Alexey Maksimovich Kaledin (; 24 October 1861 – 11 February 1918) was a

Don Cossack Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic republic in present-da ...

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

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 ...

who commanded the 12th Cavalry Division and

Russian Eight Army The Russian Eight Army (8-я армия, ''8А'') was a World War I Russian field army that fought on the Eastern theatre of war. Field management was established in July 1914 at the headquarters of the Kiev Military District. The unit was disba ...

during

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 ...

. He also led the

White movement The White movement,. The old spelling was retained by the Whites to differentiate from the Reds. also known as the Whites, was one of the main factions of the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It was led mainly by the Right-wing politics, right- ...

in the opening stages of 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 ...

Early years

Kaledin attended the

Mikhaylovskoye Artillery School Russia has a number of military academies of different specialties. This article primarily lists institutions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation rather than those of the Soviet Armed Forces. Russian institutions designated as an "aca ...

and the General Staff Academy.

World War I

Kaledin served as a cavalry commander at the beginning of the war, before taking over command of a cavalry corps, and rising to the rank of General of the Cavalry. He was then assigned command of the 8th Army on the Southwest Front, participated in the Brusilov offensive, and won the

Battle of Lutsk The Battle of Lutsk took place on the Eastern Front during World War I, from June 4 to June 6, 1916. This was the opening attack of the Brusilov Offensive under the overall command of Alexei Brusilov. The Russian 8th Army made a decisive bre ...

. Kaledin spoke at the

Moscow State Conference The State Conference in Moscow (Moscow State Conference) (also known as Moscow Council of the Conference of Public Figures) was an all-Russian political forum convened by the Provisional Government. The meeting was held in Moscow on 12-15 August ( ...

, stating "all Soviets and committees must be abolished, both in the army and in the rear." Following the

Kornilov affair The Kornilov affair, or the Kornilov putsch, was an attempted military coup d'état by the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army, General Lavr Kornilov, from 10 to 13 September 1917 ( O.S., 28–31 August), against the Russian Provisional Gov ...

, Kaledin retreated back to

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 ...

, and protection of the ''voisko'', to avoid arrest by the Provisional Government. When he was 55 years old, the Cossack ''krug'' had elected Kaledin as their ataman. According to

Peter Kenez Peter Kenez (; born 1937) is a Jewish Hungarian-American historian specializing in Russian and Eastern European history and politics. Life Kenez was born and grew up in Pesterzsébet, Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary. His father was arrested in Ma ...

, Kaledin "...thus became the first democratically chosen leader of the Cosacks since 1723."

Civil War

According to Kenez, "On November 9, immediately after receiving news of the Petrograd revolution, and acting in the name of the ''voisko'' government, he invited the members of the Provisional Government to Novocherkassk to join him in organizing the anti-Bolshevik struggle." On 15 November,

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 ...

arrived and started organizing a new army. On 20 November, the ''

voisko A Cossack host (; , ''kazachye voysko''), sometimes translated as Cossack army, was an administrative subdivision of Cossacks in the Russian Empire. Earlier the term ''voysko'' (host, in a sense as a doublet of ''guest'') referred to Cossack orga ...

'' declared its independence. On 5 December, Kaledin declared martial law when news came of a Red Guard detachment had been sent by the Soviet regime. Between 9 and 15 December, with the aid of the Alekseev Organization, Kaledin was able to suppress Bolshevik resistance in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, and then open the third session of the ''krug''. On 19 December,

Lavr Kornilov Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov (, ; – 13 April 1918) was a Russian military intelligence officer, explorer, and general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I. He served as Supreme Commander of the Russian Army and as the military leade ...

arrived, and by the end of the month, had reorganized the Alekseev Organization into the Volunteer Army. By January 1918,

Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko Vladimir Alexandrovich Antonov-Ovseenko (; ; 9 March 1883 – 10 February 1938), real surname Ovseenko, party aliases 'Bayonet' () and 'Nikita' (), literary pseudonym A. Galsky (), was a prominent Bolshevik leader, Soviet statesman, mili ...

was threatening Rostov and

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

with a force led by Sivers. On 8 February, Sivers had taken control of Taganrog, and Kornilov decided to retreat from the Don. The ensuing loss of

Rostov-on-the-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

and the

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

's retreat during their

Ice March The Ice March (Russian: Ледяной поход), also called the First Kuban Campaign (Russian: Первый кубанский поход), a withdrawal (military), military withdrawal lasting from February to May 1918, was one of the defi ...

led Kaledin to believe that the whole situation had become hopeless. On 11 February, he resigned from his post and committed suicide by shooting himself.

Honours and awards

* Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1897) *

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 (1902) *

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 for the battle on the river near the village of Hnyla Lypa, October 12, 1914. *

, 3rd class for the Battle of Kalush, September 12, 1915. * Sword of St. George

References

A biography and other resources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaledin, Alexey 1861 births 1918 deaths People from Serafimovichsky District People from Don Host Oblast Don Cossacks Don Cossacks noble families Imperial Russian Army generals Atamans Russian military personnel of World War I People of the Russian Civil War Russian Constituent Assembly members White movement generals Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Russian military personnel who died by suicide Suicides by firearm in the Soviet Union Imperial Nikolayev Military Academy alumni