How did Leva (Leiba) Bronstein turn into the “bloody dictator” Trotsky? Brief biography of Trotsky.

Soviet party and statesman Lev Davidovich Trotsky (real name Leiba Bronstein) was born on November 7 (October 26, old style) 1879 in the village of Yanovka, Elisavetgrad district, Kherson province (Ukraine) into a wealthy family. From the age of seven he attended Jewish religious school, which he did not complete. In 1888, he was sent to study in Odessa, then moved to Nikolaev, where in 1896 he entered the Nikolaev Real School, and upon graduation began attending lectures at the Faculty of Mathematics of Odessa University. Here Trotsky became friends with radical, revolutionary-minded youth and took part in the creation of the South Russian Workers' Union.

In January 1898, Trotsky, along with like-minded people, was arrested and sentenced to four years of exile in Eastern Siberia. While under investigation in Butyrka prison, he married a fellow revolutionary, Alexandra Sokolovskaya.

In September 1902, having left his wife and two daughters, he escaped from exile, using false documents under the name of Trotsky, which later became a well-known pseudonym.

In October 1902, he arrived in London and immediately established contact with the leaders of Russian social democracy living in exile. Lenin highly appreciated Trotsky's abilities and energy and proposed his candidacy for the editorial office of Iskra.

In 1903, in Paris, Leon Trotsky married Natalya Sedova, who became his faithful companion.

In the summer of 1903, Trotsky participated in the Second Congress of Russian Social Democracy, where he supported Martov’s position on the issue of the party charter. After the congress, Trotsky, together with the Mensheviks, accused Lenin and the Bolsheviks of dictatorship and destruction of the unity of the Social Democrats. Since 1904, Trotsky advocated the unification of the Bolshevik and Menshevik factions.

When the first Russian revolution began, Trotsky returned to St. Petersburg and in October 1905 took an active part in the work of the St. Petersburg Council, becoming one of its three co-chairs.

The development of the so-called theory by Trotsky, together with Alexander Parvus (Gelfand), dates back to this time. “permanent” (continuous) revolution: in his opinion, the revolution will win only with the help of the world proletariat, which, having completed its bourgeois stage, will move on to the socialist one.

During the revolution of 1905-1907, Trotsky proved himself to be an extraordinary organizer, speaker, and publicist. He was the de facto leader of the St. Petersburg Council of Workers' Deputies and editor of its newspaper Izvestia.

In 1907, he was sentenced to eternal settlement in Siberia with deprivation of all civil rights, but escaped on the way to his place of exile.

From 1908 to 1912, Trotsky published the newspaper Pravda in Vienna and tried to create an “August bloc” of social democrats. This period included his most acute clashes with Lenin, who called Trotsky “Judass”.

In 1912, Trotsky was a war correspondent for Kiev Thought in the Balkans; two years later, after the outbreak of World War I, he moved to Switzerland, and then to France and Spain. Here he joined the editorial office of the left-wing socialist newspaper Nashe Slovo.

In 1916 he was expelled from France and sailed to the United States.

Trotsky hailed the February Revolution of 1917 as the beginning of the long-awaited permanent revolution. In May 1917, he returned to Russia, and in July he joined the Bolshevik Party as a member of the Mezhrayontsy. He was chairman of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, one of the leaders of the October armed uprising.

After the Bolshevik victory on October 25 (November 7), 1917, Trotsky entered the first Soviet government as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Supported Lenin in the fight against plans to create a coalition government of all socialist parties. At the end of October, he organized the defense of Petrograd from the troops of General Krasnov advancing on it.

In 1918-1925, Trotsky was People's Commissar for Military Affairs and Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic. He was one of the founders of the Red Army and personally supervised its actions on many fronts of the Civil War. He did a great job of recruiting former tsarist officers and generals (“military experts”) into the Red Army. He widely used repression to maintain discipline and “establish revolutionary order” at the front and in the rear, being one of the theorists and practitioners of the “Red Terror.”

Member of the Central Committee in 1917-1927, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee in October 1917 and in 1919-1926.

At the end of the civil war and the beginning of the 1920s, Trotsky's popularity and influence reached their apogee, and a cult of his personality began to take shape.

In 1920-1921, Trotsky was one of the first to propose measures to curtail “war communism” and transition to the NEP. He participated in the creation of the Comintern; was the author of his Manifesto. In the famous “Letter to the Congress,” noting Trotsky’s shortcomings, Lenin called him the most outstanding and capable person from the entire composition of the Central Committee at that time.

Before Lenin's death and especially after it, a struggle for power broke out among the Bolshevik leaders. After Lenin's death, Leon Trotsky's bitter struggle with Joseph Stalin for leadership ended in Trotsky's defeat.

In 1924, Trotsky’s views (so-called Trotskyism) were declared a “petty-bourgeois deviation” in the RCP(b). For his leftist opposition views, he was expelled from the party, in January 1928 he was exiled to Alma Ata, and in 1929, by decision of the Politburo, he was expelled from the USSR.

In 1929-1933, Trotsky lived with his wife and eldest son Lev Sedov in Turkey on the Princes' Islands (Sea of ​​Marmara). In 1933 he moved to France, in 1935 to Norway. At the end of 1936, he left Europe and settled in Mexico, in the house of the artist Diego Rivera, then in a fortified and carefully guarded villa on the outskirts of Mexico City, the city of Coyocan.

He sharply criticized the policies of the Soviet leadership and refuted the statements of official propaganda and Soviet statistics.
Trotsky was the initiator of the creation of the 4th International (1938), the author of works on the history of the revolutionary movement in Russia, literary critical articles, books “Lessons of October”, “History of the Russian Revolution”, “The Betrayed Revolution”, memoirs “My Life”, etc.

In the USSR, Trotsky was sentenced to death in absentia; his first wife and youngest son Sergei Sedov, who pursued an active Trotskyist policy, were shot.

In 1939, Stalin gave the order to liquidate Leon Trotsky. In May 1940, the first attempt to kill him, organized by the Mexican communist artist David Siqueiros, failed.

On August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky was mortally wounded by the Spanish communist and NKVD agent Ramon Mercader. He died on August 21, and after cremation was buried in the courtyard of his house in Coyocan, where his museum is now located.

The material was prepared based on open sources

Leon Trotsky is the most famous revolutionary of the twentieth century. Trotsky managed to go down in history as one of the founders of the Civil War, the Comintern, and the Red Army.

Leon Trotsky biography, children - Many historians call Leon Trotsky the second person in the first Soviet government, who headed the People's Commissariat for Naval and Military Affairs. After Vladimir Lenin died, it was Trotsky who led the opposition movement. He even spoke out against Joseph Stalin, which led to Trotsky being deprived of Soviet citizenship, and also expelled from the Soviet Union and killed.

Lev Davidovich Trotsky (real name Leiba Bronstein) was born on November 7, 1879. Lev Davidovich was born near the village of Yanovka. Trotsky's parents were not literate people, so the family was not able to earn capital properly. Lev Davidovich grew up alone, because he was surrounded by the children of peasants, whom he always looked down on and never communicated.

In 1889, Trotsky’s parents sent their son to study in Odessa. It was then that Lev Davidovich became interested in education. The future revolutionary studied so well that he became the best student in all disciplines. He studied, was fond of drawing, wrote poetry and read various books, and did not even think about revolutionary activity.

However, when Lev Davidovich was seventeen years old, he began studying in a socialist circle. All members of this group studied revolutionary propaganda. Of course, this fact influenced Trotsky. He began to actively study the works of Karl Marx and as a result became an adherent of the theory of Marxism.

When Lev Davidovich began to immerse himself even more in revolutionary activities, he decided to organize a union, which he called the “South Russian Workers' Union.”

In 1898, Trotsky was sent to prison. The reason for this was the very revolutionary activity to which Lev Davidovich began to devote all his time. However, two years later the revolutionary was released.

Leon Trotsky biography, children - In 1902, Lev Davidovich travels to London, where he joins Vladimir Lenin. They begin to publish Trotsky in the newspaper, but the revolutionary decides to hide his name, so he takes the pseudonym “Pero”.

Lev Davidovich managed to quickly become close to Lenin. He begins to actively speak to migrants with a campaigning vocation. Trotsky, despite his young age, managed to deliver this or that speech so well and beautifully that he found an approach to literally everyone and, as a result, they began to trust him.

Trotsky supported Lenin’s policies, which eventually led to him even being called “Lenin’s Bludgeon”. However, this did not last long. Already in 1903, Lev Davidovich switched sides and began to continually accuse Vladimir Lenin of dictatorship. However, the revolutionary failed to find a common language with these leaders. As a result, he declares himself a “non-factional” member of the Social Democratic society.

In 1905, Trotsky returned to his native land. In St. Petersburg, Lev Davidovich manages to quickly organize a new council. Lev Davidovich begins to give his fiery speeches again, which lead to the revolutionary being sent to prison again. He was stripped of his citizenship and sent to Siberia. However, Trotsky manages to escape. He ends up in Finland, from where he moves to Europe. In 1908, Leon Trotsky settled in Vienna, where he began publishing a newspaper called Pravda. However, this publication is praised by the Bolsheviks of Vladimir Lenin. As a result, the revolutionary goes to London, where he begins to publish another newspaper, Nashe Slovo.

In 1917, Lev Davidovich decides to return to his native land. In the fall, Trotsky again managed to create the Military Revolutionary Committee. On the twenty-fifth of October or the seventh of November according to the New Style, the revolutionary will decide to begin carrying out armed uprisings, with the help of which Trotsky wanted to remove the government. This uprising even went down in history - the October Revolution.

In 1918, Trotsky became People's Commissar for Naval and Military Affairs. Lev Davidovich begins to form the Red Army. In addition to military affairs, the revolutionary works closely with Vladimir Lenin. However, Trotsky never manages to become Lenin's successor, because Joseph Stalin takes his place.

In 1924, Lev Davidovich began to be persecuted so much by opponents led by Stalin that he lost his post and ceased to be a member of the Central Committee of the Politburo. Several times the revolutionary tried to restore his position and even organized demonstrations, but the result of this was that Trotsky was sent to Turkey. In exile, the revolutionary did not stop fighting Stalin. He published essays, articles and books.

Leon Trotsky biography, children - Trotsky’s first wife was Alexandra Sokolovskaya, with whom they had known each other for a very long time; in those days, Lev Davidovich did not even think about becoming a revolutionary in the future. Historians report that Trotsky's first wife was six years older than him. Alexandra and Leo officially legalized their relationship in 1898. Immediately after the wedding, Trotsky had two daughters - Nina and Zinaida. However, when the revolutionary was expelled to Siberia and he fled to Paris, where he met Natalya Sedova. As a result of such an acquaintance, Trotsky’s first marriage breaks up, and Natalya becomes his second wife. In his second marriage, Lev Davidovich had two sons - Sergei and Lev.

In 1937, a series of misfortunes began in the revolutionary’s family. His youngest son Sergei was shot for his political activity, and a year later Trotsky's eldest son, who was also an active Trotskyist, died under suspicious circumstances during an operation to remove appendicitis in Paris.

The daughters of Leon Trotsky also suffered a tragic fate. In 1928, his youngest daughter Nina died of consumption, and his eldest daughter Zinaida, who along with her father was deprived of Soviet citizenship, committed suicide in 1933, being in a state of deep depression.

Following his daughters and sons, in 1938 Trotsky also lost his first wife, Alexandra Sokolovskaya, who until her death remained his only legal wife. She was shot in Moscow as a stubborn supporter of the Left Opposition.

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Lev Davidovich Trotsky is a Russian revolutionary figure of the 20th century, an ideologist of Trotskyism, one of the currents of Marxism. Twice exiled under the monarchy, deprived of all civil rights in 1905. One of the organizers of the October Revolution of 1917, one of the creators of the Red Army. One of the founders and ideologists of the Comintern, a member of its Executive Committee.

Leon Trotsky (real name Leiba Bronstein) was born on November 7, 1879 into a family of wealthy landowners and tenants. In 1889, his parents sent him to study in Odessa with his cousin, the owner of a printing house and scientific publishing house, Moses Schnitzer. Trotsky was the first student at the school. He was interested in drawing and literature, wrote poetry, translated Krylov's fables from Russian into Ukrainian, and participated in the publication of a school handwritten magazine.

He began to conduct revolutionary propaganda at the age of 17, having joined a revolutionary circle in Nikolaev. On January 28, 1898, he was first arrested and spent two years in prison, it was then that he became familiar with the ideas of Marxism. During the investigation, he studied English, German, French and Italian from the Gospels, read the works of Marx, and became acquainted with the works of Lenin.

Leiba Bronstein at the age of nine, Odessa

A year before going to prison for the first time, Trotsky joined the South Russian Workers' Union. One of its leaders was Alexandra Sokolovskaya, who became Trotsky's wife in 1898. Together they went into exile in the Irkutsk province, where Trotsky contacted Iskra agents, and soon began collaborating with them, receiving the nickname “Pero” for his penchant for writing.

“I came to London a big provincial, in every sense. Not only abroad, but also in St. Petersburg, I had never been before. In Moscow, as in Kyiv, I lived only in a transit prison.” In 1902, Trotsky decided to escape from exile. It was then, when receiving a false passport, that he entered the name Trotsky (the name of the senior warden of the Odessa prison where the revolutionary was kept for two years).

Trotsky left for London, where Vladimir Lenin was then located. The young Marxist quickly gained fame by speaking at meetings of emigrants. He was extremely eloquent, ambitious and educated, everyone without exception considered him an amazing speaker. At the same time, for his support of Lenin, he was nicknamed “Lenin’s club,” while Trotsky himself was often critical of Lenin’s organizational plans.

In 1904, serious disagreements began between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. By that time, Trotsky had established himself as a follower of the “permanent revolution”, moved away from the Mensheviks and married Natalya Sedova for the second time (the marriage was not registered, but the couple lived together until Trotsky’s death). In 1905, they returned together illegally to Russia, where Trotsky became one of the founders of the St. Petersburg Council of Workers' Deputies. On December 3, he was arrested and, as part of a high-profile trial, was sentenced to eternal exile in Siberia with deprivation of all civil rights, but escaped on the way to Salekhard.

A split between the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks was brewing, supported by Lenin, who in 1912, at the Prague conference of the RSDLP, announced the separation of the Bolshevik faction into an independent party. Trotsky continued to advocate for the unification of the party, organizing the "August Bloc", which the Bolsheviks ignored. This cooled Trotsky’s desire for a truce; he preferred to step aside.

In 1917, after the February Revolution, Trotsky and his family tried to get to Russia, but were removed from the ship and sent to a concentration camp for internment of sailors. The reason for this was the revolutionary’s lack of documents. However, he was soon released at the written request of the Provisional Government as an honored fighter against tsarism. Trotsky criticized the Provisional Government, so he soon became the informal leader of the “Mezhrayontsy”, for which he was accused of espionage. His influence on the masses was enormous, as he played a special role in the transition of the soldiers of the rapidly decaying Petrograd garrison to the side of the Bolsheviks, which was of great importance in the revolution. In July 1917, the Mezhrayontsy united with the Bolsheviks, and Trotsky was soon released from prison, where he was accused of espionage.

While Lenin was in Finland, Trotsky effectively became the leader of the Bolsheviks. In September 1917, he headed the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, and also became a delegate to the Second Congress of Soviets and the Constituent Assembly. In October, the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) was formed, consisting mainly of Bolsheviks. It was the committee that was engaged in armed preparations for the revolution: already on October 16, the Red Guards received five thousand rifles; Rallies were held among the undecided, at which Trotsky’s brilliant oratorical talent again showed itself. In fact, he was one of the main leaders of the October Revolution.

Leon Trotsky, Vladimir Lenin, Lev Kamenev

“The uprising of the popular masses does not need justification. What happened was a rebellion, not a conspiracy. We tempered the revolutionary energy of St. Petersburg workers and soldiers. We openly forged the will of the masses for an uprising, and not for a conspiracy.”

After the October Revolution, the Military Revolutionary Committee remained the only authority for a long time. Under him, a commission was formed to combat counter-revolution, a commission to combat drunkenness and pogroms, and food supplies were established. At the same time, Leni and Trotsky maintained a tough position towards political opponents. On December 17, 1917, in his address to the cadets, Trotsky announced the beginning of the stage of mass terror against the enemies of the revolution in a more severe form: “You should know that no later than in a month, terror will take very strong forms, following the example of the great French revolutionaries. The guillotine, and not just prison, will await our enemies.” It was then that the concept of “red terror” appeared, formulated by Trotsky.

Soon Trotsky was appointed People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in the first composition of the Bolshevik government. On December 5, 1917, the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee was dissolved, Trotsky transferred his affairs to Zinoviev and completely immersed himself in the affairs of the Petrograd Soviet. “Counter-revolutionary sabotage” began by civil servants of the old Ministry of Foreign Affairs, suppressed thanks to the publication of secret treaties of the tsarist government. The situation in the country was also complicated by diplomatic isolation, which was not easy for Trotsky to overcome.

To improve the situation, he said that the government would take an intermediate position of “neither peace nor war: we will not sign an agreement, we will stop the war, and we will demobilize the army.” Germany refused to tolerate this position and announced an offensive. By this time the army virtually did not exist. Trotsky admitted the failure of his policies and resigned from the post of People's Commissariat.

Leon Trotsky with his wife Natalya Sedova and son Lev Sedov

On March 14, 1918, Trotsky was appointed to the post of People's Commissar for Military Affairs, on March 28 to the post of Chairman of the Supreme Military Council, in April - Military Commissioner for Naval Affairs and on September 6 - Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR. Then the formation of a regular army begins. Trotsky became in fact its first commander-in-chief. In August 1918, Trotsky's regular trips to the front began. Several times Trotsky, risking his life, even speaks to deserters. But practice has shown that the army is not capable, Trotsky is forced to support its reorganization, gradually restoring unity of command, insignia, mobilization, a single uniform, military greetings and awards.

In 1922, Joseph Stalin, whose views did not coincide with the views of Trotsky, was elected general secretary of the Bolshevik party. Stalin was supported by Zinoviev and Kamenev, who believed that the rise of Trotsky threatened anti-Semitic attacks on the Soviet regime and condemned him for factionalism.

Lenin died in 1924. Stalin took advantage of Trotsky's absence in Moscow to put himself forward as the "heir" and strengthen his position.

In 1926, Trotsky teamed up with Zinoviev and Kamenev, whom Stalin began to oppose. However, this did not help him and was soon expelled from the party, deported to Alma-Ata, and then to Turkey.

Trotsky regarded Hitler's victory in February 1933 as the greatest defeat of the international labor movement. He concluded that the Comintern was ineffective due to Stalin's openly counter-revolutionary policies and called for the creation of the Fourth International.

In 1933, Trotsky was given secret asylum in France, which was soon discovered by the Nazis. Trotsky leaves for Norway, where he writes his most significant work, “The Betrayed Revolution.” In 1936, at a show trial in Moscow, Stalin called Trotsky an agent of Hitler. Trotsky is expelled from Norway. The only country that provided the revolutionary with refuge was Mexico: he settled in the house of the artist Diego Rivera, then in a fortified and carefully guarded villa on the outskirts of Mexico City - in the city of Coyocan.

After Stalin's speeches, the International Joint Commission to Investigate the Moscow Trials was organized in Mexico. The commission concluded that the accusations were slanderous and Trotsky was not guilty.

The Soviet intelligence services kept Trotsky under close surveillance, having agents among his associates. In 1938, under mysterious circumstances in Paris, his closest ally, his eldest son Lev Sedov, died in a hospital after surgery. His first wife and his youngest son Sergei Sedov were arrested and subsequently shot.

Leon Trotsky was killed with an ice pick in his home near Mexico City on August 24, 1940. The perpetrator was an NKVD agent, Spanish Republican Ramon Mercader (pictured), who infiltrated Trotsky's entourage under the name of Canadian journalist Frank Jackson.

Mercader received 20 years in prison for murder. After his release in 1960, he emigrated to the USSR, where he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. According to some estimates, the murder of Trotsky cost the NKVD approximately five million dollars.

The ice pick that killed Trotsky

From the will of Leon Trotsky: “I have no need to refute here again the stupid and vile slander of Stalin and his agents: there is not a single stain on my revolutionary honor. Neither directly nor indirectly, I have never entered into any behind-the-scenes agreements or even negotiations with the enemies of the working class. Thousands of Stalin's opponents died as victims of similar false accusations.

For forty-three years of my adult life I remained a revolutionary, forty-two of which I fought under the banner of Marxism. If I had to start over, I would, of course, try to avoid certain mistakes, but the general direction of my life would remain unchanged. I see a bright green strip of grass under the wall, a clear blue sky above the wall, and sunlight everywhere. Life is Beautiful. May future generations cleanse it of evil, oppression, violence and enjoy it fully.”

Lev Davidovich

Battles and victories

A major figure in the communist movement, Soviet military-political figure, People's Commissar for Military Affairs.

Trotsky, not being a military specialist, managed to practically organize the Red Army from scratch, turning it into an effective and powerful armed force and becoming one of the organizers of the victory of the Red Army in the Civil War. "Red Bonaparte"

Trotsky (Bronstein) Lev Davidovich was born in the Kherson province into a family of wealthy Jewish colonists. Graduated from St. Paul's College in Odessa. He had a broad outlook and developed intellect. From his youth he participated in revolutionary activities, collaborated with the Social Democrats (although he repeatedly came into conflict with V.I. Lenin). He was repeatedly arrested, exiled and escaped. He spent many years in exile in France, Austria-Hungary, and visited the North American United States.

As a war correspondent, Trotsky participated in the First and Second Balkan Wars, gaining his first ideas about war and the army. Even during that period, he proved himself to be a serious organizer and specialist. Although he demanded payment for himself as a correspondent that exceeded the monthly salary of the Serbian minister, with this money he paid for a secretary who performed technical work and compiled certificates, and he himself supplied customers with extremely accurate and verified information. It included not only a presentation of events, but also attempts to analyze and synthesize material, a deep understanding of the life of the Balkan region and fairly accurate forecasting, which is fully confirmed by the research of modern domestic and foreign Balkan researchers. There is no reason to believe that, while at the head of the Soviet military department, Trotsky showed less thoroughness in his work.

During the First World War, again as a war correspondent, Trotsky became acquainted with the French army. He independently studied issues of militarism.

In 1917, Trotsky came to Russia and actively participated in revolutionary propaganda among the troops of the Petrograd garrison. In September 1917, he took over the post of chairman of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, and in October he created the Military Revolutionary Committee, which headed the work to prepare an armed seizure of power in the capital. Through the efforts of Trotsky, the Petrograd garrison did not support the Provisional Government, and the Bolsheviks seized power. Trotsky organized the defense of Petrograd from the offensive of the troops of General P.N. Krasnov, personally checked the weapons and was on the front line.

At the end of 1917 - beginning of 1918. Trotsky served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. He supported the unsuccessful policy of “neither peace nor war,” as a result of which he left the post of People’s Commissar.

In mid-March 1918 L.D. Trotsky, by decision of the Party Central Committee, became People's Commissar for Military Affairs (he held this post until 1925) and Chairman of the Supreme Military Council. Trotsky was the military leader of the Red Army during the Civil War, concentrating immense power in his hands. In the fall of 1918, he headed the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic.

Not being a military specialist, he showed outstanding organizational skills and managed to organize the Red Army virtually from scratch on a regular basis, turning it into a massive, effective and powerful armed force based on the principles of universal conscription and strict discipline. At the highest military posts in Soviet Russia, Trotsky demonstrated his character - iron will and determination, colossal energy, fanatical commitment to achieving the intended result with undoubted ambition.

Under the leadership of Trotsky, the military-administrative apparatus of Soviet Russia took shape, military districts, armies and fronts were created, and mass mobilizations were carried out in a country decomposed by revolutionary ferment. The Red Army achieved its victories over the internal counter-revolution.

Trotsky became the main ideologist and proponent of the policy of recruiting former officers of the old army, who were called military specialists, into the Red Army. This policy encountered fierce resistance both in the party and among the mass of soldiers who ended up in the Red Army. One of Trotsky’s ardent opponents on this issue was Central Committee member I.V. Stalin, who sabotaged this course. IN AND. Lenin also doubted the correctness of Trotsky's course. However, the correctness of this policy was confirmed by successes at the fronts, and in 1919 it was declared the official party course.

During the Civil War, Trotsky showed himself to be a talented organizer who understood the nature of war and methods of management in its conditions, as well as a person who knew how to find a common language with military experts. Trotsky's strength as the leader of the Red Army was his clear understanding of the strategy of the Civil War. In this matter, he was significantly superior even to old military specialists with an academic education, who poorly understood the social nature of the Civil War.

This was especially clearly manifested during the discussion about Soviet strategy on the Southern Front in the summer - autumn of 1919. Commander-in-Chief S.S. Kamenev planned the main attack of the offensive through the Cossack areas, where the Reds faced fierce resistance from the local population. Trotsky sharply criticized the direction of the main attack proposed by Kamenev. He was against the offensive through the Don region, since he reasonably believed that the Reds would meet the greatest resistance in the Cossack territories. Meanwhile, the Whites achieved significant successes in their main Kursk direction, which threatened the very existence of Soviet Russia. Trotsky’s idea was to separate the Cossacks from the volunteers by delivering the main blow precisely in the Kursk-Voronezh direction. In the end, the Red Army moved to implement Trotsky's plan, but this happened only after several months of fruitless attempts to implement Kamenev's plan.

Trotsky spent the hottest time of the Civil War traveling around the fronts in his famous train (“flying control apparatus,” as Trotsky called it), organizing troops on the ground. He repeatedly traveled to the most threatened fronts and established work there. He made an outstanding contribution to strengthening the front near Kazan in August 1918, when the Red Army was demoralized. Trotsky was able to strengthen the morale of the troops with punitive measures, propaganda and strengthening the grouping of Soviet troops in the Kazan region.

He later recalled his trips to the fronts:

Looking back at the three years of the civil war and looking through the log of my continuous trips along the front, I see that I almost did not have to accompany the victorious army, participate in the offensive, or directly share its successes with the army. My trips were not of a festive nature. I only went to unfavorable areas when the enemy broke through the front and drove our regiments in front of them. I retreated with troops, but never advanced with them. As soon as the defeated divisions were put in order and the command gave the signal for the offensive, I said goodbye to the army for another troubled sector or returned to Moscow for a few days to resolve the accumulated issues in the center.

“Of course, this method cannot be called correct,” Trotsky noted in another of his works. - A pedant will say that in supply, as in all military affairs in general, the most important thing is the system. This is right. I myself am inclined to sin rather towards pedantry. But the fact is that we did not want to die before we managed to create a coherent system. That is why we were forced, especially in the first period, to replace the system with improvisations, so that the system could be based on them in the future.”

For example, what did Trotsky do during the defense of Petrograd in the fall of 1919? Documents indicate that with his authority he ensured the supply of everything necessary for the 7th Army defending the “Cradle of the Revolution”. He dealt with army supply problems and resolved personnel issues. He carried out strategic planning: he put forward very practical proposals for turning Petrograd into an impregnable fortress, and raised in advance the question of the prospects for relations with the Estonians in the event of the defeat of Yudenich’s army and its withdrawal to Estonia. He exercised general supreme control, and also instructed the military and political leadership and, as Trotsky himself noted, gave “an impetus to the initiative of the front and the immediate rear.” In addition, with his characteristic ebullient energy, he held rallies, made speeches, and wrote articles. The benefits of his presence in Petrograd were undoubted.

Trotsky wrote about the achievements of the first days near Petrograd: “The command staff, embroiled in failures, had to be shaken up, refreshed, renewed. Even greater changes were made in the commissar composition. All units were strengthened from within by the communists. Individual fresh units also arrived. Military schools were brought to the forefront. In two or three days we managed to bring up the completely depleted supply apparatus. The Red Army soldier ate more, changed his underwear, changed his shoes, listened to the speech, shook himself, pulled himself up and became different.”

Already at this time, Trotsky developed a universal formula for victories in the Civil War. On October 16, 1919, he wrote to former General Dmitry Nikolayevich Nadezhny, who was entrusted with command of the 7th Army: “As always in such cases, this time we will achieve the necessary turning point with the help of organizational, agitational and punitive measures.”

According to Trotsky, “it is impossible to create a strong army on the fly. Plugging and mending holes at the front will not help matters. The transfer of individual communists and communist detachments to the most dangerous places can only temporarily improve the situation. There is only one salvation: to transform, reorganize, educate the army through hard, persistent work, starting with the main cell, with the company, and rising higher through the battalion, regiment, division; establish proper supply, proper distribution of communist forces, proper relationships between command staff and commissars, ensure strict diligence and unconditional integrity in reports (highlighted in the document. - A.G.)". Thus, the secret of Trotsky’s success lay not only in the number of bayonets.

Trotsky outlined the reasons for the Whites’ defeats as follows:

While they, Dutov, Kolchak, Denikin, had partisan detachments from the most qualified officer and cadet elements, until then they developed a large striking force in relation to their number, because, I repeat, this is an element of great experience, high military qualifications. But when the heavy mass of our regiments, brigades, divisions, and armies, built on mobilization, forced them to move on to mobilizing the peasants in order to oppose the masses to the masses, the laws of class struggle began to work. And mobilization turned into internal disorganization for them, causing the forces of internal destruction to work. To manifest this, to reveal it in practice, all it took was blows from our side.

The Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic tried to find a common language with elements disloyal to the Bolsheviks. Thus, in the spring of 1919, Trotsky proposed integrating Nestor Makhno’s anarchists into the Red Army by sending detachments of party workers, security officers, sailors and workers to the “anarchist gangs” of the Makhnovists.

Trotsky was an excellent speaker, his speeches at the fronts played a role in raising the morale of the Red Army soldiers. He showed concern for ordinary Red Army soldiers. In the fall of 1919, he wrote to the Central Committee about the need for warm clothing for the army, because... “You cannot demand more from the human body than it can bear.”

Trotsky contributed in every possible way to the dissemination of military knowledge in the Red Army and the development of military science. Thus, under his patronage, a serious military-scientific magazine “Military Affairs” was published in Moscow by a group of former officers.

While taking care of the training of commanders, the leaders of the Red Army did not forget about ordinary soldiers. Since 1918, their training has been carried out through Vsevobuch (General Military Training). In a short time, training and formation departments appeared in all work centers. According to Trotsky's plan, Vsevobuch was to create large military units up to and including armies. As part of Vsevobuch, pre-conscription training was carried out in labor schools, which 60,000 people, or 10% of all those registered, completed.

Trotsky attached great disciplinary importance to the factor of repression in the army. The secret “Instructions to responsible employees of the 14th Army,” signed by Trotsky on August 9, 1919, spoke about the principles of punitive policy: “All leading institutions of the army - the Revolutionary Military Council, the Political Department, the Special Department, the Revolutionary Tribunal must firmly establish and implement the rule that not a single crime in the army goes unpunished. Of course, the punishment must be strictly consistent with the actual nature of the crime or offense. The sentences must be such that every Red Army soldier, reading about them in his newspaper, clearly understands their fairness and necessity for maintaining the combat effectiveness of the army. Punishments should follow the crime as quickly as possible.”

Not only the rank and file, but also command staff and even commissars needed to strengthen discipline. The leader of the Red Army, Trotsky, in this regard was ready to go to the end, even to the point of shooting party workers. It was on his orders that a tribunal was appointed, which sentenced to death the commander of the 2nd Petrograd Regiment Gneushev, the regimental commissar Panteleev and every tenth Red Army soldier who, with part of the regiment, abandoned their positions and fled by ship from near Kazan in the summer of 1918. This incident sparked a discussion in the party about the admissibility of executions of party workers and a wave of criticism against Trotsky. The high-profile case gives reason to believe that the executions of party members were still an exceptional and isolated phenomenon.

Another means of intimidation, which actually did not find any real application in the Red Army, was orders to take hostage the families of defectors from among military experts.

A few years after the Civil War, Trotsky commented on the meaning of such harsh orders (primarily orders to shoot commissars): “It was not an order to shoot, it was the usual pressure that was then practiced. I have here dozens of telegrams of the same kind from Vladimir Ilyich... This was a common form of military pressure at that time.” Thus, it was primarily about threats. Trotsky is often accused of some kind of excessive cruelty, which is not true.

Of course, Trotsky also made mistakes that corresponded to the scale of his activities. Thus, with his actions to disarm the Czechoslovaks, he provoked an armed uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps. His hopes for a world revolution, as well as the specific plans and calculations associated with these hopes, did not come true.

Having lost in the internal party political struggle, Trotsky went into exile, and in 1929 he was expelled from the USSR and subsequently deprived of Soviet citizenship. In exile he became the founder of the Fourth International, created a number of historical works and memoirs. Mortally wounded by an NKVD agent in 1940 in Mexico.

During the Soviet period, researchers and memoirists sought to downplay the role of L.D. Trotsky in the creation of the Red Army, since his figure was virtually excluded from the historical process in the Stalinist interpretation of the history of the Civil War and was mentioned only in extremely negative terms. However, in the post-Soviet period it became possible to speak with an open mind about Trotsky’s outstanding role in the creation of the Soviet armed forces. Of course, Trotsky was not a commander, but he was an outstanding military administrator and organizer.

GANIN A.V., Ph.D., Institute of Slavic Studies RAS

Literature

My life. M., 2001

Stalin. T. 2. M., 1990

Kirshin Yu.Ya. Trotsky is a military theorist. Klintsy, 2003

Krasnov V., Daines V. Unknown Trotsky. Red Bonaparte. M., 2000

Felshtinsky Yu., Chernyavsky G. Leon Trotsky is a Bolshevik. Book 2. 1917-1924. M., 2012

Shemyakin A.L. L.D. Trotsky about Serbia and the Serbs (military impressions of 1912-1913). V.A. Tesemnikov. Research and materials dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of V.A. Tesemnikova. M., 2013. pp. 51-76

Internet

Pokryshkin Alexander Ivanovich

Marshal of Aviation of the USSR, the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union, symbol of Victory over the Nazi Wehrmacht in the air, one of the most successful fighter pilots of the Great Patriotic War (WWII).

While participating in the air battles of the Great Patriotic War, he developed and tested in battles new tactics of air combat, which made it possible to seize the initiative in the air and ultimately defeat the fascist Luftwaffe. In fact, he created an entire school of WWII aces. Commanding the 9th Guards Air Division, he continued to personally participate in air battles, scoring 65 air victories throughout the entire period of the war.

Ivan groznyj

He conquered the Astrakhan kingdom, to which Russia paid tribute. Defeated the Livonian Order. Expanded the borders of Russia far beyond the Urals.

Spiridov Grigory Andreevich

He became a sailor under Peter I, participated as an officer in the Russian-Turkish War (1735-1739), and ended the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) as a rear admiral. His naval and diplomatic talent reached its peak during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. In 1769 he led the first passage of the Russian fleet from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the difficulties of the transition (the admiral's son was among those who died from illness - his grave was recently found on the island of Menorca), he quickly established control over the Greek archipelago. The Battle of Chesme in June 1770 remained unsurpassed in terms of loss ratio: 11 Russians - 11 thousand Turks! On the island of Paros, the naval base of Auza was equipped with coastal batteries and its own Admiralty.
The Russian fleet left the Mediterranean Sea after the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace in July 1774. The Greek islands and lands of the Levant, including Beirut, were returned to Turkey in exchange for territories in the Black Sea region. However, the activities of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago were not in vain and played a significant role in world naval history. Russia, having made a strategic maneuver with its fleet from one theater to another and achieved a number of high-profile victories over the enemy, for the first time made people talk about itself as a strong maritime power and an important player in European politics.

Pozharsky Dmitry Mikhailovich

In 1612, during the most difficult time for Russia, he led the Russian militia and liberated the capital from the hands of the conquerors.
Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (November 1, 1578 - April 30, 1642) - Russian national hero, military and political figure, head of the Second People's Militia, which liberated Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian occupiers. His name and the name of Kuzma Minin are closely associated with the country’s exit from the Time of Troubles, which is currently celebrated in Russia on November 4th.
After the election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the Russian throne, D. M. Pozharsky plays a leading role at the royal court as a talented military leader and statesman. Despite the victory of the people's militia and the election of the Tsar, the war in Russia still continued. In 1615-1616. Pozharsky, on the instructions of the tsar, was sent at the head of a large army to fight the detachments of the Polish colonel Lisovsky, who besieged the city of Bryansk and took Karachev. After the fight with Lisovsky, the tsar instructs Pozharsky in the spring of 1616 to collect the fifth money from merchants into the treasury, since the wars did not stop and the treasury was depleted. In 1617, the tsar instructed Pozharsky to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the English ambassador John Merik, appointing Pozharsky as governor of Kolomensky. In the same year, the Polish prince Vladislav came to the Moscow state. Residents of Kaluga and its neighboring cities turned to the tsar with a request to send them D. M. Pozharsky to protect them from the Poles. The Tsar fulfilled the request of the Kaluga residents and gave an order to Pozharsky on October 18, 1617 to protect Kaluga and surrounding cities by all available measures. Prince Pozharsky fulfilled the tsar's order with honor. Having successfully defended Kaluga, Pozharsky received an order from the tsar to go to the aid of Mozhaisk, namely to the city of Borovsk, and began to harass the troops of Prince Vladislav with flying detachments, causing them significant damage. However, at the same time, Pozharsky became very ill and, at the behest of the tsar, returned to Moscow. Pozharsky, having barely recovered from his illness, took an active part in defending the capital from Vladislav’s troops, for which Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich awarded him new fiefs and estates.

Blucher, Tukhachevsky

Blucher, Tukhachevsky and the whole galaxy of heroes of the Civil War. Don't forget Budyonny!

John 4 Vasilievich

Uvarov Fedor Petrovich

At the age of 27 he was promoted to general. He took part in the campaigns of 1805-1807 and in the battles on the Danube in 1810. In 1812, he commanded the 1st Artillery Corps in the army of Barclay de Tolly, and subsequently the entire cavalry of the united armies.

Udatny Mstislav Mstislavovich

A real knight, recognized as a great commander in Europe

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

The best Russian commander during the First World War. An ardent patriot of his Motherland.

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

One of the most successful generals in Russia during the First World War. The Erzurum and Sarakamysh operations carried out by him on the Caucasian front, carried out in extremely unfavorable conditions for Russian troops, and ending in victories, I believe, deserve to be included among the brightest victories of Russian weapons. In addition, Nikolai Nikolaevich stood out for his modesty and decency, lived and died as an honest Russian officer, and remained faithful to the oath to the end.

Romodanovsky Grigory Grigorievich

There are no outstanding military figures on the project from the period from the Time of Troubles to the Northern War, although there were some. An example of this is G.G. Romodanovsky.
He came from a family of Starodub princes.
Participant of the sovereign's campaign against Smolensk in 1654. In September 1655, together with the Ukrainian Cossacks, he defeated the Poles near Gorodok (near Lvov), and in November of the same year he fought in the battle of Ozernaya. In 1656 he received the rank of okolnichy and headed the Belgorod rank. In 1658 and 1659 participated in hostilities against the traitor Hetman Vyhovsky and the Crimean Tatars, besieged Varva and fought near Konotop (Romodanovsky’s troops withstood a heavy battle at the crossing of the Kukolka River). In 1664, he played a decisive role in repelling the invasion of the Polish king’s 70 thousand army into Left Bank Ukraine, inflicting a number of sensitive blows on it. In 1665 he was made a boyar. In 1670 he acted against the Razins - he defeated the detachment of the chieftain's brother, Frol. The crowning achievement of Romodanovsky's military activity was the war with the Ottoman Empire. In 1677 and 1678 troops under his leadership inflicted heavy defeats on the Ottomans. An interesting point: both main figures in the Battle of Vienna in 1683 were defeated by G.G. Romodanovsky: Sobieski with his king in 1664 and Kara Mustafa in 1678
The prince died on May 15, 1682 during the Streltsy uprising in Moscow.

Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich

Commander of the 62nd Army in Stalingrad.

Kappel Vladimir Oskarovich

Without exaggeration, he is the best commander of Admiral Kolchak’s army. Under his command, Russia's gold reserves were captured in Kazan in 1918. At 36 years old, he was a lieutenant general, commander of the Eastern Front. The Siberian Ice Campaign is associated with this name. In January 1920, he led 30,000 Kappelites to Irkutsk to capture Irkutsk and free the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral Kolchak, from captivity. The general's death from pneumonia largely determined the tragic outcome of this campaign and the death of the Admiral...

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

Personally took part in the planning and implementation of ALL offensive and defensive operations of the Red Army in the period 1941 - 1945.

Minikh Christopher Antonovich

Due to the ambiguous attitude towards the period of Anna Ioannovna’s reign, she is a largely underrated commander, who was the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops throughout her reign.

Commander of Russian troops during the War of the Polish Succession and architect of the victory of Russian weapons in the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739.

Dragomirov Mikhail Ivanovich

Brilliant crossing of the Danube in 1877
- Creation of a tactics textbook
- Creation of an original concept of military education
- Leadership of the NASH in 1878-1889
- Enormous influence in military matters for a full 25 years

Nakhimov Pavel Stepanovich

Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich

Outstanding employee of the Russian Academy of the General Staff. Developer and implementer of the Galician operation - the first brilliant victory of the Russian army in the Great War.
Saved the troops of the North-Western Front from encirclement during the “Great Retreat” of 1915.
Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 1916-1917.
Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in 1917
Developed and implemented strategic plans for offensive operations in 1916 - 1917.
He continued to defend the need to preserve the Eastern Front after 1917 (the Volunteer Army is the basis of the new Eastern Front in the ongoing Great War).
Slandered and slandered in relation to various so-called. “Masonic military lodges”, “conspiracy of generals against the Sovereign”, etc., etc. - in terms of emigrant and modern historical journalism.

Baklanov Yakov Petrovich

An outstanding strategist and a mighty warrior, he achieved respect and fear of his name among the uncovered mountaineers, who had forgotten the iron grip of the “Thunderstorm of the Caucasus”. At the moment - Yakov Petrovich, an example of the spiritual strength of a Russian soldier in front of the proud Caucasus. His talent crushed the enemy and minimized the time frame of the Caucasian War, for which he received the nickname “Boklu”, akin to the devil for his fearlessness.

Prince Svyatoslav

Slashchev Yakov Alexandrovich

Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich

“There is a city in vast Russia to which my heart is given, it went down in history as STALINGRAD...” V.I. Chuikov

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

An outstanding commander of the second half of the 16th century. Oprichnik.
Genus. OK. 1520, died on August 7 (17), 1591. At voivode posts since 1560. Participant in almost all military enterprises during the independent reign of Ivan IV and the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich. He has won several field battles (including: the defeat of the Tatars near Zaraisk (1570), the Battle of Molodinsk (during the decisive battle he led Russian troops in Gulyai-gorod), the defeat of the Swedes at Lyamitsa (1582) and near Narva ( 1590)). He led the suppression of the Cheremis uprising in 1583-1584, for which he received the rank of boyar.
Based on the totality of merits of D.I. Khvorostinin stands much higher than what M.I. has already proposed here. Vorotynsky. Vorotynsky was more noble and therefore he was more often entrusted with the general leadership of the regiments. But, according to the commander’s talats, he was far from Khvorostinin.

Linevich Nikolai Petrovich

Nikolai Petrovich Linevich (December 24, 1838 - April 10, 1908) - a prominent Russian military figure, infantry general (1903), adjutant general (1905); general who took Beijing by storm.

Margelov Vasily Filippovich

Skobelev Mikhail Dmitrievich

A man of great courage, an excellent tactician and organizer. M.D. Skobelev had strategic thinking, saw the situation both in real time and in the future

Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich

Superbly commanded the Baltic Fleet in the campaigns of 1789 and 1790. He won victories in the battle of Öland (7/15/1789), in the Revel (5/2/1790) and Vyborg (06/22/1790) battles. After the last two defeats, which were of strategic importance, the dominance of the Baltic Fleet became unconditional, and this forced the Swedes to make peace. There are few such examples in the history of Russia when victories at sea led to victory in the war. And by the way, the Battle of Vyborg was one of the largest in world history in terms of the number of ships and people.

Gagen Nikolai Alexandrovich

On June 22, trains with units of the 153rd Infantry Division arrived in Vitebsk. Covering the city from the west, Hagen's division (together with the heavy artillery regiment attached to the division) occupied a 40 km long defense line; it was opposed by the 39th German Motorized Corps.

After 7 days of fierce fighting, the division's battle formations were not broken through. The Germans no longer contacted the division, bypassed it and continued the offensive. The division appeared in a German radio message as destroyed. Meanwhile, the 153rd Rifle Division, without ammunition and fuel, began to fight its way out of the ring. Hagen led the division out of encirclement with heavy weapons.

For the demonstrated steadfastness and heroism during the Elninsky operation on September 18, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar of Defense No. 308, the division received the honorary name “Guards”.
From 01/31/1942 to 09/12/1942 and from 10/21/1942 to 04/25/1943 - commander of the 4th Guards Rifle Corps,
from May 1943 to October 1944 - commander of the 57th Army,
from January 1945 - the 26th Army.

Troops under the leadership of N.A. Gagen took part in the Sinyavinsk operation (and the general managed to break out of encirclement for the second time with weapons in hand), the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, battles in the Left Bank and Right Bank Ukraine, in the liberation of Bulgaria, in the Iasi-Kishinev, Belgrade, Budapest, Balaton and Vienna operations. Participant of the Victory Parade.

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

If anyone has not heard, there is no point in writing

Stalin (Dzhugashvili) Joseph Vissarionovich

He was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Soviet Union. Thanks to his talent as a Commander and Outstanding Statesman, the USSR won the bloodiest WAR in the history of mankind. Most of the battles of World War II were won with his direct participation in the development of their plans.

Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich

October 3, 2013 marks the 80th anniversary of the death in the French city of Cannes of the Russian military leader, commander of the Caucasian Front, hero of Mukden, Sarykamysh, Van, Erzerum (thanks to the complete defeat of the 90,000-strong Turkish army, Constantinople and the Bosporus with the Dardanelles retreated to Russia), the savior of the Armenian people from the complete Turkish genocide, holder of three orders of George and the highest order of France, the Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich.

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich

The largest figure in world history, whose life and government activities left a deep imprint not only on the fate of the Soviet people, but also on all humanity, will be the subject of careful study by historians for many more centuries. The historical and biographical feature of this personality is that she will never be consigned to oblivion.
During Stalin's tenure as Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Chairman of the State Defense Committee, our country was marked by victory in the Great Patriotic War, massive labor and front-line heroism, the transformation of the USSR into a superpower with significant scientific, military and industrial potential, and the strengthening of our country's geopolitical influence in the world.
Ten Stalinist strikes is the general name for a number of the largest offensive strategic operations in the Great Patriotic War, carried out in 1944 by the armed forces of the USSR. Along with other offensive operations, they made a decisive contribution to the victory of the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II.

Baklanov Yakov Petrovich

The Cossack general, “the thunderstorm of the Caucasus,” Yakov Petrovich Baklanov, one of the most colorful heroes of the endless Caucasian War of the century before last, fits perfectly into the image of Russia familiar to the West. A gloomy two-meter hero, a tireless persecutor of highlanders and Poles, an enemy of political correctness and democracy in all its manifestations. But it was precisely these people who achieved the most difficult victory for the empire in the long-term confrontation with the inhabitants of the North Caucasus and the unkind local nature

Monomakh Vladimir Vsevolodovich

Nevsky, Suvorov

Of course, the holy blessed prince Alexander Nevsky and Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov

Dubynin Viktor Petrovich

From April 30, 1986 to June 1, 1987 - commander of the 40th combined arms army of the Turkestan Military District. The troops of this army made up the bulk of the Limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. During the year of his command of the army, the number of irretrievable losses decreased by 2 times compared to 1984-1985.
On June 10, 1992, Colonel General V.P. Dubynin was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation
His merits include keeping the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin from a number of ill-conceived decisions in the military sphere, primarily in the field of nuclear forces.

Pavel Kovalev

Svyatoslav Igorevich

Grand Duke of Novgorod, from 945 of Kiev. Son of Grand Duke Igor Rurikovich and Princess Olga. Svyatoslav became famous as a great commander, whom N.M. Karamzin called “Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history.”

After the military campaigns of Svyatoslav Igorevich (965-972), the territory of the Russian land increased from the Volga region to the Caspian Sea, from the North Caucasus to the Black Sea region, from the Balkan Mountains to Byzantium. Defeated Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria, weakened and frightened the Byzantine Empire, opened routes for trade between Rus' and eastern countries

Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich

Hero of the Russian-Persian War of 1804-1813. At one time they called Suvorov of the Caucasus. On October 19, 1812, at the Aslanduz ford across the Araks, at the head of a detachment of 2,221 people with 6 guns, Pyotr Stepanovich defeated the Persian army of 30,000 people with 12 guns. In other battles, he also acted not with numbers, but with skill.

Koban Ivanovich

Denikin Anton Ivanovich

One of the most talented and successful commanders of the First World War. Coming from a poor family, he made a brilliant military career, relying solely on his own virtues. Member of the RYAV, WWI, graduate of the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. He fully realized his talent while commanding the legendary “Iron” brigade, which was then expanded into a division. Participant and one of the main characters of the Brusilov breakthrough. He remained a man of honor even after the collapse of the army, a Bykhov prisoner. Member of the ice campaign and commander of the AFSR. For more than a year and a half, possessing very modest resources and much inferior in numbers to the Bolsheviks, he won victory after victory, liberating a vast territory.
Also, do not forget that Anton Ivanovich is a wonderful and very successful publicist, and his books are still very popular. An extraordinary, talented commander, an honest Russian man in difficult times for the Motherland, who was not afraid to light a torch of hope.

Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich

Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky (September 18 (30), 1895 - December 5, 1977) - Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1943), Chief of the General Staff, member of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. During the Great Patriotic War, as Chief of the General Staff (1942-1945), he took an active part in the development and implementation of almost all major operations on the Soviet-German front. From February 1945, he commanded the 3rd Belorussian Front and led the assault on Königsberg. In 1945, commander-in-chief of Soviet troops in the Far East in the war with Japan. One of the greatest commanders of the Second World War.
In 1949-1953 - Minister of the Armed Forces and Minister of War of the USSR. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), holder of two Orders of Victory (1944, 1945).

Ridiger Fedor Vasilievich

Adjutant General, Cavalry General, Adjutant General... He had three Golden sabers with the inscription: “For bravery”... In 1849, Ridiger took part in a campaign in Hungary to suppress the unrest that arose there, being appointed head of the right column. On May 9, Russian troops entered the Austrian Empire. He pursued the rebel army until August 1, forcing them to lay down their arms in front of Russian troops near Vilyagosh. On August 5, the troops entrusted to him occupied the Arad fortress. During the trip of Field Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich to Warsaw, Count Ridiger commanded the troops located in Hungary and Transylvania... On February 21, 1854, during the absence of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich in the Kingdom of Poland, Count Ridiger commanded all troops located in the area of ​​​​the active army - as a commander separate corps and at the same time served as head of the Kingdom of Poland. After the return of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich to Warsaw, from August 3, 1854, he served as Warsaw military governor.

Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich

The great Russian commander, who did not suffer a single defeat in his military career (more than 60 battles), one of the founders of Russian military art.
Prince of Italy (1799), Count of Rymnik (1789), Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Generalissimo of the Russian land and naval forces, Field Marshal of the Austrian and Sardinian troops, Grandee of the Kingdom of Sardinia and Prince of the Royal Blood (with the title "King's cousin"), Knight of all Russian orders of their time, awarded to men, as well as many foreign military orders.

Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich

A person who combines the body of knowledge of a natural scientist, a scientist and a great strategist.

Khvorostinin Dmitry Ivanovich

A commander who had no defeats...

Platov Matvey Ivanovich

Ataman of the Great Don Army (from 1801), cavalry general (1809), who took part in all the wars of the Russian Empire at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries.
In 1771 he distinguished himself during the attack and capture of the Perekop line and Kinburn. From 1772 he began to command a Cossack regiment. During the 2nd Turkish War he distinguished himself during the assault on Ochakov and Izmail. Participated in the battle of Preussisch-Eylau.
During the Patriotic War of 1812, he first commanded all the Cossack regiments on the border, and then, covering the retreat of the army, won victories over the enemy near the towns of Mir and Romanovo. In the battle near the village of Semlevo, Platov’s army defeated the French and captured a colonel from the army of Marshal Murat. During the retreat of the French army, Platov, pursuing it, inflicted defeats on it at Gorodnya, Kolotsky Monastery, Gzhatsk, Tsarevo-Zaimishch, near Dukhovshchina and when crossing the Vop River. For his merits he was elevated to the rank of count. In November, Platov captured Smolensk from battle and defeated the troops of Marshal Ney near Dubrovna. At the beginning of January 1813, he entered Prussia and besieged Danzig; in September he received command of a special corps, with which he participated in the battle of Leipzig and, pursuing the enemy, captured about 15 thousand people. In 1814, he fought at the head of his regiments during the capture of Nemur, Arcy-sur-Aube, Cezanne, Villeneuve. Awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

Muravyov-Karssky Nikolai Nikolaevich

One of the most successful commanders of the mid-19th century in the Turkish direction.

Hero of the first capture of Kars (1828), leader of the second capture of Kars (the largest success of the Crimean War, 1855, which made it possible to end the war without territorial losses for Russia).

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich

He made the greatest contribution as a strategist to the victory in the Great Patriotic War (aka World War II).

Eremenko Andrey Ivanovich

Commander of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern Fronts. The fronts under his command in the summer and autumn of 1942 stopped the advance of the German 6th field and 4th tank armies towards Stalingrad.
In December 1942, the Stalingrad Front of General Eremenko stopped the tank offensive of General G. Hoth's group on Stalingrad, for the relief of the 6th Army of Paulus.

Romanov Pyotr Alekseevich

During the endless discussions about Peter I as a politician and reformer, it is unfairly forgotten that he was the greatest commander of his time. He was not only an excellent organizer of the rear. In the two most important battles of the Northern War (the battles of Lesnaya and Poltava), he not only himself developed battle plans, but also personally led the troops, being in the most important, responsible directions.
The only commander I know of who was equally talented in both land and sea battles.
The main thing is that Peter I created a domestic military school. If all the great commanders of Russia are the heirs of Suvorov, then Suvorov himself is the heir of Peter.
The Battle of Poltava was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) victory in Russian history. In all other great aggressive invasions of Russia, the general battle did not have a decisive outcome, and the struggle dragged on, leading to exhaustion. It was only in the Northern War that the general battle radically changed the state of affairs, and from the attacking side the Swedes became the defending side, decisively losing the initiative.
I believe that Peter I deserves to be in the top three on the list of the best commanders of Russia.

Dzhugashvili Joseph Vissarionovich

Assembled and coordinated the actions of a team of talented military leaders

Oktyabrsky Philip Sergeevich

Admiral, Hero of the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, commander of the Black Sea Fleet. One of the leaders of the Defense of Sevastopol in 1941 - 1942, as well as the Crimean operation of 1944. During the Great Patriotic War, Vice Admiral F. S. Oktyabrsky was one of the leaders of the heroic defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Being the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, at the same time in 1941-1942 he was the commander of the Sevastopol Defense Region.

Three Orders of Lenin
three Orders of the Red Banner
two Orders of Ushakov, 1st degree
Order of Nakhimov, 1st degree
Order of Suvorov, 2nd degree
Order of the Red Star
medals

Markov Sergey Leonidovich

One of the main heroes of the early stage of the Russian-Soviet war.
Veteran of the Russian-Japanese, First World War and Civil War. Knight of the Order of St. George 4th class, Order of St. Vladimir 3rd class and 4th class with swords and bow, Order of St. Anne 2nd, 3rd and 4th class, Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd and 3rd th degrees. Holder of the St. George's Arms. Outstanding military theorist. Member of the Ice Campaign. An officer's son. Hereditary nobleman of the Moscow Province. He graduated from the General Staff Academy and served in the Life Guards of the 2nd Artillery Brigade. One of the commanders of the Volunteer Army at the first stage. He died the death of the brave.

Yulaev Salavat

Commander of the Pugachev era (1773-1775). Together with Pugachev, he organized an uprising and tried to change the position of the peasants in society. He won several victories over the troops of Catherine II.

Grand Duke of Russia Mikhail Nikolaevich

Feldzeichmeister-General (commander-in-chief of the artillery of the Russian Army), youngest son of Emperor Nicholas I, Viceroy in the Caucasus since 1864. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Caucasus in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Under his command the fortresses of Kars, Ardahan, and Bayazet were taken.

Denikin Anton Ivanovich

The commander, under whose command the white army, with smaller forces, won victories over the red army for 1.5 years and captured the North Caucasus, Crimea, Novorossia, Donbass, Ukraine, Don, part of the Volga region and the central black earth provinces of Russia. He retained the dignity of his Russian name during the Second World War, refusing to cooperate with the Nazis, despite his irreconcilably anti-Soviet position

Voivode M.I. Vorotynsky

Outstanding Russian commander, one of Ivan the Terrible's close associates, drafter of the regulations for the guard and border service

Lev Davidovich Bronstein was born on October 26, 1879 in the Yanovka farm of Elizavetgrad district of the Kherson province in the family of a wealthy Jewish landowner, who by that time had 100 dessiatines of purchased and over 200 dessiatines of rented land. In 1888 he entered the Lutheran Real School of St. Paul in Odessa; the first student, however, repeatedly came into conflict with teachers; communicated with the local liberal intelligentsia, became familiar with Russian classical literature and European culture. In 1896 he graduated from a real school in Nikolaev and entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Novorossiysk University as a volunteer, but soon left it. He joined a populist circle in Nikolaev, and learned about Marxism for the first time from a member of the circle, Alexandra Sokolovskaya. In 1897, together with her and her brothers, he formed the social democratic “South Russian Workers' Union”, which began revolutionary propaganda among the workers. In January 1898, he was arrested, after 2 years of imprisonment in Nikolaev, Kherson, Odessa and Moscow, he was administratively exiled for 4 years to Eastern Siberia (to Ust-Kut, then Nizhneilimsk and Verkholensk, Irkutsk province). In 1899, in Butyrka prison, he married Alexandra Sokolovskaya. Political parties in Russia late XIX - first third of the XX century. Encyclopedia - M.: Russian Political Encyclopedia (ROSSPEN), 1996, p. 613

In August 1902, with the consent of his wife, who was left with two young daughters in his arms, he escaped from exile, using a false passport in the name of the warden of the Odessa prison, Trotsky. Arriving in Samara, where the bureau of the Russian organization “Iskra” was located, having carried out a number of instructions from the bureau in Kharkov, Poltava and Kyiv, he illegally crossed the border and at the end of October 1902 came to London, where he met V.I. Lenin. On his recommendation, Trotsky worked at Iskra and gave lectures for Russian emigrants and students.

In 1903, in Paris, he married Natalya Ivanovna Sedova. Participated in the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party with a mandate from the Siberian Union of the RSDLP.

At the end of 1904, he moved away from the Mensheviks, but did not join the Bolsheviks, and advocated the unification of both Social Democratic factions. After the events of January 9, 1905, he was one of the first to return to Russia (Kyiv, then St. Petersburg), collaborated with member of the Central Committee of the RSDLP Leonid Borisovich Krasin, who stood in the position of Bolshevik conciliators, as well as with the Mensheviks, disagreeing, however, with them in assessing the role of the liberal bourgeoisie in the revolution. Together with Parvus (A.L. Gelfand), Trotsky developed the theory of “permanent revolution”.

During the revolution of 1905-1907, from denying the revolutionary potential of the peasantry, Trotsky gradually came to the conclusion about the importance of the participation of the peasantry in the revolution with the obligatory leadership of the proletariat.

In 1905, Trotsky’s qualities as a political figure, organizer of the masses, orator, and publicist were directly revealed. In the fall of 1905, Trotsky was one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Council of Workers' Deputies, a speaker and author of resolutions on the most important issues. In December 1905 he was arrested, at the end of 1906 he was sentenced to “eternal settlement” in Siberia, but escaped along the way. In 1907, at the 5th Congress of the RSDLP, he headed the center group, joining neither the Bolsheviks nor the Mensheviks. Political figures of Russia in 1917: Biographical Dictionary/Chief Editor: P.V. Volobuev - M: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1993, p.321

Since 1908, Trotsky collaborated in many Russian and foreign newspapers and magazines. In 1908, together with A.A. Ioffe and M.I. Skobelev established the publication in Vienna of a newspaper for workers, Pravda, in Russian. Not recognizing the legitimacy of the Prague Party Conference organized by the Bolsheviks in 1912, Trotsky, together with Martov, F.I. Danom convened a general party conference in Vienna in August 1912, the anti-Bolshevik bloc (Augustovsky) created at it disintegrated in 1914, and Trotsky himself left it. In 1914 he published a brochure in German “War and the International”. In September 1916, Trotsky was expelled from France to Spain for anti-war propaganda, where he was soon arrested and sent to the United States with his family. Since January 1917, Trotsky was an employee of the Russian international newspaper Novy Mir. In March 1917, upon returning to Russia, Trotsky and his family were arrested in Halifax (Canada) and temporarily imprisoned in an internment camp for sailors of the German merchant fleet. On May 4, 1917, he arrived in Petrograd, headed the organization of “Mezhrayontsev”, with whom he was accepted into the RSDLP (b) and elected to the Central Committee of the party, of which he was a member until 1927. On March 4, 1918, Trotsky was appointed chairman of the Supreme Military Council, on March 13 - people's commissar for military affairs, and with the creation of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic on September 2 - its chairman. In 1920-21, while remaining in military posts, he was temporarily appointed People's Commissar of Railways, and was one of the leaders in the restoration of railway transport and other sectors of the national economy. Based on hostile relations between Stalin and Trotsky, a split formed within the Politburo and the Central Committee, which resulted in an intense intra-party struggle, where Stalin and his supporters gained the upper hand. In January 1925, Trotsky was released from work in the Revolutionary Military Council, in October 1926 he was removed from the Politburo, and in October 1927 - from the Central Committee. In November 1927, Trotsky was expelled from the party, after which he was expelled from Moscow to Alma-Ata, then to Turkey. Political figures of Russia in 1917: Biographical Dictionary/Chief Editor: P.V. Volobuev - M: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1993, p.324

After being expelled from the USSR, Trotsky launched literary and journalistic activities. He fought against Stalin, whom he considered a traitor to the ideals of October. Trotsky spent the last years of his life in Mexico. Stalin set his intelligence services the task of destroying the hated enemy. The NKVD decided to carry out the murder of Trotsky through the hands of its agent Ramon Mercador. The 26-year-old son of an influential Spanish communist was a participant in the Spanish Civil War, which ended in the defeat of the Republican forces. Jacques Mornard (according to documents), who instantly turned into Frank Jackson, at first unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate the local Trotskyists. Meanwhile, the Mexican Communist Party, apparently on instructions from Moscow, decided to “duplicate” the actions of the special agent and organized its own plot to assassinate Trotsky. On May 24, 1940, his villa came under armed attack. More than twenty masked militants literally turned the entire house upside down, but the owners managed to hide. It was only fate itself that protected the Kremlin exile: Trotsky, his wife and grandson were not harmed. After this scandalous incident, which became known to the world press, Trotsky turned his house into a real fortress, where only people especially devoted to him were allowed. Among them were Sylvia (Trotsky’s courier) and her husband Frank Jackson, who managed to gain the trust of the “teacher.” At first, the young man, who showed an increased interest in Marxism, seemed too annoying to Trotsky. But in the end, the old underground worker, who considered it his sacred duty to raise a young generation of fighters for the “world revolution,” gained confidence in the charming American. Despite the hot day, on August 20, 1940, Frank Jackson showed up at Trotsky’s villa wearing a tightly buttoned raincoat and hat. Under the “family friend’s” cloak there was a whole arsenal: a mountaineering ice axe, a hammer and a large-caliber automatic pistol. The guards, who often saw this man in the house and habitually considered him “one of their own,” led the guest to the owner, who was feeding rabbits in the garden. Natalia, Trotsky's wife, found it strange that Sylvia's husband arrived without warning, but the guest was invited to stay for lunch. Declining the invitation, Mercador-Jackson asked to review an article he had just written. The men went into the office. As soon as Trotsky was deep in reading, Jackson pulled out an ice pick from under his raincoat and plunged it into the back of the victim’s head. Considering the blow not reliable enough, the killer swung the ice ax again, but Trotsky, who miraculously retained consciousness, grabbed him by the hand, forcing him to drop the weapon. Then, staggering, he made his way out of the office into the living room. “Jackson!” he shouted. “Look what you’ve done!” The guards who came running in response to the scream knocked down Jackson, who was aiming a pistol at his victim. “Don’t kill him,” Trotsky stopped the guards. “He needs to tell everything...” With these words, the wounded man lost consciousness. A few minutes later, Mercador Jackson and his victim were taken to the capital's hospital by ambulance. The tenacity with which this mortally wounded man fought for life shocked even the doctors. In their practice, there has never been a case where a victim with such a monstrous injury - a split skull - lived, periodically regaining consciousness, for more than a day... Ramon Mercador, aka Frank Jackson, aka Jacques Mornard, was sentenced to twenty years in prison . After being released from a Mexican prison in March 1960, he settled in Cuba. Shortly before his death in Havana on October 18, 1978, Trotsky's killer received the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.