Jānis Judiņš (; , trans. ''Yan Yudin'', also known in Russian as Я́нис Ю́диньш, trans. ''Yanis Yudinsh''; January 17, 1884, in Liezēre parish – August 12, 1918) was a Red Latvian Rifleman commander, a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

hero of the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. He was born on January 17, 1884, in Liezēre Parish in

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

(now part of the

Madona Municipality Madona Municipality () is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The administrative center is Madona. The total area of the municipality is , and the population in January 2013 was 26,953.Madona municipality Population Register Of these, economically ...

) to a landless family. He graduated from the

Valka Valka (; ) is a town and municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele. Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan " ...

teaching seminary, became a teacher and made connections with the Social Democratic Party, then participating in the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

. At the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

in 1914, he was drafted into the army of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

where he originally served in a Rifle Regiment of the

Royal Serbian Army The Army of the Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Војска Краљевине Србије, Vojska Kraljevine Srbije), known in English language, English as the Royal Serbian Army, was the army of the Kingdom of Serbia that existed between 1882 ...

. He was awarded the Cross of St. George for his heroic displays in battle, and trained at Vilnius Military School, which he graduated from in 1916 and became a Second Lieutenant soon after. He joined the Russian Communists (

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

) Party in 1917 and continued to support them in the

. In April 1918, he was appointed commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Latvian Riflemen Soviet Division. In June, his Brigade took part in the destruction of the SR (

Socialist Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia. The party memb ...

) riot in Moscow, as well as repressing the Yaroslavl Uprising and fighting in the battle for

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

. Together with the 3rd Regiment, he was transferred to the Czechoslovak Front and appointed Commander of Soviet troops on the left bank of the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

. In August 1918, Czech Legion and KomUch People's Army pressed the

from

. On 8 August 1918, Judeņš with his staff arrived at the Krasnaya Gorka railway station, a suburb of Kazan. On 12 August 1918, he was killed in action near the station by shell detonation. On 14 August 1918, the Soviet of the People's Commissars under

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

decreed to rename Krasnaya Gorka to Yudino (today part of

), after Jānis Judiņš. It was the first inhabited locality, renamed by Soviet power after the Civil War Red hero. He is buried in the village of

Sviyazhsk Sviyazhsk (; ) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Sviyaga Rivers. It is often referred to as an island since the 1955 construction of the Kuybyshev Reservoir downstr ...

, now part of the Zelenodolsky District in

Tatarstan Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...

.Drayton, James. "Sviyazhsk". home to roam. Retrieved 11 July 2012.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Judens, Janis 1884 births 1918 deaths People from Madona Municipality People from Cēsis county Latvian Riflemen Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Cross of St. George