Pavel Pavlovich Lebedev (russian: Павел Павлович Лебедев; 21 April 1872 – 2 July 1933) 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 ...
and
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 leader, Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army from 1919 to 1924.
Biography
He was born to a poor nobility, and was raised as a
Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
. At age 12 he studied at public expense in the Nizhny Novgorod Count Arakcheev Cadet Corps, after which became a cadet of the Moscow Alexandrovsky Military School. He graduated from his studies in 1892, with the rank of
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 ...
was sent to the
Moscow Guard Regiment
Moskovsky Guards Regiment (russian: Московский лейб-гвардии полк) was a Russian Imperial Guard infantry regiment. Established in October 1817 it continued in existence until the Russian Revolution of 1917.
History Found ...
. In 1897 he entered the General Staff Academy, which he graduated with honors in 1900. Promoted to staff-captains and added to the General Staff. Due to his ability to make a brilliant career, in 1914 he was already a colonel and served as Head of the 12th Department of the General Staff. During 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 ...
, 1914–1918 - Operations Chief Quartermaster General Staff of the Southwestern Front, Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army, General instructions for when the armies of the Civil Code of the Southwestern Front, Assistant Quartermaster General Staff of the North-Western Front, General -kvartirmeyster staff of the Western Front. At the front he was wounded. In 1915, promoted to major general. In December 1917, he dismissed and moved to his family in
Yeisk
Yeysk (russian: Ейск) is a port and a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the shore of the Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. The town is built primarily on the Yeysk Spit, which separates the Yeya River from the Sea of Azo ...
.
Russian Revolution and Soviet period
In 1918 he refused to join the White movement and voluntarily joined 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 ...
at the personal invitation of
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
. He served as Chief of Mobilization Management (1918–1919), Chief of Staff (April–July 1919) and commander (July 1919) of the Eastern front, the Chief of the Staff of the Red Army of the Republic (1919–1924), at the same time (from March 1923 to February 1924) he was a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR.
He participated in the planning and conduct of operations to defeat the White forces of
Alexander Kolchak
Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (russian: link=no, Александр Васильевич Колчак; – 7 February 1920) was an Imperial Russian admiral, military leader and polar explorer who served in the Imperial Russian Navy and fought ...
,
Anton Denikin
Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...
and
Nikolai Yudenich
Nikolai Nikolayevich Yudenich ( – 5 October 1933) was a commander of the Russian Imperial Army during World War I. He was a leader of the anti-communist White movement in Northwestern Russia during the Civil War.
Biography
Early life
Yuden ...
. He is considered one of the planners of the
Orel–Kursk operation
The Orel–Kursk operation (known in Soviet historiography as the Orel–Kromy operation) was an offensive conducted by the Southern Front of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic's Red Army against the White Armed Forces of South Rus ...
in October 1919, during which Denikin's offensive on Moscow was stopped and pushed back. All that time during the Civil War, Lebedev worked in a very busy schedule, seven days a week, coming home at four o'clock in the morning.
In 1922–1924 he concurrently headed the
Military Academy
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. ...
. In the years 1924–1925 was for critical assignments for the RVS USSR. In the years 1925–1928 the chief of staff and assistant commander of the Ukrainian Military District
Iona Yakir
Iona Emmanuilovich Yakir (russian: Ио́на Эммануи́лович Яки́р; 3 August 1896 – 12 June 1937) was a Red Army commander and one of the world's major military reformers between World War I and World War II. He was an ear ...
. He was a member of the
All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee
All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee ( uk, italic=yes, Всеукраїнський центральний виконавчий комітет) was a representative body of the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets. It was the supreme legislative ...
. By order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR dated July 3, 1933, the name of P.P. Lebedev was assigned to the Kiev artillery school, which became known as the Kiev artillery school named after comrade Lebedeva.
He died in