Nikolai Nikolaevich Baratov (russian: Николай Николаевич Баратов) (February 1, 1865 – March 22, 1932) was an Imperial Russian Army general during

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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

Early career

Baratov was born in

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located i ...

, in the

Terek Oblast The Terek Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, roughly corresponding to the central part of Russia's North Caucasian Federal District. Тhe ''оblast'' was created out of the former territories of t ...

of the

Russian Empire 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. ...

. Although of ethnic

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

descent (his real name was

Baratashvili Baratashvili ( ka, ბარათაშვილი) is a Georgian noble family, appearing at the end of the 15th century as a continuation of the Kachibadze (ქაჩიბაძე), which were possibly related to the Liparitids-Orbeli. The ...

), he was also an ataman of the

Terek Cossacks 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 Cossack ...

. He entered the military in 1882, and graduated from the Konstantinovskoe Artillery School and the Saint Petersburg Military Engineering-Technical University (Nikolaevsky) in 1885. He was assigned to the 1st Sunzha-Vladikavkaz Regiment of the Terek Cossack Army and was promoted to ''

sotnik Sotnik or sotnyk (, uk, сотник, bg, стотник) was a military rank among the Cossack '' starshyna'' (military officers), Strelets Troops (17th century) in Muscovy and Imperial Cossack cavalry (since 1826), the Ukrainian Insurgent A ...

'' in December of the same year. In 1891 he graduated from the Nikolaev General Staff Academy with the rank of captain, and was assigned to serve in the Caucasus Military District. He commanded a squadron of dragoons from 1893–1894, and was assigned to the Stavropol Cossack Cadet School as an instructor from 1895-1897. He was promoted to colonel in the cavalry in July 1900. On March 29, 1901 he was made commander of the 1st Sunzha-Vladikavkaz Regiment, and was awarded the Gold Sword of the Order of St. Anne for his actions in battle during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. He became chief of staff of the Consolidated Cavalry Corps from August 1905 to March 1906, when he was promoted to major general. From July 1907, he served as Chief of Staff of the 2nd Caucasus Army Corps, and was promoted to lieutenant general on November 26, 1912.

First World War

After the outbreak of

, he headed the 1st Caucasus Cossack Corps on the Caucasus Front and was prominent at the Battle of Sarikamish. During the

Persian Campaign Persian expedition or Persian campaign may refer to: * Persian campaign (Alexander the Great) (334–333 BC) *Julian's Persian expedition (363) * Persian expedition of Stepan Razin (1699) * Persian campaign of Peter the Great (1722–1723) * Pers ...

Baratov was successful in defeating

Kerim Pasha Abdul Kerim Pasha (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Abdülkerim Paşa''; born 1872 and died January 16, 1923Hülya Toker, Nurcan Fidan, ''Birinci Dünya Savaşı'na katılan Alay ve Daha Üst Kademedeki Komutanların Biyografileri'', Genelkurmay Bas ...

's rear troops on August 5, 1915 after the Battle of Kara Killisse. His task was to counter the pro-German forces in Persia (headed by Georg von Kanitz), and to link Russian forces with the British expeditionary forces 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 ...

. In October 1915, he landed at

Bandar-e Anzali 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 mos ...

and by December 3, 1915, took the ancient Persian capital of

Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') (Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ham ...

. With the occupation of Qom and

Kermanshah Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...

, the Russian forces under Baratov effectively isolated Persia from

Ottoman Turkey The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, thus securing Persia for the

Entente Powers The Triple Entente (from French '' entente'' meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well a ...

. Baratov was decorated with the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

of the Fourth degree in October, 1916. After returning to Russia on March 24, 1917, he commanded the

Caucasus Military District The Caucasus Military District (russian: Кавказский военный округ, ''Kavkazskiy voenniy okrug'') was a military formation of the Imperial Russian Army. It was created in 1865 as the successor to the Caucasus Army, and was dis ...

. On May 25, 1917 was appointed commander of the 5th Caucasus Army Corps. However, after the British defeat at the

Siege of Kut The siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916), also known as the first battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British Army garrison in the town of Kut, south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. In 1915, its population ...

, the Turks launched a massive offensive, forcing Baratov to return to Persia. He was made a general of cavalry on September 8, 1917. General Baratov, Russian Cossack at a meeting with British officers and the leaders of the Kurdish tribes in Kermanshah 1917

General Baratov, Russian Cossack at a meeting with British officers and the leaders of the Kurdish tribes in Kermanshah 1917

Russian Civil War

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 mome ...

of 1917, Baratov disbanded his corps and lived in exile in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

for five months. During the

, he joined the White movement. In June 1919, General Denikin, leader of the

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (russian: Добровольческая армия, translit=Dobrovolcheskaya armiya, abbreviated to russian: Добрармия, translit=Dobrarmiya) was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from ...

and the Armed Forces of South Russia, sent Baratov to settle uneasy relations with

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to F ...

, with the promise of security to Georgia's northern borders in reward for free passage of White Movement forces through Georgia. On September 13, 1919 Baratov was heavily wounded in a

terrorist incident Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, resulting in the amputation of his leg. From March to April 1920 Baratov served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the South Russian government. After the final defeat of the White Movement in November 1920, he lived in exile in France, where he headed various Russian emigre organizations, notably the Union of Disabled Persons and the Overseas Union of Russian people with disabilities. He was buried at the

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery (french: Cimetière russe de Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois) is part of the ''Cimetière de Liers'' and is called the Russian Orthodox cemetery, in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Paris, France. History The ...

Awards

* Order of St. Stanislav Grade 3, (1893) *

Order of St. 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 Holst ...

Grade 3 (1895) * Order of St. Stanislav Grade 2(1899) * Order of St. Anne Grade 2 degree (1904) * The golden gun "for courage" (1905) * Swords of the Order of St. Anne Grade 2 (1906) *

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

Grade 4, with swords and bow (1906) * Order of St. Vladimir Grade 3 (6 December 1909) * Order of St. Stanislav Grade 1 (6 December 1912) *

Grade 4 (15 October 1916) - for the successful operation in July 1915 in the Agridag mountain range . *

Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

(1916)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baratoff, Nikolai 1865 births 1932 deaths People from Vladikavkaz People from Terek Oblast Georgian generals with the rank "General of the Cavalry" (Imperial Russia) Georgian generals in the Imperial Russian Army Russian untitled nobility Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I White movement generals Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Russian amputees Burials at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France