The name of Grigory Semenov, a participant in the white movement, for a long time terrified residents of Transbaikalia, Primorsky Territory. His troops, fighting against the establishment of Soviet power, became famous for robberies, executions of tens of thousands of people, forced mobilization and existed at the expense of funds allocated by the Japanese. In the white army, he made a dizzying career in four years - from Yesaul to Lieutenant General.
Family, education
The future chieftain Grigory Semenov was born into the family of a Cossack on September 25, 1890. The birthplace of the Trans-Baikal Region, the village of Durulguyev, the guard of Kuranzh. His father, Mikhail Petrovich, was the son of a Cossack and a Buryat. Mother, Evdokia Markovna, came from a family of Old Believers. Education: two-year school in Mogoytuy and the Cossack Junker school in Orenburg, where he also studied for two years.
After graduation, he received the rank of cornet, which corresponded to the rank of cadet or second lieutenant, and was sent to the military topographical team of the 1st Verkhneudinsky regiment, his duties included the preparation of route surveys. Since childhood, Grigory Semenov spoke Buryat and Mongolian languages, which allowed him to establish good relations with the Mongols.
Its distinguishing features, which were traced from childhood, were the ability to quickly establish relationships with the right people and adventurism, which allowed it to get closer to influential Mongols and become a participant in the military coup in Mongolia against the Chinese Qing Dynasty.
After that, he was urgently sent to the 2nd Trans-Baikal Battery. In 1913 he was sent to the Amur Region, in the 1st Nerchinsk Regiment, commanded by Baron Wrangel. Together with him, Baron von Ungern served in the Civil Semenovsky Punisher, famous for his terrible atrocities.
World War I
After the outbreak of hostilities, the Nerchinsk regiment was sent to the front as part of the Ussuri brigade. He arrived near Warsaw in September 1914. After the outbreak of hostilities, Semenov Gregory received the Order of St. George for saving the regimental banner and convoy of the Ussuri brigade. In December 1914, he led the Cossack patrol, which was among the first to break into the city of Mlawa, occupied by German units. For this, in 1916 he was awarded the St. George's Arms, as a mark of distinction for courage.
Since July 1915, Grigory Mikhailovich Semenov has been an adjutant to Baron Wrangel, the regiment commander. He was with him for four months, after which he received a hundred in command. In 1916, he wrote a request for his transfer to the 3rd Verkhneudinsky regiment, located in Persia. It was satisfied, and he arrives at the duty station in January 1917. Then he took part in hostilities in the Caucasus and in the campaign in Persian Kurdistan, after which he received the title of Yesaul.
Oath to the interim government
After the revolution in February 1917, Semenov swore allegiance to the Provisional Government. The white general L. Vlasyevsky characterized him as a person without political preferences, a visionary in politics and an adventurer. Therefore, the future chieftain was not particularly worried about the fall of the monarchy.
At that time he was on the Romanian front, which did not suit him particularly well. Grigory Semenov writes an appeal addressed to Kerensky, where he proposes to form an equestrian regiment of Buryats and Mongols living in Transbaikalia. In mid-1917, he was appointed commissar of the interim government and sent to Transbaikalia to form new units.
After the October Revolution, taking advantage of the confusion reigning in all bodies of power, he takes permission from the Petrograd Soviet to continue the formation of new units. But in November, the Bolsheviks realized that Ataman Grigory Mikhailovich Semenov was gathering anti-Bolshevik detachments. In November, the Bolsheviks made an attempt to arrest him, but he turned out to be sneaky and, having deceived the local Council, departed with the assembled people to Dauria.
Civil war
He continued the formation of the detachment, which included the Mongols, Buryats and Cossacks. At the Manchuria station in December 1817, he completely took control of this part of the CER, dispersing the detachments of the Russian army, guarding the road, and bowing to the side of the CER command from Russia, General Horvat D.V. and the Chinese.
He armed his detachment, which by then had more than 500 people, and invaded the territory of Russia, completely subjugating the Daursky region of Transbaikalia. To help the workers' detachments fighting against the Semenov detachment, units of the Red Army under the command of S. G. Lazo arrived urgently from Irkutsk. The Daurian Front was formed under his command. He was the first in the Civil War.
Ataman's Second Campaign
In March 1918, Ataman Semenov with his detachment fled to Manchuria. Here he makes contact with the Japanese, who finance the second campaign in Transbaikalia. After that, he will constantly cooperate with them and regularly receive funding. The Japanese made their bet on him. He was impressed by such features: illegibility in choosing the means to achieve the goal, organizational abilities, character rigidity, turning into cruelty with the enemy and the civilian population.
In the photo above, Grigory Semenov is surrounded by the Japanese. Three newly created detachments, with a total number of 3,000 men, a Japanese detachment of more than 500 soldiers with 15 guns, 25 Japanese officers, two officer companies, two Chinese detachments, and three horse regiments constituted the bulk of the Semenovites.
After heavy fighting on the Daurian front, Semenov’s detachments suffered a crushing defeat and fled to Manchuria. The situation in the Far East was not in favor of the Red Army, therefore, in August 1918, the Semenovites again invaded Transbaikalia and took Chita. A guerrilla movement spread throughout the Far East and Transbaikalia.
As part of Kolchak’s armies
The self-confident ataman Grigory Semenov did not recognize Kolchak, deciding to go his own way. Its main feature was the ability to negotiate, and he was elected by the Cossacks as the military ataman of the Transbaikal District. By agreement with the Amur and Ussuri Atamans, he becomes the Camp Ataman of Transbaikalia. Its headquarters was at Dauria station.
06/18/1919 Kolchak assigned him the rank of Major General and appointed Assistant Commander of the Amur District, and on December 23 he appointed commander of the Amur, Irkutsk and Trans-Baikal Districts and assigns the rank of Lieutenant General. 01/04/1920 Kolchak gives him all the power in the territory of the RVO (Russian Eastern Outskirts).
Emigration
It was agony. RVO - the state of the chieftain Grigory Semenov - existed at the expense of the Japanese. As soon as the Japanese left the territory of Russia, the Semenov troops were defeated in two months. The partisan armies of Primorye, Transbaikalia, together with the Red Army, defeated the remnants of the White Guards. Belokazaki turned away from him for betrayal.
Ataman Semenov flees to Manchuria. He appropriated part of Kolchak's gold and did not live in exile. First he moved to the USA and Canada, and then settled in Japan. After the founding of the state, Manzhou-Guo received from the Japanese in 1932 a large house in Dairen and a pension of 1,000 yen per month. He continued to cooperate with them in the preparation of reconnaissance and sabotage groups on the territory of the USSR.
Court and execution
08/24/1945 was arrested by SMERSH and delivered to Moscow. The investigation lasted about a year. 08/30/1946 Semenov was sentenced by the military board to death by hanging. The exact number of those tortured and executed by the Semenovtsi could not be established; there are tens of thousands of them.