Admiral Alexander Kolchak: The Supreme Ruler of Russia 🇷🇺
Introduction 🌍
November 1918 marked the nearing end of the four-year-long massacre of World War I in Western Europe. However, across the former Russian Empire, a new conflict erupted, a civil war raging from Central Europe to the Pacific, claiming around nine million lives. Bolshevik forces and their new Soviet Republic fought for survival against many enemies, collectively known as ‘the Whites’.
The Whites’ great hope: the newly appointed ‘Supreme Ruler of Russia’, Admiral Alexander Kolchak. A war hero, a man of duty and discipline, who believed in serving the ‘motherland’ above all. Millions looked to him to crush the Bolsheviks, avenge the murdered Czar, and save Russia from chaos and collapse. This is the extraordinary story of the life and death of Admiral Kolchak, the only ‘Supreme Ruler’ of Russia.
The Arctic Ocean Expedition of 1900 ❄️
In the year 1900, the Russian scientific vessel “Zarya” sailed eastward on a journey to explore the outer edges of the Russian Empire. The expedition was led by Baron Eduard von Toll, a renowned Russian explorer and geologist. The aim: explore the Arctic Ocean and discover the nearly mythical ‘Sannikov Land’, believed to lie north of the Novosibirsk Islands. Among the crew was 26-year-old naval lieutenant Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak.
Kolchak, a distinguished naval cadet, grew weary of his service aboard the Petropavlovsk, one of Russia’s newest battleships. Passionate about scientific discovery and oceanography, and with an insatiable thirst for adventure, Kolchak eagerly joined Toll’s expedition.
The dawn of the 20th century was an era of intense imperial rivalry and scientific exploration. Russia, under the autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II, sought to modernize and study its vast eastern territories. Toll’s expedition became part of this process and unfolded as dramatically as any tale in the annals of polar exploration.
The Dangerous Arctic Journey 🌊
Toll was an ambitious leader and expert geologist but lacked maritime knowledge. His ship, Zarya, was in poor condition and unsuitable for long ice-covered journeys. The expedition spent two years exploring the frozen shores, ice, and northern islands of the Russian Arctic. On one occasion, Toll nearly drowned; Kolchak was chased by polar bears.
In May 1902, frustrated by the failure to find Sannikov Land, Toll made a perilous decision. Trapped in the sea ice, he set out with three men, traveling by sled to reach Bennett Island. Zarya was freed from the ice a month later and attempted to retrieve them. However, faced with impenetrable ice and running out of coal, Zarya had to turn back. Toll and his team were stranded.
Kolchak’s Rescue Mission 🚁
Lt. Kolchak emerged as a key member of the expedition and a loyal companion of Baron Toll. Determined not to abandon their leader, Kolchak helped organize a rescue mission upon returning 3500 miles to Saint Petersburg. His plan, though seemingly insane, involved reaching Bennett Island without a ship, using only sleds and small boats. With no better options, his proposal was approved.
Kolchak postponed his wedding to return to the Arctic and start preparations. On May 5, 1903, Kolchak’s 17-man rescue expedition embarked on a grueling 600-mile trek through treacherous snow and shifting ice. Traveling via a combination of dog sleds and whale boats, the expedition took three exhausting months to reach Bennett Island, only to find no trace of Baron Toll. They discovered an abandoned campsite, some scientific observations, and a nine-month-old note stating, “Leaving south today. We have provisions for 14 to 20 days. All in good health.”
Fame and Recognition 🌟
Despite the mission’s failure, Kolchak’s daring rescue attempt earned him national fame. He was awarded the Konstantin Medal, the highest honor of the Imperial Geographical Society, and earned the nickname, ‘Kolchak-Poliarnyi’ – Polar Kolchak. Upon returning to Yakutsk in January 1904, Kolchak learned that Japan had attacked Russia’s Far East base at Port Arthur, marking the declaration of war. Seizing a chance for action and service to the homeland, Kolchak immediately sought a transfer to the front but made a brief stop in Irkutsk to marry his fiancée, Sofia Fyodorovna.
The Russo-Japanese War 🇯🇵
Just four days after his wedding, Kolchak set off for the Far East. The world expected Russia, a major imperial power, to easily crush Japan, an ‘Asian upstart’ by the racial views of the time. However, the war turned into a humiliating and disheartening experience for the Russian army, with devastating defeats on land and sea, resulting in a political crisis at home. Though Lt. Kolchak had little influence over the war’s outcome, he served with distinction and courage, primarily tasked with laying naval mines.
In December 1904, one of Kolchak’s mines succeeded immensely, sinking the Japanese cruiser Takasago. However, the monotony of his duties and poor health began to wear on him. By December 1905, the Japanese artillery had approached close enough to hit the Russian warships in Port Arthur. Ship after ship, the Russian Pacific fleet was sent to the bottom. Days later, Port Arthur surrendered, making Kolchak one of 25,000 Russian prisoners, although he was repatriated a few months later due to illness and wounds, returning to his wife in Saint Petersburg.
Aftermath and Recognition 🎖️
The war was demoralizing for Russia and Kolchak personally, despite receiving several medals for his leadership and bravery. In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo ignited an international crisis, leading Nicholas II to mobilize the Russian army in support of Serbia, a Slavic ally. Germany, Austria-Hungary’s ally, declared war on Russia, soon plunging all major European empires into conflict. That summer, while the Russian army faced disaster in East Prussia, Captain Kolchak took command of a destroyer flotilla in the Baltic Fleet.
Described in an official report as “an outstanding officer in every respect… resolute character… courteous, highly disciplined,” Kolchak epitomized the model Tsarist officer. Despite the superior German navy, he and his flotilla enjoyed notable success in the Baltic. Once again, mine warfare was the preferred Russian tactic. Kolchak’s flotilla laid 6000 mines in the Gulf of Finland in the early days of the conflict, effectively protecting the Russian capital from sea attacks. His daring nocturnal operations, laying mines near enemy ports such as Memel, Danzig, and Kiel, earned him further accolades and a meeting with Tsar Nicholas himself.
Admiral of the Black Sea Fleet ⚓
In 1916, Kolchak became the youngest admiral in the Russian navy, appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet. He arrived at his new headquarters in Sevastopol in Crimea in July, accompanied by his wife Sofia and their six-year-old son. The couple had already suffered the loss of two children in infancy. Beyond the Black Sea, Kolchak faced the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, Russia’s old foes.
Agressive Naval Strategy 🔥
Kolchak swiftly adopted an aggressive strategy, laying mines along enemy coasts and providing naval support for Russian operations near the Caucasus. His grand ambition was to launch an operation to capture the Bosporus Strait, a decisive blow against the Ottomans that would open a sea route to Russia’s western allies. For this task, the 1st Division of Russia’s Naval Infantry was formed and placed under Kolchak’s command. However, the operation never materialized, remaining an unfulfilled dream beyond Russia’s capabilities.
Revolution and Uprising 🌾
March 1917 saw protests in the streets of Russia’s capital, Petrograd (formerly Saint Petersburg), against food prices and the immense sacrifices of war, marking the start of a revolution. News of this took days to reach the Black Sea Fleet, 1000 miles south in Crimea. Determined to prevent unrest within his fleet, Admiral Kolchak issued a declaration: “I order all officers of the Black Sea Fleet and land forces entrusted to me to continue steadfastly and unwaveringly to fulfill their duty to the Emperor and the motherland.” The next day, Nicholas II abdicated the throne.
For Kolchak, it was a shocking blow. Duty, discipline, loyalty to the sovereign and motherland constituted his entire world, and he foresaw chaos. In contrast, most of his sailors celebrated the revolution news. Their lives of harsh conditions and brutal discipline finally saw a chance to overturn the despised regime.
The Fall of Tsarist Russia 🏴
In Sevastopol, sailors elected their Soviet council and formed committees. Initial demands included renaming any ship bearing imperial names. Discipline and respect for authority began to erode. Kolchak maintained a high tempo of military operations to keep his men occupied but privately spoke of facing ‘the shame of a senseless mutiny in wartime’. For three months, he held the fleet together with strong leadership and careful compromises, but Bolshevik agitators worked among the men, urging them to end the ‘capitalist’ war and oust Tsarist officers like Kolchak.
Confrontation and Resignation 🛡️
In June, the crew of Kolchak’s ship, the Georgy Pobedonosets, confronted the Admiral. They demanded that all officers surrender their weapons and swords. To avoid bloodshed, Kolchak agreed. However, instead of handing over his ceremonial sword, he threw it overboard. “Even the Japanese, our enemies, let me keep my weapons,” he told his men. ‘You will not have them now.’ Days later, Kolchak resigned from his command and traveled to Petrograd, leaving behind his wife and son in Crimea. He would never see them again.
A New Political Landscape 🏛️
Kolchak had already publicly denounced the reforms of Russia’s new Provisional Government, which he believed were destroying the army. Now, his defiant stance in the face of mutiny made headlines across Russia. Kolchak’s reputation soared among Russian conservatives, who speculated whether he could be the military dictator needed to restore order and law. Such whispers alarmed the Provisional Government, with Minister of War Alexander Kerensky possibly viewing Kolchak as a potential rival. Hence, Kolchak was informed that he would be sent abroad as part of a military mission to the western Allies – a political exile of sorts.
The Revolution of October 1917 🍂
That summer, Kolchak sailed through Norway to Britain and then to the United States, meeting President Wilson and senior American naval officers. However, plans for significant military cooperation between Russia and the Allies were stalling. In San Francisco, Kolchak accepted an invitation to return to Russia and enter politics as a candidate for the Kadets, Russia’s last non-socialist political party. But in Japan, en route, he received shocking news: a second revolution had occurred in Russia, and the Bolsheviks had taken power, with Lenin now at the helm.
Kolchak’s Resolve Against Bolsheviks 🔄
Kolchak was horrified by the October Revolution of 1917. He despised Lenin and the Bolsheviks, soon to be renamed the ‘Russian Communist Party’, primarily because of Lenin’s plan for an immediate peace with Germany. Like many Tsarist officers, Kolchak considered Russia’s commitments to its World War I allies sacred. Lenin’s negotiations with the Germans were treacherous. Kolchak’s course of action was clear: “As an admiral of the Russian fleet, I considered our allied commitment to the war against Germany to remain in force. The only way I could continue my service to the Motherland, now in the hands of German agents and traitors, was to join the war effort against Germany on the side of our allies.”
Kolchak offered his services to the British, who initially planned to send him to Mesopotamia but quickly backed him for a much larger role. With ongoing fighting on the Western Front, the Allies were desperate for Russia to rejoin the war against Germany. This meant ousting Lenin and the Bolsheviks, who, in July, committed another crime by executing Nicholas II and his entire family in Yekaterinburg. Thus, as the civil war engulfed Russia, the Allies supported the anti-Bolshevik forces, the ‘Whites’, against the Bolsheviks, the ‘Reds’.
Arrival in Vladivostok 🚂
In September 1918, Kolchak arrived in Vladivostok, learning that anti-Bolshevik groups had recently gathered in Ufa and formed an ‘All-Russian Provisional Government’ – a continuation of the Provisional Government displaced by the Bolsheviks, garnering little support from Kolchak and other conservatives who blamed it for leading Russia into chaos.
That month, the advancing Bolshevik ‘Red Army’ forced the Provisional Government to abandon Ufa and retreat to Omsk. Kolchak traveled 2800 miles by train to join them. On November 5, 1918, after much discussion, he agreed to become the Minister of War and Navy of the Provisional Government. Two days later, Kolchak formed the General Staff and visited the front to assess the situation.
The Complex Military Situation 👥
Across Russia, the military scenario was highly intricate. White forces were scattered around Russia’s periphery. General Boldyrev commanded 180,000 Provisional Government troops on the Omsk front. General Denikin’s Volunteer Army in southern Russia had about 50,000 troops. The Northern Russian Government, a small White Russian enclave, had only 6000 troops, supported by various Allied contingents in mainly supportive and training roles.
International Aid and Support 🌏
- The most significant Allied contribution was sending arms, ammunition, and supplies through Russian seaports.
- The Czechoslovak Legion, about 50,000 strong, was stationed on the Omsk front. The Legion, primarily composed of Czech volunteers, had fought alongside Russians on the Eastern Front against the Germans. After the Bolshevik takeover, the unit was stranded in Russia but held key points along the Trans-Siberian Railway – a major east-west transport and supply route.
The Russian Civil War also intertwined with several national wars and independence battles in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, and elsewhere. The White forces of Russia, disparate, geographically and politically fragmented, faced the vast resources of Lenin’s Bolshevik state, which controlled Russia’s major cities, industrial centers, and transport hubs, with around 800,000 troops under their command.
Political Tensions and Intrigue ⚔️
Political tensions among the Whites ran high, ranging from left-wing revolutionary socialists who led the February Revolution to right-wing conservatives wanting to restore the monarchy. The latter group saw only a strong dictator could save Russia now. On November 18, they made their move. 300 Cossack troops entered Omsk and arrested all the revolutionary socialist delegates they could find. The Provisional Government was dissolved, and its executive body, the Council of Ministers, moved to elect a ‘Supreme Ruler of Russia’, who would have full dictatorial power. They chose Admiral Alexander Kolchak – a proven leader with an exemplary military record, widely respected, with close ties to Western Allies, sharing their vision of law and order for saving Russia from chaos.
The Supreme Ruler of Russia 🏅
Kolchak had not sought the position of Supreme Ruler, believing others were more suited for it. But duty called, and he answered. This concludes Part One of the series on Admiral Kolchak. Stay tuned for the riveting continuation of this epic tale.