Semyon Vasilyevich Rudniev (; ,

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

: ''Semen Vasyliovych Rudniev'') (February 27, 1899 – August 4, 1943) was one of the leaders of

Soviet partisan Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ac ...

movement during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

People's Commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English language, English transliteration of the Russian language, Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the pol ...

in the partisan group operating 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 ...

and led by

Sydir Kovpak Sydir Artemovych Kovpak (; ), (June 7, 1887December 11, 1967) led Soviet partisans in Ukraine from 1941 to 1944 during the Axis-Soviet War phase of World War II. Biography Kovpak was born to a poor Ukrainian peasant family in Kotelva vi ...

Early life

Rudniev was born in a peasant family in what is now

Sumy Sumy (, , ) is a city in northeastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel (river), Psel River and has a population of making it the 23rd-largest in the country. The city ...

region. As a teenager Rudniev moved to

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 ...

and became an apprentice carpenter at the Russo-Balt Factory. Rudniev became an active member of the Bolshevik movement and joined the party in March 1917. For distributing Bolshevik leaflets, Rudniev was sent to the Vyborg prison. He participated in the assault on the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

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 ...

. In 1918, Rudniev joined 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 ...

. At first, he served as a platoon commander, but later became secretary of party organization for the 373rd Rifle Regiment of the 42nd Rifle Division. He then became a commissar for the Donetsk Labour Army's political department. He then became assistant commissar of the 44th Rifle Regiment of the 15th Rifle Division. Rudniev fought on the Southern Front 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 ...

Interwar

In 1929, Rudniev graduated from the

Lenin Military-Political Academy The V. I. Lenin Military-Political Academy (), abbreviated as VPA, was a higher military educational institution of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1919 to 1991 that provided advanced training to political workers. History The predecessor of ...

. He became commissar of the 61st Coastal Defence Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment in

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. In 1932 he was transferred to become commissar of the 9th Coastal Defence Artillery Brigade in the Far East. In July 1933, he became military commissar of the

De-Kastri De-Kastri () is a rural locality (a settlement) in Ulchsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Population: Etymology The settlement's name is the Russian phonetic transliteration of the name of the Marquis de Castries, who sponsored the expedi ...

fortified area, then under construction. In August 1937, he was appointed commissar of the 1st Military Construction Brigade there. On 7 February 1938, he was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and in May 1939 charged with committing crimes under Article 58 of the RSFSR Penal Code, which carried the death penalty. Rudniev initially confessed to creating the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

organization in his fortified area but refused to confess to espionage and sabotage charges. He soon retracted his confession, stating that it was made under duress. In July 1939, his case was sent for review to the

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union () was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union as a court for the higher military and political personnel of the Red Army and Fleet. In addition it was an immedia ...

, but was then sent back to the military tribunal of the

2nd Red Banner Army The 2nd Red Banner Army () was a Soviet field army of World War II that served as part of the Far Eastern Front. The army was formed at Khabarovsk in the Soviet Far East in 1938 as the 2nd Army. After the Far Eastern Front was split in Septembe ...

. After a retrial, Rudniev was released from prison. He was soon discharged for health reasons and returned to

Putyvl Putyvl (, ; , ) is a city in Sumy Oblast, in north-east Ukraine. The city served as the administrative center of Putyvl Raion until the administrative reform in 2018; now it is under the jurisdiction of Konotop Raion. Population: History One ...

. In 1940, he became the chairman of the

OSOAVIAKHIM DOSAAF (), full name ''Volunteer Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (), was a paramilitary sport organization in the Soviet Union that was concerned mainly with weapons, automobiles and aviation. The society was establ ...

district council.

World War II

On 22 June 1941, German troops attacked the Soviet Union in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

. They soon reached Ukraine and had reached Kiev by late August. In September, Rudniev formed a partisan group in Putyvl. In October, Rudniev and Sydir Kovpak's partisan detachment united into one unit, with Rudniev becoming commissar. He quickly gained respect among partisan fighters and remained Kovpak's ''commissar'' while their initially small group rose into a large well-organized formation raiding the rear of the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

occupants. In the winter of 1942, Rudniev was wounded in battle near Vesyloye village. On April 9, 1943, Semyon Rudniev was promoted to the rank of major general. According to official sources, Rudniev, recovering from a wound, committed gunshot suicide in a sudden

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

attack, in order to not be taken alive. The incident happened during the 4 August 1943 "Carpathian Raid" of Kovpak's partisan group and was witnessed at first hand only by a small group of his guards (mostly killed in that action). However, Glantz states that Rudniev was killed while the partisan group was withdrawing from an attack on Deliatyn. On 4 January 1944, Rudniev was posthumously awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

for bravery in the partisan battles. In July 1946, a mass grave containing Rudniev's body was discovered in a forest near

Deliatyn Deliatyn (, ; ), is a rural settlement in Nadvirna Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is located west of Chernivtsi and west-southwest of Kyiv. Together with Yaremche and Lanchyn it is part of a small agglomeration that runs along the ...

in Zarichchia. He was reburied in

Yaremche Yaremche (, ; or ) is a city in Nadvirna Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (province) of west Ukraine. The city is located at the altitude of around above mean sea level. Yaremche hosts the administration of Yaremche urban hromada, one of the hro ...

Legacy

A monument to Rudniev was installed in

. Rudniev's home village of Moiseyevka became Rudnevo in his honor. The teacher's college in Putyvl was also named after Rudniev. In

, a monument honoring Rudniev was also erected. In 1967, the Soviet Union issued a postage stamp in honor of Rudniev.

Controversies

After the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

, some historians began questioning the official version of Rudniev's life and death. Basing on disclosed Soviet archives, some researchers alleged that Rudniev was not committed to strategy and approaches (especially regarding civilians) dictated by the

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 ...

-based Ukrainian Partisan Movement Headquarters ()). This supposedly caused Rudniev's conflicts with both

and high-ranked NKVD agent Ivan Siromolotnyi (the latter was interacting with Kovpak and Rudniev from Moscow over the radio). According to these researchers, Rudniev was attempting to collaborate with

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on 14 October 1942. The UPA launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the S ...

forces. This conflict is said to have caused Rudniev's mysterious death. Some studies suggest that Rudniev might have been

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

by his personal radio operator, Anna Turkina (a woman trained in Moscow) by a direct order from Siromolotnyi. However, according to deputy head of the

Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINM, ), also translated as the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, is the central executive body operating under the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Established on 31 May 2006 as a special org ...

Dmitry Vedeneyev, this version of events is untrue.

Honours and 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 Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

1st class *

2nd class

References

*
War Hero Semyon Rudniev

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudniev 1899 births 1943 deaths People from Sumy Oblast People from Putivlsky Uyezd Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Ukrainian people in the Russian Empire Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic people Old Bolsheviks Soviet major generals Ukrainian anti-fascists Lenin Military Political Academy alumni Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Soviet partisans in Ukraine Soviet military personnel of World War II from Ukraine Soviet military personnel killed in World War II Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star