Vice-Admiral in command of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, later supreme ruler and commander-in-chief of Siberia (and through military force, aimed at all Russia). Kolchak was was admired by the aristocracy and bourgeoisie alike for possessing the "romantic" traits of chivalry and duty to the King above all else, as the servant of god.

As a young officer Kolchak had taken part in the dangerous Arctic explorations, and had fought with great bravery in the defense of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese war. After the defeat of the Russian Navy, he led a small group of officers who reorganized the leading brass of Russia's Navy. His thorough and efficient work over the next decade were awarded with a promotion to Rear-Admiral at the very young age of 43. By June 1916, when he was forty-four years old, Kolchak was appointed Vice-Admiral in command of the Black Sea Fleet, where he received acclaim for courage and efficiency in setting minefields close to Turkish shores.

When the Soviets grew in strength after the February Relolution, Kolchak refused to remain in the Navy and shortly emigrated to the United States and England. He returned to Russia after the October Revolution, landing in the Far Eastern Siberian port of Vladivostok. Kolchak publicly proclaimed his full support of England in its efforts to overthrow the Soviet government and was assigned to coordinate the military maneuvers of the various interventionist forces in the region. Ataman Semenov, also operating in the region, ignored Kolchak as did the Japanese. Kolchak was undeterred, and set plans to gain command of the White Army in the Don region, but as he reached Omsk he was persuaded to join the newly established White government ("the directory") as Minister of War. Shortly after his joining, on November 18 1918, while visiting the soldiers at the front, his czarist comrades overthrew the directory and appointed Kolchak supreme ruler and commander-in-chief, establishing an autocratic military dictatorship.

Landlords, accompanied by soldiers, took from the Siberian peasants what they had "seized for themselves". In factories, factory owner's returned with soldiers to forcibly remove workers' ownership of the factories. Untold numbers of workers and peasants were shot, beaten, raped, and imprisoned. All political factions who opposed Kolchak's dictatorship were imprisoned, including the right-wing of the Socialist revolutionary party, who at one time had been a part of the directory.

The peasantry and workers of Omsk revolted on Dec. 21, 1918, outraged by the brutality of Kolchak and his overthrow of the directory. A number of imprisoned right-wing Socialist revolutionaries were successfully liberated by the revolting population. To suppress the revolt, Kolchak ordered soldiers to open fire, killing over 300 unarmed civilians. The people were successfully dispersed. In the weeks following 166 civilians were shot dead for having ties to instigating the revolt. The Socialist revolutionaries, who had been freed from imprisonment, gave themselves up in fear of reprisals. They were promptly taken to the banks of the Irtysh River, and shot.

Kolchak's military campaign was no less brutal. In late December 1918 a section of the Siberian Army, led by General Gajda under the command of Kolchak, marched westward over the Ural mountains and captured the city of Perm. The Red Army responded by a heroic crossing of the Volga River, liberating the towns of Ufa and Orenburg (directly south of Perm).

Kolchak then unleashed a full offensive into southern Russia from Perm. His 40,000 strong Western Army pushed back the Soviet 5th Army which held the city of Ufa, with less than 10,000 men and women in its defense. After months of courageous fighting, the Soviet 5th Army was forced to fall back, and on March 13 Kolchak's Army occupied Ufa. In the following weeks Kolchak continued to drive his armies farther into the heart of Russia, separating them to capture the two major ports on the Volga River: Kazan, 450 kilometers northwest of Ufa, and Samara (later renamed Kuybyshev), 400 kilometers southwest of Ufa. In the North, the remnants of Kolchak's Northern Siberian Army left Perm and marched west, towards the large industrial city of Vyatka (later renamed Kirov), some 400 kilometers to the west. If successful, Kolchak would establish a strong Eastern front, and would only have to rely on his British collaborators in the North, the French in the South West, and Denikin in the South to ensure the strangulation of the Soviet government from the peoples of Russia.

Kolchak's advances, however, were halted not only by the Red Army, but also by the Russian peasantry who would not tolerate Kolchak's brutality. As most of his forces were now West of the Urals, his dictatorship in Siberia began to crumble. While his officers in Siberia continued their brutal suppression of the peasantry, the soldiers under their command refused to carry out orders. The supply lines to Kolchak soldiers in the West began to falter, and their morale began its steady decline, with soldiers defecting to the Red Army everyday.

By the end of April, the Red Army began its counteroffensive. Led by Mikhail Frunze, Kolchak's Western Army slowly began to fall back. By June 9, the city of Ufa was liberated again, and Kolchak's armies were forced to flee east of the Ural mountains. The Red Army was relentless. Kolchak's forces had bordered themselves up in the city of Chelyabinsk, but they could not withstand the force of the Red Army. By November 14, 1919, almost a year to the day that Kolchak had established a military dictatorship in Omsk, the Red Army, with the help of the revolting peasantry and the soldiers under Kolchak's command, liberated the city of Omsk.

In January, 1920, Kolchak proclaimed Denikin his successor as leader of the white armies. Kolchak retreated east, attempting to flee Russia through Vladivostok, but was killed by the Red Army.

Constitutional Court protects Admiral Alexander Kolchak.

Encyclopedia of Marxism