Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lokhvitsky (russian: Никола́й Алекса́ндрович Ло́хвицкий; 7 October 1868 – 5 November 1933) was a general in the

Russian Expeditionary Force in France The Russian Expeditionary Force EF(french: Corps Expéditionnaire Russe en France, russian: Экспедиционный корпус Русской армии во Франции и Греции) was a World War I military force sent to France a ...

Family background

He came from an aristocratic family near

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 ...

. He was the son of a barrister, Alexander V. Lokhvitsky (1830–1884). The poet,

Mirra Lokhvitskaya Mirra Lokhvitskaya (russian: Ми́рра Ло́хвицкая; born Maria Alexandrovna Lokhvitskaya – russian: Мари́я Алекса́ндровна Ло́хвицкая; November 19, 1869 – August 27, 1905) was a Russian poet who rose t ...

, was his sister whose brief career ended in 1907.

Teffi Nadezhda Alexandrovna Teffi (russian: Наде́жда Алекса́ндровна Тэ́ффи; , Saint Petersburg – 6 October 1952, Paris) was a Russian humorist writer. Together with Arkady Averchenko she was one of the prominent authors of t ...

, another sister was also a writer who despite initially supporting the Bolshevik seizure of power, left for exile in Paris where she became a prominent writer in the white émigré community in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Army career

He joined the 4th Moscow Cadet Corps on 9 January 1887. Lokhvitsky took command of the First brigade of the REF leaving

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 ...

on 2 February 1916. They travelled by train across

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

to the port of Dal'ny. Here they sailed on four ships via the Suez Canal to

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, arriving in April 1916. They were billeted at the training camp at Mailly-le-Camp, Champaigne. When they were joined by the 3rd brigade in September 1916, they were merged into a Division at Mourmelon-le-Grand also in Champaigne.

Russian Civil War

In 1919, he joined the forces of Admiral Kolchak in Siberia. From April to June 1919 he commanded the

3rd Ural Corps The 3rd Ural Corps (Russian: 3-й Уральский армейский корпус) was one of the main formations of the Siberian Army during the Russian Civil War. Its commander was Col. Isaac Wimett and its headquarters were situated in Chely ...

and the 1st Army and finally, after the reorganization, the 2nd Army. He was replaced in August 1919 by General

Wojciechowski Wojciechowski (; feminine: Wojciechowska ; plural Wojciechowscy ) is the 16th most common surname in Poland (66,879 people in 2009)Ministry of Interior (Poland). Statystyka najpopularniejszych nazwisk występujących w Polsce in 2009'' (The most ...

. He participated in the Great Siberian Ice March and was sent ahead by Kolchak to

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...

to prepare for the transfer of the staff to this city and to negotiate with

Ataman Semenov Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov, or Semenov (russian: Григо́рий Миха́йлович Семёнов; September 25, 1890 – August 30, 1946), was a Japanese-supported leader of the White movement in Transbaikal and beyond from December 19 ...

. From April to August 1920 he commanded the Far East Army, from August to December he was Chief of the General Staff. In October 1920 he rejected the overall command of Semenov and recognized General Baron Wrangel as the commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces.

Life in exile

He returned to Paris in 1923. From 19267 he was the chairman of the

Legitimist Monarchist Society The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They r ...

, and worked with Grand Duke Vladimirovich. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and was buried in the Russian cemetery at Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokhvitsky, Nikolai Aleksandrovich 1867 births 1933 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from Saint Petersburg White movement generals