Aleksandr Mikhailovich Krymov (russian: Крымов Александр Михайлович; 23 October 1871 – 31 August 1917) was a

Russian Imperial The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the 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 the Great Northern War. The ...

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 ...

, a military commander of

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 ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and the Russian Revolution era. On April 4, 1917, he was appointed acting commander of the 3rd Cavalry Corps, which included the Savage Division. He refused to accept the appointment of Military Minister by the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...

. On August 24, 1917 Commander-in-Chief Lavr Kornilov appointed Krymov commander of the detached Petrograd Army (отдельная Петроградская армия) to secure the Russian capital of Petrograd.

Early life

Krymov was part of the nobility of the

Warsaw Governorate Warsaw Governorate ( pl, Gubernia warszawska; russian: Варшавская губерния) was an administrative unit ( governorate) of Congress Poland. It was created in 1844 from the Masovia and Kalisz Governorates, and had the capital in ...

. Krymov participated in the

and

Kornilov affair

On 25 August, Kornilov's troops were given the order to occupy Petrograd, disperse the Soviet, and disarm the city's garrison in case of a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

uprising. He was given the order to advance on Petrograd to rescue 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 ...

from what was believed to be a Bolshevik coup. On 29 August, Kerensky made himself commander-in-chief, and ordered Krymov via cable to halt the advance of his troops, some of whom were moving through the southern suburbs of Petrograd. The Soviet executive in the capital now decided to support the now 'Revolutionary Dictator' Kerensky on news of the advance of Krymov's soldiers, and his troops were 'harangued' by Bolsheviks. Krymov and his staff, travelling on the train of the 1st Don Cossack Division, were halted at Luga by the railway workers, and they continued to be harangued by Soviet deputies.Figes, pp. 452–453. Powerless, Krymov could only watch in his train compartment as Cossacks in large numbers defected to the Soviet side.Figes, p. 453. On 30 August, he agreed to travel with a government representative to Petrograd, and on 31 August, he met with Kerensky, where he tried to explain that he had only brought his troops in an attempt to defend the government, but Kerensky ordered him to trial by military court.

Death

Despondent after the meeting with Kerensky, Krymov left for a friend's apartment, where he was heard saying: "The last card for saving the Fatherland has been beaten – life is no longer worth living." He retired to a private room where he wrote a short note to Kornilov, before he shot himself through the heart.

Honours and awards

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 Ponia ...

, 3rd class (1898), 2nd class with Swords (1905) *

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 Baptize ...

, 4th class with Swords (1905), 3rd class (19 April 1911) * Order of St. Anne, 4th class (1905), 3rd class with Swords and Bow (1905), 2nd class with Swords (1906) *

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

, 4th class (26 June 1916) *

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery (russian: Золотое оружие "За храбрость") was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished ...

(8 November 1914).

References

Bibliography

*
Krymov's biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krymov, Aleksandr 1871 births 1917 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals Russian generals Russian Provisional Government generals Russian military personnel who committed suicide Russian anti-communists Russian counter-revolutionaries Russian people of World War I People of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Suicides by firearm in Russia