The Kolchak Coup or Omsk Coup refers to the events of 18 November 1918, when members associated with the left wing of the Directory (

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 ...

) were arrested by members of 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 ...

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

and the subsequent decision of the All-Russian Council of Ministers to transfer sole supreme power to

Alexander Kolchak Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia in 1918, Kolchak headed a mili ...

, the Minister of Military and Naval Affairs.

Context

According to Russian historian , the events that took place in Omsk on 18 November 1918 were generally the result of the struggle between two systems of government that unfolded after the overthrow of

Soviet power The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the C ...

in the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

region and Siberia: the Omsk non-party "right" principle, personified by the Provisional Siberian Government, and the

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

narrow-party "left" principle represented by KOMUCH. The immediate pretext for the coup was the manifesto written by Viktor Chernov on behalf of the Central Committee of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. In it, Chernov called for the SR party members to arm themselves against the anti-democratic forces.

Events of 18 November

On the night of 17 November, an incident occurred that seemed insignificant to eyewitnesses: at a city banquet in honor of the French

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Janin, three high-ranking Cossack officers - the head of the Omsk garrison, Colonel of the Siberian Cossack Army Vyacheslav Ivanovich Volkov. The Directory, several of whom were members of the

Socialist Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia. The party memb ...

, was irritated as Russian military sergeants demanded the Russian Imperial Anthem " God Save the Tsar!" to be performed. The Directory ordered the arrest of the military sergeants for "inappropriate behavior". Without waiting for their own arrest, Volkov then carried out the arrest of the left wing of the Provisional All-Russian Government instead. Not a single military unit came out in support of the Directory. The Directory security battalion, consisting of Socialist Revolutionaries, was proactively disarmed by military members as part of the coup. Kolchak did not personally participate in the coup, but was informed by the conspirators. The next morning, the Council of Ministers met after the arrest of the Social Revolutionaries, the ministers decided on the need to assume full supreme power and then transfer it to an elected person who would lead on the principles of unity of command. The election was held on a secret ballot using closed notes and Admiral Alexander Kolchak was chosen. Kolchak was promoted to full admiral, the exercise of supreme state power was transferred to him and he was awarded the title of Supreme Ruler. All the armed forces of the state were subordinate to him. The Supreme Ruler was given the authority to take any measures, even emergency ones, to ensure the armed forces, as well as to establish civil order and legality.

References

{{Reflist White movement Military coups in Russia 1910s coups d'état and coup attempts 1918 in Russia History of Omsk Military dictatorships