Nikolay Dukhonin
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Nikolayevich Dukhonin (13 December 1876 – 3 December 1917) was a Russian general, the last commander-in-chief of the Russian Imperial Army.
. He served in the Kiev Military District
before the start of the First World War. There he gained some experience in intelligence
work.
At the outset of the War, Dukhonin was given command command of a Russian regiment. He was then assigned to the Third Army
in Dubno
under General Ruzsky
as senior adjutant of the intelligence department.
Dukhonin held the position of commander in chief only briefly, from 16 November 1917. During the initial stages of the Bolshevik seizure of power
the Council of People's Commissars instructed Dukhonin to cease wartime hostilities and open negotiations with the German government.
Lenin and Krylenko visited Dukhonin in Petrograd to discuss an armistice proposal. Dukhonin's response was adamant: on 22 November he categorically declined to obey the directive of the Council of People's Commissars. He had discussed such a development with diplomats from the Entente
governments. Dukhonin told Lenin that such an order could only be issued by "a government sustained by the army and the country".
Lenin immediately proceeded to a wireless station and broadcast news of Dukhonin's dismissal as Commander-in-Chief and Krylenko's replacement in his stead. The following day a joint note was issued by the military missions of Britain
, France
, Italy
, Japan
and Roumania, citing the Treaty of 23 August 1914 by which the allies agreed not to conclude an armistice except by common consent. These missions were based at the General Headquarters in Petrograd.
Dukhonin consequently surrendered to Krylenko in Mogilev
, but was murdered by Krylenko's bolshevik military escort by the railway station on 3 December 1917. Krylenko pleaded for his life to be spared so that Dukhonin would be allowed a trial by the Revolutionary Tribunal in Petrograd, but a mob of soldiers and sailors bayoneted him to death on the spot on order of Pavel Dybenko
. The next morning the bolshevik soldiers and sailors amused themselves by using his (now stripped naked) corpse for target practice, which they had placed on the platform with a cigarette in its mouth.
His family emigrated
to Yugoslavia
.
Biography
Dukhonoin was born in the Smolensk GovernorateSmolensk Governorate
Smolensk Governorate , or Government of Smolensk, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire, which existed, with interruptions, between 1708 and 1929....
. He served in the Kiev Military District
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District was a Russian unit of military-administrative division of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Ukrainian Army, RKKA, and Soviet Armed Forces...
before the start of the First World War. There he gained some experience in intelligence
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in different ways, including the abilities for abstract thought, understanding, communication, reasoning, learning, planning, emotional intelligence and problem solving....
work.
At the outset of the War, Dukhonin was given command command of a Russian regiment. He was then assigned to the Third Army
Third Army
A number of nations have had a Third Army* Third Army * Third Army * 3rd Army * Third Army * Third Army * 3rd Army * Third Army * United States Army Central...
in Dubno
Dubno
Dubno is a city located on the Ikva River in the Rivne Oblast of western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Dubno Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast...
under General Ruzsky
Nikolai Ruzsky
Nikolai Vladimirovich Ruzsky , was a Russian general of World War I.Career=His military career prior to the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 took him to both the Russo-Turkish War and the Russo-Japanese War, where he was Chief of Staff to the Second Manchurian Army. In between he served as...
as senior adjutant of the intelligence department.
Dukhonin held the position of commander in chief only briefly, from 16 November 1917. During the initial stages of the Bolshevik seizure of power
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
the Council of People's Commissars instructed Dukhonin to cease wartime hostilities and open negotiations with the German government.
Lenin and Krylenko visited Dukhonin in Petrograd to discuss an armistice proposal. Dukhonin's response was adamant: on 22 November he categorically declined to obey the directive of the Council of People's Commissars. He had discussed such a development with diplomats from the Entente
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
governments. Dukhonin told Lenin that such an order could only be issued by "a government sustained by the army and the country".
Lenin immediately proceeded to a wireless station and broadcast news of Dukhonin's dismissal as Commander-in-Chief and Krylenko's replacement in his stead. The following day a joint note was issued by the military missions of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Roumania, citing the Treaty of 23 August 1914 by which the allies agreed not to conclude an armistice except by common consent. These missions were based at the General Headquarters in Petrograd.
Dukhonin consequently surrendered to Krylenko in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, but was murdered by Krylenko's bolshevik military escort by the railway station on 3 December 1917. Krylenko pleaded for his life to be spared so that Dukhonin would be allowed a trial by the Revolutionary Tribunal in Petrograd, but a mob of soldiers and sailors bayoneted him to death on the spot on order of Pavel Dybenko
Pavel Dybenko
Pavel Efimovich Dybenko was a Russian revolutionary and a leading Soviet officer.- Until the military service :...
. The next morning the bolshevik soldiers and sailors amused themselves by using his (now stripped naked) corpse for target practice, which they had placed on the platform with a cigarette in its mouth.
His family emigrated
White Emigre
A white émigré was a Russian who emigrated from Russia in the wake of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, and who was in opposition to the contemporary Russian political climate....
to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.