Alexander Ignatyevich Sedyakin (26 November 1893 – 29 July 1938) was a Soviet division commander and

Komandarm 2nd rank 2nd rank () is the abbreviation to commanding officer of the army 2nd class (; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to co ...

. He was born in St. Petersburg, which was then the capital of the Russian Empire. He fought in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

World War I 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 ...

before going over to the Bolsheviks. He fought against

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and the pro-Finnish separatists of the Republic of East Karelia in

East Karelia East Karelia (, ), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that is beyond the eastern border of Finland and since the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox and a part of Russia. I ...

. On November 11, 1935, he was one of the 10 people made Komandarm 2nd rank. He received the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

twice (1921 and 1922).

Early life

Sedyakin was born in St. Petersburg, which was then the capital of the Russian Empire. He was the oldest in a family of 4 boys and a girl. A member of his family served in the

Preobrazhensky Regiment The Preobrazhensky Lifeguard (military), Life-Guards Regiment (, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The Preobrazhensky Regiment was ...

. His siblings were brothers Konstantin (1898), Theophylakt (1899), Mikhail (1903) and sister Klavdia (1907). In 1908, the family moved to

Kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...

. After staying briefly in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

, Sedyakin worked as a surveyor in

Tobolsk Governorate Tobolsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic and Russian SFSR located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its seat was in the city of Tobolsk, ...

, in modern-day

Tyumen Oblast Tyumen Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is located in Western Siberia, and is administratively part of the Ural Federal District. The oblast has administrative jurisdiction over two autonomous ...

World War I

In November 1914, Sedyakin enlisted in the

. After being commissioned an officer in October 1915, he was sent to the front as a lieutenant in the 151st infantry regiment. During his two years on the front lines, he was wounded twice and was promoted to senior captain. He rose from platoon commander to company, battalion and then regiment commander. 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 ...

in March 1917, he was made chair of the regimental committee. He was made vice chairman of the soldiers' committee for the 38th Infantry Division in May 1917 and formally joined the Bolsheviks in August 1917. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

in November 1917, he was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

.Радиоконтроль — Тачанка / Н. В. Огаркова]. — М. : Воениздат, Военное изд-во М-ва обороны СССР, 1980. — С. 311. — ( Советская военная энциклопедия : � 8 т.nbsp;; 1976—1980, т. 7).Автобиография // Военно-исторический журнал, 1989. – № 3. – С. 78-81.

Civil War

In March 1918, Sedyakin formally joined the Red Army alongside soldiers he had formerly commanded. In May 1918, Sedyakin was conscription officer for the 2nd Pskov Rifle Division. On 6 August 1918 Sedyakin was on Eastern Front battling the forces of

Alexander Kolchak Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia in 1918, Kolchak headed a mili ...

. In September 1918, he was on the Southern Front, where he was appointed commander of the 2nd Kursk Infantry Brigade in November 1918 and deputy commander of the 13th Army in January 1919. In this capacity, he battled the forces of

Anton Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the Supreme Ruler of Russia, acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of Sout ...

. He was appointed commander of the 3rd Rifle Brigade of Voronezh in August 1919 and the 31st Rifle Division on 12 October 1919. On 12 November 1919 he moved his forces against those of

Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel (, ; ; 25 April 1928), also known by his nickname the Black Baron, was a Russian military officer of Baltic German origin in the Imperial Russian Army. During the final phase of the Russian Civil War, he was c ...

until he was incapacitated by injury. From October 1920 to February 1921, Sedyakin was commander of the 10th Reserve Rifle Brigade. He was executed during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

and posthumously rehabilitated in 1956.

Awards

(1921, 1922) *

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

2nd class *

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

4th class (1917) * Saint George Sword (1917) * To the Valiant Soldier of the Karelian Front (1933)

References

Bibliography

Радиоконтроль – Тачанка / �од общ. ред. Н. В. Огаркова – М. : Военное изд-во М-ва обороны СССР, 1980. – 693 с. – (Советская военная энциклопедия : � 8 т. 1976–1980, т. 7).

External links

Звезда и смерть командарма Седякина
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedyakin, Alex 1893 births 1938 deaths Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet komandarms of the second rank Great Purge victims from Russia People executed by the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Old Bolsheviks Russian Constituent Assembly members