Fedir Shchus ( uk, Федір Щусь, 25 March 1893 – 30 June 1921), also Fyodor Shuss or Feodosiy Shchus, was a commander ( ataman) in the

Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...

Biography

Fedir Shchus was born into a poor peasant family in the small Ukrainian village of Dibrivka. In 1915 he was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

into the military service and enlisted in the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

as a seaman on the Ioann Zlatoust, a battleship in the Black Sea Fleet. He did a lot of sports in the Navy, was a champion in

French boxing Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and knew

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

well, he was able to defeat any opponent with a quick capture without much stress. He returned to his home town after the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, where he established a partisan band known as the "

Black Guards Black Guards (russian: Чёрная гвардия, ) were armed groups of workers formed after the February Revolution and before the final Bolshevik suppression of other leftwing groups. They were the main strike force of the anarchists. They ...

" in order to wage guerrilla warfare against the local nobility. Shchus believed that because of the abdication of Nicholas II, landowners no longer had any right to their lands, as the Tsarist legal system that upheld their private property no longer existed. Following the invasion of Ukraine by the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

in April 1918, Shchus attended an insurgent congress at

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog Th ...

, where it was decided that they would regroup in the

Huliaipole Raion Huliaipole Raion ( uk, Гуляйпільський район) was one of raions (districts) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the town of Huliaipole. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as ...

and go on the offensive against the

Ukrainian State The Ukrainian State ( uk, Українська Держава, translit=Ukrainska Derzhava), sometimes also called the Second Hetmanate ( uk, Другий Гетьманат, translit=Druhyi Hetmanat, link=no), was an anti-Bolshevik government ...

and the occupation forces. After the conference, he returned to wage guerrilla warfare against the occupation, harrying the occupation forces and carrying out punitive expeditions against Ukrainian collaborators. In July 1918, Shchus was defeated by the forces of the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

that were occupying Dibrivka, forcing him to retreat into the region's dense forests to regroup. Grupo de Combate del Ejército Negro

Following his return to Ukraine from Russia, the anarchist revolutionary

joined forces with Shchus, making common cause against the forces of the Central Powers. The local landowners and ''

kulaks Kulak (; russian: кула́к, r=kulák, p=kʊˈlak, a=Ru-кулак.ogg; plural: кулаки́, ''kulakí'', 'fist' or 'tight-fisted'), also kurkul () or golchomag (, plural: ), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned ov ...

'' responded by notifying the Austro-Hungarian Army and encircling the dozens-strong partisan detachment in Dibrivka. In a surprise attack against the Austrian forces, Shchus led half a dozen men in a flanking attack on the town's market square, forcing the Austrians to retreat from the village. With the success of their assault, Shchus and the rest of the detachment greeted Makhno as their ''Bat'ko''. Soon after, Shchus joined Makhno in infiltrating a meeting between Austrian officers and supporters of the White movement, during which they killed everyone involved by throwing a grenade into the room. On 5 October, the Austrian forces counterattacked, occupying Dibrivka after levelling it with artillery and driving a wounded Shchus out of the town. On 15 November, the retreating insurgents were pinned down at , where Shchus was shot in his legs before they managed to escape. Shchus' tendency to embark on unjustified raids brought him under close watch, with one of his best friends being shot for imposing levies on peasant property. After some conflict between Makhno and Shchus, due to the latter's

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

in the region, the first

Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents The Regional Congresses of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents represented the "highest form of democratic authority" within the political system of the Makhnovshchina. They brought together delegates from the region's peasantry, industrial workers a ...

confirmed Makhno as commander-in-chief over smaller atamans like Shchus, who was elected to the Insurgent Army's general staff. Fedor_Shchus-2

Following the collapse of the insurgents' alliance with the Bolsheviks, on 24 June 1919, Shchus led a 250-strong detachment in a retreat over the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

. Having fallen back to

right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...

, the insurgents linked up with

Nykyfor Hryhoriv Nykyfor Oleksandrovych Hryhoriv (né Nychypir Servetnyk, 1884 – 27 July 1919) was a Ukrainian paramilitary leader noted for repeatedly switching sides during the Ukrainian Civil War. He was commonly known as "Otaman Hryhoriv." In some historic ...

's green army in , where Hryhoriv himself was assassinated and his forces integrated into the Insurgent Army. During the subsequent reorganization of the insurgent forces, Shchus was placed in command of the cavalry brigade, which numbered roughly 2,000 people. Following the battle of Peregonovka, Shchus led his cavalry in the insurgent occupation of

Oleksandrivsk Oleksandrivsk ( uk, Олекса́ндрівськ ) or Aleksandrovsk (russian: Алекса́ндровск ) is a small city in Luhansk Municipality, Luhansk Oblast (region) of Ukraine. Population: Demographics Native language as of the Uk ...

from September to November 1919. By March 1921, Shchus was still leading a partisan group, albeit smaller and disconnected from others, and in May 1921, rendezvoused with other insurgents in Poltava. But by this time, the Makhnovists had been militarily defeated, leaving Shchus badly wounded. In June 1921, Shchus was killed in an engagement with the

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, afte ...

References

Bibliography

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Biography

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading