Mikhail Afanasyevich Demichev (; 1885 – November 19, 1937) was a

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 ...

komdiv (russian: комдив) is the abbreviation to Commanding officer of the Division (russian: командир дивизии, komandir divizii; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It ...

'' (division commander). He fought in 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 ...

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 ...

before going over to the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

in the subsequent

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He was a recipient of the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

. During the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

, he was arrested on August 9, 1937 and later executed. After the death of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, he was rehabilitated in 1956.

Early life, World War I, and Russian Civil War

Demichev was born in 1885 to a Russian peasant family in the village of Kuprino, Karachevsky Uyezd,

Oryol Governorate Oryol Governorate (russian: Орловская губерния, ''Orlovskaya guberniya'') or the Government of Oryol, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the early Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1 ...

. After graduating from the village school, he went to work in

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

, becoming a roller and paperboy at a printing house. Drafted into the

in 1908, Demichev served with the 14th Little Russia Dragoon Regiment as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

before rising to

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

in 1911. He entered a school for ''

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 ...

''s (ensigns) at the division headquarters in 1913, but did not graduate due to the outbreak of

. Demichev fought with the regiment in the war and was promoted to ''

'' for distinguishing himself in battle. After joining the

in June 1918 during 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 ...

, Demichev served as a platoon and squadron commander in the 4th Oryol Cavalry Regiment, assistant commander of the 5th Alatyr Cavalry Regiment for personnel, and commander of the latter regiment between 1918 and 1919. On the night of 25 February 1920, during Red attacks on Crimea in early 1920, Demichev led his regiment as part of the 13th Cavalry Brigade in a raid on Tyup-Dzhankoy and put the opposing White forces to flight while suffering minimal casualties. Continuing the pursuit allowed neighbouring units to also advance. For his leadership of the raid, Demichev was awarded the

on 11 September. In 1920, with the regiment, he joined the Red Cossacks division and was appointed commander of its 3rd Brigade. He was twice wounded in action during the war.

Interwar period

From December 1920, he led the 8th Cavalry Division, which he commanded until August 1921, when it became the 1st Cavalry Division. Demichev continued in command of the division until 1932, simultaneously serving as its military commissar. He received a second Order of the Red Banner in 1923. During this period he graduated from Higher Academic Courses at the Military Academy of the Red Army in 1924, Courses of Improvement for Higher Officers at the

Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

in 1930, and Courses for Commanders at the Tolmachev Military-Political Academy. Advancing to serve as commander and military commissar of the 1st Cavalry Corps in November 1932, Demichev was transferred to the reserve in August 1937 due to "political unreliability." He was arrested on 9 August 1937 and sentenced to death by the

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union (Russian: Военная коллегия Верховного суда СССР, ''Voennaya kollegiya Verkhovnogo suda SSSR'') was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Sovie ...

on 19 November, charged with participating in a military conspiracy. Demichev was shot a day later. He was posthumously rehabilitated on 20 October 1956.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *Краснознамённый Киевский. Очерки истории Краснознамённого Киевского военного округа (1919—1979). Издание второе, исправленное и дополненное. Киев, издательство политической литературы Украины. 1979. С.85-о кавалерии, с.с.92-94- Киевские манёвры. * Горбатов А.В. Годы и войны. — М.: Воениздат, 1989. Книга на сайте: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/gorbatov/index.html * Дубинский Илья. ПРИМАКОВ. Выпуск 2. (445). Основные даты жизни и деятельности В. М. Примакова. (см. lib.rus.ec/b/105117/read)

Sources

Червоні аватари України: уніформа орлів Примакова.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20181111150439/http://rkka.ru/cavalry/ Кавалерийские корпуса РККА
Кавалерийская дивизия 14-й армии, с 4.12.19 г. – 8-я кавалерийская дивизия Червонного казачества, с 6.05.22 г. – 1-я кавалерийская Запорожская Червонного казачества Краснознаменная дивизия имени Французской компартии.

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120403064821/http://rkka.ru/handbook/personal/2395.htm Приказ НКО СССР по личному составу армии от 20 ноября 1935 года. № 2395.]
Сборник лиц награждённых орденом Красного Знамени (РСФСР) и почётным революционным оружием. Демичев Михаил Афанасьевич: Командир полка 5, приказ РВСР № 438: 1920 г. Командир 1-й кавалерийской дивизии Червоного Казачества, приказ РВСР № 56: 1923 г.: Вторичное награждение.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demichev, Mik 1885 births 1937 deaths Soviet komdivs Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Great Purge victims from Russia People executed by the Soviet Union