Vladimir Zenonovich May-Mayevsky KCMG (; – 30 November 1920) was a general in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

and one of the leaders of the counterrevolutionary White movement 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 ...

Biography

According to

Peter Kenez Peter Kenez (born as Péter Kenéz in 1937) is a historian specializing in Russian and Eastern European history and politics. Life Peter Kenez was born and grew up in Pesterzsébet, Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary . His father was arrested in Mar ...

, V. Z. Mai-Maevskii was a complex figure. He lived a dissolute life and his orgies brought ill-repute to the cause which he served. In territories under his control, terror and lawlessmess reigned. His soldiers called him Kutuzov, not because of his style of leadership, but because of his appearance: he was fat and flabby and wore a pince-nez. He did not at all look like a soldier. Nevertheless, he was one of the ablest White military leaders." May-Mayevsky was born in 1867 to a family of minor gentry 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 ...

. He entered military service in 1885, graduating from the Nikolaev Engineering Institute in 1888, now

Military engineering-technical university The Saint Petersburg Military Engineering-Technical University (Nikolaevsky) (russian: Санкт-Петербургский Военный инженерно-технический университет, VITU), previously known as the Saint Pet ...

(Russian Военный инженерно-технический университет), serving as a lieutenant with the elite Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment. He later graduated from the Nicholas General Staff Academy in 1896, and was promoted to a captain of General Staff. During 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 ...

, May-Mayevsky was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

and commanded the 1st Guards Corps, which he continued to command in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, when he was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

. He was awarded the Order of St. George (4th class) and Golden Sword of St. George in 1915, and the Cross of St. George in 1917. At the time of the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

May-Mayevsky was still in charge of the 1st Guard Corps. Although his obese appearance was distinctly unmilitary, he had military talent and a reputation for calm bravery and quick decisive action. In March 1918 May-Mayevsky fled to the Don region, and joined

Mikhail Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich Drozdovsky (russian: Михаил Гордеевич Дроздовский; October 7, 1881 – January 1, 1919) was a Russian army officer and one of the military leaders of the anti-Bolshevik White movement during the R ...

's White movement army as a common soldier. This unit soon merged with the anti-

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 ...

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (russian: Добровольческая армия, translit=Dobrovolcheskaya armiya, abbreviated to russian: Добрармия, translit=Dobrarmiya) was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from ...

, and May-Mayevsky became a divisional commander. By December 1918, May-Mayevsky was a general fighting on the Don front, including the

Battle for the Donbas (1919) The Battle for Donbas was a military campaign of the Russian Civil War that lasted from January to May 1919, in which White forces repulsed attacks of the Red Army on the Don Host Oblast and occupied the Donbas region after heavy fighting. ...

. His remarkable performance was due to his strategy of stationing his troops at railroad junctions, and then using the railroad network to speedily move troops to where they were needed most. According to Kenez, "On one occasin, one unit fought at three different places in the course of a single day." He also used airplanes for reconnaissance missions. On 23 May 1919 May-Mayevsky was appointed chief commander of the Volunteer Army after his division drove 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 ...

from the city of

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

. His forces moved on to secure

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

, Orel and

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

. However, his forces were thus overextended, and after suffering a number of defeats, problems with his alcoholism increased. May-Maevsky was blamed for the military retreats from

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains * Tula Point India * Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the ...

and Orel and accused of "moral decay". On 27 November 1919 General

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 ...

replaced him with General Pyotr Wrangel, an effective general without the moral weaknesses of May-Mayevsky. In 1920, he led rearguard units in the final defence of the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

. Accounts differ on his end. According to one version, he shot himself during the evacuation of the White Army from Sevastopol on 12 November 1920, according to another - he died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

in one of the hospitals in Sevastopol or while traveling by car to the ship for evacuation.

Distinctions

Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd degree, 1906 (3rd degree, 1900) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 2nd degree 1907 (3rd degree 1904) * Saint vladimir (bande)

Order of St Vladimir 3rd degree, 1912 (4th degree, 1909) * RUS Order of Saint George 4th class ribbon 2000

Order of St. George, 4th class, 1915 * Gold Sword for Bravery (1915) * Order of Glory Ribbon Bar

Cross of St. George with a laurel branch, 1917 * Ord

Honorary Knight of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

, 1921 (UK)

Reference

{{DEFAULTSORT:May-Maevsky, Vladimir 1867 births 1920 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Imperial Russian Army generals Russian anti-communists Military Engineering-Technical University alumni Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War White movement generals Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Recipients of the Cross of St. George Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Suicides by firearm in Russia

Biography

Distinctions

See also

Reference