Vasily Konstantinovich Blyukher ( rus, Васи́лий Константи́нович Блю́хер, Vasiliy Konstantinovich Blyukher; 1 December 1889 – 9 November 1938) 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 commander and
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union.
The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...
.
Early history
![Vasily Blyukher with first Order of the Red Banner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Vasily_Blyukher_with_first_Order_of_the_Red_Banner.jpg)
Blyukher was born into a Russian peasant family named Gurov, in the village of Barschinka in
Yaroslavl Governorate
Yaroslavl Governorate (russian: Ярославская губерния, ''Yaroslavskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, located in European Russia in the Upper Volga ...
. In the 19th century a landlord gave the nickname ''Blyukher'' to the Gurov family in commemoration of the famous
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n Marshal
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (sovereign prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned ...
(1742–1819). As a teenager, he was employed at a machine works, but was arrested in 1910 for leading a strike, and sentenced to two years, eight months in prison. In 1914, Vasily Gurov — who later formally assumed ''Blyukher'' as his surname — was drafted into 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 ...
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. ...
as a
corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...
but in 1915 was seriously wounded in the
Great Retreat
The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fr ...
, and excused from military service. He then went to work in a factory in Kazan, where he joined the
Bolshevik Party
" Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
in 1916. He took part in the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
in
Samara
Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...
.
[
]Great Russian Encyclopedia
The ''Great Russian Encyclopedia'' (GRE; russian: Большая российская энциклопедия, БРЭ, transliterated as ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya entsiklopediya'' or academically as ''Bolšaja rossijskaja enciklopedija'') is a u ...
(2005), 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 ...
: Bol'shaya Rossiyskaya enciklopediya Publisher, vol. 3, p. 618.
Civil War
![1923 vasily bljucher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/1923_vasily_bljucher.png)
In late November 1917 the
Red Guard
Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...
forces of Commander V. K. Sadlutskii and Commissar Blyukher moved from Samara to
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
to suppress
Alexander Dutov
Alexander Ilyich Dutov () (, Kazalinsk, Russian Empire – 7 February 1921, Shuiding, China) was one of the leaders of the Cossack counterrevolution in the Urals, lieutenant general (1919).
Dutov was born in Kazalinsk in Syr-Darya Oblast (now Ka ...
's revolt. Blyukher 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 ...
in 1918 and soon became a commander. 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 ...
of 1917–1923, he was one of the outstanding figures on the Bolshevik side. After the
Czech Legion
, image = Coat of arms of the Czechoslovak Legion.svg
, image_size = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Czechoslovak Legion coat of arms
, start_date ...
revolt
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
started in May 1918, the 10,000-strong
South Urals Partisan Army
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
under Blyukher's command marched 1,500 km in 40 days (August–September 1918) of continuous fighting to attack
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
forces from the rear, then joined with regular Red Army units. For this achievement in September 1918, he became the first 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 ...
(later he was awarded it four more times: twice in 1921 and twice in 1928),
the citation read: "The raid made by Comrade Blyukher's forces under impossible conditions can only be equated with
Suvorov's crossings in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
."
After Blyukher's troops rejoined the Red Army lines in the
3rd Red Army area of the
Eastern Front, his force was reorganised as the
51st Rifle Division, which he later led to further triumphs against Baron
Wrangel in November 1920. After the Civil War he served as military commander of the
Far Eastern Republic
The Far Eastern Republic ( rus, Дальневосто́чная Респу́блика, ДВР, r=Dalnevostochnaya Respublika, DVR, p=dəlʲnʲɪvɐˈstotɕnəjə rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə), sometimes called the Chita Republic, was a nominally indep ...
from 1921 to 1922. From December 1921, he took personal command of the campaign to remove the remnants of anti-Bolshevik forces east of the
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
river. In 1922−1924, he served as the commander of the Petrograd military district.
Far East command
From 1924 to 1927 Blyukher was a Soviet military adviser in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, where he used the name Galen (after the name of his wife, Galina) while attached to
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
's military headquarters. He was responsible for the military planning of the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...
which began the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
unification of China. Among those he instructed in this period was
Lin Biao
)
, serviceyears = 1925–1971
, branch = People's Liberation Army
, rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China
, commands ...
, later a leading figure in the Chinese
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
. Chiang allowed Blyukher to "escape" after his
anti-communist purge. On his return he was given command of the
Ukraine Military District
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
, and then in 1929 he was transferred to the vitally important military command in the
Far Eastern Military District
The Far Eastern Military District (russian: Дальневосточный военный округ; Dalʹnevostochnyĭ voennyĭ okrug) was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific ...
, known as the
Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army
The Special Far Eastern Army, later the Special Red Banner Far Eastern Army ( rus, links=no, Осо́бая Краснознамённая Дальневосто́чная а́рмия (ОКДВА), Osóbaya Krasnoznamonnaya Dal'nevostóchnaya árm ...
(OKDVA).
Based at
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...
, Blyukher exercised a degree of autonomy in the Far East unusual for a Soviet military commander. With
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
steadily extending its grip on
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and hostile to the Soviet Union, the Far East was an active military command. In the
Russo-Chinese Chinese Eastern Railroad War of 1929–30 he defeated Chinese warlord forces in a quick campaign. For this outstanding achievement he became the first recipient of the
Order of the Red Star
The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...
in September 1930,
and became popularly known as the "Red
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
". In 1935 he was made a
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union.
The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...
. From July to August 1938 he commanded the
Soviet Far East Front
The Far Eastern Front (Russian language, Russian: Дальневосточный фронт) was a Front (Soviet Army), front — a level of military formation that is equivalent to army group — of the Red Army during the World War II, Second Wor ...
in a less decisive action against the Japanese at the
Battle of Lake Khasan
The Battle of Lake Khasan (29 July – 11 August 1938), also known as the Changkufeng Incident (russian: Хасанские бои, Chinese and Japanese: ; Chinese pinyin: ; Japanese romaji: ) in China and Japan, was an attempted military incurs ...
, on the border between the Soviet Union and Japanese-occupied
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
.
Soviet purges and death
The importance of the Far East Front gave Blyukher a certain degree of immunity from Stalin's purge of Red Army command, which had begun in 1937 with execution of
Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937) nicknamed the Red Napoleon by foreign newspapers, was a Sovie ...
—in fact, Blyukher had been a member of the tribunal that convicted Tukhachevsky. On 15 June 1938, three days after the head of the Far Eastern
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
Genrikh Lyushkov
Genrikh Samoilovich Lyushkov (russian: link=no, Генрих Самойлович Люшков; 1900 – 19 August 1945) was an officer in the Soviet secret police and its highest-ranking defector. A high-ranking officer of the NKVD, he pla ...
defected to Japan, Blyukher visited NKVD headquarters in Moscow, seeking information about the defector and about potential consequences of his disappearance. He met the deputy head of the NKVD,
Mikhail Frinovsky
Mikhail Petrovich Frinovsky (; 7 February 1898 – 4 February 1940) served as a deputy head of the NKVD in the years of the Great Purge and, along with Nikolai Yezhov, was responsible for setting in motion the Great Purge.
Biography
Mikhail Petr ...
, who appears to have reassured him that he would not be held responsible for letting Lyushkov cross the Manchurian border. On 17 June, Frinovsky and the head of the Red Army political directorate,
Lev Mekhlis
Lev Zakharovich Mekhlis (russian: Лев Заха́рович Ме́хлис; January 13, 1889 – February 13, 1953) was a Soviet politician and a prominent officer in the Red Army from 1937 to 1940. As a senior political commissar, he became ...
, were dispatched to the Far East to conduct mass arrests, and to spy on Blyukher. He was arrested on 22 October, by which time Frinovsky had been dismissed and the NKVD was effectively controlled by
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...
.
It was long believed that Blyukher was secretly tried, convicted of spying for Japan, and executed. In 1939 Chiang Kai-shek inquired about Blyukher's whereabouts in a meeting with Stalin, and asked if he could return to help the Nationalists. Stalin replied that the general had been executed for helping a Japanese spy. However, in 1989, ''
Izvestia
''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes ...
'' reported that he had refused to confess, and was beaten to death on 9 November 1938 by a particularly brutal interrogator,
Lev Shvartzman
Lev Leonidovich (Aronovich) Shvartzman (russian: Лев Леони́дович (Аронович) Шва́рцман; 25 July 1907 13 May 1955) was a Soviet MGB officer, notorious for his brutality, who was executed for using torture to extract ...
. He was
rehabilitated in 1956.
He continues to be a popular figure in Russia, and a documentary film on his life and several publications by family members have appeared.
[ ]
Honours and awards
* Two
Orders of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
(1931, 1938)
*
Order of Red Banner of RSFSR, three times
**Resolution of the Central Executive Committee on 30 September 1918, presented 11 May 1919 by the Special Representative at the headquarters of the Central Executive Committee of the 3rd Army on the Eastern Front;
**Order 197 of 14 June 1921—for the battles on the Eastern Front, the 30th Infantry Division;
**Order 221 of RVSR, 20 June 1921—for the assault on
Perekop
Perekop (Ukrainian & Russian: Перекоп; ; ) is an urban-type settlement located on the Perekop Isthmus connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the fortress Or Qapi that served as the gateway to Crimea. The ...
at the
Perekop Isthmus
The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench ( uk, Перекопський перешийок; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyy pereshyyok''; russian: Перекопский перешеек; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek ...
by 51st Infantry Division;
*
Order of Red Banner of the USSR, twice
**Order RVS USSR 664 of 25 October 1928—for the defence of the Kakhovka bridgehead;
**Order RVS USSR 101 1928—in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Red Army;
*
Order of the Red Star
The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...
(1930)
*
Jubilee Medal XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (1938)
* Badge "5 years of the Cheka-GPU" (1932)
*
Cross of St. George
The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of ...
, 3rd and 4th classes
*
Medal of St. George
References
Works cited
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blyukher, Vasily
1889 births
1938 deaths
People from Rybinsky District, Yaroslavl Oblast
People from Rybinsky Uyezd
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members
Old Bolsheviks
Russian communists
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Government ministers of the Far Eastern Republic
First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union
All-Russian Central Executive Committee members
Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, 1938–1947
Marshals of the Soviet Union
Russian military personnel of World War I
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
Military personnel of the Far Eastern Republic
People of the Northern Expedition
Recipients of the Cross of St. George
Recipients of the Medal of St. George
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
Inmates of Lefortovo Prison
Executed military personnel
Great Purge victims from Russia
Russian people executed by the Soviet Union
Members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union executed by the Soviet Union
Soviet rehabilitations
Burials at Donskoye Cemetery