Fedir Shchus ( uk, Федір Щусь, 25 March 1893 – 30 June 1921), also Fyodor Shuss or Feodosiy Shchus, was a commander (

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; Russian: атаман, uk, отаман) 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 comma ...

) in the

Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...

Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...

Biography

Fedir Shchus was born into a poor peasant family in the small Ukrainian village of Dibrivka. In 1915 he was conscripted into the military service and enlisted in the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

as a

seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

on the

Ioann Zlatoust ''Ioann Zlatoust'' (russian: Иоанн Златоуст) was an pre-dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet. She was built before World War I and her completion was greatly delayed by changes made to reflect t ...

, a battleship in the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

. He did a lot of sports in the Navy, was a champion in

French boxing Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and knew

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...

well, he was able to defeat any opponent with a quick capture without much stress. He returned to his home town after the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, where he established a partisan band known as the "

Black Guards Black Guards (russian: Чёрная гвардия, ) were armed groups of workers formed after the February Revolution and before the final Bolshevik suppression of other leftwing groups. They were the main strike force of the anarchists. They ...

" in order to wage

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run ...

against the local nobility. Shchus believed that because of the

abdication of Nicholas II Abdication of Nicholas II (russian: Отречение Николая II) was a manifesto of the Emperor Nicholas II, signed in Pskov on 2 March ( O.S.) / 15 March ( N.S.) 1917, in the midst of World War I and the February Revolution. The Em ...

, landowners no longer had any right to their lands, as the Tsarist legal system that upheld their private property no longer existed. Following the invasion of Ukraine by the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

in April 1918, Shchus attended an insurgent congress at

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog ...

, where it was decided that they would regroup in the

Huliaipole Raion Huliaipole Raion ( uk, Гуляйпільський район) was one of raions (districts) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the town of Huliaipole. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as ...

and go on the offensive against the

Ukrainian State The Ukrainian State ( uk, Українська Держава, translit=Ukrainska Derzhava), sometimes also called the Second Hetmanate ( uk, Другий Гетьманат, translit=Druhyi Hetmanat, link=no), was an anti-Bolshevik government ...

and the occupation forces. After the conference, he returned to wage guerrilla warfare against the occupation, harrying the occupation forces and carrying out punitive expeditions against Ukrainian collaborators. In July 1918, Shchus was defeated by the forces of the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

that were occupying Dibrivka, forcing him to retreat into the region's dense forests to regroup. Grupo de Combate del Ejército Negro

Following his return to Ukraine from Russia, the anarchist revolutionary

joined forces with Shchus, making common cause against the forces of the Central Powers. The local landowners and '' kulaks'' responded by notifying the Austro-Hungarian Army and encircling the dozens-strong partisan detachment in Dibrivka. In a surprise attack against the Austrian forces, Shchus led half a dozen men in a flanking attack on the town's

market square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.White movement, during which they killed everyone involved by throwing a grenade into the room. On 5 October, the Austrian forces counterattacked, occupying Dibrivka after levelling it with artillery and driving a wounded Shchus out of the town. On 15 November, the retreating insurgents were pinned down at , where Shchus was shot in his legs before they managed to escape. Shchus' tendency to embark on unjustified raids brought him under close watch, with one of his best friends being shot for imposing levies on peasant property. After some conflict between Makhno and Shchus, due to the latter's

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as ...

in the region, the first Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents confirmed Makhno as commander-in-chief over smaller

s like Shchus, who was elected to the Insurgent Army's general staff. Fedor_Shchus-2

Following the collapse of the insurgents' alliance with the Bolsheviks, on 24 June 1919, Shchus led a 250-strong detachment in a retreat over the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine ...

. Having fallen back to

right-bank Ukraine Right-bank Ukraine ( uk , Правобережна Україна, ''Pravoberezhna Ukrayina''; russian: Правобережная Украина, ''Pravoberezhnaya Ukraina''; pl, Prawobrzeżna Ukraina, sk, Pravobrežná Ukrajina, hu, Jobb p ...

, the insurgents linked up with Nykyfor Hryhoriv's green army in , where Hryhoriv himself was assassinated and his forces integrated into the Insurgent Army. During the subsequent reorganization of the insurgent forces, Shchus was placed in command of the cavalry brigade, which numbered roughly 2,000 people. Following the

battle of Peregonovka The Battle of Peregonovka was a September 1919 military conflict in which the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine defeated the Volunteer Army. After retreating west across Ukraine for four months and 600 kilometers, the Insurgent Army turned ...

, Shchus led his cavalry in the insurgent occupation of Oleksandrivsk from September to November 1919. By March 1921, Shchus was still leading a partisan group, albeit smaller and disconnected from others, and in May 1921, rendezvoused with other insurgents in

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administrative ...

. But by this time, the Makhnovists had been militarily defeated, leaving Shchus badly wounded. In June 1921, Shchus was killed in an engagement with the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

References

Bibliography

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Biography

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading