Aleksa Dundić or Oleko Dundich (, , , originally Croatian ''Томо Дундић / Tomo Dundić'') (April 13, 1896 – July 8, 1920) was a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

ian''Мілорад Драгович.'' «Красный конник Олеко Дундич» (1957). М: Молода гвардія, 1966 «Можна без жодного перебільшення сказати, що ім'я героя громадянської війни серба Олеко Дундича…» - transl.:It is no exaggeration to say that Oleko Dundich, a Serb and a hero of the Civil War, is a name worth remembering.... participant in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. A popular character in

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia, its Russian diaspora, émigrés, and to Russian language, Russian-language literature. Major contributors to Russian literature, as well as English for instance, are authors of different e ...

(celebrated for his riding skills and courage), Dundić was honoured with the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

Biography

Great Soviet Encyclopedia

According to the

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

(1972 ed.), he was born into a peasant family, in Grabovac, region of Dalmatia (modern-day

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

) on April 13, 1896. Dundić was of Croatian extraction. In 1914 he was recruited as a private in the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

of 1914-1918 in May, 1916 Dundić was taken prisoner by Russian troops near

Lutsk Lutsk (, ; see #Names and etymology, below for other names) is a city on the Styr River in northwestern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Volyn Oblast and the administrative center of Lutsk Raion within the oblast. Lutsk has a populati ...

. He volunteered to join the First Division of Serbian Volunteer Corps in Russia (Сербский добровольческий корпус). From the middle of 1917, he was a member of the Red Guard (presumably in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

). In March, 1918, he headed a guerrilla squad in the region of

Bakhmut Bakhmut is a city in eastern Ukraine. It is officially the administrative center of Bakhmut urban hromada and Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. The city is located on the Bakhmutka River, about north of Donetsk, the administrative center ...

that later joined the Morozov-Donetsk division, which retreated together with the army of K.E. Voroshilov towards

Tsaritsyn Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

in June 1918. He participated in the defence of Tsaritsyn as a member of an international battalion, then with cavalry brigades of Kryuchkovsky and Bulatkin. From 1919, he served in the Special Don Caucasus Division of

Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian and ...

(later in the cavalry corps and the First Mounted Army). He was deputy regiment commander, special aide to

, commander of mounted division at the headquarters of the First Mounted Army. Dundić took part in numerous battles and he was wounded several times. The legendary courage of Dundić brought him ardent love and popularity among Budyonny's troops. From June 1919 he was the deputy commander of the 36th regiment of the 6th cavalry division. He was killed in battle near Rovno, Ukraine, and awarded the

Other sources

According to Zelenin and Sumarokova in 1968, the alleged first biography on Dundić, written by B. V. Agatov in October 1920 (original does not exist), allegedly says that he was born in 1894, in

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-Cyrl, Крушевац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina (river), Rasina river. According to the 202 ...

, then in the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

. Allegedly, his family were cattle breeders. After finishing

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, he left home and entered a mechanical school. He then lived in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

for two years. In 1912-1913, during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, he was a weapons technician in the Serbian Army. He then served during the First World War, engaging the Austro-German troops, and for his valour shown during the battles on the Danube, he was promoted to second lieutenant. He was wounded twice, and was captured in 1916, the same year he escaped to Russia where he participated in the formation of the Serbian Volunteer Corps. After the February Revolution, he left the Serbian Corps and entered one of the Cossack regiments. After the October Revolution, he sided with the Soviet government and formed and headed an Odessa Red Guard detachment composed of Serb-internationalists. He fought against the Haidamak and cadet bands. He fought in Voronezh on the Don (in 1918), on the Tsaritsyn Front, and was wounded 16 times, then went to the Polish front. He died on July 8, 1920, at Rovno (now Ukraine). However, as Zelenin and Sumarokova declared, Agatov himself did not indicate the source of the accounts relating to Dundić's life prior to joining the First Cavalry, what makes his story quite unreliable in that segment. It might be a mixture of two or more different biographies, melted in one. E.g., if Dundić, as a "Serb" served in the Austrian army in World War I, he would be a national traitor.Comment by Zelenin and Sumarokova, in Prometei 1968

Legacy

In 1958, a joint Yugoslav-Soviet film Aleksa Dundić was directed by

Leonid Lukov Leonid Davydovich Lukov (; 2 May 1909 – 24 April 1963) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 25 films between 1930 and 1963. Leonid Lukov was named People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1957 and awarded the Stalin Prize twice ...

(). A street in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, Ukraine, was named after him: "Oleko Dundich Street". A street in

Sankt Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601,9 ...

(Frunzensky District) was named after him as well (ул. Олеко Дундича).

Annotations

His given name was Toma Dundić, according to Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Moscow, 1972. "Aleksa" was his nickname, presumably derived from Spanish "Alejo" (presumably acquired in Argentina), later in Russian as "Олеко" (Oleko), and later in Croatian and Serbian as "Aleksa".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dundic, Toma 1896 births 1920 deaths 20th-century Croatian military personnel Military personnel killed in action People of the Russian Revolution People of the Russian Civil War Russian people of Croatian descent Croatian soldiers Croatian communists Croatian expatriates in Russia Bolsheviks Russian communists Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I