Boris Mikhailovich Donskoy (russian: Борис Михайлович Донской; 1894 – 10 August 1918) was a Russian Empire

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

-revolutionary. He was a member of the

Left Socialist-Revolutionary The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revol ...

party as SR-maximalist. Donskoy became widely known for his assassination of German

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...

and military governor of Ukraine

Hermann von Eichhorn (13 February 1848 – 30 July 1918) was a Prussian officer, later during World War I. He was a recipient of with Oak Leaves, one of the highest orders of merit in the Kingdom of Prussia and, subsequently, Imperial Germany. Biography was bor ...

in summer of 1918.

Biography

Early life

Boris was born in a village of Gladkie Vyselki,

Mikhailovsk uyezd Mikhaylovsk (russian: Михайловск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Urban localities * Mikhaylovsk, Stavropol Krai, a town in Shpakovsky District of Stavropol Krai *Mikhaylovsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast, a town in Nizhnes ...

(county),

Ryazan Governorate Ryazan Governorate (russian: link=no, Рязанская губерния, ''Ryazanskaya guberniya'', Government of Ryazan) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, w ...

in a peasant family of

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow ...

. After finishing at village school Donskoy went to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to seek employment at age 15. In 1915, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, he was mobilized into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the earl ...

and Donskoy was placed onto a transport ship "Asia" in the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

Revolutionary Activities

In 1916 Donskoy joined the

Party and soon after that he was arrested for organizing a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

and anti-government propaganda. Right after the February Revolution of 1917 Donskoy was released and elected to the Executive Committee of

Kronshtadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...

. During the

July Days The July Days (russian: Июльские дни) were a period of unrest in Petrograd, Russia, between . It was characterised by spontaneous armed demonstrations by soldiers, sailors, and industrial workers engaged against the Russian Provis ...

, Donskoy at early hours of July 17 called to the leader of the

Left Socialist-Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revo ...

in the

Tauride Palace Tauride Palace (russian: Таврический дворец, translit=Tavrichesky dvorets) is one of the largest and most historically important palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Construction and early use Prince Grigory Potemkin of Taurid ...

to discuss the organization of the military protest and later announced it at the Kronshtadt City Council. Along with Nikolai Rivkin, Donskoy led a combined squat of Baltic sailors against the Kornilov's protest. During the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

Boris Donskoy was a commissar at the

Fort Ino Fort Ino or Fort Nikolaevsky (russian: форт «Ино» or форт Николаевский) is an abandoned early 20th-century Russian coastal fortification situated on the northern shore of Neva Bay in the Gulf of Finland. The fort is close t ...

, just outside

, from where he directed military formations to the

Pulkovo Heights Pulkovo Heights () is a chain of hills located to the south of Saint Petersburg. They run to the south-west in the direction of the Izhora Plateau and have an altitude of up to 73 meters. In Neolithic times (about 75005000 years ago) Pulkovo heig ...

. In spring of 1918 along with

Irina Kakhovskaya Irina Konstantinovna Kakhovskaya (15 August 1887, Tarashcha, Kiev Governorate – 1 March 1960, Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga Oblast) was a Russian revolutionary, a representative of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, organizer of the assassination of t ...

he went to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

, particularly to the newly established Donetsk–Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic to prepare for fight against the Imperial German occupation. In April 1918 Donskoy joined the All-Russian Battle Organization of the

that was sanctioned by its party to carry out an "international terror".

Assassination of Field Marshall Hermann von Eichhorn

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, together with Irina Kakhovskaya and G.Smolyansky, Donskoy prepared for an assassination attempt on the commander of the German military governor of Ukraine,

. On July 30, 1918 he threw a bomb at the Field Marshal who soon died along with his adjutant Captain von Dressler. Donskoy was caught right at the crime scene and was interrogated. He stated that Eichhorn was sentenced by the ''Left Socialist Revolutionary Party'' as the commander of the German military forces who "strangled" the "revolution" in Ukraine, changed a political system, carried out a takeover as a supporter of the middle and upper class to bring to power the

Hetman of Ukraine Hetman of Ukraine ( uk, Гетьман України) is a former historic government office and political institution of Ukraine that is equivalent to a head of state or a monarch. Brief history As a head of state the position was establi ...

and confiscated land from peasants. Donskoy was convicted by a field military court to a death sentence through hanging and was publicly executed on August 10, 1918.

External links

Volkovynsky, V. "The loudest terrorist act in the period of the Ukrainian Revolution" (НАЙГУЧНІШИЙ ТЕРОРИСТИЧНИЙ АКТ ПЕРІОДУ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ РЕВОЛЮЦІЇ)

Mirror Weekly ''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

. 2001-02-03.
EICHHORN HIT WHILE DRIVING (original text)

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. 1918-07-31.
EICHHORN HIT WHILE DRIVING (abstract)

. 1918-07-31. {{DEFAULTSORT:Donskoy, Boris Mikhailovich 1894 births 1918 deaths People from Ryazan Oblast People from Mikhaylovsky Uyezd Left socialist-revolutionaries Revolutionaries from the Russian Empire Assassins from the Russian Empire Executed Russian people Executed assassins People executed by Germany by hanging Executed people from Ryazan Oblast

Biography

Early life

Revolutionary Activities

Assassination of Field Marshall Hermann von Eichhorn

See also

External links