Teodors Spāde (7 March 1891 – 25 July 1970) was a

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 ...

n naval officer. A

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

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 ...

veteran, he held commanding positions in the

Latvian navy Latvian Naval Forces () is the naval warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces, National Armed Forces. It is tasked with conducting military, search and rescue operations, mine and explosive sweeping on the Baltic Sea, as well as ecolog ...

from 1931 to 1940. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia, Spāde was deported from the country. He died in exile in the

Kazakh SSR The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Located in northern Centr ...

and was reburied to his homeland in 1990.

Early career

Spāde was born into a fisherman's family in

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

, then part 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 ...

, in 1891. He was trained as a mechanical engineer at the

Riga Polytechnic Institute Riga Technical University (RTU) () is the oldest Institute of technology, technical university in the Baltic states, Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as Riga Polytechnical ...

, which he graduated in 1914. He was drafted in the Imperial Russian

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

at the outset of World War I. He advanced from a position of '' michman'' to that of a torpedo boat commander and ended up as a commanding officer at the Black Sea Navy Brigade Headquarters in

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

, where he married a Georgian woman in 1917. After the fall of the Russian Empire, he joined the navy of the People's Republic of Ukraine in early 1918 and, following a peace treaty between Ukraine and the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

, pledged his loyalty to the

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა, tr) was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia (country), Georgia, which exist ...

. In Georgian service Spāde commanded a detachment of cutters in Batumi. In June 1918, the Ottoman troops took control of Batumi and made the town's garrison, including Spāde, captive. Released in October 1918, Spāde joined the ranks of the

Armed Forces of South Russia The Armed Forces of South Russia (AFSR or SRAF) () were the unified military forces of the White movement in southern Russia between 1919 and 1920. On 8 January 1919, the Armed Forces of South Russia were formed, incorporating the Volunteer Ar ...

, a

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

party to the Russian Civil War. He was promoted to Senior Lieutenant and put in charge of the

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

port. In March 1920, Spāde, together with the defeated White forces, was evacuated to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where he accepted Latvian citizenship and returned to Latvia with his wife.

Latvia and exile

Spāde joined the Latvian military in 1926 and received training at the French Naval Academy in 1928. In 1931, as a Captain 2nd Rank, he was placed in command of the Latvian Coast Guard squadron. He was promoted to Captain 1st Rank in 1933 and admiral in 1938. That same year, he was appointed the chief of the Latvian navy. After the Soviet occupation in 1940, Spāde was released of his command and in less than a year he was deported to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. Having spent several years in labour camps, Spāde was freed in 1954, but was still prohibited from returning in Latvia. The former admiral worked as an accountant at a hospital in

Temirtau Temirtau (; ) is a city in the Karaganda Region of Kazakhstan. The population was 170,481 in the 1999 census, rising to 210,590 in 2015. The city is located on the Nura River (the Samarkand Reservoir), northwest of Karaganda. History The first ...

in Kazakhstan, where he died in 1970. His remains were reburied to Latvia in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spāde, Teodors 1891 births 1970 deaths People from Ventspils People from Courland Governorate Latvian admirals Imperial Russian Navy officers Russian military personnel of World War I Prisoners of war from Georgia (country) White movement people Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Commanders of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Legion of Honour Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Commanders of the Order of Vasa Soviet prisoners and detainees Latvian Gulag detainees Burials at Forest Cemetery, Riga