Kārlis Goppers (; April 2, 1876 – March 25, 1941) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and

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 ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

officer, veteran 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 ...

and 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 ...

and the founder and President of

Latvijas Skautu un Gaidu Centrālā Organizācija Latvijas Skautu un Gaidu Centrālā Organizācija (''Latvian Scout and Guide Central Organization,'' LSGCO) is the primary national Scouting and Girl Guides, Guiding organisation of Latvia and a member of both the World Association of Girl Guides ...

(Latvian Scout and Guide Central Organization).

Background

Born to a Latvian peasant family in the

Livonian Governorate The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of ...

of the Russian Empire, Goppers volunteered for the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

in 1893. In 1894, after training, he was promoted to junior non-commissioned officer, and later that year was admitted to the Vilna military school, from which he graduated in 1896 as a '' podpraproshchik''. By March 1916 he had risen to the rank of colonel, and served as the commander of the 7th Bauska riflemen

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

until February 1917. During

he was wounded three times. in October 1917, still under the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

, he was promoted to the rank of major general, but due to the Bolshevik takeover he did not formally receive the promotion. During this period he actively opposed the new regime, participating in general Kornilov's march on Petrograd and being in touch with

Boris Savinkov Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian revolutionary, writer, and politician. As a leading figure in the Socialist Revolutionary Party's (SR) Combat Organization in the early 20th century, he was a key organ ...

and his Union for the Defense of the Motherland and Freedom. He retired to the city of

Syzran Syzran ( rus, Сызрань, p=ˈsɨzrənʲ) is the third largest city in Samara Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of Saratov Reservoir of the Volga River. Population: History Founded in 1683 as a fortress, Syzran grew into an importa ...

, where he received a summons to the city of

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

, where he obtained a commission in the newly formed

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 ...

as a former tsarist colonel. In June 1918, however, he was recognised by Semyon Nakhimson and fled his post, participating in the Yaroslavl Uprising. After the defeat of the latter Goppers joined the ranks of the

People's Army of Komuch The People's Army of Komuch () was an anti-Bolshevik army during the Russian Civil War that fought in the Volga Region from June to September in 1918. It was established by the Socialist Revolutionary Party and led by Vladimir Kappel. Organi ...

, and eventually was assigned to the headquarters of the forces aligned with the Directory in Ufa. In 1919 he received his delayed promotion to major general in the armed forces of the

White movement The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the Right-wing politics, right- ...

. After the end of the Civil War he commanded the

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

division of the

Latvian army The Latvian Land Forces () together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. From 2007 to 2024, the Land Forces were organized as a fully professional standing army until the re-introduct ...

, from 1924 to April 1934, when he retired. In 1939, he received Scouting's Silver Wolf Award from the movement's founder,

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Boy Scouts Association and its first Chief Scout, and founder, with ...

, for his leadership in Latvia. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia, a special officer was appointed by the communists to abolish

Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

. Scouting continued unofficially and underground, operating without uniforms and in the

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s to avoid detection. On 30 September 1940, the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

arrested General Goppers. He was sentenced to death after a

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

and on 25 March 1941, he was shot on NKVD premises 61 Brivibas Street, buried in the mass grave in

Ulbroka Ulbroka is a village in Stopiņi Parish, Ropaži Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the administrative center of Stopiņi Parish and municipality. The village is crossed by two first category roads Rīga- Ērgļi (P4) and Rīga- ...

(Stopiņi) together with other victims of the shooting. In May 1944, he was reburied in the Riga Brothers Cemetery, but his heart was buried in his native Trikata (Trikāta Cemetery).

References

External links

* Ēriks Jēkabsons
«100 Latvijas personības» — Konservatīvais ģenerālis
«Latvijas Avīze» (in Latvian) * ''Scouting Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959 p. 116 * http://forum.valka.cz/viewtopic.php/title/Goppers-Karlis/t/64752 {{DEFAULTSORT:Goppers, Karlis 1876 births 1941 deaths People from Valmiera Municipality People from Valka county Latvian generals Scouting pioneers Scouting and Guiding in Latvia Imperial Russian Army officers Latvian Riflemen Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Executed White movement generals Latvian people executed by the Soviet Union White movement people executed by the Soviet Union White movement major generals

Background

See also

References

External links