Vadim Yakovlev was a Russian Cossack cavalry commander, in the rank of

yesaul Yesaul, osaul or osavul (russian: есау́л, translit=yesaul, uk, осаву́л, translit=osavul) (from Turkic yasaul - ''chief''), is a post and a rank in the Ukrainian Cossack units. The first records of the rank imply that it was introd ...

. A veteran of

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 ...

, during 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 ...

he commanded a Cossack brigade in the ranks of Gen.

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (russian: Анто́н Ива́нович Дени́кин, link= ; 16 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New St ...

's White Russian army in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Following Denikin's defeat, Yakovlev crossed the

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 ...

lines and with his men joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

as the commander of the 3rd Don Cossack Cavalry Brigade. Attached to the

Semyon Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonnyy ( rus, Семён Миха́йлович Будённый, Semyon Mikháylovich Budyonnyy, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ bʊˈdʲɵnːɨj, a=ru-Simeon Budyonniy.ogg; – 26 October 1973) was a Russian ca ...

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (russian: Первая конная армия, Pervaya konnaya armiya) was a prominent Red Army military formation. It was also known as "Budyonny's Cavalry Army" or simply as ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horse ...

, the brigade was dispatched to the front of the Polish-Soviet War during the Polish offensive on Kiev. After the Battle of Wołodarka on 31 May 1920, he again switched sides with his men and joined the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

, where his grade was reaffirmed as that of a

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 o ...

. His brigade, roughly 1700-men strong, was renamed to Free Cossack Brigade and fought alongside the Poles. The troops of Yakovlev were particularly notorious for their cruel and bloody marauding of villages and towns in Ukraine and, later,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, and

anti-Jewish Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

s in the early 1920s.Rumor of atrocities. I walk into town. Indescribable terror and despair. They tell me all about it. Privately, indoors, they’re afraid the Poles may come back. Captain Yakovlev’s Cossacks were here yesterday. A pogrom. The family of David Zyz, in people’s homes, a naked, barely breathing prophet of an old man, and old woman butchered, a child with fingers chopped off, many people still breathing, stench of blood, everything turned upside down, chaos, a mother sitting over her sobered son, an old woman lying twisted up like a pretzel, four people in one hovel, filth, blood under a black beard, just lying there in their blood.

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель, p=ˈbabʲɪlʲ; – 27 January 1940) was a Russian writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' ...

, ''1920 Diary''
p. 84
Yale, 2002, . (accentuation added.) After the cease-fire agreement in late 1920, Yakovlev signed an alliance with the exiled government of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

and decided to continue the struggle against the Reds. His forces were quickly defeated and forced back to Polish-held territory. Colonel Vadim Yakovlev would remain the brigade's commander until it was disbanded in 1923.

References

Cossacks from the Russian Empire Polish Army officers Russian military personnel of World War I Russian military leaders Soviet Army officers Russian Revolution in Ukraine Warlords White movement people People of the Polish–Soviet War Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{Russia-mil-bio-stub