Aleksei Evert
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Aleksei Ermolaevich Evert (; ; also written ''Everth'' or ''Ewarts''; 4 March 185712 November 1918 or 10 May 1926) was an
Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
of
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descent.


Early life and career

Aleksei Ermolaevich Evert was born on March 4, 1857, in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, to a family of nobility with
Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
ancestry. He was born to Ermolai I. Evert in the small village of Smolinskoye in the
Moscow Governorate The Moscow Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, and the Russian Empire. It was bordered by Tver Governorate to the north, Vladimir Governorate to the northeast, Ryazan Governorate to the southeast, Tula Gove ...
. Aleksei graduated from the 1st Moscow Catherine II Cadet Corps in 1874 and the Alexandrovskoye Military School in 1876. He then served in the Volinsky Life-Guards Regiment. He first saw military action in the
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
of 1877. In 1882, Evert graduated from the Nikolayev Academy of General Staff, after which he served at the
Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...
under the commander-in-chief of the military district, General
Pontus Brevern-de la Gardie Pontus Alexander Ludwig Graf Brevern-de la Gardie (Born von Brevern; , Romanization of Russian, tr. ; ) was a Sweden, Swedish count, Baltic German nobleman, military officer and statesman of Germans, German, French people, French and Swedes, ...
. In late 1882, Evert was made senior adjutant of the 3rd Infantry Division. In late March 1886, he was appointed to the
Warsaw Military District The Warsaw Military District () was one of three military districts in Poland, the other two being the Pomeranian Military District and the Silesian Military District. It was the regional executive body of the Ministry of National Defense of Pol ...
and made senior adjutant of the headquarters of the military district in November. He later became commander of several minor Regiments before he was appointed staff officer of the Warsaw Military District again, this time for special assignments under the commander-in-chief Count Gurko. In late January 1893, he was appointed the chief of staff of the 10th Infantry Division. Then in late 1900, 1901, and late October 1903, he was made the chief of staff of the 11th, 14th and 5th Army Corps, respectively.


Russo-Japanese War

In 1904, General Evert took part in the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
. About seven months into the war, he was made quartermaster-general of the Field Staff of the Commander-in-chief
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
Yevgeni Alekseyev. In late March 1905, he was appointed the head of the headquarters of
1st Manchurian Army The 1st Manchurian Army () was a field army of the Russian Empire that was established in 1904 during the Russo-Japanese War, for the purposes of operating in the Manchuria region against Japan. It was one of the three such armies that were create ...
. At the end of the war, he was awarded the
Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery () 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 in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the Saint George ...
in 1906, for military distinction. In mid April 1906, he was appointed the chief of staff of the 13th Army Corps, and later commander in 1908. In 1911, Evert was promoted to
General of the Infantry General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) General of the Infantry (, abbr. ) is ...
, and in mid 1912, he was appointed the commander-in-chief of the Irkutsk Military District and
ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...
of the Transbaikal Cossack host. Upon being appointed commander of the Irkutsk Military District and the ataman of the Transbaikal Cossack host, Evert lived in the former house of a merchant (now the Actor's House). The military district headquarters and the director of the general on duty were housed in the Fainberg house (now a half-ruined building on Khalturin Street).


World War I

The
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
broke out in 1914, and with that, General Evert was appointed to command the 10th Army. And he briefly participated in the East Prussian Campaign, but after several days, he was replaced by
Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...
Vasily Flug Vasily Egorovich Flug (; March 19, 1860 – December 3, 1955) was an Imperial Russian Army General of the Infantry. A career military officer, he served in the Boxer Rebellion, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I, before joining the White movemen ...
, and he later replaced the aged General Zaltsa, after which he took part in the Invasion of Galicia and the battle at
Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...
. In mid August 1915, Evert later replaced army chief of staff General
Mikhail Alekseyev Mikhail Vasilyevich Alekseyev () ( – ) was an Imperial Russian Army general during World War I and the Russian Civil War. Between 1915 and 1917 he served as Tsar Nicholas II's Chief of Staff of the Stavka, and after the February Revolut ...
as the commander-in-chief of the Western Front, he was also made adjutant-general later in December of that year. From May to June, Evert and his army fought the Austro-
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
forces at
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and
Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
. And in September, his forces successfully repelled the Austro-German breakthrough between the cities of Smorgon and
Dvinsk Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
, for this success, he was awarded the Order of St. George of the 3rd degree in early October. In early March 1916, he commanded an offensive at
Lake Naroch Lake Narach (, ''Narač'' ; , ''Naročj''; , ''Naročius'', ) is a lake in northwestern Belarus ( Myadzyel District, Minsk Region), located in the basin of the Viliya river. It is the largest lake in Belarus (in 1921–39 it was the largest lake ...
in what is now
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, together with General
Aleksey Kuropatkin Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (; March 29, 1848January 16, 1925) was a Russian politician and military officer who served as the Russian Imperial Minister of War from January 1898 to February 1904 and as a field commander subsequently. Hist ...
. But due to a lack of scouting and artillery support, Russian artilleries were unable to capture the well-fortified German defense, causing the offensive to fail. The French Slavic professor , who arrived in the Russia in February 1916 on the instructions of the Military Propaganda Department at the second department of the General Staff of the French Ministry of Defense, in his memoirs, he negatively assessed the actions of Evert:


Brusilov Offensive

According to the directive of the Russian Supreme Command Headquarters in late April 1916, an offensive on the middle of the Western Front was entrusted to Evert. However, with the connivance of the Supreme commander-in-chief Tsar
Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...
, the general repeatedly delayed the terms of the offensive when the Brusilov Offensive occurred in the neighbouring
front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and ...
. The
offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...
originally planned to target
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, but it was changed to target
Baranovichi Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...
(now Baranavichy in Belarus). Despite months of planning, the offensive failed to break through the German defense. General
Aleksei Brusilov Aleksei Alekseyevich Brusilov (, ; rus, Алексей Алексеевич Брусилов, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ brʊˈsʲiɫəf; – 17 March 1926) was a Russian and later Soviet general most noted for the developmen ...
, commander-in-chief of the Southwestern Front and the planner of the Brusilov Offensive (which was named after him), gave the following assessment to General Evert: Similar estimates are available in some encyclopaedic sources. In early 1917, General Evert proposed an attack towards Vilnius, but these plans were strongly opposed among other generals, especially General
Vasily Gurko Vasily Iosifovich Romeyko-Gurko (; 20 May 1864 in Tsarskoye Selo – 11 February 1937) served for a brief period as a Chief-of-Staff of the Imperial Russian Army before being forced out of the country in exile following the October Revolution of 1 ...
and
Alexander Lukomsky Alexander Sergeyevich Lukomsky (; ; – 25 January 1939) was a Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian ...
. Under the new plan by Alekseyev, he assigned the task of inflicting a counterattack to the 10th Army.


February Revolution

On March 2, 1917, after the revolutionaries took over the government, Alekseyev sent Nicholas II a telegram, urging abdication, General Evert replied Alekseyev that he would give his conclusion after General Ruzsky and Brusilov answered. Learning their answers, he sent the tsar a telegram, in which referred to the fact that the army "in its present composition ... can not be counted," wrote that "finding no other outcome, unlimitedly devoted to your Majesty, the loyal subject begs Your Majesty, in the name of the salvation of the Motherland and the Dynasty, to make a decision ... as the only one apparently capable of ending the revolution and saving Russia from the horrors of anarchy. " According to the memoirs of General Ali-Agha Shikhlinsky, after the
February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
, one of the members of the
Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...
, Nikolai Shchepkin, who was ordered by the new
minister of war A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
of the newly formed
Russian Republic The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federative Republic in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Rus ...
,
Alexander Guchkov Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov (; 14 October 1862 – 14 February 1936) was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Third Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government. Early years Alexander Guchkov was born in Moscow. Unlike most ...
, to go to
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
. After Shchepkin's arrival at Minsk, he suggested to high commands to get General Evert removed, so he did. After his removal, he was briefly replaced by General Vladimir Smirnov, and then Gurko. In March, he was dismissed from service with pensions and a uniform.


Last years and death

There is considerable uncertainty about how and when Evert actually died with no clear consensus established from the historical record. One theory is that he was arrested by the
Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...
, and was murdered after being imprisoned in
Mozhaisk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the west of Moscow, on the histori ...
(according to the memoirs of
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
Vladimir Drutskoy-Sokolinsky). Another version is that he was released after being imprisoned by the
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
s and after that he engaged in beekeeping and died peacefully at the age of 69. The most likely version is that he was killed by the guards on his way to Mozhaisk, and he was buried in a local cemetery there.


Personal life

General Evert married Nadezhda Poznanskaya and with whom had seven children: Ignatius, Boris, Vladimir, Sophia, Valentina, Vera, Vsevolod. Vsevolod died young in 1910, Ignatius was killed in 1938, Sophia and Valentina died in Moscow, the fates of the others are currently unknown. Poznanskaya preserved the circumstance of her husband's death in a private collection. General Evert had a brother named Apollo Evert who was a lieutenant-general in the Imperial Russian Army.


Honours and awards


Domestic

* Order of St. Anna, 4th class (1878) * Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class (1879) * Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1885) * Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd class (1888) * Order of St. Anna, 2nd class (1895) *
Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...
, 4th class (1899) * Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class (1903) * Order of St. Stanislaus], 1st class with swords (VP 28.2.1906) *
Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery () 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 in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the Saint George ...
(VP 18.6.1906) * Order of St. Anna, 1st class (1905) * Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class (6.12.1912) *
Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...
, 4th class (VP 18.9.1914) *
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...
(VP 10.01.1915) * Order of the White Eagle (VP 10.01.1915) * Order of St. George, 3rd class (VP 08.10.1915)


Foreign

*: ** Cross "For crossing the Danube" * ** Order of the Crown of Bukhara


References


External links


Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evert, Alexei Russian military personnel of World War I Imperial Russian Army generals Russian Provisional Government generals Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Unsolved deaths in Russia 1857 births 1918 deaths