Leonid Nikolayevich Punin (born Ataman Nikolayevich Punin; 1892–1916), was a Russian hero of the

First World War 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 ...

, a Russian partisan and head of the special squad of the Northern Front.

Family

Leonid Punin was born Ataman Punin in 1892, to military doctor Nikolay Mikhaylovich Punin and an unknown actress. His elder brother,

Nikolay Punin Nikolay Nikolayevich Punin (russian: link=no, Никола́й Никола́евич Пу́нин; – August 21, 1953) was a Russian art scholar and writer. He edited several magazines, such as ''Izobrazitelnoye Iskusstvo'' among others, and w ...

, became a famous Soviet art critic who later died in a concentration camp as a result of his opposition to Stalin's regime. Alexander Punin, Leonid's second eldest brother, fought in the First World War and later became a biologist. His younger brother Lev Punin also went into the military. Zinaida, the only sister, married Josef Bulack-Balakhowitch and moved to Poland where she died in 1983.

Military career, 1914–1915

Ataman Punin graduated from Pavlovskoje's Voennoe Uchilische (a

military school A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

) then joined the 8th Finnish shooters regiment, with whom he fought German and Austrian troops in the first half of 1915. Punin then was made the head of rager's squad of that regiment. For his courage, this officer was awarded with

St. George's cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the cr ...

(4th class), St. Vladimir's cross (4th class with swords and bow), and many other

military order Military order may refer to: Orders * Military order (religious society), confraternity of knights originally established as religious societies during the medieval Crusades for protection of Christianity and the Catholic Church Military organi ...

Ataman Punin's squad

In September 1915 Punin (then commanding officer) started a project for a partisan squad. That project received support from members of the Russian

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

and by November 1915 he had begun to put together the squad. By November 26 the completed squad consisted of 10 officers and more than 300 soldiers. Among them there were 37 Latvians (from the 2nd Latvian shooters battalion), and about 50 people who knew Polish and German. The squad became a school for the future White Generals. Among the officers of Punin's squad were Baron Ungern-Shternberg (commander of the 3d squadron and 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 ...

, the first White General), Stanislaw and Jusef Bulack-Balakhowitch (Polish Bułak-Bałachowicz who then fought for the independence of Belarus), Georghij Dombrovsky (Polish Jerzy Dąmbrowski, a famous partisan known as "Lupaschka"), Illarion Stavskij (commander of a battalion of the Talabaski regiment in the Civil War), and Nikolay Zujev Зуев, Николай Алексеевич (called a "Russian

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

," a double agent who worked both for Stalin and 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� ...

). Punin's squad was the only partisan regiment on the Russian Northern Front. It fought against German troops near Riga (Kemeri), taking part in the battles of Mittaw (December 1916) and Riga (Summer 1917). The regiment worked so well that the

Grand Duke Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...

s and commanders awarded its members with military orders and medals. He was shot and killed in a battle with German troops on September 1 of 1916 near Anticiems. He was buried in the town of Pavlovsk (near St. Petersburg, Russia). His brother Alexandre succeeded him as leader of the squad. In March 1917 the squad received a new official name: "Ataman Punin's Special Squad." The squad remained active until disbanding in February 1918.

References

* Olga Khoroshilova. Horsemen of Special Service. Moscow, 2012 / Ольга Андреевна Хорошилова. Всадники особого назначения. Москва, издательство "Русские витязи", 2012 * Olga Khoroshilova. Military Partizans of The Great war. 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Punin, Leonid 1892 births 1916 deaths Russian military personnel killed in World War I