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During the Russian Civil War of 1917-1923, a number of former Tsarist officers joined the Red Army, either voluntarily or as a result of coercion. This list includes officers of the Imperial Russian Army commissioned before 1917 who joined the Bolsheviks as commanders or as military specialists. For former Tsarist NCOs promoted under the Soviets, see Mustang.
Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the ruling communist Bolsheviks, in the fashion of most traditional Marxists, hoped to disband the standing Imperial Russian Army of the deposed Tsardom and replace it with a militia system. The outbreak of civil war led them to opt for a regular military in 1918 and they created the Red Army to oppose the anti-revolutionary White movement. [1] The pre-existing army had a 250,000-strong officer corps. Of these, 75,000 were inducted into the Red Army, most of them being drafted and many not supportive of the Bolsheviks' political agenda. However, a large number joined out of a desire to maintain Russian territorial integrity (they believed that only the Bolsheviks could govern effectively) and to curb foreign influence in the country (the White leadership had promised foreign governments special privileges under their rule in exchange for support). [2] As such, the overwhelming majority of the officers in the Red Army had formerly served in the Imperial military, much to the chagrin of Bolshevik leaders who were anxious to assert their authority over the armed forces. They were forced to rely on the ex-Tsarist officers, dubbed "military specialists", due to a deficit of trained commanders among the revolutionaries. Throughout the war the Red Army's command staff, the Stavka, was dominated by Tsarist officers. [1] In spite of his colleagues' wariness, Vladimir Lenin praised them for their contributions to the Bolshevik war effort: [2]
"You have heard about the series of the brilliant victories won by the Red Army. There are tens of thousands of old colonels and other officers in its ranks. If we had not taken them into service and made them work for us, we could not have created the Army...only with their help was the Red Army able to win the victories that it did."
Immediately following the conflict the former Tsarists made up the majority of the General Staff Academy's faculty and constituted over 90 percent of all instructional and administrative staff at military schools. The Stavka was organised in a manner very similar to its Tsarist predecessor, and much of the military curriculum was copied from the Imperial General Staff Academy. [1]
The Bolsheviks reformed the Red Army in the mid-1920s. In an attempt to reduce the reliance on the mistrusted ex-Tsarists they reduced the officer corps and educated new cadets. [1] Leon Trotsky's removal from the Commissariat of Defence was in part driven by his perceived over-reliance on Tsarist officers. His replacement, Mikhail Frunze, further decreased their number in army. By 1930, ex-Tsarists made up only about 10 percent of the officer corps. [3]
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