Fedir Shchus
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Fedir Shchus (, 25 March 1893 – 30 June 1921; also spelled Fyodor Shuss) was a Ukrainian military commander (
ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) 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 commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...
) in the
Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (; RIAU), also known as ''Makhnovtsi'' (), named after their founder Nestor Makhno, was an Anarchism, anarchist army formed largely of Ukrainians, Ukrainian peasants and workers during the Russian C ...
during 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 ...
.


Biography

Fedir Shchus was born into a poor peasant family in the small Ukrainian village of Dibrivka. In 1915 he was
conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...
into the military service and enlisted in the
navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
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, a battleship in the
Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...
. He did a lot of sports in the Navy, was a champion in French boxing and
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
, and knew jiu-jitsu 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 (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
, where he established a partisan band known as the " Black Guards" in order to wage
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
against the local nobility. Shchus believed that because of the
abdication of Nicholas II Emperor of Russia, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne of the Russian Empire on 2 March (Old Style, O.S.) / 15 March (New Style, N.S.) 1917, in the midst of World War I and the February Revolution. The Emperor renounced the throne on be ...
, landowners no longer had any right to their lands, as the Tsarist legal system that upheld their
private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
no longer existed. Following the invasion of Ukraine by the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
in April 1918, Shchus attended an insurgent congress at
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 ...
, where it was decided that they would regroup in the Huliaipole Raion and go on the offensive against the
Ukrainian State The Ukrainian State (), sometimes also called the Second Cossack Hetmanate, Hetmanate (), was an Anti-communism, anti-Bolshevik government that existed on most of the modern territory of Ukraine (except for Western Ukraine) from 29 April to 14 ...
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, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
that were occupying Dibrivka, forcing him to retreat into the region's dense forests to regroup. Following his return to Ukraine from Russia, the anarchist revolutionary
Nestor Makhno Nestor Ivanovych Makhno (, ; 7 November 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ( , ), was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War o ...
joined forces with Shchus, making common cause against the forces of the Central Powers. The local landowners and ''
kulaks Kulak ( ; rus, кула́к, r=kulák, p=kʊˈɫak, a=Ru-кулак.ogg; plural: кулаки́, ''kulakí'', 'fist' or 'tight-fisted'), also kurkul () or golchomag (, plural: ), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned over ...
'' responded by notifying the Austro-Hungarian Army and encircling the dozens-strong partisan detachment in Dibrivka. In a
surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ...
against the Austrian forces, Shchus led half a dozen men in a flanking attack on the town's
market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...
, forcing the Austrians to retreat from the village. With the success of their assault, Shchus and the rest of the detachment greeted Makhno as their ''Bat'ko''. Soon after, Shchus joined Makhno in infiltrating a meeting between Austrian officers and supporters of 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- ...
, 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, kidnapping, and murder, ...
in the region, the first
Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents The Regional Congresses of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents represented the "highest form of democratic authority" within the political system of the Makhnovshchina. They brought together delegates from the region's peasantry, industrial workers ...
confirmed Makhno as commander-in-chief over smaller
ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) 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 commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...
s like Shchus, who was elected to the Insurgent Army's
general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
. 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 Dnepr ( ), also called 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. Approximately long, with ...
. Having fallen back to
right-bank Ukraine The Right-bank Ukraine is a historical and territorial name for a part of modern Ukraine on the right (west) bank of the Dnieper River, corresponding to the modern-day oblasts of Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, as well as the western parts o ...
, the insurgents linked up with
Nykyfor Hryhoriv Nykyfor Oleksandrovych Hryhoriv (or Grigoryev, real surname Servetnyk; – 27 July 1919) was a Ukrainian military leader noted for repeatedly switching sides during the Ukrainian War of Independence and Soviet-Ukrainian war. He is today con ...
'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 () or Battle of Perehonivka () 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 kilom ...
, 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 (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
. 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, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
.


See also

*
Anarchism in Ukraine Anarchism in Ukraine has its roots in the democratic and egalitarian organization of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, who inhabited the region up until the 18th century. Philosophical anarchism first emerged from the radicalism (historical), radical m ...


References


Bibliography

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Further reading


Shchus biography at hrono.ru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shchus, Fedir 1893 births 1921 deaths Russian military personnel of World War I Ukrainian anarchists Military leaders of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine Ukrainian military personnel killed in action Ukrainian people of the Ukrainian–Soviet War Ukrainian people of World War I Ukrainian revolutionaries