Julius Kuperjanov VR I/2, VR II/2 and VR II/3 ( – 2 February 1919) was an Estonian military officer who helped to liberate

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, and was the commander of the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion, posthumously renamed the

Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion The Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion () is a battalion of the Estonian Land Forces. It is a part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade (Estonia), 2nd Infantry Brigade. Battalion headquarters is at Taara Army Base, Võru. History Estonian War of Independence ...

Life

Early life

Kuperjanov was born on 11 October 1894 to Taniel and Liisi Kuperjanov (née Reben); a family of Estonian immigrants living in

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

, Russia. Because his parents emigrated to Russia for work, they acquired a russified form of their family name (original Kupper). After returning to Estonia, they preserved this name. In 1904, his family returned to Estonia and resided in Tartu county. After five years of studies at the 2-class ministry school in Sipel Vana-Kuuste in Kambja municipality, Kuperjanov entered the in 1910. After finishing school in 1914, he asked to be appointed as a teacher at the village school in Kambja, due to the school set to be closed due to the lack of teachers who were mobilized for the

First World War 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 ...

. On 26 February 1918, Kuperjanov married Alice Johanson.

Military service

At the start of

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 was mobilized into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and commissioned after receiving basic training at Vladamir Military School in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He was wounded in both legs in July 1917. Kuperian

In 1917 he joined the Estonian forces during the start of the War of Independence. In December 1918, he received permission to form a ranger battalion. Students were among the first to join the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion.

Liberation of Tartu

In the early morning of January 5, 1919, the first village in Southern Estonia was liberated: Saduküla, after which steps were taken to liberate

as early as January 7, but it was postponed due to the passivity of the 2nd Division and the 2nd Infantry Regiment. The offensive towards Tartu started on January 10, and on January 13, against the will of the superiors, two wide-gauge armored trains arrived from

Haljala Haljala () is a Populated places in Estonia, small borough () in Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia. It is located about 10 km northwest of the town of Rakvere, by the Tallinn–Narva (Tallinn–Saint Petersburg) road (part of Europea ...

. During the general offensive of 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 ...

during the liberation of Tartu, the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion was the first to invade the city on 14 January 1919 with armored trains. With the support of armored trains, they headed from there in the direction of Elva, Rõngu, Puka and Sangaste, and on January 30, 1919, fierce battles were reached near Valga, where the Paju Manor was liberated.

Wounding and death

In the Battle of Paju, on 31 January, Lieutenant Kuperjanov was trying to observe the activities of a division far by the railway, a bullet fired from a Russian

Armored Train An armoured train (Commonwealth English) or armored train (American English) is a railway train protected with vehicle armour, heavy metal plating and which often includes railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns, and autocannons. So ...

penetrated the side of his left hand and punctured his lungs and kidneys. The wounded Kuperjanov was taken to the Sangaste railway station, which was going to the hospital, but the train which held the wounded did not leave until 6.5 hours later. 24 year old Kuperjanov died at the Faure Clinic in Tartu on February 2, 1919, due to inflammation.

Contemporary view

The discharge of Lieutenant Julius Kuperjanov took place in the Vanemuine Concert Hall, where representatives of many societies in Southern Estonia had gathered. General

Martin Wetzer Martin Wetzer (7 August 1868 – 29 September 1954) was a Finnish jurist and general. He fought in World War I and during the Finnish Civil War fought on the side of the White movement. He also commanded Finnish volunteers in the Estonian War of ...

, the leader of the Western Front, and the delegates of Tartu and Valga spoke with remarks. Commander-in-Chief

Johan Laidoner Johan Laidoner ( – 13 March 1953) was an Estonian general and statesman. He served as Commander‑in‑Chief of the Estonian Armed Forces during the 1918–1920 Estonian War of Independence and was among the most influential people in the Eston ...

expressed his condolences to the Tartu Partisan Battalion in the event of the fall of the commander and initiated the renaming of the unit to the Kuperjanov Battalion. It was disbanded in 1940 after the

Soviet occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

and re-established after Estonia regained its independence from the

Soviet Union 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 ...

. Julius Kuperjanov was posthumously awarded the Cross of Liberty (VR I/2, VR II/2 and II/3). His tomb at the Raadi cemetery, Tartu, was one of the few War of Independence monuments to survive the

. The monument was restored in 2008. During the Soviet occupation of Estonia from 1940 to 1991, Kuperjanov's tomb acquired great symbolic significance. Dissidents and patriotically minded students would periodically gather there on various anniversaries to light candles and place flowers in his memory. During the occupation period, the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

kept watch on the tomb, and arrested anyone who came to honor the memory of the national hero. In 2009, a commemorative stamp was issued to mark the 90th anniversary of Kuperjanov's death by

Eesti Post Omniva is an international post and logistics company based in Tallinn, Estonia, that targets the Baltic region, Baltic states. The name Omniva was adopted in June 2014; the company was previously called AS Eesti Post, whose history can be trac ...

. Certain Streets in

, Valga and

Põltsamaa Põltsamaa is a town in Põltsamaa Parish, Jõgeva County, in central Estonia. The town stands on the Põltsamaa River, and it features a Põltsamaa Castle, 13th-century castle. History During the German occupation in World War II, a subcamp of ...

were named in memoriam of Julius Kuperjanov.

The Julius Kuperjanov Society

The Kuperjanov Partisan Porgu Society was also established on December 23, 1938, under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel J. Soodla. In 2010, the Society established a commemorative medal for Lieutenant Kuperjanov, which are awarded to those citizens whose activities for the well-being of the indigenous people of Estonia have been transparently honest, purposeful and self-sacrificing. To date, a total of 6 persons have been awarded the Medal of Lieutenant Kuperjanov: * Julius Kuperjanov, posthumously * Johannes Soodla, posthumously (hero of the Battle of Paju and founder of the Kuperjanov Society) * Ülo Adamson (leader of the Kuperjanov organization during the

Soviet Occupation During World War II, the Soviet Union occupied and annexed several countries effectively handed over by Nazi Germany in the secret Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. These included the eastern regions of Poland (incorporated into three differe ...

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...

) * Jüri Pertmann (leader of the Kuperjanov organization during the

) * Villu Kibena (leader of the Kuperjanov organization during

) * Artur Sirk, posthumously (Infamous soldier of the War of Independence, died due to suspicious circumstances).

Tartumaa Partisan Battalion

Insignia of the Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion

The Tartumaa Partisan Battalion, which was led by him and renamed for his memorium, was restored in 1992 after the

Estonian Restoration of Independence Estonian Restoration of Independence, legally defined as the Restoration of the Republic of Estonia, was proclaimed on 20 August 1991. On that day at 23:02 local time, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia, in agreement with the E ...

, and is still a division of the Estonian Defense Forces in Võru to this day.

References

External links

PARTISANIDE PATALJONI ÜLEM LEITNANT JULIUS KUPERJANOV

Leitnant Julius Kuperjanov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuperjanov, Julius 1894 births 1919 deaths People from Opochetsky District People from Novorzhevsky Uyezd Imperial Russian Army officers Estonian military officers Russian military personnel of World War I Estonian military personnel of the Estonian War of Independence Estonian military personnel killed in action Recipients of the Cross of St. George Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 2nd class Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 3rd class Burials at Raadi cemetery Recipients of the Cross of Liberty (Estonia)