White General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev. Skobelev Mikhail Dmitrievich (1843–1882), Russian commander, infantry general, Knight of St. George
An outstanding military leader - “white” (as he was called because he always fought on a white horse and in a white uniform), General Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev showed himself as an exemplary military administrator in the Russian-Turkish War (1877-1878), in the conquests of Russian lands empire in Central Asia. He was also a good leader who cared about his subordinates.
Biography: General Skobelev M.D. in childhood and youth
The future military leader was born in St. Petersburg on September 17, 1843 in the family of Lieutenant General Dmitry Ivanovich Skobelev by his wife Olga Nikolaevna.
He was raised at home and was later sent to France.
At the age of 18, he entered St. Petersburg University, successfully passing the exams, but due to student unrest, the university was closed.
Then he went to military service in a cavalry guard regiment. In 1866 he became a student at the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. In military surveying (geodesy) and statistics he was among the laggards, but in history and the art of war he had no equal in the entire course. Upon graduation, he was assigned to the military of the Turkestan Military District.
Biography: General M. D. Skobelev From staff captain to general
In 1868, Mikhail Dmitrievich was appointed captain in the Turkestan district. In 1870, as a cavalry commander, he was entrusted with an important task from the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Army, at whose disposal he was at that time. He needed to pave the way to the Khiva Khanate, which he did brilliantly. But he voluntarily reviewed the plan of operations that the commanders-in-chief were developing against Khiva, for which he was expelled from the army for 11 months. Afterwards he recovers, takes part in various campaigns, and regularly performs his duties.
In 1874, Skobelev was promoted to colonel and enlisted in the emperor's retinue. Already in 1875, he was appointed head of the part of the embassy of the Russian Empire, which was sent to Kashgar. The Kokand expedition is what historians call this period of his life, which includes his biography. General Skobelev proved himself to be a brave, prudent organizer and an excellent tactician.
When in the spring of 1877 he was sent to the commander-in-chief of the army that was at war with Turkey, his colleagues did not receive him very friendly. For some time he did not receive any appointments, but after the capture of Lovchi in battles near Plevna, crossing the Imetli Pass, and the battle near Shipka, where he acted as a detachment commander, he began to be respected.
In 1878, he returned to Russia with the rank of adjutant general with the rank of lieutenant general.
Biography: General Skobelev M.D. and his last feat
The main merit for which Skobelev received a second degree and title was the conquest of Geok-Tepe (Ahal-Tepe) in 1880. When he addressed the officers at an event celebrating the anniversary of the expedition, he was met with the irritation of Austria and Germany. His speech had a strong political overtones and pointed to the oppression of the Slavs by their fellow believers.
On June 24, 1882, General Skobelev (the biography described in some sources contains the date June 26) died suddenly at the Anglia Hotel in Moscow. According to one version, he was killed by the Germans who hated him.
Such buckets of oil were poured onto the figure of Mikhail Skobelev, who left early, but made a fair splash, that it is almost impossible to study him impartially using basic sources and biographies. At the same time, through the ideologized iconography, the tragedy of a living, restless man, an honest officer and a careless politician is still visible.
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was born in 1843 into a military family. His father Dmitry Ivanovich reached the high ranks of general, and his grandfather Ivan Nikitich, also a general, rose through the ranks of sergeants' children, starting with ordinary soldier service in the infantry.
At first, Skobelev went to get an education at St. Petersburg University, where he intended to study mathematics. But just in 1861, after his admission, the university was temporarily closed due to student unrest.
Not wanting to waste time and succumbing to family tradition, Skobelev enlists in military service.
Mikhail Dmitrievich's military career was rapid. Promoted to cornet in the spring of 1863, the very next year he was appointed orderly to General Eduard Baranov in rebellious Poland. At his own request, Skobelev was transferred to the regiment of the Life Guards of the Grodno Hussars, where he received his first baptism in battle - and the first order: Anna 4th degree with the wording “for bravery.”
Next was the General Staff Academy, and in 1868 Skobelev went to Turkestan, to the headquarters of Konstantin von Kaufmann, the future conqueror of Khiva. He repeatedly distinguished himself in reconnaissance missions, for one of them, already in the Khiva campaign of 1873, he received the Order of St. George, 4th degree.
Ten years of career - and thirty-year-old Skobelev is already a colonel, moreover, enlisted in the imperial retinue. At 32 years old - major general. How did this become possible?
Mikhail Dmitrievich was a charismatic, brave and diligent officer, despite the fact that, according to the recollections of his colleagues, in his graduation from the General Staff Academy he did not shine with perseverance and meticulousness, although he was distinguished by a broad outlook that went far beyond the typical army (primary university education affected). However, this alone was not enough.
Of course, his relatives provided powerful protection to Skobelev’s career: his father Dmitry Ivanovich, who in 1858-1864 commanded His Imperial Majesty’s Own Convoy (the sovereign’s personal guard, made up of Cossacks and loyal Caucasian highlanders), and then his aunt’s husband, General Count Alexander Adlerberg , in 1869-1881, former Minister of the Imperial Household.
However, one should not draw hasty conclusions from this. Yes, Skobelev would hardly have been able to make such a career alone. But he did not disappear into the court generals - on the contrary, he definitely set himself the goal of standing out everywhere.
Skobel's style was shaped by the Asian War. The difficult, harsh region, which did not forgive mistakes and required special courage, perfectly suited Skobelev’s character. Everything that would make him the idol of the army during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 was laid there, under the command of Kaufman and in communication with experienced officers of Turkestan.
It was from there, from Asia, that Skobelev brought the nickname that stuck to him for the rest of his life: “White General” (“Ak-Pasha”).
He went to the war of 1877 in a not very favorable position: the chief of staff of the Cossack division, commanded by his father. But it was here, in Bulgaria - near Lovcha and Plevna, that Skobelev gained his fame. What especially surprised the soldiers was that their general never hid from enemy fire, even showing off, appearing in the most dangerous areas.
There are plenty of recklessly brave people in any army in the world. But Skobelev was not reckless. Another of his personal characteristics played a role here - a subtle and sharp mind, superbly honed by reading. Even in Turkestan, colleagues recalled that Skobelev’s desk was always littered with books, and he read in several languages and everything: from military history and other works in his specialty to philosophical treatises and academic medical works.
Mikhail Dmitrievich was not only an officer and a patriot, he deliberately built an ideal image of a military leader whom people would follow.
And this is already politics. The charismatic General Skobelev was a politician - moreover, a very risky politician. It is no coincidence that he eventually became an icon of statists and Slavophiles. A sharp opponent of Germany and Austria, Skobelev played the role of protector of the Slavic peoples, and he succeeded in it. As a result, he managed to ride the pan-Slavist sentiments that were rising in those years.
The Empire was already preparing to unite the Balkan Orthodox peoples under the rule of St. Petersburg, and Skobelev corresponded to the idea of the “Cross over Hagia Sophia” like no other.
But he returns to Turkestan to achieve a new resounding victory there. In 1880, he commanded the Akhal-Teke expedition against the rebellious Turkmens. In January 1881, troops under the command of Skobelev, four times outnumbered by the Turkmen, took the Geok-Tepe fortress near Ashgabat. This victory resounded almost louder than Skobelev’s actions in Bulgaria. Another Order of St. George, glory and return to Russia.
In 1882, Skobelev travels abroad and holds a series of speeches in Paris, where he attacks Germany, accusing it of an aggressive policy, and demands to protect the Slavic peoples of the Balkans. This behavior, which provoked an international scandal, caused the highest displeasure. Emperor Alexander III ordered Skobelev to return to Russia.
And then a surprise happened. General Skobelev, a hero of Russia, most popular both in the army and among the population, died at the age of 38 in July 1882.
The circumstances of his death are extremely awkward, although there is nothing strange about it. Skobelev died in a room at the Moscow Hotel Anglia, which was rented by the light-hearted demi-society lady Charlotte Altenrose.
There was nothing particularly compromising about such a visit: Skobelev had been divorced since 1876, his marriage could not be called a great success. Such connections, of course, were not widely advertised, but they were usually not a big secret either. The scandal began later, when Skobelev’s political supporters began to look for reasons behind his death. They blamed either the imperial court and the general's court opponents, or Britain or Berlin, who decided to settle scores with the charismatic defender of the Slavs, disgracing him with the circumstances of his death.
Skobelev’s opponents also did not stand aside, constructing a version of a conspiracy against the throne, in which the general, destined for the role of a super-popular dictator, was allegedly drawn into. They say that in this way the secret police prevented a coup d'état. Let us remember that the times were nervous: in the spring of 1881, Emperor Alexander II was killed by terrorists, the power of his son Alexander III could not yet be called strong, and Skobelev’s connections with Count Loris-Melikov, a well-known supporter of the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, were no secret to anyone.
Rumors also circulated about the possible suicide of Skobelev, who was either disillusioned with his professed ideals or decided in this way to avoid exposure.
But judging by the results of the autopsy, everything was much simpler. An unhealthy lifestyle, including an abundance of bad habits, wore out Skobelev’s heart. According to the testimony of pathologists, the question was not why Mikhail Dmitrievich died, but rather how he managed to live so long. Heredity further complicated the matter: his father Dmitry Ivanovich died at the age of 59 from the consequences of an organic heart defect.
From the memory of the untimely departed general, politicians quickly made an ideal washed out to a shine, covered with gold leaf. But the falsity came out of this image left and right.
Skobelev belonged to that type of “people out of place and out of time” who remain in history, but their fates rarely turn out smoothly or at least not tragically. A persistent and competent military man who had outgrown the army, he stepped into big politics at a time when the empire was not yet ready to accept a convinced charismatic other than in the role of God’s anointed.
It is no coincidence that there are endless rumors (far from the truth, as far as one can judge) about conspiracies to seize power, in which Skobelev, who was excessively popular among the people and among the military, was allegedly drawn into. This strong man was cramped in the country that he loved more than anything in the world.
Russia has known favorites and all-powerful temporary workers like Menshikov, Biron, Orlov or Potemkin, it has given birth to excellent service apparatchiks like Osterman, Speransky, Arakcheev, Muravyov, Gorchakov or Witte. Even such intellectual ideocrats as Pobedonostsev survived and flourished in it.
But Russia did not have enough of the healthy Russian peasant Skobelev, endlessly convinced of his own rightness and overstrained himself on this.
Military since childhood
Not only was Skobelev born in the Peter and Paul Fortress: his grandfather was the commandant of this fortress, and his father had already risen to the rank of governor-general at that time. Fate seemed to have predetermined a military career for Mikhail. And so it happened: while still a young man, having received an excellent Parisian education, in 1861 he entered military service in the Cavalry Regiment. In fact, Mikhail dreamed of studying mathematics at St. Petersburg University, he even passed exams for this, but before his admission the university was closed due to student unrest.
Mikhail Skobelev in his youth, 1860s
Very soon, Skobelev, of his own free will, underwent baptism of fire: seconded as an orderly to Warsaw, he asked to join the Grodno Hussar Regiment, which participated in the suppression of the Polish rebellion. For the destruction of the Shemiot detachment in the Radkowice Forest, Skobelev was awarded the Order of St. Anne “for bravery.” After graduating from the Nikolaev Academy, Skobelev became an officer of the General Staff and was sent to the Turkestan Military District.
Khiva, the capital of one of the Uzbek khanates, was a long-time goal of the Russians, who were trying to expand state borders. In 1873, the echelons moved towards the ancient city: Skobelev with a detachment of 10 horsemen, having met an enemy superior in strength, immediately rushed into battle - emerged victorious, but received seven wounds with pikes and checkers.
Khiva campaign
As soon as he returned to duty, he and a detachment of 200 people were assigned to guard the convoy. Skobelev managed to bypass the Khivans from the rear when they were withdrawing the convoy, and recapture what was captured, putting the enemy to flight. On May 29, Skobelev distinguished himself during the assault on the fortress: he was the first to get inside and held the gates, despite the fierce attacks of the enemy.
Russian-Turkish War of 1877−1878
The Khiva campaign allowed Skobelev to quickly advance in his career, but he received real glory as a liberating general during the Russian-Turkish war. The Orthodox peoples, who had lived for a long time under the yoke of the Ottoman Empire, enthusiastically greeted Skobelev, sometimes joining his army. So, in the early summer of 1877, Russian troops, having crossed the Danube, launched an offensive. Major General Skobelev, who had already been awarded the Order of St. George by that time, commanded the Caucasian Cossack Brigade.
The white jacket and white cap of General Skobelev represented an excellent target for the enemy, but this did not prevent him, together with the troops of the Gabrovsky detachment, from heroically taking the Shipkinsky Pass and for a long time with his cavalrymen covering the retreat of Russian troops after the Battle of Plevna. Skobelev once again showed his talent as a commander during the capture of the city of Lovchi, for which he was promoted to lieutenant general.
Skobelev also took part in the siege of Plevna, after which Osman Pasha’s army surrendered, and personally accepted the surrender of the defeated Wessel Pasha. As a result of this war, the territory of Bulgaria was cleared of Turkish influence.
Akhal-Teke expedition
In 1880, Skobelev was appointed commander of an expedition against the Tekins, one of the largest tribes of the Turkmen people. The Tekins, having learned about the approach of the army of the formidable commander, decided to defend themselves, occupying the Geok-Tepe fortress. At the beginning of 1881, Skobelev stormed the fortress: the walls of the fortress were blown up with mines, Russian troops began to push back the desperately resisting enemy.
Akhal-Teke expedition
Having taken the fortress, Skobelev distributed an appeal for peace, calling on local peoples to peacefully resolve the conflict. As a result, by 1885, two Turkmen oases joined the Russian Empire.
Sudden death
There are still different opinions regarding the death of the legendary military leader. The fact is that during the vacation that the general spent in Moscow, he died suddenly at the Anglia Hotel under mysterious circumstances.
Monument to Skobelev in Moscow, 1912
The first to report his death was a courtesan, whose nationality could not be established. According to one version, Mikhail Dmitrievich was killed according to an insidious plan of the Germans, who feared the commander; according to another version, supported by European newspapers, the general committed suicide. Mikhail Skobelev was buried in his family estate in the Ryazan province.
Play Skobelev's march! To the 170th anniversary of the birth of the “White General”.Don’t forget, brothers, that we have been entrusted with the honor of the Fatherland! Our cause is sacred!
M.D. Skobelev
And Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev did not live forty years, but after the heroes of 1812 there was no general in the Russian Empire who was equally beloved among the people.
He was a hereditary military man. His father, Dmitry Ivanovich, was well known both in the army and at court. The elder Skobelev died with the high rank of lieutenant general.
A soldier on the battlefield and a sage in a learned conversation, Mikhail Dmitrievich was a comprehensively educated person, no stranger to literary talent. He loved Lermontov, carefully studied the Slavophiles - Khomyakov, Kireevsky, Aksakov, was friends with many of them, corresponded. He was capable of rhyming impromptu like Suvorov, whose memory he bowed to.
What is the secret of Skobelev’s extraordinary popularity?
It seemed that after the Napoleonic Wars the times of giant heroes had passed. The revolutionaries seized the halo of romance from the commanders... And Skobelev in people's memory managed to stand on a par with Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Bagration...
He was a genius of offensive warfare. His associate and permanent chief of staff Kuropatkin recalled: “On the day of the battle, Skobelev appeared to the troops every time as especially joyful, cheerful, and handsome... The soldiers and officers looked with confidence at his warlike, handsome figure, admired him, joyfully greeted him and answered him with all their hearts.” We are happy to try” to his wishes that they be great in the upcoming task.”
In those years, by and large, the doors to Europe were closed to Russia. The Paris Treaty of 1856, which recorded the results of the Crimean War, deprived the Russian Empire of the unofficial status of a European superpower, which was undeniable during the years of the omnipotence of the Holy Alliance.
Imperial ambitions now had to be satisfied in Central Asia and the Far East. It was there that Russia's rivalry with the British Empire continued. Where the Russian soldier managed to reach, the slave trade ceased and slave markets were closed.
Skobelev considered himself a “Turkestan student.” In his fate, campaigns in Central Asia played a key role: it was there that he studied the character of the Russian soldier, and the soldiers fell in love with their general, endowed with the ability to raise ranks to death - not only against enemy artillery, not only on pikes and sabers, but also in defiance of nature itself .
The Khiva campaign was, as Skobelev himself admitted, “a continuous struggle with nature.” The Khanate was annexed to Russia with “little blood”, although at the cost of cruel trials. Skobelev’s reconnaissance raid became a legend when he, together with five daredevils, covered more than 600 miles in the desert in a week, constantly risking running into armed nomads who knew the area much better.
For that reconnaissance, Skobelev received his first George - 4th degree. Skobelev’s commanding style developed there: he demonstrated miracles of courage to the soldiers, and they responded in kind. Contempt for death is contagious, as is cowardice.
In 1875–1876, it was the turn of the Khanate of Kokand. And in this campaign, Skobelev showed himself to be a star of the first magnitude, his cavalry detachment became a threat to the enemy: the Russians attacked unexpectedly, stunning. In one of the fights, Skobelev was seriously wounded in the leg.
He - like Peter the Great and Suvorov - learned to talk to soldiers with inspiration and persuasiveness.
Over the years, he addressed the soldiers:
“I can only wish for one thing, that I would fight with troops as brave and as valiant as those with whom I had to serve and fight here,”
“Soon we will face a combat test, I ask everyone to know about this and strengthen their spirit with prayer and meditation, which is what duty, oath and honor of the Russian name requires of us,”
“Our attitude towards the defeated people must be not only lawful and correct, but also generous, for the brave Russian army from time immemorial did not know how to beat a lying person,”
“I am convinced that the brave troops entrusted to me will not tarnish their immortal glory.”
It was in Turkestan that he received the rank of general and there they began to call him the White General. In battle, he was seen on an unchanged white horse, in an equally white uniform. It was believed that he was charmed from bullets as long as he was dressed in white. This superstition helped the soldiers to trust their commander. The uniform already bore George of the 2nd degree and the Order of St. of the same degree. Vladimir.
For some time, Skobelev was governor in Fergana, but the administrative field brought his first severe disappointments: denunciations against the young general began to pour into St. Petersburg and he was removed from power. It is clear: the combat cavalryman, imbued with romantic ideals, hated bribery, and in the East bribery flourished, including among Russian administrators.
The war began in the Balkans - the last big war with the Ottomans for the freedom of Orthodox peoples. Perhaps the most noble war of all that Russia waged. Skobelev, like no one else, was soulfully devoted to the cause of liberation of fraternal peoples.
Mosques have risen in the Serbian region;
Janissaries, in the crowd, in broad daylight,
In the bazaars he crushed his wives with his hoof
Your Arabian horse.
– wrote A.N. Maikov.
For Skobelev, Slavic freedom is the dawn of the future glory of Russia, independent, strong, capable of challenging the main European powers of that time - the British Empire and Germany.
But Skobelev arrived in the Balkans in a semi-disgraced position, although in the aura of Turkestan glory. At first, his status was questionable: he was at the Headquarters, and then headed the headquarters of the division commanded by his father.
He managed to distinguish himself in battle while crossing the Danube at Zimnitsa. From then on, Skobelev’s miracles began - miracles of courage and heroism, military ingenuity and military leadership’s firmness. In 1877, the white general accomplished the impossible... On July 7, Skobelev’s detachment fought to occupy the Shipkinsky Pass. Ak Pasha, as he was called in the East, took risks again, again remained invulnerable...
Skobelev showed himself clearly during the third assault on impregnable Plevna. His detachment took on the blow of a third of the Turkish troops, although it was only a fifth of the Russian army that stormed Plevna. “Only Skobelev knows how to lead troops in an assault!” they said in the army. The Skobelevites captured the most important fortifications, the path to Plevna was open, but the command was in no hurry with reinforcements - and they had to begin a long siege.
After taking Plevna and crossing the Balkan ridge, the Russian army overthrew Turkish troops on the Shipka-Sheinovo line, and Skobelev’s troops again played a decisive role in this battle. After this, at the head of the vanguard, Skobelev captured Adrianople and San Stefano. Here it is, Constantinople, Constantinople - just a stone's throw away! Skobelev dreamed of liberating the Orthodox capital. But, as you know, the Turks asked for peace...
The general was not happy with the Berlin peace, although in those days he was showered with awards. He dreamed of a great future for the Slavic peoples.
Skobelev had to prove himself in one more campaign - in the Ahal-Tekin expedition. Mikhail Dmitrievich, demonstrating experience and foresight, drew up a plan for advancing to the Geok-Tepe fortress, which the Tekins intended to defend. They had about 25 thousand troops, Skobelev did not have even 7 thousand, but the superiority of the Russian army in weapons and training was beyond doubt. On January 12, 1881, Skobelev led his troops on an assault.
When the Russians burst into the fortress, most of the Tekin troops fled. Skobelev organized the persecution. After the capture of Geok-Tepe, silence reigned for a long time in the Trans-Caspian possessions of the empire. The losses of the Russian army in the entire expedition were about 1,500 dead and dead...
Skobelev lived in a relatively happy time for Russia: the empire seemed powerful. But the general’s worldview was formed during the days of the tragic Sevastopol epic. The Crimean War knocked complacency out of the patriots - and Skobelev understood that the Motherland was entering a period of crisis. How to save yourself, how to protect yourself from defeat and decay?
The general wrote: “My symbol is short: love for the Fatherland; science and Slavism. On these whales we will build such a political force that we will not be afraid of either enemies or friends! And there is no need to think about the belly, for the sake of these great goals we will make all the sacrifices.”
He dreamed of reviving the “crushed Russian self-consciousness” and very deeply (not at all like a soldier!) analyzed the growing phenomenon of revolutionary nihilism. In recent years, more than once Skobelev fell into apathy; sometimes he stopped believing in his own strength and became disappointed in people. At such moments, he repeated: “I came to the conclusion that everything in the world is a lie, a lie, a lie. All this is glory, and all this glitter is a lie. Is this true happiness? How many are killed, wounded, suffering, ruined.” And then he returned to the fight.
He was a zealous opponent of Germany and German influence in Russia, and foresaw a big war with the Germans. Skobelev proposed relying on an alliance with France: the Russians seemed to have nothing to share with her.
Skobelev’s plans were not Manilov’s: Emperor Alexander III, with whom Skobelev did not have good relations, would after some time choose exactly this tactic. But... the general made a fatal mistake: he rushed into politics. But Suvorov warned: a commander should not plunge into a political whirlwind. There is death there.
And now the White General began talking with his comrades about the crisis of the Romanov dynasty, that it would not be a bad idea to replace it, about how the generals should behave during the revolution... It is unlikely that he was the leader of the conspiracy, but sometimes “it’s better to be a sinner than be considered a sinner." It is much worse that at court he was considered a conspirator.
His is Skobelev, whose word in the army was worth its weight in gold and lead. God forbid you bring such an enemy! And now “all of St. Petersburg is talking about him as a seeker with dynastic claims.”
It was believed that the general would lead a coup during the coronation of Alexander in Moscow. And instead of Alexander III, Skobeleva will be crowned king. He dreamed of a free union of the Slavic peoples with the decisive word of the Russian Tsar, a common army and a common currency, but with the autonomy of governments. Slavic Garibaldi was inspired by the revelations of Khomyakov and Aksakov...
Of course, those around the new emperor were at least wary of Skobelev. And the general was still thinking about how to preserve and strengthen a great power in the conditions of the omnipotence of moneylenders?
He led a life far from ascetic. On the warm evening of June 25, 1882, at the Anglia Hotel, on the corner of Petrovka and Stoleshnikov Lane, Skobelev had dinner in a noisy company of casual acquaintances, after which he went to his room with a certain flirtatious woman - as they said later, a German... In her room, the general and was found dead.
How many times did he walk under bullets on the battlefield - and die in someone else's bed. The report after the autopsy said: “He died from paralysis of the heart and lungs, the inflammation of which he suffered so recently.”
But Moscow, mourning the hero, did not believe the newspapers. Few doubted that Skobelev was killed. They thought the same in Bulgaria, which plunged into mourning. There were all kinds of versions - they blamed the German woman, the policeman, and the merchants who were carousing in the restaurant... It was rumored that a secret court sentenced the conspirator Skobelev to death. The cheerful merchants were agents of the secret police, they carried out the sentence, poisoned the hero... Of course, there were rumors about suicide. It's sad when the death of a hero is overshadowed by such versions.
Farewell to Skobelev took place in the Church of the Three Saints, near the Red Gate (this modest church has not survived). And they buried him in his native village - Spassky-Zaborov, on Ryazan land. The speech at the funeral was made by Bishop Ambrose of Dmitrov. The capitals were already arguing about where to erect a monument to Skobelev...
It will take off in Moscow, near the Governor General’s house, not far from the place of the general’s death, approximately where the monument to Yuri Dolgoruky is now. The wonderful monument will be destroyed at the 1918 May Day.
In Soviet times, Skobelev was not erased from history: he was considered a leading general, a successor to the best Suvorov traditions. And yet Skobelev remained on the sidelines of the parade of history’s heroes.
True, in 1954 the film “Heroes of Shipka” was released, in which the role of Skobelev was played by Evgeny Samoilov, energetically and charmingly. And in the 1970s, Skobelev became the hero of Boris Vasiliev’s epic novel “They Were and They Were Not,” which rediscovered that Russian-Turkish war for many of us...
Skobelev completed the galaxy of Russian heroic commanders, each of whom was the personification of the military valor of the people. In later times, brave people and talented strategists in Rus' did not disappear, but the era of millions of armies, the era of weapons of mass destruction began. The will of one person could not decide the fate of campaigns. That is why Russia remembers Skobelev, the last of the Mohicans.
The commanders of the Great Patriotic War were proud when their exploits were compared with the acts of Skobelev. Let us remember the commander not only on his birthday! Russians, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Serbs - everyone whose freedom he fought for. And let the Skobelevsky March sound for us - breakthrough, cheerful, as it should be.
Audio recording of Skobelev's march.
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He annexed Muslim Central Asia to Russia, but dreamed of a pan-Slavic country, with a single army and currency. Fate protected him from bullets, but the general died under unknown circumstances.
Upbringing
Until the age of twelve, he “fought” with a German tutor, who forced the future general to cram Vokabel, a Russian-German dictionary. The home teacher whipped the boy for any offense, and all the thoughts of young Skobelev were aimed at taking revenge on the heartless teacher. Writer Mikhail Filippov in his book “Mikhail Skobelev. His life, military, administrative and social activities” described this period of his hero’s life this way: “in this upbringing one should see almost the first germ of Skobelev’s later dislike for the Germans. Since childhood, Skobelev had an independent, ardent and lively nature; for a long time he was forced to grudgingly endure such treatment. His character developed into secrecy and vindictiveness.”
Central Asian campaigns
General Skobelev is remembered, as a rule, in connection with the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. In the Slavic world he is perceived as the liberator of the Bulgarians from the Ottoman yoke. Meanwhile, more important for the Russian state are its three Central Asian campaigns: the Khiva campaign, the suppression of the Kokand uprising and the Akhal-Teke expedition.
It was there that the geopolitical interests of Russia and England collided at that time during the famous Great Game for Central Asia. “If we imagine that by the end of the 19th century the British would have advanced further than Afghanistan in the development of these lands, without getting stuck there and without meeting any resistance, then, of course, the geopolitical position of (modern) Russia would be much more complex,” one is convinced from the authors of the book “General Skobelev” Ruslan Gagkuev. It’s interesting that Skobelev received his first “George” for a multi-day reconnaissance in the desert to the Sarykamysh well.
Panslavism
So, the Russian-Turkish war for the liberation of Bulgaria is associated with Mikhail Skobelev, as evidenced by hundreds of monuments to the general on Bulgarian soil. And this despite the fact that the leading roles in that company were not him, but personally Emperor Alexander II, his son - later Emperor Alexander III, and General Gurko.
The military successes of General Skobelev are associated primarily with the famous siege of Plevna, but thanks to his personal courage he became a real favorite of military journalism, or, as they say now, a newsmaker of the liberation war. Historians associate this, among other things, with a certain theatricality, manifested in Skobelev’s love for white uniforms. By the way, the Turks called him “ak-pasha” - the white general.
“In those raids that fell to my share, I was festive,” said the general. “I chase dangers like women, but, wanting them forever, I do not feel satiated.” It was then that he began to show himself as a politician, outlining the future of the Slavic world. His speech, where he outlined the principles of Pan-Slavism, created a sensation in Europe. “Everyone has complete autonomy, the common thing is troops, coins and a customs system. My symbol is short – love for the fatherland, freedom, science and Slavism.” Soon the newspapers began to write about Skobelev as the Slavic Garibaldi.
The mysterious death of a general
Everything connected with the last days of Skobelev’s life is still a historical mystery. Everyone's favorite, a young infantry general, whose rank he received after the brilliant Akhal-Teke expedition of 1881, suddenly spoke in all seriousness about his death and even ordered a crypt for himself in his personal estate in the village of Spassky-Zaborovsky, Ryazhsky district, Ryazan province. Meanwhile, he was only 38 years old. Perhaps this was due to some threats that came to him from nameless ill-wishers.
The general's premonition did not deceive him. On July 7, 1882, Mikhail Skobelev dies in Moscow at the England Hotel in the room of a certain Charlotte Altenrose, who reported this to the police. The cause of death, according to the autopsy performed by Moscow University prosector Neiding, was paralysis of the heart and lungs. Meanwhile, the overwhelming majority of the capital’s intelligentsia was sure that Skobelev was killed, and on Bismarck’s personal order. And allegedly the plan for a victorious war against the Germans was stolen from Skobelev. There was also a version that he was removed by secret order of the tsar, who allegedly suspected the general of attempting a coup. They also talked about the Freemasons, against whom the general actively fought.