- Yurii Tiutiunnyk
Yuri Tiutiunnyk ( _uk. Юрій Тютюнник) (
April 20 ,1891 inBudyshcha ,Pendivsky uyezd ,Kyiv Gubernia , currentlyZvenyhorodsky Raion ,Cherkasy Oblast ,Ukraine -October 20 ,1930 inMoscow ) was a Ukrainian military commander ofUkrainian People's Republic (UNR) during the during theUkrainian-Soviet War [http://encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkPath=pagesTITiutiunnykYurii.htm Yuri Tiutiunnyk] at theEncyclopedia of Ukraine ] .Early Years
Yuri Tiutiunnyk was born on April 20, 1891, to a peasant family in the village of Budyshche, near Kyiv [ [http://www.vechirka.com.ua/history/xxcen/0404132806.php Героїка двадцятих. Людина — проблема ] ] . He was the grandson of
Taras Shevchenko 's sister. Only 5 of 9 children in his family reached adulthood. Tiutiunnyk finished primary education at the village school. He was married, and had two daughters.Military Service
Early World War I
With the outbreak of
World War I , Tiutiunnyk was drafted into theImperial Russian Army and served in the 6thSiberia nbattalion inVladivostok . He was injured during theBattle of Lodz , inPoland . However, Tiutiunnyk continued to read, especially military strategy, and quickly rose through the ranks. He was offered command of the 6th batallion, and was sent to Kyiv for further military studies.After a second injury, Tiutiunnyk was sent toSimferopol , where he joined the 32nd auxiliary battalion.Revolution
With the coming of the
February Revolution , Tiutiunnyk's military acumen caught the attention ofAlexander Kerensky , who was in Crimea at the time. Kerensky offered Tiutiunnyk command of theOdessa Headquarters, however Tiutiunnyk did not place much faith in the future of the Provisional Government, and declined the post.Tiutiunnyk left for Kyiv, where he became a member of the
Central Rada and the chairman of the "Kiev Revolutionary Committee", preparing the uprising against the Hetmanate. It was interesting that Tiutiunnyk did not support any political party.In the Autumn of 1917, Tiutiunnyk organized a unit of "Free Kozaks", and became its leader. After the fall of Kyiv to Communist forces in 1918, Tiutiunnyk increased the size of the Unit to 20 thousand. During the next year, Tiutiunnyk exerted influence throughout central Ukraine - from Kiev to
Kherson .In 1919, Tiutiunnyk merged his force with that of
Matviy Hryhoryev . Hryhoryev became the Commander in Chief while Tiutiunnyk became the Chief of Staff. The combined force was formidable, numbering in over 23,000 soldiers, 52 cannon, and 20 armoured trains. The force cooperated through various battles, including with and againstBolshevik forces , against Entente forces and theWhite Army .By the end of 1919, however, Tiutiunnyk had decided that Bolshevik aims at Ukraine were not beneficial, and took part in the First Winter Campaign - which lasted into 1920.
Tiutiunnyk remained undaunted by the failure of the campaign, and was preparing plans for a Second Winter Campaign. This campaign took place in 1921, and ended in failure. The unit was overrun, and over 300 soldiers were executed by the
Red Guard .Later Life and Execution
In 1923 he returned to
Soviet Ukraine where he lectured at the "Kharkiv Red Officer School" and wrote movie scripts for the "All-Ukrainian Photo-Cinema Administration" .Tiutiunnyk was offered a position in the Military academy in
Kharkiv , and accepted. He wote a numer of film scenarios and played himself in an anti-Petlurist propaganda film.On February 12, 1929, he was arrested in Kharkiv, and deported to Moscow where he was put on trial. On december 3 1929 he was found guilty of anti-soviet agitation and sentenced to death.
On
October 30 ,1930 , he was executed by firing squad.Tiutiunnyk in popular culture
Through playing himself in various art films Tiutiunnyk created an image of a dashing revolutionary in Ukrainian popular culture. This was captured in verse by writer Ivan Bahriannyj and set to music by
Hryhory Kytasty ..The song "Pisnya Pro Tiutiunnyka" (Ukrainian: Пісня про Тютюнника; song about Tiutiunnyk) describes a popular image of his forces rushing to Ukraine from Siberia to help the Petlura government of the Ukrainian National Republic in 1919.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.