Rudolf Ferdinandovich Sivers (; 1892–1918) was a Russian revolutionary and military leader. Sivers was born 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 ...

on 23 November 1892. A veteran 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 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 joined

Bolshevik 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, ...

party and became a chief editor of "Entrenched Truth" newspaper in the 12th Army. At the end of July 1917 he was arrested by the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

for

defeatism Defeatism is the acceptance of defeat without struggle, often with negative connotations. It can be linked to pessimism in psychology, and may sometimes be used synonymously with fatalism or determinism. In politics, defeatism is used for one's p ...

, but was released 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 ...

. At the start of 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 ...

, Sivers led Red Guards and sailors in the battle at Pulkovo against forces of Krasnov–Kerensky. Soon thereafter in November 1917 along with his troops he was dispatched to Ukraine and the South Russia (Don River region). On 23 February 1918 Sivers' forces occupied Rostov-na-Donu and then

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 ...

. In March – April 1918 Sivers was put in charge of the 2nd Special Army (originally the 5th Army) and fought against the advancing forces of Central Powers near

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

and Kupyansk despite the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 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 ...

. The army was eventually merged with the Voronezh Detachment. Since summer of 1918 Sivers fought at the Russian Southern Front commanded the 1st Special Ukrainian Brigade as part of the 9th Army against the forces of

Pyotr Krasnov Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov (; – 17 January 1947), also known as Peter Krasnov, was a Russian military leader, writer and later Nazi collaborator. Krasnov served as a lieutenant general in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I and la ...

. On 15 November 1918 he was mortally wounded in battle near Zhelnovka (today – Zhelunovo, Karachevsky District) and died on 8 December 1918. Sivers was buried at the Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution on the Field of Mars in

External links

Rudolf Sivers
at the Saint Petersburg funeral website * Yasenov, Ye. '. "Donets News". 17 January 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sivers, Rudolf 1892 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Russian military personnel of World War I Russian revolutionaries Old Bolsheviks Soviet people of the Ukrainian–Soviet War Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Burials on the Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg)