Anatol Leonid Fürst von Lieven (; 1872 – 1937) was a Russian military commander from the Baltic German princely house of Lieven. During the

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

he commanded 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 ...

force in

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

known after him as the Liventsy (; ).

Biography

Anatol von Lieven was born on November 16, 1872, in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, 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 ...

. He graduated from the in 1891 and from the Faculty of Law of

Saint Petersburg Imperial University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public university, public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the uni ...

in 1895. After graduating from the university, on September 4, 1895, he entered the Chevalier Guard Regiment as a

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

. Having passed the officer's exam at the , on September 7, 1896 he was promoted to cornet. In 1898, he joined the guards cavalry reserve and settled on his Mežotne Palace near Bauska. In 1900–1901 he was an indispensable member of the Courland Governorate's Peasant Affairs Council. In 1901, he was promoted to '' Kamer-junker''. In 1909, he was elected chairman of the Committee of the Council of the . In 1912–1914, he was the leader of the nobility of the Bauskas apriņķis.

World War I

With the outbreak of World War I, he returned to the Chevalier Guard Regiment. He was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class. He was promoted to poruchik (

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

) on September 19, 1915, and to staff captain on September 19, 1916, and finally reached the rank of rotmistr (cavalry

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

) by 1917.

Russian Revolution

On February 18, 1918, he was arrested along with his family. Lieven wrote in his memoirs:

"... a day before the start of the German offensive on
Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...
and
Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...
... the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
arrested me with my wife and minor daughter."

Among 161 hostages, he was sent to

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

and imprisoned. In March 1918, according to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, hostages from the

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

were transferred to the Germans in Orsha. After being released from captivity, he returned to his home in Latvia and took part in the

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

as part of the '' Baltische Landeswehr''.

Latvian War of Independence

After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he returned to Latvia and in December 1918, arrived in

Liepāja Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest city in the Courland region and the third-largest in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an ...

. In January 1919, he formed and led the Liepāja Volunteer Rifle Detachment (). The core of the newly-established unit were 60 former Russian Imperial army officers. Soon, this unit was complemented with one ''Baltische Landeswehr'' company and one company under the command of captain Dydorov. The unit became known as ''Līvenieši'' and it participated in the Latvian War of Independence fighting against the

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

. During the pro-German coup in April 1919, Lieven refused to collaborate with the pro-German government. Later, his unit was incorporated into the ''Baltische Landeswehr'' and participated in battles around

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 ...

, Jelgava and also the liberation of Riga. Together with parts of Rüdiger von der Goltz's ''Baltische Landeswehr'' at the end of May 1919, they forced the Bolsheviks out of Riga, which they had previously occupied. After Riga was taken, Colonel Lieven's detachment that pursued the retreating Bolsheviks was ambushed near Ropaži on May 24, 1919 and Lieven was seriously wounded in the thigh and stomach. The injury left him slightly lame for the rest of his life. Although most of the Landeswehr, after the Latvians refused to recognize the pro-German regime of Andrievs Niedra, fought against independent Latvia, in May 1919, parts of the Landeswehr subordinate to Lieven recognized Latvia's independence and went over to the side of the Latvian armed forces. Lieven considered it fundamental, for the sake of the common anti-Bolshevik struggle, to support the independence of the

and abandon the idea of "one indivisible Russia". The same position was supported by Captain Dydorov, who replaced Lieven while his injury was treated. Thus, Lieven's supporters were respected in interwar Latvia and Estonia, where their association existed. On June 6, 1919, Lieven's unit was transformed to the ''Russian volunteer corps'' with around 4,000 men. Lieven forbade his men to fight the Estonian Army and Northern Latvia brigade in

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 ...

, unlike the rest of the ''Baltische Landeswehr''. His detachment only performed rear security duties for the Landeswehr during the campaign. When the ''Strazdumuiža ceasefire'' was signed between the Baltische Landeswehr and Estonian army, Lieven transformed his corps into the West Russian Volunteer Army. Another two Russian units joined his army. Those were the partisan unit ''Cavalry General count Keller'' under command of Pavel Bermondt Avalov and infantry brigade under command of colonel Virgolitz. On 9 July, his army received an order from Nikolai Yudenich to move to

Narva Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...

and join his Northwestern Army's offensive on Petrograd. Pavel Bermondt Avalov and colonel Virgolitz refused to leave Latvia and stayed in Jelgava. Bermondt took over command of the army and during October–November 1919, and were defeated by the Latvian army. Lieven went to

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and until December 1919, fought with Yudenich's army around Petrograd. Lieven led the army's 5th Infantry Division, into which his detachment was reorganized. He also traveled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and tried to negotiate further military support to Yudenich, however unsuccessfully.

Interwar

After the civil war, Lieven became a Latvian citizen and a manufacturer of bricks. Early in 1920, he returned to his Mežotne palace but soon traveled to France. He returned to Latvia in 1924; but meanwhile, Latvian agrarian reforms were launched and his Mežotne palace was seized by the government and his lands divided. However, he was granted a small manor nearby Mazmežotne manor, and he lived there and also in Riga for the rest of his life. Later, he established the Mazmežotne brick factory. He was also active in the anticommunist movement and led a local detachment of the Brotherhood of Russian Truth. Anatoly von Lieven died on April 3, 1937, in Ķemeri, Latvia. He was buried in the yard of the Mežotne Lutheran church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieven, Anatoly 1872 births 1937 deaths Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire Baltische Landeswehr personnel Lieven family People from Liepāja People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War Russian counter-revolutionaries White movement people Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Latvian War of Independence