Grigory Semyonov

Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov, or Semenov ( _ru. Григо́рий Миха́йлович Семёнов) (September 13(25), 1890–August 30, 1946), was a Japanese-supported leader of the White movement in Transbaikal and beyond from December 1917 to November 1920, Lieutenant General and "Ataman" of Baikal Cossacks (1919).

Biography

Semyonov was born in the Transbaikal region of eastern Siberia. He joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1908, and graduated from Orenburg Military School in 1911. He took part in World War I and became a " yesaul ". In July of 1917, Semyonov was appointed Commissar of the Provisional Government in the Baikal region, responsible for recruiting counterrevolutionary volunteermilitary units.

The Russian Civil War in Transbaikal

After the October Revolution, Semyonov stirred up an anti-Soviet rebellion, but sustained a defeat and fled to Manchuria. In August of 1918, he managed to consolidate his positions in the Transbaikal region with the help of the Czechoslovak Legions, and imposed his ruthless regime. In his rule over this region, he has been described as a "plain bandit [who] drew his income from holding up trains and forcing payments, no matter what the nature of the load nor for whose benefit it was being shipped." [Norton, Henry Kittredge (1923). "The Far Eastern Republic of Siberia." London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. p69.] The so-called Siberian Provisional Government appointed Semyonov commander of a detached unit with the headquarters in Chita. Initially, Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak refused to recognize Semyonov's authority, but he had no choice but to accept Semyonov as de facto leader and confirm Semyonov as Commander-in-Chief of the Chita military district. In early 1919, Semyonov declared himself " Ataman " of the Transbaikal Cossack Host with support from the Imperial Japanese Army, elements of which had been deployed to Siberia. The region under his control extended from Verkhne-Udinsk near Lake Baikal to the Shilka River and town of Stretensk, to Manchuli, where the Chinese Eastern Railway met the Chita Railway, and northeast some distance along the Amur Railway.

Contrary to popular belief, Semyonov was not an anti-Semite, though one author insists that Semyonov handed out copies of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" to the Japanese troops he became associated with [Tokayer, Marvin (1979). "The Fugu Plan." New York: Paddington Press Ltd. p47.] . In February 1919, it is said that he allowed a Jewish unit to form in his Cossack-dominated army. His most illustrious mistress and partner in crime was a Jewish cabaret singer named Mashka Sharaban.

After the defeat of the White movement, Admiral Kolchak transferred power to Semyonov in the Far East. However Semyonov was unable to keep his forces in Siberia under control: they stole, burned, murdered, and raped civilians, and developed a reputation for being little better than thugs. In July 1920 the Japanese Expeditionary Corps started their withdrawal in accordance with the Gongota Agreement signed with the Far Eastern Republic, leaving Semyonov without support. Transbaikal partisans, internationalists and the 5th Soviet Army under Genrich Eiche launched an operation to re-taking Chita. In October 1920, units of the Red Army and guerrillas forced Semyonov's tiny army out of the Baikal region. After having retreated to Primorye, Semyonov tried to continue fighting the Soviets, but was finally forced to abandon all Russian territory by September 1921.

In Exile

Semyonov first escaped to Manchuria, then to Nagasaki, and later he settled in the United States where, after a short period of time, he was accused of committing acts of violence against the American soldiers of the Expeditionary Corps. Semyonov was eventually acquitted, and returned to China where he was given a monthly 1000-yen pension by the Japanese government. He settled mostly in Northern China and Manchuria, where he had ties with the Japanese intelligence community and where he continued to wield some influence over the exiled Russian and Cossack communities.

Semyonov was captured in Dalian by Soviet paratroopers in September 1945 during Operation August Storm, when the Soviet Army conquered Manchukuo. He was charged with counterrevolutionary activities and sentenced to death by hanging by the Military Board of the Supreme Court of the USSR. He was executed on 29 August, 1946. His executioners allegedly used prohibited methods to prolong his agony on the gallows. [http://www.geocities.com/atamansemenov/]

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