Grigore Kotovski
Encyclopedia
Grigory Ivanovich Kotovsky ' onMouseout='HidePop("24940")' href="/topics/Hîncesti">Hînceşti
, now in Hînceşti district, Moldova
; died August 6, 1925 in Birzula, now Kotovsk
in Ukraine
) was a Soviet
military leader and Communist
activist.
Kotovsky was born in Bessarabia, the son of a mechanical engineer. His father was of Polish ethnicity and his mother was an ethnic Russian. Kotovskt attended agricultural college and worked as an estate manager. Kotovsky had a marked stutter. In 1905 he was conscripted into the army but deserted and was sentenced to a term in a katorga
.
A deserter
from the Imperial Russian army, a convict in a katorga
, and a fugitive sentenced to death in 1916, Kotovsky had begun resisting tsar
ist rule since 1902, leading two Moldovan rebellions in 1905 and 1915. During the last part of World War I
, Kotovsky was sent to the Romania
n front. In 1918, he sided with the Communists in Tiraspol
, taking command of a revolutionary battalion and helping the Bolshevik
s gain control of Ukraine
. He joined the Bolshevik
party in 1920. In 1924, he took an active part in the foundation of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in Transnistria
, as part of the Ukrainian SSR
.
He was killed near Odessa
by his deputy and friend for having an affair with the latter's wife in 1925. He was then buried in a mausoleum
in Birzula, which was renamed Kotovsk
in 1935; in the meantime it was included in the newly created Odessa Oblast
. The mausoleum was later destroyed during the Romanian occupation of Transnistria
.
Two other towns in the Soviet Union
were also named Kotovsk. One of them was his native Hînceşti
, which regained its former name in 1990. The other one is situated in Tambov Oblast
, Russia
.
Hîncesti
Hînceşti is a city in Moldova, also written without diacritics as "Hincesti" or "Hancesti" .Hînceşti is situated on the Cogalnic River, southwest of the Moldovan capital, Chişinău...
, now in Hînceşti district, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
; died August 6, 1925 in Birzula, now Kotovsk
Kotovsk, Ukraine
thumb|Kotovsky Memorial in KotovskKotovsk is a city in Odessa Oblast, Ukraine, the administrative center of Kotovskyi Raion. Population is 40,718 ....
in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
military leader and Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
activist.
Kotovsky was born in Bessarabia, the son of a mechanical engineer. His father was of Polish ethnicity and his mother was an ethnic Russian. Kotovskt attended agricultural college and worked as an estate manager. Kotovsky had a marked stutter. In 1905 he was conscripted into the army but deserted and was sentenced to a term in a katorga
Katorga
Katorga was a system of penal servitude of the prison farm type in Tsarist Russia...
.
A deserter
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
from the Imperial Russian army, a convict in a katorga
Katorga
Katorga was a system of penal servitude of the prison farm type in Tsarist Russia...
, and a fugitive sentenced to death in 1916, Kotovsky had begun resisting tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist rule since 1902, leading two Moldovan rebellions in 1905 and 1915. During the last part of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Kotovsky was sent to the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n front. In 1918, he sided with the Communists in Tiraspol
Tiraspol
Tiraspol is the second largest city in Moldova and is the capital and administrative centre of the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic . The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River...
, taking command of a revolutionary battalion and helping the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s gain control of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He joined the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
party in 1920. In 1924, he took an active part in the foundation of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in Transnistria
Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, as part of the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
.
He was killed near Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
by his deputy and friend for having an affair with the latter's wife in 1925. He was then buried in a mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
in Birzula, which was renamed Kotovsk
Kotovsk, Ukraine
thumb|Kotovsky Memorial in KotovskKotovsk is a city in Odessa Oblast, Ukraine, the administrative center of Kotovskyi Raion. Population is 40,718 ....
in 1935; in the meantime it was included in the newly created Odessa Oblast
Odessa Oblast
Odesa Oblast, also written as Odessa Oblast , is the southernmost and largest oblast of south-western Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Odessa.-History:...
. The mausoleum was later destroyed during the Romanian occupation of Transnistria
Transnistria (World War II)
Transnistria Governorate was a Romanian administered territory, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, and occupied from 19 August 1941 to 29 January 1944...
.
Two other towns in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
were also named Kotovsk. One of them was his native Hînceşti
Hîncesti
Hînceşti is a city in Moldova, also written without diacritics as "Hincesti" or "Hancesti" .Hînceşti is situated on the Cogalnic River, southwest of the Moldovan capital, Chişinău...
, which regained its former name in 1990. The other one is situated in Tambov Oblast
Tambov Oblast
Tambov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tambov. Population: down from 1,178,443 recorded by the 2002 Census.Tambov Oblast is situated in forest steppe.-Birth rate:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Literature
- Kotovsky appears as an important character in the novel "Chapayev and VoidChapayev and Void"Chapayev and Void" , known in the US as "Buddha's Little Finger" and in the UK as "Clay Machine Gun", is a novel by Victor Pelevin first published in 1996.-Plot summary:...
" by modern Russian writer Viktor Pelevin. In this novel, Kotovsky is shown as a man who prefers talking about philosophical questions and is addicted to cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
.