Mikhail Alekseyevich Belyaev (russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич Беля́ев; December 23, 18631918) was a Russian general of the Infantry, statesman, Chief of Staff of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the earl ...

from August 1, 1914, to August 10, 1916, and was the last

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

from January 3, 1917, to February 28, 1917.

Family

The noble family of Belyaev had a rich military history, the family had given many soldiers. Including Mikhail's cousin, the hero of the

Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko ÑorairõIvan Timofeevich Belyaev. Nikolai Timofeevich Belyaev, a participant in World War 1 and a scientist-metallurgist. And also Mikhail Nikolayevich Belyaev, a participant in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. One of his second cousin was the wife of Alexander Lvovich Blok, who was accordingly, was the father of the famous poet Alexander Alexandrovich Blok.

Early life

Early life and military career

Mikhail was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

on December 23, 1863, to

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Aleksei Mikhailovich Belyaev. At an early age, he attended The Third Saint Petersburg Gymnasium. In 1885, he graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, after which he served in several military units and the

Imperial Guards An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

at mid August 1890. In 1893, after he graduated from the Nikolayev Academy of General Staff, he continued to serve in the Imperial Guards. In late November 1893, he was appointed the senior adjutant of the 24th Infantry Division of the 1st Army Corps. In mid January 1897, he was appointed Chief Officer for special assignments of the 18th Army Corps and chief of staff of the army corps in early December. He rose to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in early April 1898. From early December 1898, he served in the Military-Scientific Committee of the General Staff as a junior clerk, he rose to senior clerk in mid April 1901. He was also promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

in the same month. In mid May 1902, he again served in the Imperial Guards, this time he command a battalion in the Izmaylovsky Lifeguard Regiment.

Russo-Japanese War

In 1904, Belyaev participated in the

. From mid February 1904, he was an officer in the headquarters for special assignments under head of the headquarters of the Viceroy of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

, General Yakov Zhilinsky. In late November 1904, he became the Chief of the Chancery of the Field Staff of the 1st Manchurian Army. From mid August 1905 till the end of the war, he was the Chancery of the new commander-in-chief, the aged general Nikolai Linevich. For military distinctions, Belyaev was awarded the Gold Sword for Bravery. After the war, he was promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in mid April 1908. In mid March 1909, he became a member of the Main Serfdom Committee of the country. By the end of 1910, he became the head of the Division for the Establishment and Service of the Troops of the State Security Service. He was promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in mid June 1912.

World War 1

Le général Sakharoff, le général Belaeff - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - AP62T099793

After the mobilisation of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, General Belyaev was promoted to

General of the Infantry General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German I ...

in early December, he was also appointed the Chief of Staff of the army in early August of that year. In late June 1915, he became an assistant to the Ministers of War, General Alexei Polivanov, he later became General Polivanov's chief of staff. But later in early August 1916, he was relieved from his post and became a member in the Military Council and a representative of the Russian command at the Romanian Main Apartment. And in early 1917, he replaced General Dmitry Shuvayev as Minister of War, becoming the last in the Russian Empire.

February Revolution

On February 23 (

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematics, Greek mathematicians and Ancient Greek astronomy, as ...

, the date in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years di ...

was March 8) 1917, the February Revolution broke out. General Belyaev together with the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

commander General Sergey Khabalov, declared that Petrograd to be in a stage of siege, he and General Khabalov attempted to suppress the Revolution, and he had asked to arrange the sending of correct units from the front. But at last, he and General Khabalov failed to suppress the revolution because of mutinies in the army and the soldier refused to take orders. There were even some revolutionary soldiers in the army, shooting loyal soldiers and police. After this failure, General Belyaev was arrested and was put in custodies in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920 ...

. He was soon released, but was rearrested in July, in the order by the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or f ...

. After his rearrest, he was questioned by the Extraordinary Investigative Commission of the Provisional Government, but they failed to accuse the general of abuse. He was released shortly after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. After that he didn't participated in any public event, but in 1918, he was arrested by the Cheka and was subsequently shot.

Honours and awards

Russian Empire

Order of St. Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poni ...

, 3rd class (1895) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1899) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 2nd class with swords (1904) * Order of Saint Vladimir, ribbon bar

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer ...

, 4th class with swords and a bow (1905) * Order of Glory Ribbon Bar

Gold Sword for Bravery (1907) * Order of Saint Vladimir, ribbon bar

Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class (1907) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st class (18.4.1910) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna, 1st class (6.12.1913) * Order of Saint Vladimir, ribbon bar

Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class (1915)

Foreign

*: **

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extended to Iranians) who had rendered distingu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belyaev, Mikhail 1863 births 1918 deaths 20th-century executions by Russia Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Imperial Russian Army generals Russian nobility