Lazar Fedorovich Bicherakhov (; ; 15 November 1882 – 22 June 1952) was a Russian army officer who participated in

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 ...

and 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 ...

, as a member of the

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 ...

and White Russian armies, respectively.

Biography

Bicherakhov hailed from a

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

family of Ossetian descent. He graduated from the

real school Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and Alekseevsky military school 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 ...

.''Безугольный А. Ю.'' Генерал Бичерахов и его Кавказская армия. 1917—1919. — М.: Центрполиграф, 2011. — (Россия забытая и неизвестная. Золотая коллекция). ISBN 978-5-227-02536-4, c.16-17 He served in the 1st Gorsko-Mozdok regiment of the Terek Cossack Host (1911–1914) of the 1st Caucasus Cossack Division, which had its headquarters in the town of

Oltu Oltu (; ) is a municipality and district of Erzurum Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,441 km2, and its population is 30,075 (2022). The mayor is Adem Çelebi, from the AKP. History An inscription found in Oltu's castle has been dated to the 7t ...

, Kars Oblast. In 1912, L. Bicherakhov had the rank of

sotnik Sotnik or sotnyk (; ; ) was a military rank among the Cossack starshyna (military officers), the Russian ''streltsy'' and Cossack cavalry, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the Ukrainian Galician Army, and the Ukrainian People's Army. Administrative ...

. During

, Bicherakhov served in 1915–1918 in the expeditionary corps of General

Nikolai Baratov Nikolai Nikolaevich Baratov (; February 1, 1865 – March 22, 1932) was a Russian general during World War I and the Russian Civil War. Early career Baratov was born in Vladikavkaz, in the Terek Oblast of the Russian Empire. Although of ethn ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

as the commander of the Terek Cossack detachment with the rank of army

starshina ( rus, Старшина, p=stərʂɨˈna, a=Ru-старшина.ogg or ) is a senior military rank or designation in the military forces of some Slavs, Slavic states, and a historical military designation. Depending on a country, it had differen ...

. He was awarded the

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 ...

of the 4th degree. In June 1918, Bicherakhov made an alliance in

Bandar-e Anzali Bandar-e Anzali () is a city on the Caspian Sea in the Central District of Bandar-e Anzali County, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of both the county and the district. History Anzali is an old city in ancient Iran, first s ...

with British General

Lionel Dunsterville Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville (9 November 1865 – 18 March 1946) was a British Army officer, who led Dunsterforce across present-day Iraq and Iran towards the Caucasus and Baku during the First World War. Early life Lionel Charle ...

to take joint action against Ottoman and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

forces in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. Since Dunsterville had no troops available for immediate deployment to prevent the advance of the Ottoman army, it was agreed to allow Bicherakhov to temporarily cooperate with the

Bolsheviks 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, ...

. On 1 July 1918, by agreement with the leaders of the

Baku Commune Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Bicherakhov arrived with a unit of 600

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

to fight against the

Islamic Army of the Caucasus The Islamic Army of the Caucasus (; Turkish: ''Kafkas İslâm Ordusu'') (also translated as ''Caucasian Army of Islam'' in some sources) was a military unit of the Ottoman Empire formed on July 10, 1918. The Ottoman Minister of War, Enver Pasha ...

under the command of Turkish general Nuri Pasha Killigil and the armed forces of

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (), also known as the Azerbaijan People's Republic (; ), was the first secular democracy, democratic republic in the Turkic peoples, Turkic and Muslim worlds. *Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: ...

in the

battle of Baku The Battle of Baku (, , ) took place in August and September 1918 between the Ottoman– Azerbaijani coalition forces led by Nuri Pasha and Bolshevik– ARF Baku Soviet forces, later succeeded by the British–Armenian– White Russian forces ...

. However, battlefield failures forced Bicherakhov to withdraw with his men to Petrovsk-Port. In October 1918, Bicherakhov declared allegiance to the

Provisional All-Russian Government The Provisional All-Russian Government, informally known as the Directory, the Ufa Directory, or the Omsk Directory, was a short-lived government of the Russian State during the Russian Civil War, formed on 23 September 1918 at the State Confe ...

, and was conferred the rank of major-general in the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

. Bicherakhov emigrated in 1919 to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and from there to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1928, where during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he led North Caucasus people's section in the pro-Nazi

Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (, ', abbreviated as , ') was composed of military and civilian Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborators with Nazi Germany from territories of the Soviet Union, mo ...

. He died in Germany and was buried in

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

in 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicherakhov, Lazar 1882 births 1952 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Russian military personnel of World War I White Russian collaborators with Nazi Germany White Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom White movement major generals