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Anatol Leonid Fürst von Lieven | |
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| Born | (1872-11-16)16 November 1872 |
| Died | 3 April 1937(1937-04-03) (aged 64) |
| Allegiance | Russian Empire Latvia |
| Branch | Army |
| Service years | 1896–1908 1914–1919 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Conflicts | World War I Latvian War of Independence Russian Civil War |
| Awards | Order of St. George (IV class) Order of St. Anne (IV class) Order of St. Stanislaus (III class) |
Anatol Leonid Fürst[a] von Lieven (Russian:Анатолий Павлович Ливен; 1872 – 1937) was aRussian military commander from theBaltic German princely house ofLieven. During theRussian Civil War he commanded aWhite force inLatvia known after him as the Liventsy (Russian:Ливенцы;Latvian:Līvenieši).
Anatol von Lieven was born on November 16, 1872, inSaint Petersburg, theRussian Empire.
He graduated from the3rd St. Petersburg Gymnasium [ru] in 1891 and from the Faculty of Law ofSaint Petersburg Imperial University in 1895. After graduating from the university, on September 4, 1895, he entered theChevalier Guard Regiment as acadet. Having passed the officer's exam at theNicholas Cavalry College [ru], on September 7, 1896 he was promoted tocornet.
In 1898, he joined the guards cavalry reserve and settled on hisMežotne Palace nearBauska. In 1900–1901 he was an indispensable member of theCourland Governorate's Peasant Affairs Council. In 1901, he was promoted toKamer-junker.
In 1909, he was elected chairman of the Committee of the Council of theRussian Evangelical Union [ru]. In 1912–1914, he was the leader of the nobility of theBauskas apriņķis.
With the outbreak of World War I, he returned to the Chevalier Guard Regiment. He was awarded theOrder of St. George, 4th class. He was promoted toporuchik (lieutenant) on September 19, 1915, and tostaff captain on September 19, 1916, and finally reached the rank ofrotmistr (cavalrycaptain) by 1917.
On February 18, 1918, he was arrested along with his family. Lieven wrote in his memoirs:
"... a day before the start of theGerman offensive onPskov andNarva ... theBolsheviks arrested me with my wife and minor daughter."
Among 161 hostages, he was sent toYekaterinburg and imprisoned. In March 1918, according to theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk, hostages from theBaltic states were transferred to the Germans inOrsha. After being released from captivity, he returned to his home in Latvia and took part in theLatvian War of Independence as part of theBaltische Landeswehr.
After theOctober Revolution, he returned to Latvia and in December 1918, arrived inLiepāja. In January 1919, he formed and led theLiepāja Volunteer Rifle Detachment (Russian:Либавский добровольческий стрелковый отряд,romanized: Libavskiy dobrovol'cheskiy strelkovyy otryad). The core of the newly-established unit were 60 former Russian Imperial army officers. Soon, this unit was complemented with oneBaltische Landeswehr company and one company under the command of captain Dydorov. The unit became known asLīvenieši and it participated in the Latvian War of Independence fighting against theBolsheviks.
During the pro-German coup in April 1919, Lieven refused to collaborate with the pro-German government. Later, his unit was incorporated into theBaltische Landeswehr and participated in battles aroundVentspils,Jelgava and also the liberation of Riga. Together with parts ofRüdiger von der Goltz'sBaltische Landeswehr at the end of May 1919, they forced the Bolsheviks out of Riga, which they had previously occupied. After Riga was taken, Colonel Lieven's detachment that pursued the retreating Bolsheviks was ambushed nearRopaži on May 24, 1919 and Lieven was seriously wounded in the thigh and stomach. The injury left him slightly lame for the rest of his life.
Although most of the Landeswehr, after the Latvians refused to recognize the pro-German regime ofAndrievs Niedra, fought against independent Latvia, in May 1919, parts of the Landeswehr subordinate to Lieven recognized Latvia's independence and went over to the side of theLatvian armed forces. Lieven considered it fundamental, for the sake of the common anti-Bolshevik struggle, to support the independence of theBaltic states and abandon the idea of "one indivisible Russia". The same position was supported by Captain Dydorov, who replaced Lieven while his injury was treated. Thus, Lieven's supporters were respected in interwar Latvia and Estonia, where their association existed.
On June 6, 1919, Lieven's unit was transformed to theRussian volunteer corps with around 4,000 men. Lieven forbade his men to fight theEstonian Army and Northern Latvia brigade inVidzeme, unlike the rest of theBaltische Landeswehr. His detachment only performed rear security duties for the Landeswehr duringthe campaign.[1]
When theStrazdumuiža ceasefire was signed between the Baltische Landeswehr and Estonian army, Lieven transformed his corps into theWest Russian Volunteer Army. Another two Russian units joined his army. Those were the partisan unitCavalry General count Keller under command ofPavel Bermondt Avalov and infantry brigade under command of colonel Virgolitz. On 9 July, his army received an order fromNikolai Yudenich to move toNarva and join hisNorthwestern Army's offensive onPetrograd. Pavel Bermondt Avalov and colonel Virgolitz refused to leave Latvia and stayed in Jelgava. Bermondt took over command of the army and during October–November 1919, and were defeated by the Latvian army.
Lieven went toEstonia and until December 1919, fought with Yudenich's army around Petrograd. Lieven led the army's 5th Infantry Division, into which his detachment was reorganized. He also traveled toLondon andParis and tried to negotiate further military support to Yudenich, however unsuccessfully.[2]
After the civil war, Lieven became a Latvian citizen and a manufacturer of bricks. Early in 1920, he returned to his Mežotne palace but soon traveled to France. He returned to Latvia in 1924; but meanwhile, Latvian agrarian reforms were launched and his Mežotne palace was seized by the government and his lands divided. However, he was granted a small manor nearbyMazmežotne manor, and he lived there and also in Riga for the rest of his life. Later, he established the Mazmežotne brick factory. He was also active in the anticommunist movement and led a local detachment of theBrotherhood of Russian Truth.
Anatoly von Lieven died on April 3, 1937, inĶemeri, Latvia. He was buried in the yard of the Mežotne Lutheran church.
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