Ataman Dutov biography. The Dutov clan and family. Under Kolchak's rule

Defeated by the Red Army and finding themselves outside of Russia, the leaders of the White movement did not at all consider their struggle over and did not tire of making loud statements about the imminent new liberation campaign. The Bolsheviks decided not to take risks and began to erase their enemies from political life one by one. They were deceived into entering the territory of Soviet Russia, where they were arrested and tried, persuaded to return to the USSR, and kidnapped. But most often they were liquidated right on the spot. The first such operation of the Cheka, which ended in success, was the murder of Ataman Dutov.

Difficult Cossack

Ataman of the Orenburg Cossacks Alexander Ilyich Dutov was not one of the ordinary Cossacks. Born in 1879 in the family of a Cossack general, he graduated from the Orenburg Cadet Corps, then the Nikolaev Cavalry School, and in 1908 the Academy of the General Staff. By November 1917, Colonel Dutov had two wars behind him (Russian-Japanese and German), orders, wounds, and shell shock. He was very popular among the Cossacks, who elected him as a delegate to the II All-Cossack Congress in Petrograd, and then as chairman of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops.

The vast territory of the Orenburg province was cleared of the Bolsheviks, and the Cossack ataman Dutov and his Orenburg army became the master here.

The Orenburg Cossack ataman Dutov began to fight the Bolsheviks from the very first day. On November 8, 1917, he signed an order to non-recognize the Bolshevik coup in Petrograd in the Orenburg province and assumed full state executive power.

The vast territory of the Orenburg province was cleared of the Bolsheviks, and the Cossack ataman Dutov and his Orenburg army became the master here.

In November 1918, he unconditionally recognized Kolchak’s power, believing that personal ambitions must be sacrificed in the name of common victory.

In September 1919, Kolchak's army finally ran out of steam. One military defeat followed another. The Orenburg army was also defeated.

On April 2, 1920, Dutov and the remnants of his troops (about 500 people) crossed the Russian-Chinese border. The ataman himself settled in the border fortress of Suidun, most of the Cossacks settled in the nearby city of Gulja.

Defeat is not defeat

Dutov immediately declared: “The fight is not over. Defeat is not defeat yet” - and issued an order to unite all anti-Bolshevik forces into the Orenburg separate army. His words “I will go out to die on Russian soil and will not return back to China!” became the banner under which soldiers and officers who found themselves in China gathered.

For Turkestan security officers, Dutov became problem No. 1. Cells of the white underground were discovered in the Semirechensk region, Omsk, Semipalatinsk, Orenburg, and Tyumen. Dutov’s appeals were found in the cities: “What is Ataman Dutov striving for?”, “Appeal to the Bolshevik,” “A word from Ataman Dutov to the Red Army soldiers,” “Appeal to the population of Semirechye,” “To the peoples of Turkestan,” etc.

In June 1920, the garrison of the city of Verny (Alma-Ata) rebelled against Soviet power. In November, the 1st battalion of the 5th border regiment rebelled, and the city of Naryn was captured. The threads from all the defeated underground organizations and suppressed rebellions led to the border fortress of Suidun to Ataman Dutov.

In the fall, security officers intercepted Dutov's emissary sent to Fergana. It turned out that the ataman was negotiating with the Basmachi about a simultaneous attack on Soviet Russia. In the event of the first successes of the joint offensive of the Orenburg separate army and the “warriors of Allah,” Afghanistan could join the game.

In the depths of the Cheka, a daring idea arose to kidnap Ataman Dutov and try him in an open proletarian court. But who will be able to complete the task? They began to look for such a person. And they found it.

"Prince" Chanyshev

Kasymkhan Chanyshev was born in the border city of Dzharkent (29 km from the border) into a wealthy Tatar family. He was considered a descendant of a prince or even a khan. For decades, the Chanyshev merchants carried out smuggling trade with China in opium and deer antlers, knew secret paths across the border, and had a network of suppliers and informants. Kasimkhan was desperately brave and himself repeatedly walked across the border. In addition to his native Tatar, he also knew Russian and Chinese. He was a devout Muslim, respected Sharia law, and even before the revolution he made the hajj to Mecca. No one would be surprised if Kasimkhan became one of the leaders of the Basmachi movement during the revolution. But life sometimes throws out surprising twists.

In 1917, Kasimkhan joined the Bolsheviks, and in 1918 he formed a Red Guard detachment from his horsemen, captured Dzharkent, established Soviet power in it and took on the troublesome position of chief of the district police. True, this did not save the numerous relatives of the newly minted Bolshevik from dispossession. Kasimkhan's father's gardens were confiscated, and his uncle, a respected wealthy merchant, was forced to move to China. In a word, according to the security officers, Chanyshev was quite suitable for the role of someone offended by the Soviet regime, and his position as chief of police was supposed to be the bait that Ataman Dutov would fall for.

The operation has begun

In September 1920, Chanyshev and several horsemen made his first trip to Gulja. It was assumed that there Kasymkhan would meet with Milovsky, the former mayor of Dzharkent (he and Chanyshev were once connected by trade affairs). Further, by order of the Cheka, he should have acted according to the circumstances.

A few days later Chanyshev returned. His report delighted the security officers immensely. Kasymkhan managed not only to meet with Milovsky, but also made contact with Colonel Ablaykhanov. The latter served as a translator under Dutov and promised Chanyshev to organize a meeting with the ataman.

Chanyshev walked across the border five more times. He met with Dutov twice, managed to convince him of his dislike for the Soviet regime, of the existence of an underground organization in Dzharkent, handed over a certain amount of weapons and hired a man of the ataman, a certain Nekhoroshko, to work in the police. One of Chanyshev’s horsemen, Mahmud Khojamiarov, regularly delivered messages from Nekhoroshko to Suidun: the spy reported that everything was ready in Dzharkent and they were just waiting for the ataman to start the uprising. As soon as the Dutovites cross the border, Chanyshev’s policemen will capture the city, surrender it and themselves will join Dutov.

In turn, the security officers received information about the forces that Dutov had at his disposal. And this information was alarming.

Plans change

According to Chanyshev, the ataman had 5-6 thousand bayonets, two guns, and four machine guns at his disposal. In Gulja, Dutov organized a factory for the production of rifle cartridges. The Orenburg Separate Army was not at all a myth, as some had hoped. In addition, in Przhevalsk, Talgar, Verny, Bishkek, Omsk, Semipalatinsk, Dutov had connections with underground organizations that were ready to rebel at his signal.

At the beginning of January 1921, in the Peganovskaya volost of the Ishim district, several clashes occurred between peasants and soldiers of food detachments. Within a few days, unrest swept the entire district and spread to neighboring Yalutorovsky. This was the beginning of the West Siberian uprising, which soon affected the Tyumen, Omsk, Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg provinces...

On January 31, a group of six people crossed the Soviet-Chinese border. Chanyshev, the eldest in the group, had orders to eliminate Dutov, and as soon as possible. And so that Kasimkhan would not be tempted to stay in China without completing the task, nine of his relatives were arrested in Dzharkent.

For several days, Chanyshev and his horsemen circled around Suidun, hoping to watch for Dutov outside the fortress. But the messenger who arrived from Dzharkent said: if Chanyshev does not carry out the liquidation by February 10, the hostages will be shot. For Kasimkhan there was no other choice but to hold an action in the fortress itself.

Death of the Ataman

On the evening of February 6, a group of horsemen rode through the open gate into Suidong. Here they separated. One remained at the gate. His task was to prevent the guards from closing the gate so that the liquidators could leave unhindered. The two dismounted and took up positions near Dutov’s house: they were supposed to come to the aid of the main group in case something went wrong. The sentry asked: “Who?” - “A letter from the prince to Ataman Dutov.”

Mahmud Khojamiarov and Kudduk Baismakov had already delivered reports from Dzharkent to Dutov more than once; they knew them by sight. The sentry unlocked the gate. The trio dismounted. One remained with the horses in front of the gate, two went into the yard. Baismakov started a conversation with the guard, and Khojamiarov, accompanied by an orderly, entered the house. "From the prince!" - He handed Dutov a letter.

The chieftain sat down at the table, unfolded the note and began to read: “Mr. chieftain, we’ve stopped waiting, it’s time to start, everything is done. Ready. We’re just waiting for the first shot, then we won’t sleep.” Dutov finished reading and looked up: “Why didn’t the prince come himself?”

Instead of answering, Khojamiarov pulled out a revolver from his bosom and shot at the chieftain at point-blank range. Dutov fell. The second bullet hit the orderly in the forehead. The third - into the chieftain lying on the floor. The sentry standing at the gate turned towards the shots, and at that moment Baismakov stabbed him in the back with a knife. The liquidators ran out into the street, jumped on their horses and galloped through the streets of Suidong.

The last point in the operation

The Cossacks, rushing to look for the ataman’s killers, found no one. And it is not surprising, since the Dutovites rushed towards the Soviet-Chinese border, and Chanyshev and the horsemen galloped in the opposite direction - to Gulja. There, with their uncle, they intended to sit out for several days, rightly believing that it was too early for them to return to Soviet Russia, not knowing for sure whether Dutov had been killed or just wounded.

Ataman Dutov died on February 7 at 7 a.m. from internal hemorrhage as a result of a liver injury. He and two Cossacks who died with him - sentry Maslov and orderly Lopatin - were buried on the outskirts of Suidun in a Catholic cemetery. The orchestra was playing. The Cossacks, seeing off their ataman on his last journey, cried and swore revenge. A few days after the funeral, the chieftain’s grave was desecrated: unknown persons dug up his body and beheaded him.

On February 11, Chanyshev returned to Dzharkent with one hundred percent proof of the completion of the task - Dutov’s head. The hostages were released. And a telegram went to Moscow about the liquidation of one of the most dangerous enemies of Soviet power.

Klim Podkova

According to your deeds and your reward

The security officers thanked Dutov's killers. Khojamiarov received from the hands of Dzerzhinsky a gold watch and a Mauser with the engraving “For the personally carried out terrorist act against Ataman Dutov to Comrade Khojamiarov.” Chanyshev, as the immediate leader of the operation, - a gold watch, a personalized carbine and a safe conduct signed by the country's security officer No. 2 Peters: “The bearer of this, Comrade Chanyshev Kasymkhan, on February 6, 1921, committed an act of national significance, which saved several thousand lives of the working masses from attack gang, and therefore the named comrade requires attentive attention from the Soviet authorities and the said comrade is not subject to arrest without the knowledge of the Plenipotentiary Representation.”

Alas, high awards did not save the above-mentioned comrades from purges during the era of the Great Terror. Khojamiarov was shot in 1938. And a few years earlier, Chanyshev fell under the deadly roller coaster of repression. The safe conduct did not help him either: Peters, who signed it, himself turned out to be an enemy of the people and was shot.

The first damn thing is lumpy

The operation to eliminate Dutov cannot be considered an exemplary operation. Its successful completion was the result of a lucky coincidence and desperate improvisation on the spot. But the security officers learned quickly. Then followed actions against Kutepov and Miller, Savinkov and Konovalets, Bandera and many others who could no longer be called amateurish...

So what was it? On the night of February 6-7, 1921, in China, in the town of Suidong, Ataman Alexander Dutov was shot at point-blank range in his office. Thus, in 1942, the life of the main enemy of the Bolsheviks ended after the October Revolution.

But the story with him did not end there. The life and struggle of Ataman Dutov still causes a lot of controversy. Some still consider him a bandit and an enemy of the Soviet regime, others - a hero of Russia who fought against the communists for a democratic Russia.

Kazakh modern historiography has not yet given any assessment of the personality of Alexander Dutov. But Kazakh historians clearly disagree with the interpretation that Dutov is a national hero of Russia. In the modern history of Kazakhstan, the personality of Alexander Dutov still bears a label formed by propaganda cliches of the Soviet era. Almost none of the Kazakh historians study Dutov’s activities on the territory of modern Kazakhstan.

– Our main focus is either on 1916, or the founding of autonomy, or then the 30s – the famine and so on. But the Civil War is almost not studied now. It is believed that it is not relevant, that these are all problems of Soviet Russia,” a doctor of historical sciences, a professor at one of the universities in Kazakhstan, who did not want his name mentioned, told our radio Azattyk.

“IN FRONT OF US IS THE PROVOCATORIAL FIGURE OF LENIN”

The military ataman of the Orenburg Cossack army, Alexander Dutov, was one of the first in Russia, already in October 1917, to speak out against the Bolsheviks. “This is an interesting physiognomy: average height, shaved, round figure, hair cut into a comb, cunning lively eyes, knows how to hold himself, insightful mind” - this is the portrait of Alexander Dutov left by his contemporary in the spring of 1918.

Then the military chieftain was 39 years old. In October 1917, at the emergency military circle, he was appointed head of the Orenburg military government.

Alexander Dutov was born on August 5, 1879 in the city of Kazalinsk, Syrdarya region, into the family of an esaul, a Cossack officer. The father of the future Cossack leader, Ilya Petrovich, a military officer from the era of the Turkestan campaigns, was promoted to the rank of major general in September 1907 upon his dismissal from service. Mother, Elizaveta Uskova, is the daughter of a constable, that is, an officer of the Cossack troops, a native of the Orenburg province.

Dutov was not an ideal person, he did not stand out for his abilities, he had numerous weaknesses characteristic of ordinary people, but at the same time he still showed qualities that allowed him, in troubled times, to stand at the head of one of the largest Cossack troops in Russia.

Dutov graduated from the Orenburg Neplyuevsky Cadet Corps in 1897, and two years later from the Nikolaev Cavalry School, was promoted to the rank of cornet and sent to the first Orenburg Cossack regiment stationed in Kharkov.

On March 20, 1916, Alexander Dutov volunteered to join the active army. A month after the February Revolution of 1917, he was elected chairman of the All-Russian Union of Cossack Army, and in April of the same year he headed the congress of Russian Cossacks in Petrograd. In his political views, Dutov stood on republican and democratic positions.

Since October of the same year, Alexander Dutov has been constantly in Orenburg. He signed an order for the army on non-recognition of the power of the Bolsheviks on the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army, who carried out a coup in Petrograd.

Alexander Dutov took control of a strategically important region that blocked communications with Turkestan and Siberia. The ataman was faced with the task of holding elections to the Constituent Assembly and maintaining stability in the province and army until its convocation. The Bolsheviks who arrived from the center were captured and put behind bars.

In November, Alexander Dutov was elected a member of the Constituent Assembly from the Orenburg Cossack Army. In his speech at this meeting he said:

“Now we are living through the Bolshevik days. We see in the darkness the outlines of tsarism, Wilhelm and his supporters, and clearly and definitely standing before us is the provocateur figure of Vladimir Lenin and his supporters: Trotsky-Bronstein, Ryazanov-Goldenbach, Kamenev-Rosenfeld, Sukhanov-Himmer and Zinoviev-Apfelbaum. Russia is dying. We are present at her last breath. There was Great Rus' from the Baltic Sea to the ocean, from the White Sea to Persia, there was a whole, great, formidable, powerful, agricultural, laboring Russia - it does not exist.”

Having escaped encirclement from a Red Army detachment to China in 1920, Alexander Dutov sets a goal - to unite all the anti-Bolshevik forces of Western China for a campaign against Soviet Russia. He issues an order to unite anti-Bolshevik forces in Western China into the Orenburg separate army.

"DIRECT RELATION WITH THE ENTENTE"

The presence of significant anti-Bolshevik forces, organized and hardened by years of struggle, near the borders of Soviet Russia could not but worry the power of the Soviets. The Soviet leadership was even more concerned about the indisputable growth of the authority of Ataman Dutov. The Semirechensk Bolsheviks and security officers could find themselves cut off from Moscow at any moment. In addition, the Cossack ataman established contact with representatives of the Entente.

“The French, British and Americans have direct contact with me and provide us with assistance,” wrote Dutov. – The day is coming when this help will be even more real. Having finished with the Bolsheviks, we will continue the war with Germany, and I, as a member of the Constituent Assembly, assure you that all treaties with the allies will be renewed. The Czechoslovak corps is fighting with us.”

Therefore, it was urgently necessary to stop the anti-Bolshevik activities of Ataman Dutov and the Cossacks under his leadership.

The Chairman of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK) Felix Dzerzhinsky wanted not only to kill the chieftain, but to publicly execute him. Therefore, a special operation was developed to kidnap him. However, having studied the deployment of the ataman’s detachment and the lifestyle of Alexander Dutov, the intelligence officers came to the conclusion that the abduction was technically impossible. Then a second plan arose to destroy it on the spot.

From the famous Soviet film “The End of the Ataman” we know that the Ataman was killed by the security officer Chadyarov. We must assume that screenwriter Andron Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky came up with such a collective surname for the main character of the film for a reason. From Soviet intelligence documents it is known that the shot was fired by a certain Mahmud Khojamyarov. The special group was led by Kasymkhan Chanyshev. In many Soviet sources he was called nothing less than an “agent of the Red special services.”

Smuggler and security officer in one person?

Who is he, Kasymkhan Chanyshev? In some sources he is listed as the head of the Dzharkent district police or Khorgos. Other witnesses of that era, even relatives, called him a smuggler, an opium dealer. He smuggled opium and deer antlers to China and brought gold from there. He had a large network of both suppliers and resellers on both sides of the border.

There is a version that the latter went to the murder of Ataman Dutov, an old friend of his uncle Kasymkhan Chanyshev, not of his own free will and not out of duty. The security officers forced him to do this by arresting his parents, wife and children. They threatened him that if he did not return from China or kill Dutov, then his family would simply be shot.

Judging by the stories of his relatives and descendants, Kasymkhan Chanyshev never served in the police or counterintelligence, much less was an officer in the Red Army. He had “business relations” with the security officers - for a certain bribe they turned a blind eye to his illegal business activities.

Alexander Dutov trusted Kasymkhan Chanyshev. He even had common affairs. We can say that the ataman and his Cossacks were in some way his clients. Coming from a wealthy Tatar family, Kasymkhan Chanyshev could not support the ideas of the Bolsheviks. His numerous relatives also suffered from their dispossession.

For decades, the Tatar merchants Chanyshevs successfully conducted trade in the Xinjiang province. Kasimkhan's uncle lived permanently in Ghulja, where he had trading houses and was considered the richest man in the region. Thanks to his uncle, Kasymkhan Chanyshev was allowed into Dutov’s house. He was well acquainted with many of Dutov's people. The ataman's personal translator, Colonel Ablaykhanov, was Kasimkhan's childhood friend.

Thinking through the special operation, the special services of the new government could not help but take advantage of this circumstance. Only Kasymkhan Chanyshev could get close to the ataman himself, and accordingly, only he had a real chance to kill him.

In Soviet and emigrant literature there are many versions of this operation, which was successful for the security officers. Let's look at a document from the Central Archives of the FSB of Russia. In particular, on the report of Mahmud Khojamyarov.

“At the entrance to Dutov,” he wrote, “I handed him a note, he began to read it, sitting on a chair at the table. While reading, I quietly grabbed a revolver and shot Dutov in the chest. Dutov fell from his chair. Dutov’s adjutant, who was here, rushed towards me, I shot him point-blank in the forehead. He fell, dropping the burning candle from the chair. In the darkness, I felt for Dutov with my foot and shot him again.”

MAUSER AND GOLD WATCH FOR TERRORIST ACT

Thus, the famous chieftain Dutov was killed by the Uyghur Mahmud Khojamyarov. What was often written about with pride in Soviet newspapers in the Uyghur language. M. Ruziev in the book “The Revived Uyghur People”, with reference to the newspaper “Stalin Zholy” dated November 7, 1935, writes that Khodzhamyarov received from the hands of Felix Dzerzhinsky a Mauser with an engraved inscription: “For personally carried out terrorist act against Ataman Dutov to Comrade Khodzhamyarov.”

In independent Kazakhstan, the attitude towards Dutov’s personality has not changed. He played a negative role in relation to the Kazakh people, and Dutov’s government supported colonial policy on our territory.

In addition to the Mauser, Mahmud Khojamyarov was awarded a gold watch. Kasymkhan Chanyshev was awarded only a gold watch. The order of Felix Dzerzhinsky says: “For direct management of the operation.” Kh. Vakhidov mentions this in his article in the magazine “Prostor” for 1966.

History does not tell us what Kasymkhan Chanyshev did after successfully carrying out an important special operation by the security officers. There is information that he was repressed in 1937 and shot the same year. In the 1960s he was rehabilitated.

EVIDENCE – HEAD OF ATAMAN

Kasymkhan Chanyshev's detachment, consisting of nine people, jumped on ready horses and galloped off under the cover of darkness. The pursuit of the Cossacks turned out to be unsuccessful, since, contrary to the expectations of the Dutovites, Chanyshev and Khojamyarov galloped not towards the Soviet border, but in the opposite direction - to Gulja. They hid in the spacious mansion of Uncle Chanyshev. They could not return home without providing the security officers with evidence of the murder they had committed.

Many Russians living in China came to the funeral of the ataman and the Cossacks Lopatin and Maslov who died with him. Elena Sofronova, an emigrant who lived there in those years, describes the ataman’s funeral in her book “Where are you, my Motherland?” , published in Moscow in 1999:

“... Dutov’s funeral took place with magnificent celebration and music: the coffin with the deceased was carried in front, and a large crowd followed him. Dutov was buried in the small Dorzhinki cemetery, located approximately four kilometers from Suidun. The three Basmachi who came to Dutov, i.e. Chanyshev, Khojamyarov and Baismakov, were envoys from the Soviet Union to carry out the task described above. Two or three days after the funeral, at night Dutov’s grave was dug up by someone, and the corpse was beheaded and not buried. The killers needed the stolen head to convince those who sent them that the task had been completed with precision.”

Re-emigrant from Xinjiang V. Mishchenko also wrote about this: “In the first week after the funeral, Ataman’s grave was opened and the corpse was beheaded. The killer needed the head as evidence to present to the Cheka about the completion of the task, so that the killer’s family, taken hostage by the security officers, would be freed.”

That is, the Russians living in China understood who desecrated the ataman’s grave. Moreover, they knew that Chanyshev’s family was being held hostage.

Five days later, after the participants in the operation returned home with the chieftain’s head, on February 11, a telegram was sent from Tashkent to Moscow, to the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Its text was first published in 1999 in one of the central Russian newspapers:

“In addition to the telegram sent to you, we inform you about the details of the dvtchk sent through the Dzharkent group of communists. On February 6, General Dutov and his adjutant and two Cossacks of the ataman’s personal retinue were killed under the following circumstances, period, the person in charge of the operation went to Dutov’s apartment, gave him a letter and, taking advantage of the moment, killed Dutov with two shots, the third adjutant, period. the two remaining to cover the retreat killed two Cossacks from the ataman’s personal guard who rushed to shoot into the apartment, period, ours returned safely today, Dzharkent, period.”

“DUTOV WAS NOT AN IDEAL PERSON”

This is how the life of ataman General Alexander Dutov, who laid the foundation for the White movement in the East of Russia, was cut short. The elimination of such a major political and military figure as Dutov dealt a severe blow to the Orenburg Cossacks.

Researcher of the military history of Russia at the end of the 19th - first quarter of the 20th century, Andrei Ganin, writes in his book about the ataman:

“Of course, Dutov was not an ideal person, he did not stand out for his abilities, he had numerous weaknesses characteristic of ordinary people, but at the same time he still showed qualities that allowed him, in troubled times, to stand at the head of one of the largest Cossack troops in Russia, to create his own completely out of practically nothing. a combat-ready army and wage a merciless fight against the Bolsheviks; he became a spokesman for hope, and sometimes even an idol for hundreds of thousands of people who believed in him.”

Alexander Dutov expressed his political views in an interview with the Siberian Telegraph Agency:

“I love Russia, in particular my Orenburg, the region, this is my whole platform. I have a positive attitude towards regional autonomy, and I myself am a big regionalist. I did not and do not recognize party struggle. If the Bolsheviks and anarchists found a real path to salvation, the revival of Russia, I would be in their ranks, Russia is dear to me, and patriots, no matter what party they belong to, will understand me, just as I understand them. But I must say frankly: “I am a supporter of order, discipline, firm power, and at a time like now, when the existence of an entire huge state is at stake, I will not stop at executions. These executions are not revenge, but only a last resort, and here for me everyone is equal - Bolsheviks and non-Bolsheviks, soldiers and officers, friends and foes...”

According to candidate of historical sciences Erlan Medeubaev, if historians of the Russian Federation reconsidered the role of Alexander Dutov in the history of the white Cossacks, the counter-revolutionary movement, in the Civil War, presenting him as a patriot of monarchical Russia, then Kazakh modern historiography has not changed its attitude towards Dutov’s activities.

– In independent Kazakhstan, the attitude towards Dutov’s personality has not changed. He remains a class enemy, the organizer of the White Cossack movement, in the Turgai region, at the hands of which many of the local population died. He played a negative role in relation to the Kazakh people, and Dutov’s government supported colonial policy on our territory,” Erlan Medeubaev, candidate of historical sciences, head of the department of national history at Aktobe State University named after Kudaibergen Zhubanov, told our radio Azattyk.

Life brilliant Russian officer, who became a participant in the White Guard movement and ataman of the Cossack army, seems very unusual, and therefore attracts special attention.

Alexander Dutov was born August 5, 1879 in the city of Kazalinsk, located in what is now Kazakhstan. The ancestors of the boy, who later became a legendary figure, were Cossacks. His father was Ilya Petrovich Dutov, a Russian military officer who rose to the high rank of major general. His mother, named Elizaveta Nikolaevna, came from a noble family of a constable. Sasha became her first child.

The boy was born while his family was on a campaign with the army. And so it turned out that he was born in Kazalinsk, and spent his childhood in other large Russian cities where troops were stationed.

For two years he lived in the northern capital, where Sasha first crossed the threshold of school. Subsequently, he had to transfer to another educational institution in order to prepare for entry into a cadet institution.

In 1889, a cherished dream came true - ten-year-old Sasha became a cadet of the Orenburg Corps. Throughout his long years of study, he, as an excellent student, received a military scholarship. This was followed by training at the Nikolaev Cadet School, ending with graduation in 1899. At the age of twenty, Dutov became cornet and headed to Kharkov, where his Orenburg regiment was located at that time.

Three years later, the future ataman went on a business trip to Kyiv to pass preliminary exams for a new engineering specialty and subsequent transfer to St. Petersburg, to prepare for and pass serious tests that lasted 4 months.

Alexander was the first of the students to do an excellent job with the exams for the full course and after some time became a teacher, first at the sapper school, and, some time later, at the telegraph school.

In 1903, Dutov received another rank of lieutenant. In the autumn of the same year, his wedding took place with hereditary noblewoman Olga Petrovskaya. Despite continuing his studies at the General Staff Academy, Alexander considered it his duty to go to the Russian-Japanese War of 1905.

During the entire period of hostilities he proved himself to be an excellent officer and was noted Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd class.

After the end of the war and returning to his homeland, Dutov continued his interrupted studies and graduated from the Academy in 1908, receiving the rank of staff captain.

For three years, Alexander Ilyich held the position teacher at the Orenburg School of Junkers. The following fact seems interesting: he became the mentor of the future famous military chieftain G.M. Semenov. From 1912 to 1916, Dutov was the commander of the Orenburg Cossack regiment. All this time he was in Kharkov.

With the outbreak of World War I, Alexander Dutov voluntarily went to the front. He served bravely under the command of the legendary General A.A. Brusilova, was wounded twice. But even after receiving severe wounds and treatment, he returned to duty. For his demonstrated courage and bravery, Dutov was awarded the Order of St. Anne.

After the revolutions of 1917, the hero becomes a truly iconic figure and, truly, an unusually popular personality among the Cossacks.

He categorically does not accept the power of the Bolsheviks, and, therefore, upon returning to Orenburg, he was the first among other atamans of the Cossack troops to declare his refusal to recognize her in the army entrusted to him. For a long time he strictly controlled the most important region of the country and was able to close the communication between the central regions and Siberia.

At the beginning of 1918, the strengthened troops of the Red Army launch a large-scale attack on Orenburg and capture the city, after long resistance from Dutov troops. The commander goes alone to Verkhneuralsk to form new forces there and direct them against the Bolsheviks.

However, this city soon surrendered. Then Dutov decided to establish his government in a neighboring village, but he was also surrounded and had difficulty escaping the enemy.

As a result of dissatisfaction with the new policy and the outbreak of a powerful insurrectionary movement, in which more than six thousand Cossacks were involved, Orenburg was taken in July, and a little later the city of Orsk. Consequently, the entire territory of the Orenburg region was freed from the power of the Reds. One of the first A.I. Dutov recognized and fully supported the power of Admiral A.I. Kolchak.

A year later, his army suffered a crushing defeat and began to fight back to Semirechye. Due to the advance of a larger Bolshevik army and lack of food, in the spring of 1920 Dutov, along with a detachment, left the borders of Russia and went to neighboring China.

The White Guard commanders, forced to leave Russia, did not believe that the war with the Bolsheviks was over. Many of them tried to find allies on the side in order to return and free the country from the Red regime. This was Ataman Dutov. Having moved to China, he began to prepare a liberation campaign and maintained contact with numerous underground organizations. The Cheka could not wait until he gained enough strength. And therefore they prepared a special operation to eliminate Dutov.

Against the Bolsheviks

The future ataman of the Orenburg Cossacks was born in 1879. By the beginning of the First World War, he had graduated from the Orenburg Cadet Corps, the Nikolaev Cavalry School and the Academy of the General Staff. Alexander Ilyich also had a chance to take part in the Russian-Japanese War. Then there was the war with Germany. And by 1917, Dutov had many awards, several serious injuries, as well as unconditional authority among the Cossacks. He was even delegated to the Second All-Cossack Congress in Petrograd. And then Dutov became chairman of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops.

When the Bolsheviks carried out an armed coup d'etat and seized power, Alexander Ilyich did not obey them. At the beginning of November 1917, he signed a decree stating that the Orenburg province did not recognize the Bolshevik system. He officially became the head of the Orenburg province. In a short time, Dutov managed to clear his estate of sympathizers with the red movement. And although Alexander Ilyich considered himself the master of the Orenburg land, he accepted Kolchak’s power unconditionally. Ataman understood that in order to defeat the Bolsheviks it was necessary to step over personal ambitions.

But still White lost. Kolchak’s army suffered defeats, and soon Ataman Dutov himself drank the bitter cup of the defeated. And at the beginning of April 1920, he, along with the remnants of the army, had to leave his native country. The defeated White Guards settled in the Chinese fortress of Suidong and the town of Gulja. Despite the difficult situation, Alexander Ilyich did not think of giving up. He told his subordinates: “The fight is not over. Defeat is not defeat yet.” Ataman gathered the scattered forces of the White Guards who had taken refuge in China and created the Orenburg Separate Army. And his phrase “I will go out to die on Russian soil and will not return back to China” became the motto of all opponents of the Bolshevik government.

Alexander Ilyich launched a vigorous activity, establishing contacts with the underground. He prepared a liberation campaign, trying to attract as many people as possible to this. In fact, Dutov became a formidable opponent who only needed time to successfully implement his plan. And the security officers understood this very well. And when they learned about the successful negotiations between the ataman and the Basmachi, it became completely clear that they could not hesitate. Initially, it was decided to kidnap him from Suidun and bring him to an open proletarian trial. This important task was entrusted to a native of the city of Dzharkent, Tatar Kasymkhan Chanyshev. The Chanyshev family traced its history either to a certain prince or to a khan. She was rich and influential. The Chanyshevs were merchants and conducted active trade with China. True, their business was smuggling, so merchants had to cross the border along secret paths. Yes, they had extensive connections and informants in the neighboring state.

All this predetermined Kasimkhan’s choice.

Secret agent

Chanyshev quickly assessed the situation and joined the Bolsheviks in 1917. He formed a Red Guard detachment from his horsemen, captured Jankert and declared it Soviet. And even the fact that many of his relatives were dispossessed did not affect Kasimkhan’s political views. He continued to fight for the Bolsheviks and kept in touch with a relative who lived in Gulja. According to the security officers, Chanyshev was ideally suited for the role of one offended by the Bolsheviks. Like, he fought for them, and they treated his many relatives so cruelly. And Kasimkhan agreed to carry out an important task.

In the fall of 1920, he, in the company of several devoted horsemen, went to Gulja to carry out preparatory work. The operation lasted several days, after which they returned. Kasimkhan reported that he was able to make contact with Colonel Ablaykhanov, Dutov’s translator. And he promised Chanyshev to arrange a meeting with the ataman. In general, the result exceeded all expectations.

Then there were several more reconnaissance trips. Kasimkhan met with Dutov a couple of times, told him his legend and informed him about the underground fighters in Jankert. He assured the chieftain that in the event of a liberation campaign, they would be able to capture the city, and then support his movement. Alexander Ilyich believed and told Kasimkhan about his grandiose plans. When the security officers became aware of them, it was decided to speed up the operation. The fact is that Dutov already had a great force behind him, entangling many large cities. And the Orenburg Separate Army was numerous and combat-ready, and not imaginary, as some of the Bolsheviks wanted to think. The threat became too frightening.

And when the West Siberian uprising began in January 1921, the security officers became alarmed. It was decided not to kidnap Dutov for subsequent trial, but simply to liquidate him. Chanyshev received a new task. And on the night from January 31 to February 1, a group of six people under the leadership of Chanyshev crossed the border. Kasimkhan wrote a letter to Dutov in which he announced his readiness for an uprising: “Mr. Ataman. We've stopped waiting, it's time to start, everything is done. Ready. We’re just waiting for the first shot, then we won’t sleep.” The message was delivered by Mahmud Khadzhamirov. He, accompanied by orderly Lopatin, entered Dutov’s house on February 6. As soon as Alexander Ilyich opened the letter, a shot followed. Having dealt with the ataman, Khadzhamirov also killed Lopatin. Meanwhile, another security agent dealt with the sentry. And soon the entire group crossed the border without losses.

There is information that the security officers did not trust Chanyshev, considering him a double agent. Therefore, they took his relatives hostage. And Kasimkhan was given a condition: either you eliminate Dutov, or you bury your relatives.

Ataman Dutov passed away the next day. The dream of dying on Russian soil was not destined to come true. He and the other two victims were buried in a cemetery near Seydun. A few days later, Alexander Ilyich’s grave was opened, and his body was beheaded. According to one version, Chanyshev took the head to prove the reality of Dutov’s death. But there is no information confirming this fact.

For successfully completing an important task, the entire group received a reward. Khadzhamirov received from Dzerzhinsky a gold watch and a Mauser with a commemorative engraving. Chanyshev was presented with the award by Peters. Along with a gold watch and a personalized carbine, he also received a “safe-conduct”: “The bearer of this, Comrade. Chanyshev Kasymkhan on February 6, 1921 committed an act of national significance, which saved several thousand lives of the working masses from a gang attack, and therefore the named comrade requires attentive attention from the Soviet authorities and the said comrade is not subject to arrest without the knowledge of the Plenipotentiary Representation.”

Kolchak and Dutov bypass the line of volunteers.

02/07/1921. – Died in Suidong (China) after an assassination attempt the day before by security officers, white general Alexander Ilyich Dutov, ataman of the Orenburg Cossacks

(08/05/1879–02/07/1921) was born into the family of a Cossack officer in the city of Kazalinsk, Syrdarya region. He graduated from the Orenburg Cadet Corps (1889–1897), the Nikolaev Cavalry School (1897–1899), a course of science in the engineer brigade (1901), passed the exam at the Nikolaev Engineering School (1902), graduated from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff in the 1st category, but without the right to be assigned to the General Staff (1904–1908).

He began his service in the 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment in 1899. Cornet (1899), lieutenant (1903). Participant (1905), for which he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd degree and the rank of staff captain (1906). In 1909, esaul (1909), in 1912 - military foreman (corresponding to the rank of lieutenant colonel). In 1910, a new award was given - the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree. Full member of the Orenburg Scientific Archival Commission (1914–1915).