Minister for Military and Maritime Affairs of the Siberian Government, leader of the counter-revolutionary movement, Admiral Aleksander Kolchak in his office.
Photo: Archive photo
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Constitutional Court Permits Rehabilitation of Kolchak
December 6, RF Constitutional Court has made it possible to reconsider decisions of the Transbaikalia Court Martial, which, in 1999, refused to rehabilitate admiral Kolchak, arctic explorer and naval officer, who was recognized in 1919-20 by the "Whites" as supreme ruler of Russia and after his overthrow was put to death by the Bolsheviks, ITAR-TASS reports.
Now, the case must be considered again, this time, in the presence of defender, initiator of the Constitutional Court appeal, head of the Political Repressions Fund Sergey Zuev declared on Monday.
Kolchak’s advocates have also filed an appeal to Prosecutor General’s Office, asking to challenge the decision of the Court Martial.
Kolchak’s advocates believe the accusations of military crimes are groundless and remind that the admiral was not merely a prominent military figure, but a scientist who has greatly contributed in the exploration of Siberia.
Let us remind you that, at the outbreak of World War I, Kolchak was flag captain of the Baltic fleet. By August 1916, as a vice admiral, he was commanding the fleet in the Black Sea. In June 1917, after the February revolution, he resigned under pressure and went to the United States. Next he tried, unsuccessfully, to coordinate White Russian forces in Manchuria. In October 1918 he went to Omsk, where he became war minister in the non-Bolshevik government. On November 18, 1918, a military coup d'état at Omsk brought him absolute power there.
His armies, though at first successful, eventually were routed. When Omsk fell to the Red Army on Nov. 14, 1919, Kolchak transferred his headquarters to Irkutsk, but on Jan. 4, 1920, he was forced to resign when a Socialist Revolutionary-Menshevik group seized power in that city. He placed himself under Allied protection, but the Czechs handed him over to the Irkutsk authorities, from whom he was taken by the Bolsheviks. He was summarily executed and his body thrown into the Angara River.
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