Mikhail Alekseyevich Belyaev (russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич Беля́ев; December 23, 18631918) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

general of the Infantry, statesman,

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

from August 1, 1914, to August 10, 1916, and was the last

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

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. ...

from January 3, 1917, to February 28, 1917.

Family

The noble family of Belyaev had a rich military history, the family had given many soldiers. Including Mikhail's cousin, the hero of the

Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko ÑorairõIvan Timofeevich Belyaev.

Nikolai Timofeevich Belyaev Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Nik ...

, a participant in World War 1 and a scientist-metallurgist. And also Mikhail Nikolayevich Belyaev, a participant in 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 ...

. One of his second cousin was the wife of Alexander Lvovich Blok, who was accordingly, was the father of the famous poet Alexander Alexandrovich Blok.

Early life

Early life and military career

Mikhail was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

on December 23, 1863, to

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Aleksei Mikhailovich Belyaev Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin Al ...

. At an early age, he attended The Third Saint Petersburg Gymnasium. In 1885, he graduated from the

Mikhailovsky Artillery School Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces. Russian institutions designated as an "acad ...

, after which he served in several military units and the Imperial Guards. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

at mid August 1890. In 1893, after he graduated from the Nikolayev Academy of General Staff, he continued to serve in the Imperial Guards. In late November 1893, he was appointed the senior adjutant of the 24th Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps. In mid January 1897, he was appointed Chief Officer for special assignments of the 18th Army Corps and chief of staff of the army corps in early December. He rose to

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 colonel. ...

in early April 1898. From early December 1898, he served in the Military-Scientific Committee of the General Staff as a junior clerk, he rose to senior clerk in mid April 1901. He was also promoted to

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 ...

in the same month. In mid May 1902, he again served in the Imperial Guards, this time he command a battalion in the Izmaylovsky Lifeguard Regiment.

Russo-Japanese War

In 1904, Belyaev participated in the

. From mid February 1904, he was an officer in the headquarters for special assignments under head of the headquarters of the Viceroy of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

, General

Yakov Zhilinsky Yakov Grigoryevich Zhilinsky (russian: Я́ков Григо́рьевич Жили́нский; 27 March 1853 – 1918) was a Russian cavalry general, chief of staff of the Imperial Russian Army from 2 February 1911 to 4 March 1914. He was con ...

. In late November 1904, he became the Chief of the Chancery of the Field Staff of the 1st Manchurian Army. From mid August 1905 till the end of the war, he was the Chancery of the new commander-in-chief, the aged general

Nikolai Linevich Nikolai Petrovich Linevich, also ''Lenevich'' and ''Linevitch'' (russian: Николай Петрович Линевич, uk, Ліневич Микола Петрович; – ) was a career military officer, General of Infantry (1903) and Ad ...

. For military distinctions, Belyaev was awarded the

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

. After the war, he was promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in mid April 1908. In mid March 1909, he became a member of the Main Serfdom Committee of the country. By the end of 1910, he became the head of the Division for the Establishment and Service of the Troops of the State Security Service. He was promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in mid June 1912.

World War 1

Le général Sakharoff, le général Belaeff - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - AP62T099793

After the

mobilisation 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 t ...

of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, General Belyaev was promoted to

General of the Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

in early December, he was also appointed the Chief of Staff of the army in early August of that year. In late June 1915, he became an assistant to the Ministers of War, General

Alexei Polivanov Alexei Andreyevich Polivanov (russian: Алексей Андреевич Поливанов) (March 16, 1855 – September 25, 1920) was a Russian military figure, infantry general (1915). He served as Russia's Minister of War from June ...

, he later became General Polivanov's chief of staff. But later in early August 1916, he was relieved from his post and became a member in the

Military Council A military council is an approach to organization by a council with representatives from various bodies. The term "military council" applied to organisational groupings of senior ranking officers in the European armies of the 19th century during o ...

and a representative of the Russian command at the Romanian Main Apartment. And in early 1917, he replaced General

Dmitry Shuvayev Dmitry Savelyevich Shuvayev (; – 19 December 1937) was a Russian military leader, Infantry General (1912) and Minister of War (1916). Life Dmitry Shuvayev graduated from Alexander Military School in 1872. Between 1873 and 1875, he particip ...

as Minister of War, becoming the last in the Russian Empire.

February Revolution

On February 23 (

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

, the date in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

was March 8) 1917, the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...

broke out. General Belyaev together with the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

commander General Sergey Khabalov, declared that Petrograd to be in a stage of siege, he and General Khabalov attempted to suppress the Revolution, and he had asked to arrange the sending of correct units from the front. But at last, he and General Khabalov failed to suppress the revolution because of mutinies in the army and the soldier refused to take orders. There were even some revolutionary soldiers in the army, shooting loyal soldiers and police. After this failure, General Belyaev was arrested and was put in custodies in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...

. He was soon released, but was rearrested in July, in the order by the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

. After his rearrest, he was questioned by the Extraordinary Investigative Commission of the Provisional Government, but they failed to accuse the general of abuse. He was released shortly 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 moment ...

. After that he didn't participated in any public event, but in 1918, he was arrested by the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...

and was subsequently shot.

Honours and awards

Russian Empire

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 ...

, 3rd class (1895) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

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 ...

, 3rd class (1899) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 2nd class with swords (1904) * Order of Saint Vladimir, ribbon bar

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 ...

, 4th class with swords and a bow (1905) * Order of Glory Ribbon Bar

(1907) *

Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class (1907) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st class (18.4.1910) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 1st class (6.12.1913) * Order of Saint Vladimir, ribbon bar

Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class (1915)

Foreign

*: **

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belyaev, Mikhail 1863 births 1918 deaths 20th-century executions by Russia Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Imperial Russian Army generals Russian nobility