Feliksas Rafailovich Baltušis-Žemaitis (russian: Феликс Рафаилович Балтушис-Жемайтис, November 30, 1897 – June 1, 1957) was a

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. He 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 ...

, 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 ...

, the

Hamburg Uprising The Hamburg Uprising (german: Hamburger Aufstand) was an insurrection during the Weimar Republic in Germany as part of the so-called German October communist revolution attempt. It was started on 23 October 1923 by one of the most militant sect ...

, and

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 ...

. Baltušis-Žemaitis was one of the few Lithuanian officers (others included Vytautas Putna,

Ieronim Uborevich Ieronim Petrovich Uborevich ( lt, Jeronimas Uborevičius; russian: Иерони́м Петро́вич Уборе́вич; – 12 June 1937) was a Soviet military commander of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, reaching the rank of koma ...

, Viktoras Penkaitis) of 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 ...

who after the

February February is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 in leap years, with the 29th day being called the ''leap day''. It is the first of five months not to have 31 days (th ...

and

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 ...

s went to serve in the

. He was a lecturer/

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de conf ...

at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

in 1935–1940. Baltušis-Žemaitis briefly commanded the

Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Naval Force and the Lithuanian Air Force. In wartime, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (wh ...

in 1940 during Lithuania's incorporation into the Soviet Union. He earned his Candidate of Military Sciences academic degree in 1940. He was also a senior lecturer at the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

General Staff Academy during 1940–1941 and 1943–1945, and served as the chief of USSR Supreme Command Courses 1945–1947.

Timeline

*1940: Commander in Chief of the

*1942–1943:

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the 16th Lithuanian Rifle Division

Awards

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) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

(twice) *Different medals In 1975 a statue of Baltušis-Žemaitis was built in

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...

. After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, this statue was taken down from its prominent position. It currently stands in the exposition of Soviet

sculpture garden A sculpture garden or sculpture park is an outdoor garden or park which includes the presentation of sculpture, usually several permanently sited works in durable materials in landscaped surroundings. A sculpture garden may be private, owned by a ...

Grūtas Park Grūtas Park (unofficially known as Stalin's World; lt, Grūto parkas) is a socialist realism museum with a sculpture garden of Soviet-era statues and other Soviet ideological relics from the times of the Lithuanian SSR. Founded in 2001 by a mu ...

References

*Personal record of Major General Baltushis-Zhemaitis F.R., Central Archive of Ministry of Defence, Podolsk, Moscow reg. *Zhemaitis O.F., "History of family in the documents, The journal "Military History Archive" of № 3,4,5., Moscow, 2007 *Stock No.328 (Baltušis-Žemaitis), Library of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius *http://www.generals.dk/general/Baltushis-Zhemaitis/Feliks_Rafailovich/Soviet_Union.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Baltusis-Zemaitis, Feliksas 1897 births 1957 deaths People from Telšiai County People from Telshevsky Uyezd Lithuanian people of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet major generals Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Frunze Military Academy alumni Academic staff of the Frunze Military Academy