Nikolai Vladimirovich Sollogub (russian: Николай Владимирович Соллогуб; – 7 August 1937) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
military specialist
The military history of the Soviet Union began in the days following the 1917 October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power. In 1918 the new government formed the Red Army, which then defeated its various internal enemies in the Russian ...
who served in
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 ...
, 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 ...
, and the
Polish-Soviet War, reaching the rank of
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 ...
in 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 ...
. During the
Great Purges
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 imprisoned and executed.
Biography
Sollogub was born into a noble family in the
Minsk Governorate
The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partition ...
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. ...
. He entered military service on 31 August 1900, later graduating from the Pavlovsk Military School in 1902 and the
Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff, Russia's senior
staff college
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...
, in 1910. During World War I, he served in several staff posts with the
1st Army. In January 1917 he joined the staff of the
quartermaster general of the
Special Army before transferring to a similar post with the
11th Army from August to September. During the Civil War he voluntarily joined the ranks of 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 ...
. From September to December he was a staff officer for the
Western Front army group under
Alexander Miasnikian
Alexander Fyodori Miasnikian or Myasnikov; russian: Алекса́ндр Фёдорович Мяснико́в. Also spelled Myasnikyan. His patronymic is variously given as Asatur, Astvatsatur, Fyodor and Bogdan. (28 January February1886 – ...
.
Sollogub joined the Red Army in early 1918 and initially served as the first
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
Eastern Front from June to July. From August he was a member of the Supreme Military Inspectorate of the Red Army and a lecturer at the
Red Military Academy.
In May 1919 he was attached to the chief of staff of the
Western Front before receiving command of the
16th Army during the Polish-Soviet War in August. Under his command the army advanced westwards into Poland before being thrown back during the
Battle of Warsaw. In October 1920 he became chief of staff of the Western Front and in December became chief of staff for all forces in Ukraine and Crimea. In 1922 he became assistant chief of the Red Military Academy, renamed in 1925 as the M. V. Frunze Military Academy honoring
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (russian: Михаил Васильевич Фрунзе; ro, Mihail Frunză; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Born in the modern-day ...
.
Sollogub worked as an instructor for the rest of his career. During the
Great Purges
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, tried in secret, and sentenced to death. He was executed in 1937.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sollogub, Nikolai
People from Minsk Governorate
Russian military personnel of World War I
Military personnel of the Russian Empire
People of the Polish–Soviet War
Belarusian military personnel
Belarusian people of World War I
Soviet komdivs
1883 births
1937 deaths
Place of death missing
Great Purge victims from Belarus