Nikolai Sukhomlinov Explained

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov
Николай Александрович Сухомлинов
Monarch1:Nikolai II
Office1:Governor of the Orenburg Governorate
Primeminister1:Ivan Goremykin
Successor1: (Acting)
Term Start1:September 4, 1911
Term End1:May 24, 1915
Office2:Governor-General of the Steppes
Primeminister2:Alexander Trepov
Successor2:Position Abolished
Term Start2:May 24, 1915
Term End2:March 1, 1917
Office3:Chief Attaman of the Siberian Cossacks
Predecessor3:Evgeny Ottovich Schmit
Primeminister3:Boris Shturmer
Successor3:Position Abolished
Term Start3:1915
Term End3:1917
Birth Date:July 27, 1850
Birth Place:Volhynia, Russia
Death Date:Circa 1918 (aged 67-68)
Death Place:Kyiv, Ukraine
Allegiance: Russian Empire
Branch:
White Army
Branch Label:Branch
Serviceyears:1868 – 1918
Rank:General of the Cavalry
Battles:Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Central Asian revolt of 1916
Alma Mater:First Cadet Corps

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov was a Russian general and statesman who served as the Chief General of the Orenburg Cossacks, Governor of the Orenburg Governorate, Commander of the and the Chief Ataman of the Siberian Cossacks.

Biography

Nikolay was born on July 27, 1850, in Volhynia as the son of Alexander Pavlovich Sukhomlinov and Olga Ivanovna Lunskaya. His older brother Vladimir Sukhomlinov later became a cavalry general and Minister of War of the Russian Empire.[1]

Education

He studied at the during his stay in Vilnius.[2] He graduated from the 1st Petersburg Cadet Corps and the in 1866.[3] In July 1868, he was enrolled as a cornet in the .[1]

Military service

In August 1872, he was promoted to lieutenant with approval as head of the regiment's training team, and exactly a year later he received his first award: the Order of Saint Stanislaus, III Class.[1] [3]

During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) he was in the Imperial Russian Army and participated in the Battle of Gorni Dubnik, in the capture of the Telish fortifications, the Battle of Plovdiv, the Battle of Tatar-Bazardzhik, the Battle of San Stefano and that Sukhomlinov crossed the Balkans.[1] [3] After the end of the war, he returned to Russia and was appointed a member of the officer court of his Life Guards Ulansky regiment, after which he was in charge of regimental weapons, and on April 12, 1881, he was promoted to captain.[1] [3]

On February 3, 1903, he was promoted to major general with the appointment of commander of the 1st brigade of the 9th Cavalry Division, on January 7, 1909, he was appointed commander of thedivision, on December 6 of the same year he was promoted to lieutenant general with approval as head of the division.[1] [3]

Governor

On September 4, 1911, he was appointed Governor of Orenburg and chief ataman of the Orenburg Cossacks.[3] He arrived in Orenburg and took office on October 8.[1]

On February 16, 1912, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia began to be listed in the Orenburg Cossack arm and on September 23 at the same year, by the permission of Emperor Nikolai II, seniority was assigned to the Cossack Army of 1574 and from the time the voivode Ivan Nagy built the Citadel of Ufa.[1]

In 1913, the Orenburg-Orsk railway was built (the opening of passenger and goods traffic took place on December 19, 1914), permission was received to build railways to Ufa and Kazan.[1]

Under Sukhomlinov, education developed in the governate. According to the Orenburg city government, in 1913 there were 5,300 students in the parochial schools of the city alone and more than a quarter of the city budget of 250,0000 rubles was spent on public education. In 1914, the city government requested 280,500 rubles from the Duma.[1]

Sukhomlinov also developed the collection of donations for the construction of a museum in the Orenburg Territory. While this was going on, there were efforts to open a court of justice, as well as proposals of a monument in Orenburg of Tsar Alexander II were put on the agenda. Another achievement was the first steamship of the Finnish Laihia Brothers Society, Uralets arrived from Uralsk on May 28, 1914.[1]

The announcement of mobilization in Orenburg became known on July 17, 1914, at 19:00, and on the morning of July 18, the decree on mobilization was published in all local newspapers. A week after the announcement of mobilization, the first secondary regiments of the Orenburg Cossacks were sent to the deployment areas of the Imperial Russian Army. Following them from July 30 to August 7, the regiments of the third stage went from the 13th to the 18th. =[1]

From the first days of the war, the construction of hospitals and ambulance trains began in the region however the difficult military and political situation in the country led to complications in the Orenburg region as the flow of refugees increased, wages fell, and there was a shortage of housing which led to at least 6 strikes in 1915.[1]

On May 24, 1915, Sukhomlinov was appointed Governor-General of the Steppes, commander of the troops of the Omsk Military District, and Ataman of the Siberian Cossacks.[3] On April 10, 1916, he was promoted to General of the Cavalry.[1]

After receiving information about the abdication of the Tsar and the formation of the Russian Provisional Government, Sukhomlinov, like some other high-ranking officials, were arrested by the decision of the Omsk Soviet of Workers' and Military Deputies. The arrest took place on the night of March 3–4, 1917. After his arrest, he was sent under escort to Petrograd.[4]

He was married to the daughter of the Privy Councilor Kruze Zinaida Alexandrovna. Had two children: Vladimir (1882) and George (1890).[1]

The date of Sukhomlinov's death is unknown although according to one source, he was shot by the Bolsheviks.[5] According to another source, he died in Kiev from typhus.[6] [3]

Awards

Foreign awards

Order of the Red Eagle, II Class[7] [3]

Iron Cross of Romania (1879)[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Сухомлинов Николай Александрович. ru. hrono.info. March 3, 2022.
  2. Book: Brigadin P.I.. Lukashevich A.M.. Мятежный корпус: из истории Александровского Брестского кадетского корпуса (1842–1863). Minsk. GIUST BGU. 2007. ru. 183. 978-985-6739-74-6.
  3. Web site: Сухомлинов, Николай Александрович // Проект "Русская армия в Великой войне". grwar.ru. ru. March 3, 2022.
  4. С.К. Days of the February Revolution in Omsk // Work Path. 1927. 11 March. С.3.
  5. Book: S.V. Volkov. Officers of the Russian Guard.
  6. Book: The Last Viceroy of the Tsar. Omskaya Gazeta. September 4, 2002.
  7. Book: Ganin A.V.. Semyonov V.G.. Officer Corps OKV: Sukhomlinov, Nikolai Alexandrovich. 230.