Semyon Andreevich Pugachov (Russian: Семён Андреевич Пугачёв; 26 February 1889 – 23 March 1943) was a Russian soldier who served in the

Russian Imperial The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and

Soviet 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 ...

armed forces. He served in

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 ...

and obtained the rank of

Komkor () is the syllabic abbreviation for corps commander (; ). It was a Military ranks of the Soviet Union, military rank in the Red Army and Red Army Air Force of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was als ...

in 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 ...

Biography

Semyon was born in

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

to a family of a teacher. He joined the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

on 10 July 1906, and graduated from the Alexseevskoe Military School in 1908, and the Nikolaevskoie Military Academy in 1914. During World War I, Semyon was a

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and fought alongside the 6th Siberian Corps, and then became part of the operational staff management of the Northern Front.

Service in the Red Army

After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

in April 1918, Pugachov volunteered to join the Red Army, and served in several Soviet military districts across the country. He served in the staff of the Ural Military District, performing special tasks assigned by his commanding officers, and soon after, became Chief of Staff of the district. At the start of 1919, Pugachov became Chief of Operations for the 2nd Army in the far east, and in September, became Chief of Staff for the Special Group of the Southern Front. In October, he was assigned as Chief of Operations for the

Southeastern Front The Southeastern Front was a front of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed on August 5, 1942, out of parts of the Stalingrad Front, using the command elements from the First Tank Army and the disbanded Southern Front. The front's mai ...

, and the Caucasian Front in 1920, through to May 1921. His main task was to guide the development plan to expel and defeat the forces 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 ...

from the North Caucasus. In June, he was appointed as Chief of the Separate Caucasus Army. From August 1923 to April 1924, Pugachov served as commander to the Turkestan Front and helped combat the

Basmachi Movement The Basmachi movement (, derived from ) was an uprising against Imperial Russian and Soviet rule in Central Asia by rebel groups inspired by Islamic beliefs. It has been called "probably the most important movement of opposition to Soviet rul ...

. In May 1924, he commanded the Red Banner Caucasian Army, and from 1925 to 1928, he served as replacement for the Chief of the RKKA and aided in certain reforms done by

Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist. Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...

from 1924-1925. He also took part in suppressing the August Uprising in Georgia. From 1927 to 1928, he was a military advisor to the Geneva conference on arms reduction, and from 1928 to 1930, he was Chief of the Ukrainian and Central Asian military districts. In September 1932, he was appointed as Chief of the Military-Transport Academy of the RKKA.Former unit of military communications and the military transport department of the Leningrad Institute of Railway Engineers, Russian Archives
/ref> He joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

in 1934, after being recommended by

Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, ; (born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze; 18 February 1937) was an Old Bolshevik and a Soviet statesman. Born and raised in Georgia, in the Russian Empire, Ordzhonikidze joined the Bolsheviks at an e ...

Awards

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

, *Order of the Red Banner of the

Khorezm People's Soviet Republic The Khorezm People's Soviet Republic was the state created as the successor to the Khanate of Khiva in February 1920, when the Khan abdicated in response to pressure. It was officially declared by the First Khorezm Kurultay (Assembly) on 26 Apri ...

, *Order of the Red Star of the

Bukharan People's Soviet Republic The Bukharan People's Soviet Republic was a Soviet state that governed the former Emirate of Bukhara during the years immediately following the Russian Revolution. In 1924, its name was changed to the Bukharan Socialist Soviet Republic (Bukhara ...

, 1st Class.

Arrests and death

Pugachov was arrested twice; the first time was on 28 February/1 March 1931. He admitted his guilt on 11 March; however, after a confrontation with Sergei Georgevich Bejanov the next day, he refused from readings presented earlier. He was released on the same day. He was arrested a second time on 10 October 1938 and was sentenced to 15 years of jail on 25 October. He died in prison on 23 March 1943 when he was 54 years old and was posthumously rehabilitated in 1956.

References

Sources