Innokentiy Serafimovich Kozhevnikov (russian: Инноке́нтий Серафи́мович Коже́вников; 13 November 1879– 15 April 1931) was an active participant in 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 ...
. A member of the Bolshevik Party since 1917, he was one of the organizers of the guerrilla struggle in the rear of the
White Army
The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв ...
. He became commander of the 13th Red Army. He was imprisoned in 1926 and executed in 1931.
Biography
He was born in a peasant family in Bochkarevo, now in the
Kirensky District
Kirensky District (russian: Ки́ренский райо́н) is an administrative district, one of the thirty-three in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia.Charter of Irkutsk Oblast, Article 13 Municipally, it is incorporated as Kirensky Municipal Di ...
of the
Irkutsk Oblast
Irkutsk Oblast (russian: Ирку́тская о́бласть, Irkutskaya oblast; bua, Эрхүү можо, Erkhüü mojo) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in southeastern Siberia in the basins of the Angara, Lena, and Nizh ...
. He found an opportunity to study at the . In 1915–17, he served as a mechanic at the Kharkov Telegraph Office. At the outbreak of 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 moment ...
of 1917, Kozhevnikov became a member of the Communist Party and was soon appointed commissar of the
Kharkiv
Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Donets-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic.
In August 1918, the
Revolutionary Military Council
The Revolutionary Military Council (russian: Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet, Revolutionary Military Council), sometimes called the Revolutionary War CouncilBrian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor Ra ...
decided to send an expeditionary partisan detachment to the rear of the White Guard troops on the Eastern Front. In September 1918, Kozhevnikov was chosen to organize the partisan struggle in Tatarstan and
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
. The detachment of Kozhevnikov, formed mainly from volunteers of the
Kursk
Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...
,
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
and Astrakhan postal and telegraph districts, numbered initially some 500 men. By November 1918, his detachment already had 12,000 men and became known as the .
In early December 1918, an order was sent from Moscow to redeploy the Partisan Army through the Bugulma railway station to the Southern Front and concentrate it in the area of Novy Oskol in the Kursk province. In January 1919, Kozhevnikov detachments numbered more than 30,000 men who fought in the battles for Kupyansk, Starobelsk and Lugansk. Soon on the basis of these forces, the 13th Red Army was formed under the command of Kozhevnikov. The bulk of the army's personnel consisted of natives of Tatarstan. In a telegram, Yakov Sverdlov reported in February 1919: "In the Kozhevnikov army there are over 10,000 Muslims". On April 16, 1919, he was replaced by Anatoliy Gekker at the head of the 13th Army.
In 1920, Kozhevnikov served in the , as commissar of the detachment. In May 1921, Kozhevnikov sent an emissary to the Primorsky Krai for the organization of the partisan movement. In 1922–23, Kozhevnikov became Ambassador in the
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic
The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic ( uz, Бухоро Халқ Совет Республикаси, Buxoro Xalq Sovet Respublikasi; tg, Ҷумҳурии Халқии Шӯравии Бухоро; rus, Бухарская Народная Со ...
and
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 ...
OGPU
The Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU; russian: Объединённое государственное политическое управление) was the intelligence and state security service and secret police of the Soviet Union f ...
and sent to the
Solovki prison camp
The Solovki special camp (later the Solovki special prison), was set up in 1923 on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea as a remote and inaccessible place of detention, primarily intended for socialist opponents of Soviet Russia's new Bolshev ...
. At Solovki, there was a camp for juvenile offenders (for children aged 12–16), of which prisoner Kozhevnikov became the director. In 1931, Kozhevnikov fled the camp, but was soon caught and severely beaten. He was examined by a commission of psychiatrists, which concluded that Kozhevnikov was mentally paranoid. After that, Kozhevnikov was taken to Moscow and shot around April 15, 1931.