Alexander Kolchak
| Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak CB | |
|---|---|
Admiral Kolchak
|
|
| Born |
16 November 1874 Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
| Died | 7 February 1920 (aged 45) Irkutsk, Russian SFSR |
| Allegiance |
 Russian Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Imperial Russian Navy White Army
|
| Years of service | 1886–1920 |
| Rank | Admiral (from 1918) |
| Commands held |
Black Sea Fleet (1916–1917) Russian Army (1918–1920) |
| Battles/wars |
Russo-Japanese War World War I Russian Civil War |
| Awards |
Order of St. George 3rd class Order of St. George 4th class Order of St. Vladimir 3rd class Order of St. Vladimir 4th class Order of St. Anne 1st class Order of St. Anne 2nd class Order of St. Anne 4th class Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd class Order of the Bath Legion of Honour |
Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak CB (Russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Колча́к, 16 November [O.S. 4 November] 1874 – 7 February 1920) was a polar explorer and commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. During the Russian Civil War, he established an anti-communist government in Siberia—later the Provisional All-Russian Government—and was recognised as the "Supreme Ruler and Commander-in-Chief of All Russian Land and Sea Forces" by the other leaders of the White movement from 1918 to 1920. His government was based in Omsk, in southwestern Siberia.
For a year and a half, Kolchak was the internationally recognised leader of Russia. However, his effort to unite the anti-Bolshevik elements mostly failed; Kolchak refused to consider autonomy for ethnic minorities and refused to cooperate with non-Bolshevik leftists, and also heavily relied on outside aid. As his White forces fell apart, he was betrayed and captured by independent units who handed him over to local Bolsheviks, who executed him.
Kolchak was born in Saint Petersburg in 1874 to a family of minor Russian nobility (Moldovan origin). His father was a retired major-general of the Marine Artillery and a veteran of the 1854 siege of Sevastopol, who after retirement worked as an engineer in ordnance works near St. Petersburg. Kolchak was educated for a naval career, graduating from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1894 and joining the 7th Naval Battalion. He was soon transferred to the Russian Far East, serving in Vladivostok from 1895 to 1899. He then returned to western Russia and was based at Kronstadt, joining the of Eduard Toll on the ship Zarya in 1900 as a hydrologist.
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