Dejan Ivanovich Subotić (also spelled Dejan Subotich and Dean Subbotich; 7 May 1852 – 1920) was a Russo-Serbian military and state leader, military governor of

Russian Dalian Russian Dalian, also known as Kvantunskaya Oblast, was a leased territory ruled by the Russian Empire that existed between its establishment after the Pavlov Agreement in 1898 and its annexation by the Empire of Japan after the Russo-Japanese W ...

(''Primorye oblast''; 1897–1898);

Transcaspian Oblast The Transcaspian Oblast, or simply Transcaspia, was an oblast of the Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of the 19th century until 1924. It was bounded to the south by Iran's Khorasan Pro ...

(''Zakaspiyskaya oblast'', 1901–1902), general governor of

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

(1902-1903), Military ataman of the

Ussuri Cossack Host Ussuri Cossack Host () was a Cossack Host in Imperial Russia, located in Primorye south of Khabarovsk along the Ussuri River, the Sungari River, and around the Khanka Lake. History The Ussuri Cossack Host was created in 1889 on the bas ...

, Governor General of

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

(1903-1905) and

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

(1905-1906). Dejan Subotić was the son of the well-known Serbian poet

Jovan Subotić Jovan Subotić (30 January 1817 – 16 January 1886) was a Serbian lawyer, writer, politician and academic. Biography Jovan Subotić was born at Dobrinci in Srem on 30 January 1817. After completing his high school (gymnasium) education in Srems ...

. Dejan's brother Ozren Subotić was a Serbian travel writer.

Serbian-Turkish War

Dean Ivanovich Subotić was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

on 7 May 1852. He graduated from high school in Austria, and in 1867 joined the Russian military service in St. Petersburg. There he was educated at the Second Konstantinovsky Military Academy where he received the rank of second lieutenant and was appointed to the guards. From 1871 to 1874 he was enrolled at the prestigious His Imperial Majesty Nicholas General Staff Academy and the

Naval Cadet Corps A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

. Upon graduation, he was sent to the artillery brigade of the Caucasian Grenadier Division of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 13 April 1875. The following year he went to warring Serbia, to the headquarters of the Timok-Moravian army under the command of General

Mikhail Chernyayev Mikhail Grigoryevich Chernyaev ( Russian: Михаил Григорьевич Черняев) (3 November / 22 October 1828 in Bender, Bessarabia Governorate – 16 August 1898) was a Russian major general, who, together with Konstantin Kaufm ...

. According to Russian sources, he participated in a series of battles against the Turks, and on 5 February 1877, he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In the early spring of 1877, Subotić was re-enlisted in the Kiev Military District. Then, in September 1885, he became Chief of Staff of the 15th Infantry Division in Odessa, and from 6 March 1889 to 11 January 1893, he was again on duty in the Caucasian Grenadier Division in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Russian Far East

In March 1894, after being promoted to the rank of Major General, Subotić was sent to the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

where he succeeded Paul Simon Unterberger as the military administrator of the

Primorskaya Oblast Primorskaya Oblast () was an administrative division of the Russian Empire and the early Russian SFSR, created on October 31, 1856 by the Governing Senate.''History of Soviet Primorye'', pg. 31 The name of the region literally means "Maritime" or ...

on 27 May 1897. From 1897 to 1898 he was on duty as a military governor of the

, and Ataman of the Ussuri Cossack Host. It was at the same time when his countryman, the chief engineer of

Chinese Eastern Railway The Chinese Eastern Railway or CER (, , or , ''Kitaysko-Vostochnaya Zheleznaya Doroga'' or ''KVZhD''), is the historical name for a railway system in Northeast China (also known as Manchuria). The Russian Empire constructed the line from 1897 ...

(CER) construction, Aleksandr Iosifovich Iugovich prepared the groundbreaking ceremonies for the CER to take place. Colonel (later Major General)

Dmitry Horvat Dmitry Leonidovich Horvat ( – 16 May 1937) was a Russian lieutenant general and railway engineer who worked on and led various sections of the Russian Empires railways during his career. During the Russian Civil War he became one of the le ...

who would succeed Iugovich in 1903, was present in the capacity as head of administration of the Ussuri railway system. The highlight of the event was when Subotić unfurled the CER flag, a symbol of Russian and Chinese partnership and cooperation before 80 foreign delegates who had arrived specifically for the occasion. Later, Subotić was sent to the city of

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

to replace commander Oskar Starck on 18 September 1898 to July 1899 as military governor of

. Then, on 12 August 1900, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General. A year before Subotić's last promotion, a

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

broke out in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Dissatisfied with foreign influences in China, rebels had launched a series of attacks on foreigners. In Beijing and other cities, a large number of Russians and Chinese people who were converted to Christianity were killed. Among them were 222 Orthodox Chinese, which the Russian Orthodox Church later had canonized as martyrs. The so-called Boxers meanwhile attacked the Chinese eastern railway in Manchuria, the Chinese province of

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

. A significant part of the railway infrastructure, which Russia built, was destroyed or damaged, and there were also human losses. Unlike other parts of China, Boxers were targeting their attacks only on Russians in Manchuria. Russia intervened and regained control of Mukden (today Shenyang) and other parts of Manchuria. Russian intervention in Manchuria was one of the causes of the subsequent

Russian-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. At that time, Dejan Subotić was engaged in defending the Russian eastern coast of unrest caused by the Boxer Rebellion and the pacification of Manchuria. He participated in the Chinese campaign as Governor-General of the Amur and

Guandong Guandong or Kwantung may refer to: *Guandong (關東), a historical name for Manchuria, literally translating to "east of (Shanhai) Pass" ** The Guandong Peninsula, meaning the Liaodong Peninsula, a peninsula extending from southern Guandong ** Kw ...

. Subotić commanded the

Mukden Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. It is the province's most populous city with a p ...

Operation that returned the city under Russian control. Making use of their artillery, his forces took Haicheng, Yingkou, Liaoyang, and other cities as they moved north towards Mukden. On October 1 they occupied Mukden without any fighting. On October 6, Subotić linked up with Russian forces advancing from the north, thus completing the invasion of Manchuria.

Russian Turkestan

After the Chinese campaign, Subotić served in

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

until 1902, where he commanded the 2nd Turkestan Army Corps and was the head of the

(in office: 1901-1902). During 1902 and 1903 he returned to the Far East as the general governor of the Amur Oblast (Priamur region), the commander of the Priamur military district and the commanding officer of the island's horsemen. At the same time, in 1903, he became a member of the Military Council of the Ministry of the Army. During this time the Russian Imperial Geographical Society petitioned Subotić to allow Bronislaw Pilsudski to participate in Waclaw Sieroszewski's expedition to the island of

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

to study the language of the

Ainu people The Ainu are an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Ku ...

and their folklore for four months. The petition received his support and that of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. In October 1903, Subotić wrote to Army Minister

Aleksey Kuropatkin Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (; March 29, 1848January 16, 1925) was a Russian politician and military officer who served as the Russian Imperial Minister of War from January 1898 to February 1904 and as a field commander subsequently. Hist ...

that Russia should exploit

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

, not the city of Dalian, as suggested by

Sergei Witte Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte (, ; ), also known as Sergius Witte, was a Russian statesman who served as the first prime minister of the Russian Empire, replacing the emperor as head of government. Neither liberal nor conservative, he attracted ...

. His reasons were sound: he knew the geopolitical volatility of the region, not to mention the economic implications of the time. Subotić read 's 1903 book ("Possible Fates of Russian Trade in the Far East") which showed that "profits from the tea trade from China to European Russia via Vladivostok had fallen after the construction 897-1902of the CER (

)." Two years later, Subotić commanded the

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (, ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 R ...

, replacing the Governor-General (who died in 1905), and was the commanding officer of the Cossack army there. In 1906 Subotić and his assistant General

Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov Vladimir Viktorovich Sakharov (; 20 May 1853 – August 1920) was a Russian general of the cavalry who served in the Russian Imperial Army. In his army career from 1869 to 1917, he served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Russo-Japanes ...

were forced to resign on charges of supporting

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

. Subotić's successor was General . In 1918, Subotić became the Honorary Consul of 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 ...

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

. He died in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

in 1920.

Works

* "Amur Yellow Road and Our Policy in the Far East", 1907 * "Russian Tasks in the Far East", 1908

Orders and decorations

* Order of Saint Stanislav, 3rd class (1880) * Order of Saint Stanislav, 2nd degree (1887) *

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

, 2nd Class (1890) *

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of ...

, 4th degree (1894); * Royal favor (1896); *

, 3rd class (1896); * Order of Saint Stanislav, 1st Class (1899); *

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

, 4th degree for military distinctions in the Chinese campaign (12/22/1900); *

, 1st Class (1903); *

, 2nd degree (1905). Other States: *

Order of the Cross of Takovo The Order of the Cross of Takovo () was a Serbian state order. History It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started with the Tako ...

, 4th degree (Serbia, 1906); *

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

, 4th degree (Romania, 1878); * Cross "Danube Crossing"(Romania, 1877). This form of the Danube cross was awarded to Russian soldiers who crossed the Danube in April 1877 during the War of Independence against Ottoman Turkey, 1877–1878; *

Order of the Double Dragon The Imperial Order of the Double Dragon () was an Order (decoration), order awarded in the late Qing dynasty. The Order was founded by the Guangxu Emperor on 7 February 1882 as an award for outstanding services to the throne and the Qing court. ...

, 2nd Class, 1st grade (China, 1896); *

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, 2nd Class (Japan, 1898); * Order of the Crown, 2nd Class (Prussia, 1900).

Notes

References

* Translated and adapted from Russian Wikipedia: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87,_%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 {{DEFAULTSORT:Subotic, Dejan 1852 births 1920 deaths Politicians from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian Army generals Military personnel from Vienna Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Naval Cadet Corps alumni Governors-general of Turkestan