Valentin Trifonov
Encyclopedia
Valentin Andreyevich Trifonov was one of the leaders of Cossack
revolutionary forces who played a major role in establishment of Soviet rule in the Don Voisko Province
. His son Yury Trifonov
became one of the most popular Soviet writers.
Born into a Cossack
family, Trifonov joined the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
in 1904 and participated in the Russian Revolution of 1905
. He was many times arrested by tsarist authorities and exiled to katorga
. Prior to the October Revolution
, he served as a secretary of the Bolshevik faction in the Petrograd Soviet
.
Trifonov was prominent in formation of the Red Army
, especially in the Ural
regions. During the Russian Civil War
, he led the Don Expeditionary Corps and was the first Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Don. In 1919 he commanded the South-Eastern Front operating against Anton Denikin. In 1920 and 1921 he was in command of the Caucasian Front
of the Red Army
.
When the war was over, Trifonov presided over the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court. His vital services to the Communist Party didn't save him from being arrested and executed during the Great Purge
; His wife, his daughter and his son, (the future writer Yury Trifonov
) survived him. He was posthumously rehabilitated.
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
revolutionary forces who played a major role in establishment of Soviet rule in the Don Voisko Province
Don Voisko Province
Don Voisko Province of Imperial Russia was the official name of the territory of Don Cossacks, roughly coinciding with today's Rostov Oblast of Russia. Its center was Cherkassk, later Novocherkassk....
. His son Yury Trifonov
Yury Trifonov
Yury Valentinovich Trifonov was a leading representative of the so-called Soviet "urban prose", a 1970s movement inspired by the psychologically complicated works of Anton Chekhov and his 20th-century American followers...
became one of the most popular Soviet writers.
Born into a Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
family, Trifonov joined the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
in 1904 and participated in the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
. He was many times arrested by tsarist authorities and exiled to katorga
Katorga
Katorga was a system of penal servitude of the prison farm type in Tsarist Russia...
. Prior to the October Revolution
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...
, he served as a secretary of the Bolshevik faction in the Petrograd Soviet
Petrograd Soviet
The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies , usually called the Petrograd Soviet , was the soviet in Petrograd , Russia, established in March 1917 after the February Revolution as the representative body of the city's workers.The Petrograd Soviet became important during the Russian...
.
Trifonov was prominent in formation of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, especially in the Ural
Ural (region)
Ural is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It extends approximately from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the bend of Ural River near Orsk city. The boundary between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern side of...
regions. During the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, he led the Don Expeditionary Corps and was the first Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Don. In 1919 he commanded the South-Eastern Front operating against Anton Denikin. In 1920 and 1921 he was in command of the Caucasian Front
Caucasian Front
Caucaus Front may have one of the following meanings*Caucasus Front , the designation for the main Imperial Russian Army in the Caucaus in World War I from April 1917 until its dissolution...
of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
.
When the war was over, Trifonov presided over the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court. His vital services to the Communist Party didn't save him from being arrested and executed during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
; His wife, his daughter and his son, (the future writer Yury Trifonov
Yury Trifonov
Yury Valentinovich Trifonov was a leading representative of the so-called Soviet "urban prose", a 1970s movement inspired by the psychologically complicated works of Anton Chekhov and his 20th-century American followers...
) survived him. He was posthumously rehabilitated.