The debate around the monument to Krasnov, installed in the Rostov region, has been going on for several years. The grand opening of the memorial complex took place in the village of Elanskaya in 2006. In 2008, it became known that the prosecutor's office opened an administrative case regarding the installation of this monument. In 2017, social activists intensified, who began to urge the demolition of the memorial to the white general. In this article, we will tell the biography of the officer himself, as well as the whole story related to his memory.
Controversial personality
The installation of the monument to Krasnov was a surprise for many. After all, this is a general of the Russian-imperial army, who led the Don army. He was one of the leaders of the White movement, a political and military leader. Speaking against the Bolsheviks, he remained an enemy of Soviet power. But in modern Russia, the attitude towards him has not fundamentally changed.
He was reminded of the leadership of the Cossack army during World War II, which was part of the imperial ministry of the eastern occupied territories, subject to fascist Germany.
early years
Peter Nikolaevich Krasnov was born in St. Petersburg in 1869. In 1889 he received the rank of coroner in the life guard of the Ataman regiment. In 1892 he entered the Academy of the General Staff, but did not begin to receive education, a year later he returned to his regiment.
In the late XIX - early years of the XX century, he was the head of the diplomatic mission in Abyssinia, was sent to the Far East to study the life of China, Manchuria, India and Japan.
In 1896, Krasnov married Lydia Fyodorovna Gruneisen.
In the years 1898-1901, during the boxing uprising in China, they were a war correspondent. He wrote for the magazines "Scout", "Russian invalid", "Bulletin of the Russian cavalry."
In 1909 he became a graduate of the officer cavalry school, and shortly afterwards received the rank of colonel.
In October 1913 he began to command the Don regiment on the border with Austria-Hungary, with which he entered the First World War.
World War I
In the very first days of the war, he distinguished himself at the forefront, showing courage and fearlessness, for which he was awarded the St. George arms.
At the end of 1914 he received the rank of Major General. In the spring of 1915 he headed the brigade of the Caucasian native equestrian division.
In May 1916, it was his division that became one of the first that actually launched the Brusilovsky breakthrough.
Revolution
He became not only a military, but also a political figure after the events of 1917. At the same time, in the February Revolution he practically did not take any part, remaining in the service in his unit.
When the Bolsheviks captured Petrograd, Krasnov, on the orders of the head of the Provisional Government of Kerensky, advanced a detachment to the capital. Its parts occupied Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo, being on the nearest approaches to the city. However, reinforcements did not come to him, so Krasnov was forced to conclude a truce with the Bolsheviks. The general himself was arrested, later he was released on parole not to oppose the new government.
He soon broke the word, having left for the Don. There, he led the anti-Bolshevik struggle, beginning to lead the Cossack uprising.
Civil War
In 1918, his troops managed to drive out the Red Army from the territory of the Don Army Region. In May, he was elected ataman of the entire Don Cossacks.
Krasnov relied on German support, refusing to obey Denikin, who collaborated with the Entente. The general ordered the abolition of all the decrees of the Provisional Government and Soviet power, announcing the creation of an independent state of the Great Don Army.
Having become ataman, Krasnov was actively engaged in the development of the economy and infrastructure of the new Cossack state. By mid-1918, the size of his army was about 17 thousand people. Officers of the imperial army were called up for service, who significantly strengthened it.
Having become the head of a self-proclaimed state, Krasnov sent a telegram to Emperor Wilhelm II, in which he emphasized that his Great Don Army did not consider himself at war with Germany, but, on the contrary, was asking her for military assistance. The Germans recognized his government and even began supplying weapons in exchange for food.
The pro-German position led to a breakdown in relations with the Volunteer Army, in which he was accused of having ties to the Germans. After the defeat of Germany in World War I, Krasnov was forced to go under the leadership of Denikin, and in February 1919, under his pressure, resigned.
Life in exile
After this, Krasnov left for Germany, lived in Munich. In 1923 he moved to France. At the same time, he continued to engage in politics, collaborating with the Russian All-Military Union, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich.
In exile, Krasnov founded the Brotherhood of Russian Truth, which was engaged in the underground anti-Bolshevik struggle in the Soviet country. He began to write memoirs and memoirs, historical novels. In total, he wrote about 20 books, in 1926 he was even nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature.
Since 1936, he again lived in Germany with a German passport, not recognizing the legitimacy of the Bolshevik authorities. The general did not conceal that he sympathized with the Nazis, hoping that they could defeat the Bolsheviks.
War against the USSR
On the day of the German attack on the USSR, Krasnov turned to the Cossacks, insisting that this was not a war against Russia, but against the Communists.
In September of the 43rd, he headed the Main Directorate of Cossack troops in the occupied Soviet territories. He took part in the creation of the "Cossack camp" - a military organization that united the Cossacks in the German army. By the end of World War II, it had about 24,000 members.
The direct head of the "Cossack camp" was Major General Timofei Nikolaevich Domanov.
Arrest
In May 1945, Krasnov was captured by the British when he was part of the Cossack Camp. He was taken to the Austrian city of Lienz along with other Cossack officers, only about two and a half thousand people. By decision of the British command, they were issued to the Soviet military administration. From Austria, Krasnov was transported to Moscow. He was kept in Butyrka prison.
The case of the white general was examined by the military collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR. It was decided to execute Krasnov himself and several of his close associates for conducting an armed struggle against the Soviet Union as part of the White Guard detachments, and for conducting terrorist and espionage activities.
Krasnov and others sentenced to death were hanged in January 1947 in Lefortovo prison. He was 77 years old.
Memory of the general
They recalled Krasnov in 1994, when a monument to the “Soldiers of the Russian Military Union” was erected in Moscow on the territory of the All Saints Church. His name was mentioned among other military leaders who participated in this organization.
In 2007, the monument to Krasnov was demolished, the memorial plate was broken on the eve of Victory Day. A criminal case was opened on the fact of vandalism. At the same time, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church themselves noted that they had nothing to do with the stove installed more than ten years ago.
In 2014, in the year of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, a new slab appeared on this place, dedicated to the Cossacks who fought in the tsarist army.
Village Elanskaya
In 2006, in all news reports appeared the village of Elanskaya in the Sholokhov district of the Rostov region. On the territory of a private house, the installation of a monument to Ataman Krasnov took place. The grand opening of the memorial complex was dedicated to the memory of the Don Cossacks who died in the struggle against the Bolsheviks. In particular, the Cossacks who fought on the side of Hitler were also mentioned. In this regard, the installation of the monument to Krasnov in the Rostov Region became symbolic.
In the center of the memorial is a bronze figure of the last Don Ataman. The opening of the monument to General Krasnov was attended by representatives of local authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as many Cossacks. Including were veterans of the Cossack units of the Wehrmacht.
In 2008, the district prosecutor's office opened an administrative case because of the installation of a monument to Krasnov in the Rostov region. The initiator of the appeal was the State Duma deputy Nikolai Kolomeytsev.
The supervisor noted that the monument to Krasnov in the Rostov region should be demolished, since the sculptural objects are considered to be real estate, therefore permission to install them is required. This has not been done. In addition, it was noted that the monument to Ataman Krasnov in Rostov praises fascism.
Social activists stepped up in 2017. On the eve of the 74th anniversary of the Victory in World War II, they began to demand the demolition of the monument to Krasnov, since he is a traitor to his homeland, offends the memory of the Cossacks who fought in the Red Army, and devalues the contribution that the Cossacks made to the overall victory over fascism.
Activists emphasized that the general was convicted as a war criminal and still officially reckons with him, despite numerous attempts to rehabilitate him. In their appeal, social activists emphasized that schoolchildren were taking excursions to the Krasnov monument, as a result of which the children had a false idea about the history of the Cossacks and the whole of Russia, since Krasnov was one of the heroes.
Attempts to rehabilitate the white general and other defendants in the case were made in the early 90's. Such a decision was made only in relation to Helmut von Pannwitz, but then he was also charged.
Activists are eagerly awaiting the news when the media reports that a monument to Krasnov has been demolished in the Rostov Region, but so far this has not happened.
Monarchist and nationalist organizations still appeal to state authorities with requests to rehabilitate various Russian collaborators, including Krasnov. These initiatives are regularly condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church, veterans of the Great Patriotic War.
Monument in Yalta
Speaking about the scandal surrounding this sign, some people mistakenly recall another memorial. In 2015, it became known that a monument to Nikolai Krasnov will be erected on the Yalta embankment.
This is a famous architect who worked in Yalta from 1887 to 1899, designed the famous Livadia Palace. It is noteworthy that he was appointed to the post of chief architect of Yalta at only 24 years old, playing an important role in how the city was transformed.
Nikolai Krasnov began work with the expansion of the embankment, which eventually turned into the main street of the city. Since 1889, he worked on a new plan for the development of the city. Under his direct supervision, several new streets were laid, a city sewer was built. Under the architect Krasnov, the height of buildings and the width of the streets in the historical part of the city were limited. He managed to stop the chaotic development, a children's hospital and a gymnasium appeared under him, Pushkin Boulevard was landscaped, the banks of the Uchan-Su River were strengthened.
He has nothing to do with the infamous white general. No attempt has ever been made to demolish this monument, only in the media these two monuments are sometimes confused.