The Yakut revolt (Russian: Якутский мятеж, ''Yakutskiy myatezh'') or the Yakut expedition (Russian: Якутский поход, ''Yakutskiy pokhod'') was the last episode of the
Russian Civil War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Russian Civil War
, partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I
, image =
, caption = Clockwise from top left:
{{flatlist,
*Soldiers ...
. The hostilities took place between September 1921 and June 1923 and were centred on the
Ayano-Maysky District
Ayano-Maysky District (russian: Ая́но-Ма́йский райо́н) is an administrativeResolution #143-pr and municipalLaw #194 district ( raion), one of the seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the north of the krai. Th ...
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 ...
.
A formidable rising flared up in this part of
Yakutia
Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far E ...
in September 1921. About 200
White Russians were led by
Cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a so ...
Mikhail Korobeinikov. In March 1922 they established the Provisional Yakut Regional People's Government in
Churapcha. On 23 March Korobeinikov's "Yakut People's Army," armed with six machine guns, took the major town of
Yakutsk
Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one ...
. The
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
garrison was decimated.
In April, the
White Russians contacted the
Provisional Priamurye Government
The Provisional Priamurye Government or Provisional Priamur Government (russian: Приамурский земский край) existed in the region of Priamurye of the Russian Far East between May 27, 1921 and June 16, 1923. It was the las ...
in
Vladivostok
Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, ...
, asking for help. On 27 April, the Soviets declared the
Yakut ASSR and sent an expedition to put down the uprising. In summer 1922,
the Whites
The Whites is an American country music vocal group from Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It consists of sisters Sharon White and Cheryl White, and their father, Buck White. Sharon on guitar, Cheryl on bass and Buck on Mandolin. Formed in 1972 ...
were ousted from Yakutsk and withdrew to the Pacific coast. They occupied the port towns of
Okhotsk
Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk. Population:
...
and
Ayan
Ayan may refer to:
Places
* Ayan, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
*Ayan, Russia, a rural locality (a ''selo'') and a port in Khabarovsk Krai on the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia
* Ayan, Çankırı, a village in Turkey
* Ayan Virusampat ...
and again asked Vladivostok for reinforcements.
On 30 August, the
Pacific Ocean Fleet, crewed by about 750 volunteers under
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 th ...
Anatoly Pepelyayev, sailed from Vladivostok to assist the White Russians. Three days later, this force disembarked in Ayan and moved upon Yakutsk. By the end of October, when Pepelyayev occupied the locality of
Nelkan, he learned that the Bolsheviks had wrested Vladivostok from the White Army and the Civil War was over.
When the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
was formed on 30 December 1922, the only Russian territory still controlled by the
White Movement was the region of the Pepelyayevshchina ("пепеляевщина"), that is, Ayan, Okhotsk, and Nelkan. A unit of Bolsheviks under
Ivan Strod was sent against Pepelyayev in February. On 12 February, they defeated the Pepelyayevists near Sasyl-Sasyg; in March the White Army was ousted from
Amga.
On 24 April 1923 the ships ''Stavropol'' and ''Indigirka'' sailed from Vladivostok for Ayan. They contained a contingent of the Red Army under
Stepan Vostretsov. Upon his arrival in Ayan on 6 April, Vostretsov learnt that Pepelyayev had evacuated to Nelkan. The remainder of the White Army were defeated near Okhotsk on 6 June and near Ayan on 16 June. In general, 103 White officers and 230 soldiers were taken prisoner and transported to Vladivostok.
References
*
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Anti-Bolshevik uprisings
Rebellions in Russia
Sakha Republic
Khabarovsk Krai
Conflicts in 1922
Conflicts in 1923
20th-century rebellions
1921 in Russia
1922 in the Soviet Union
1923 in the Soviet Union
1921 in Asia
1922 in Asia
1923 in Asia
Rebellions in the Soviet Union
History of the Russian Far East
Military history of the Arctic