Boris Mikhailovich Donskoy (russian: Борис Михайлович Донской; 1894 – 10 August 1918) was a Russian Empire terrorist-revolutionary. He was a member of the

Left Socialist-Revolutionary The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revo ...

party as SR-maximalist. Donskoy became widely known for his assassination of German

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

and military governor of Ukraine

Hermann von Eichhorn (13 February 1848 – 30 July 1918) was a Prussian officer, later during World War I. He was a recipient of with Oak Leaves, one of the highest orders of merit in the Kingdom of Prussia and, subsequently, Imperial Germany. Biography was born ...

in summer of 1918.

Biography

Early life

Boris was born in a village of Gladkie Vyselki,

Mikhailovsk uyezd Mikhaylovsk (russian: Михайловск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Urban localities * Mikhaylovsk, Stavropol Krai, a town in Shpakovsky District of Stavropol Krai *Mikhaylovsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, a town in Nizhnes ...

(county), Ryazan Governorate in a peasant family of Russian Orthodox

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

. After finishing at village school Donskoy went to Saint Petersburg to seek employment at age 15. In 1915, during the First World War, he was mobilized into 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 ...

and Donskoy was placed onto a transport ship "Asia" in the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

Revolutionary Activities

In 1916 Donskoy joined the

Party and soon after that he was arrested for organizing a hunger strike and anti-government propaganda. Right 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 ...

of 1917 Donskoy was released and elected to the Executive Committee of

Kronshtadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

. During the July Days, Donskoy at early hours of July 17 called to the leader of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries in the Tauride Palace to discuss the organization of the military protest and later announced it at the Kronshtadt City Council. Along with Nikolai Rivkin, Donskoy led a combined squat of Baltic sailors against the Kornilov's protest. During the October Revolution Boris Donskoy was a commissar at the

Fort Ino Fort Ino or Fort Nikolaevsky (russian: форт «Ино» or форт Николаевский) is an abandoned early 20th-century Russian coastal fortification situated on the northern shore of Neva Bay in the Gulf of Finland. The fort is close t ...

, just outside Saint Petersburg, from where he directed military formations to the Pulkovo Heights. In spring of 1918 along with Irina Kakhovskaya he went to Ukraine, particularly to the newly established Donetsk–Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic to prepare for fight against the

Imperial German ', literally translated "Germans of the ", is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the Germ ...

occupation. In April 1918 Donskoy joined the All-Russian Battle Organization of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries that was sanctioned by its party to carry out an "international terror".

Assassination of Field Marshall Hermann von Eichhorn

In Kyiv, together with Irina Kakhovskaya and G.Smolyansky, Donskoy prepared for an assassination attempt on the commander of the German military governor of Ukraine,

. On July 30, 1918 he threw a bomb at the Field Marshal who soon died along with his adjutant Captain von Dressler. Donskoy was caught right at the crime scene and was interrogated. He stated that Eichhorn was sentenced by the ''Left Socialist Revolutionary Party'' as the commander of the German military forces who "strangled" the "revolution" in Ukraine, changed a political system, carried out a takeover as a supporter of the middle and upper class to bring to power the Hetman of Ukraine and confiscated land from peasants. Donskoy was convicted by a field military court to a death sentence through hanging and was publicly executed on August 10, 1918.

External links

Volkovynsky, V. "The loudest terrorist act in the period of the Ukrainian Revolution" (НАЙГУЧНІШИЙ ТЕРОРИСТИЧНИЙ АКТ ПЕРІОДУ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ РЕВОЛЮЦІЇ)

Mirror Weekly ''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. 2001-02-03.
EICHHORN HIT WHILE DRIVING (original text)
The New York Times. Amsterdam. 1918-07-31.
EICHHORN HIT WHILE DRIVING (abstract)
The New York Times. Amsterdam. 1918-07-31. {{DEFAULTSORT:Donskoy, Boris Mikhailovich 1894 births 1918 deaths People from Ryazan Oblast People from Mikhaylovsky Uyezd Left socialist-revolutionaries Revolutionaries from the Russian Empire Assassins from the Russian Empire Executed Russian people Executed assassins People executed by Germany by hanging Executed people from Ryazan Oblast

Biography

Early life

Revolutionary Activities

Assassination of Field Marshall Hermann von Eichhorn

See also

External links