Ludvigs Bolšteins (February 5, 1888 – June 21, 1940) was a Latvian general. From 1925 to 1928 Bolšteins was commander of the

Aizsargi Aizsargi (literally: "Defenders", "Guards") was a volunteer paramilitary organization or militia ( lv, Aizsargu organizācija, "Guards Organization", AO) in Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially ...

home guard, from 1928 to 1940 commander of the Latvian

border guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Federal Police (Germany), Germany, Guardia di Finanza, Italy or State Border Gua ...

. He killed himself following the Soviet occupation of Latvia.

Biography

Ludvigs Bolšteins was born on February 5, 1888, in Sesavas parish. In 1907 Bolšteins graduated from

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the ...

, where he studied in the physics-mathematics faculty. In 1912 he joined the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

, and was decommissioned at the end of 1913.''Biography in Order of Lāčplēsis home page''
/ref> When the

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 ...

broke out, he was

mobilised Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

and initially he served in Daugavgrīvas fortress, later assisting in the formation of Latvian riflemen battalions. He served in the 1st Daugavgrīvas Latvian riflemen battalion, where he started his service as

praporshchik ( rus, Пра́порщик, 3=ˈprapərɕːɪk, ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in navies. It is usually equivalent to Warrant ...

, but by the end of his service in the Russian army he had risen to the rank of stabskapitan. During World War I was awarded

Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Ponia ...

(III class (with lances)) and

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 ...

(III and IV (with lances) classes). After the Bolshevik rise to power, he was arrested in

Cēsis Cēsis (), (german: Wenden, liv, Venden, et, Võnnu, pl, Kieś) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Upland, Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja, Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges ...

, but managed to escape. Subsequently he travelled to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, where he along with those who refused to join 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, after ...

, like his former commander

Frīdrihs Briedis Frīdrihs Briedis (June 23, 1888 – August 28, 1918) was a Latvian colonel and one of the most famous Latvian Riflemen commanders. He was posthumously the recipient of all classes of the Order of Lāčplēsis. Early life To escape dishonest ...

, took part in Savinkov's anti-Bolshevik organisation. After the collapse of this organisation Bolšteins returned to Latvia on December 28, 1918. There he joined Latvian army. Initially he aided the formation of new units in

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

, and would later also serve at the front lines as a member of Kalpaks battalion. On July 12, 1919 Bolšteins obtained the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. On August 9 he was appointed the commander of the 9th Rēzeknes Infantry Regiment. After the liberation of

Rīga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava (river), Daugava river where ...

he was made a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. For the remnant of the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence ( lv, Latvijas Neatkarības karš), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaim ...

he served on the

Latgale Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While m ...

front. After being

demobilized Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

on September 15, 1920, Bolšteins took to farming at his estate in Līvbērze parish. In 1925 he became the head of the

home guard, and in 1928 became the commander of the Latvian Border guards. In 1935 he received the rank of general. During his service in the Latvian army he was awarded the

Order of Lāčplēsis The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during t ...

(II, III classes),

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of the founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra", meaning "Thr ...

(II, III classes) and other Latvian and foreign decorations. After the occupation of Latvia by the USSR, he killed himself in his office. Ludvigs Bolšteins was buried at the

Brothers' Cemetery Brothers' Cemetery or Cemetery of the Brethren ( lv, Brāļu Kapi), also sometimes referred to in English as the Common Graves or simply as the Military Cemetery, is a military cemetery and national monument in Riga, capital of Latvia. The ceme ...

. Before taking his life, Bolšteins left a

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depe ...

directed to his superiors. In his letter he wrote:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolsteins, Ludvigs 1888 births 1940 deaths People from Jelgava Municipality People from Courland Governorate Latvian generals Latvian Riflemen Russian military personnel of World War I Latvian military personnel of the Latvian War of Independence Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commander's Grand Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Recipients of the Legion of Honour Military personnel who died by suicide

Biography

See also

References