Aleksandr Dmitriyevich Shuvayev (; 8 December 1886,

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

- December 1943) was a Soviet military commander, who commanded the 4th Red Army in the

Battle of Warsaw (1920) The Battle of Warsaw (; , ), also known as the Miracle on the Vistula (), was a series of battles that resulted in a decisive Polish victory and complete disintegration of the Red Army in August 1920 during the Polish–Soviet War. After the ...

, during the Polish-Soviet War and fought in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

Biography

He was the son of

Dmitry Shuvayev Dmitry Savelyevich Shuvayev (; – 19 December 1937) was a Russian military leader, Infantry General (1912) and Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, Minister of War (1916). Life Dmitry Shuvayev graduated from Alexander Military School in 187 ...

, Minister of War of the Russian Empire in 1916. Aleksandr became an officer in the Tsarist Russian Army. He served in several staff functions during World War I, which he ended as a Lieutenant Colonel. After the October Revolution, on 5 December 1918, he was drafted into the Red Army and was appointed Chief of Staff of the Petrograd division. Later he was Chief of Staff of the Northern group of the Western Front. During the Polish-Soviet War, he was the Chief of Staff of the 4th Army in the period 18 June - 31 July 1920. When the Commander Evgeni Sergeyev was injured, Shuvayev became the acting Commander of the 4th Army from 31 July to 17 October 1920. His Army took

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

and

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

, and by August 16, 1920, the Polish Army had been thrown back behind the

Wkra Wkra is a river in north-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river, with a length of 255 kilometres and a basin area of 5,348 km2 - all within Poland.Battle of Warsaw (1920) The Battle of Warsaw (; , ), also known as the Miracle on the Vistula (), was a series of battles that resulted in a decisive Polish victory and complete disintegration of the Red Army in August 1920 during the Polish–Soviet War. After the ...

, his army was struck by a powerful Polish counteroffensive. The 4th Army suffered enormous losses, most of the survivors crossed the border into Eastern Prussia where they were interned. Shuvayev remained in command of the reconstituted 4th Army, which was replenished with fresh divisions, but was again defeated after heavy fighting in Belarus, including the Battle of Kobryń (1920). His army retreated to the

Slutsk Slutsk is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450. Geography ...

area, where it was disbanded on 18 October 1920 after the truce with Poland. From 1 to 18 November 1920, he was again Chief of Staff of the 4th Army, now under command of

Vladimir Lazarevich Vladimir Salamanovich Lazarevich (, ; Sokółka, Grodno Governorate, 15 September 1882 – Moscow, 20 June 1938) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander, who commanded several military units of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War. ...

. Later he became second assistant Chief of Staff of the Armed forces of Ukraine and the Crimea (February 191 - June 1922), Chief of Staff of the Army of the

Far Eastern Republic The Far Eastern Republic ( rus, Дальневосточная Республика, Dal'nevostochnaya Respublika, p=dəlʲnʲɪvɐˈstotɕnəjə rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə, links=yes; ), sometimes called the Chita Republic (, ), was a nominally indep ...

(4 July - 21 August 1922) and Chief of Staff of the Turkestan Front (October 1923 - April 1924). On 29 September 1937 he was arrested for so-called "anti-Soviet agitation", tried and sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment. He was held prisoner in a

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

in the

Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (; ), abbreviated as Komi ASSR (Komi and ), was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union, established in 1936 as successor of Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast. In 1991, it b ...

. He was released from the Gulag on 21 October 1943 due to fatal illness, and died two months later. He was rehabilitated on 20 October 1956.

References

Sources

* ''This is a translation of an article in the Polish Wikipedia, Aleksandr Szuwajew.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuvayev, Aleksandr 1886 births 1943 deaths Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War People of the Polish–Soviet War Great Purge victims from Russia Soviet rehabilitations Imperial Russian Army personnel Russian military personnel of World War I