Mikhail Artemyevich Muravyov ( ( – July 11, 1918) was a Russian officer who changed sides during the time of the
Civil War in Russia and the
Soviet-Ukrainian war.
He was born in
Burdukovo, a village near
Vetluga in the
Kostroma Governorate
Kostroma Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1929. Its administrative center was in the city of Kostroma.
Administrative division
Kostroma ...
, to a peasant family. In 1898 he entered the army, serving in the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
and
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 ...
, in which he was a lieutenant colonel on the Southwestern Front.
After the
February Revolution
The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
he organized volunteer units to continue the war, but he became disaffected with the
Provisional Government
A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...
and joined the
Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. During the
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
he defended
Petrograd against the forces of
Alexander Kerensky.
In January 1918 he led
Red Guard units against the
Central Rada of Ukraine and after the
Battle of Kruty his forces took
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, where they carried out mass terror against the officers of the imperial army and pro-Ukrainian elements. Then his forces fought for the
Odessa Soviet Republic against the Romanians and Austro-Hungarians, and in spring 1918 against the
Don Cossack forces of General
Kaledin.
However, after he had been named commander of the
Eastern Front, fighting the
Czechoslovak Legion, he heard of the
Left SR uprising against the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
in early July and rebelled, sailing down the Volga with a thousand men, hoping to take
Simbirsk (). He was captured by the Bolsheviks,
resisted arrest, and was shot while trying to draw a gun.
Biography
Early years
Mikhail Muravyov was born into a peasant family. He studied at the
Kostroma seminary. In 1898 he enlisted as a volunteer in the army. In 1901 he graduated from the two-year
Kazan
Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
infantry cadet school, and after which he was sent to the city of
Roslavl in the province of
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow.
First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
. In that same year he distinguished himself in training exercises by capturing
Aleksey Kuropatkin, the mock enemy commander.
Russo-Japanese War
In 1904, he commanded a company of the 122nd Tambov Regiment in the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...
. In February 1905, he was seriously wounded in the head.
He spent about five years abroad, primarily in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where he attended the
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
Military Academy. In 1907, Muravyov fell under the influence of revolutionary ideas and joined Boris Savinkov's Socialist Revolutionary group.
On January 1, 1909 he served in the 1st Nevsky Infantry Regiment in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
. For seven years he served as a teacher at the Kazan Military School and married the daughter of the commander of the reserve Skopinsky infantry regiment.
World War I
At the beginning 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 ...
, after receiving a number of serious wounds at the front, he was transferred by a tactics teacher to the ensign school in Odessa.
February revolution
During the
February Revolution
The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
, Muravyov was on the
Southwestern Front.
In March, he tried to oust the
Governor of Odessa Ebelov for being "insufficiently revolutionary and a
cadet."
In May, at the First Congress of the Southwestern Front (
Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
), he took the initiative to create volunteer strike units. In
Petrograd, he headed the "Organizing Bureau of the All-Russian Central Committee for the Recruitment of Volunteers into Shock Units"
(he was also the chairman of the "Central Executive Committee for the formation of the revolutionary army from volunteer rear services to continue the war with Germany"
), and led the formation of volunteer
shock battalions. In this field, Muravyov managed to form up to one hundred "death battalions" and several women's battalions. He was spotted by
Alexander Kerensky, who appointed him chief of security of the Provisional Government, and promoted him to lieutenant colonel.
After the defeat of the
Kornilov coup, he severed further relations with the
Russian Provisional Government and joined the
Left Socialist Revolutionaries
The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries-Internationalists () was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revolution.
In 1917, the Socialist Revolutionary Party split between those who supported the Russian Prov ...
, who actively criticized Kerensky.
October Revolution
Following the
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
, he offered his services to the Soviet government. Two days after the uprising in Petrograd, Muravyov met with
Yakov Sverdlov and
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, after which he was authorized to organize a fight against marauders who had plundered the Petrograd wine shops.
On October 27, he became a member of the
Revolutionary Military Committee and was elected the chief of defense of Petrograd. He was then appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the Petrograd Military District, and then appointed commander of the troops operating against the forces of
Kerensky-Krasnov.
But on November 8 he announced his resignation from these positions, in connection with the withdrawal of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries from government posts.
In Ukraine and on the Romanian front
On December 6, 1917, the
Council of People's Commissars
The Council of People's Commissars (CPC) (), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (), were the highest executive (government), executive authorities of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the Soviet Union (USSR), and the Sovi ...
formed the
Southern Front to combat the
counter-revolutionaries and
Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko was appointed to be its commander in chief. Muravyov was appointed as Antonov-Ovseenko's chief of staff.
Together with the commander of the troops of the Moscow military district,
Nikolay Muralov
Nikolay Ivanovich Muralov (; 7 December 1877 – 1 February 1937) was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader and military commander in Russia, who after 1923 became a member of the Left Opposition.
Muralov was a direct participant in both the Revolut ...
, he formed
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
Red Guard detachments to send against the troops of
Alexey Kaledin.
Kaledin was one of the inventors of the "echelon war" tactics.
After the Southern Front entered
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine. , where the
Congress of Soviets proclaimed Soviet power in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, Antonov-Ovseenko transferred the command of the troops operating in Ukraine to Muravyov, and he himself led the fight against the
Don Cossack troops.
On January 4, 1918, the
Soviet government of Ukraine officially declared war on the
Central Council of Ukraine. General management of the operation was assigned to Muravyov. On January 6, Muravyov’s troops entered
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 ...
. During the occupation of Poltava, Muravyov ordered the execution of 98 cadets and officers.
Four days after the troops of the Central Council suppressed the
January uprising
The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, Muravyov’s troops entered the city, where a regime of
Red Terror
The Red Terror () was a campaign of political repression and Mass killing, executions in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia which was carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police ...
was established. During the storming of the city, massive shelling was carried out. As a result of the artillery barrages the Grushevsky apartment building was destroyed. Before the assault itself, on February 4, Muravyov ordered his troops: "to mercilessly destroy all
officers,
cadets,
Haidamakas,
monarchists
Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
and enemies of the revolution in Kiev".
Muravyov himself imposed an indemnity of five million rubles on the Kievan "bourgeoisie" for the maintenance of Soviet troops. According to the
Ukrainian Red Cross, in the first days after the establishment of Muravyov’s power in Kyiv, up to five thousand people were killed, of which up to three thousand were officers. It was one of the largest, if not the largest, massacres of Russian officers in the entire
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
On January 27, Muravyov sent a report to Antonov-Ovseenko and Lenin on the capture of Kiev:
Victor A. Savchenko accompanied this statement by Muravyov with the following remark:
Muravyov was a staunch opponent of "
Ukrainization" and his troops carried out mass repressions against the Ukrainian intelligentsia, officers, and bourgeoisie, to the point that it even became dangerous to speak Ukrainian in the streets. The People's Secretariat of Ukraine, which had moved to Kyiv from
Kharkiv
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine. , demanded the removal of Muravyov from the city, calling him “the leader of the bandits”.
On February 14, Muravyov was appointed commander of the front, having received the task of opposing the Romanian forces, who sought to seize
Bessarabia and
Transnistria
Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...
.
In his telegram, Lenin demanded from Muravyov: "Act as energetically as possible on the Romanian front".
In response, Muravyov reported:
On March 9, he established military revolutionary tribunals in the controlled territory.
Muravyov commanded the troops of the
Odessa Soviet Republic until March 12, but could not hold the city. After leaving Odessa on March 11–12, he ordered the ground units and ships of the navy of the Odessa Soviet Republic "to open fire with all guns at the bourgeois and nationalist parts of the city and destroy it."
On April 1, having abandoned his troops, Muravyov arrived in Moscow. Lenin, on the initiative of Antonov-Ovseenko, offered him the post of commander of the
Caucasian Soviet Army, but the local Bolsheviks, headed by the chairman of the
Baku Council of People's Commissars Stepan Shaumian, very sharply opposed such a candidate.
In mid-April, in parallel with the
suppression of the anarchists in Moscow, Muravyov was arrested on charges of abuse of power and connections with the anarchists;
the commission of inquiry did not confirm the charge, and by a decree of the Presidium of the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the case "for the lack of corpus delicti" was dismissed.
Muravyov himself, being in Odessa, described his "exploits" in Kyiv as follows:
Rebellion and death
On June 13, Muravyov was appointed commander of the
Eastern Front.
The German ambassador
Wilhelm von Mirbach, wanting to motivate Muravyov to join the Bolsheviks in the fight against the
Czechoslovak Legion, handed him a bribe.
However, this did not prevent him from rebelling against the Bolsheviks.
During the
Left SR uprising, Lenin began to doubt Muravyov’s loyalty, ordering the
Revolutionary Military Council of the eastern front to secretly monitor his actions: "Report Muravyov’s statement about the rebellion of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. Continue close monitoring".
Muravyov rebelled, having received news from Moscow and fearing arrest due to Bolshevik suspicions of disloyalty.
Muravyov himself, during the events, declared that he "acted independently, but the Left SR Central Committee knows everything."
On the night of July 9–10, Muravyov, having left the front headquarters in
Kazan
Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
, without the knowledge of the military council of the front, loaded two regiments loyal to him onto steamers and left the city.
He even managed to transfer the local communist squad from
Simbirsk to
Bugulma by order of the front.
He opposed the conclusion of the
Brest-Litovsk Treaty
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...
with
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, declared himself "commander in chief of the army operating against Germany", and sent a telegraph to the
Council of People's Commissars
The Council of People's Commissars (CPC) (), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (), were the highest executive (government), executive authorities of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the Soviet Union (USSR), and the Sovi ...
of the
RSFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
, the German embassy in Moscow and the command of the
Czechoslovak Legion, declaring war on Germany. The troops of the front and the Czechoslovak Legion (with which he had to fight before the rebellion) were ordered to move to 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 ...
and further west to repulse the German invasion.
He took the initiative to create the so-called ''Volga Soviet Republic'' led by the Left Socialist Revolutionaries
Maria Spiridonova,
Boris Kamkov and
Vladimir Karelin.
In a joint government appeal, Lenin and Trotsky stated that "The former commander-in-chief on the Czech-Slovak front, the left Socialist Revolutionary Muravyov, is declared a traitor and an enemy of the people. Every honest citizen is obliged to shoot him on the spot".
On July 11, Muravyov, with a detachment of a thousand people,
arrived at
Simbirsk, occupied strategic points of the city and arrested leading Bolsheviks, including the commander of the 1st Army
Mikhail Tukhachevsky
Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Тухачевский, Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevskiy, p=tʊxɐˈtɕefskʲɪj; – 12 June 1937), nicknamed the Red Napoleon, was a Soviet general who was prominen ...
.
Muravyov appeared at a meeting of the executive committee of the provincial Council, together with representatives of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries.
At that time, the local Left SRs were not yet removed from power and held the posts of military, land and food provincial commissars.
By this time, the chairman of the local Bolshevik party committee had managed to secretly place
Latvian riflemen, an armored squad and a special detachment of the
Cheka around the building.
During the meeting, the
Red Guards and the
Cheka came out from the ambush and announced the arrest of everyone in the building. Muravyov put up armed resistance and was killed in the fighting.
References
External links
Hronos.ru biography page(in Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muravyov, Mikhail Artemyevich
1880 births
1918 deaths
People from Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
People from Varnavinsky Uyezd
Imperial Russian Army officers
Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War
Russian military personnel of World War I
Soviet military personnel killed in action
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
Soviet people of the Ukrainian–Soviet War
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment
Deaths by firearm in Russia
Nobility from the Russian Empire
Perpetrators of the Red Terror (Russia)