. In October 1918, Bicherakhov declared allegiance to the Provisional All-Russian Government, and was conferred the rank of major-general in the white army. Bicherakhov emigrated in 1919 to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and from there to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1928, where during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he led North Caucasus people's section in the pro-Nazi Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia. He died and was buried in Ulm in 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicherakhov, Lazar Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Russian military personnel of World War I White movement generals White Russian emigrants 1882 births 1952 deaths