Andrei Grigoriyevich Shkuro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1887-01-19)19 January 1887 Pashkovskaya, Russian Empire (nowKrasnodar) |
| Died | 17 January 1947(1947-01-17) (aged 59) |
| Allegiance |  Russian EmpireWhite Movement Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Imperial Russian ArmyWhite movement 1st SS Cossack Cavalry Division |
| Years of service | 1907–1920 1943–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of Saint Stanislaus Order of Saint Anna |
| Criminal information | |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
Andrei Grigoriyevich Shkuro (Russian:Андрей Григорьевич Шкуро;Ukrainian:Андрій Григорович Шкуро; 19 January [O.S. 7 January] 1887 – 17 January 1947) was a Russian military officer ofCossack origin. He was alieutenant general (1919) of theWhite Army, and later aNazi collaborator.
He was born in thestanitsa ofPashkovskaya (now part of Krasnodar) inKuban Oblast into aCossack family. DuringWorld War I, Shkuro became the commander of a specialpartisan unit which executed several daring raids behind German lines. During the war, Shkuro was promoted to the rank ofcolonel for his heroic performance.[1]
In the spring of 1918, after the establishment of theBolshevik régime, Shkuro organized an anti-Bolshevik Cossack unit in the area ofBatalpashinsk in theCaucasus. In May and June 1918 he raidedStavropol,Yessentuki andKislovodsk.[2] After officially joiningDenikin'sVolunteer Army,[1] he became the commander of theKuban Cossacksbrigade which soon increased in size and became adivision. In May 1919 Shkuro, as a young lieutenant-general, had a whole cavalrycorps of Cossacks under his command.
Shkuro, though charismatic and audacious, showed bravery which often bordered on the reckless[according to whom?]; he received several wounds, and also acquired a reputation for his cunning. Many in the White Army's high command, however, considered him undisciplined and somewhat of a "loose cannon".[citation needed]
According toSoviet historians his forces (including his chief of staffYakov Slashchov) were particularly cruel and prone to looting. In contrast, in his memoirs (which Shkuro dictated in 1921) he describes many instances in which he spared the lives of enemies, including even Bolshevikcommissars (whom the Whites usually summarily executed). Shkuro claimed that he saved from execution aRed Armybattalion of Jewish volunteers taken prisoner by the Whites, and that he spoke out against and preventedpogroms against the Jewish population.[3]When Denikin's volunteer army tookKiev in August 1919,[4]however, it inflicted a large-scale pogrom on the Jews. Over 20,000 people died in two days of violence. After these events, Supresskin, the representative of theKharkov Jewish community, spoke to Shkuro, who stated to him bluntly that "Jews will not receive any mercy because they are all Bolsheviks".[5]
Although the White Army generalPyotr Wrangel valued initiative he also demanded discipline from his subordinates. Wrangel ended up disliking Shkuro, and upon reorganizing the army Wrangel did not give him a command position; this prompted Shkuro's resignation. Shkuro claimed that to the detriment of the anti-Bolshevik cause, both Denikin and Wrangel did not sufficiently understand Cossack society, and that as a result some of their decisions alienated the Cossacks — even though theWhite Cossacks remained deeply hostile to the policies of the Bolsheviks.[citation needed]
After the defeat of the Whites, Shkuro lived as an exile, primarily inFrance andYugoslavia. For the first few years he and a few other Cossack partners, displaying their great horsemanship, performed in circuses as trick riders across Europe. In addition, he continued to conductanti-Soviet activities. Russianémigré memoirs depict Shkuro as a very lively man who enjoyed social gatherings with plenty of dancing, singing, drinking, and vivid storytelling about times past.[citation needed]
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In 1941, Shkuro agreed to be one of the organizers of anti-Soviet Cossack units consisting of White émigrés and Soviet (mostly Cossack) prisoners of war in alliance withNazi Germany. He, along with many other exiles, hoped that this would lead to the eventual destruction of the Soviet Union. In 1944, Shkuro was placed in command of the "Cossack Reserve", which were primarily deployed in Yugoslavia against thepartisans. In 1945, Shkuro was detained by theBritish forces inAustria and handed over to the Soviet authorities inOperation Keelhaul. TheMilitary Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union sentenced Andrei Shkuro to death. On 17 January 1947, he was executed, together withPyotr Krasnov, byhanging.
In the late summer of 1919, it seemed that the collapse of the Bolshevik regime was imminent. [...] On 30 August [...] advance units of Denikin's army [...] moved into [Kiev] [...]
