Yurii Tiutiunnyk
Encyclopedia
Uyezd
Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...
, in the Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate , or Government of Kiev, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire.The governorate was established in 1708 along with seven other governorates and was transformed into a viceroyalty in 1781...
of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
— currently Zvenyhorodsky Raion, Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Cherkasy).-Geography:...
, 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...
— died October 20, 1930 in Moscow, 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....
) was a Ukrainian
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...
military commander of the Ukrainian People's Army
Ukrainian People's Army
The Ukrainian People's Army , also known as the Ukrainian National Army were often quickly reorganized units of the former Russian Imperial Army or newly formed volunteer detachments that later joined the national armed forces. The army for a long period lacked a certain degree of uniformity,...
of the Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...
(UNR) during the Ukrainian-Soviet War
Ukrainian-Soviet War
The Ukrainian–Soviet War of 1917–21 was a military conflict between the Ukrainian People's Republic and pro-Bolshevik forces for the control of Ukraine after the dissolution of the Russian Empire.-Background:...
.
Early years
Yuri Tiutiunnyk was born on April 20, 1891, to a peasant family, former serfs Yosyp and Maryna, in the village of Budyshche, near KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Remarkable is the fact that he was the grandson of Taras Shevchenko
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko -Life:Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven...
's sister Yaryna on the mother's side. His older cousins Levko and Ananiy Shevchenkos were one of the organizers of the Free Cossacks
Free Cossacks
Free Cossacks was the Ukrainian association volunteer militia units that arose somewhat spontaneously during the decomposition of the Russian Imperial Army in spring of 1917....
, later joining the UPSR
Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party
Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party was a political party in the Russian Empire from 1907-1917. It was simply referred as Essery and was one of the most influential in Ukraine as it was representing the interest of the major social class - peasants...
. Only 5 out of 9 children in his family reached adulthood. Tiutiunnyk finished primary education at the village school. He was married, and had two daughters.
Military Service in World War I
Tiutiunnyk was drafted into the Imperial Russian ArmyImperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
in 1913 and initially served in the 6th Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
. With the outbreak of World War I, in 1914 he became a non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
and was injured during the Battle of Lodz, in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in October of that year.
Later Tiutiunnyk was offered command of the 6th Siberian battalion, but because he was interested in military strategy, the army suggested he undertake formal military studies. After completing his studies, he was again offered command of the 6th battalion, which was still actively fighting during the war. He was wounded a second time, and after recuperating, Tiutiunnyk was sent to Simferopol
Simferopol
-Russian Empire and Civil War:The city was renamed Simferopol in 1784 after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire by Catherine II of Russia. The name Simferopol is derived from the Greek, Συμφερόπολις , translated as "the city of usefulness." In 1802, Simferopol became the...
, where he joined the 32nd Auxiliary battalion.
Revolution
With the coming of the February RevolutionFebruary Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, Tiutiunnyk's military acumen caught the attention of Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
, who was in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
(Krym) at the time. Kerensky offered Tiutiunnyk command of the Headquarters of Odessa Military District
Odessa Military District
The Odessa Military District was a military administrative division of the Imperial Russian military, the Soviet Armed Forces and the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was known under such name from around 1862 to 1998. It was reorganized as part of the Military of Ukraine and the Military of Moldova in...
, however Tiutiunnyk did not place much faith in the future of the Provisional Government
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
, and declined the post. In Spring 1917 he created the 1st Simferopol Regiment of Hetman Doroshenko.
Tiutiunnyk left for Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
as military representative for the II All-Ukrainian Military Congress, the meeting of which was unsanctioned. There he became elected as a non-partisan member of the Central Rada, and chairman of the Kiev Revolutionary Committee.
Ukrainian-Soviet War
In the Autumn of 1917, Tiutiunnyk organized a unit of "Free KozaksFree Cossacks
Free Cossacks was the Ukrainian association volunteer militia units that arose somewhat spontaneously during the decomposition of the Russian Imperial Army in spring of 1917....
" in Zvenyhorodka
Zvenyhorodka
Zvenyhorodka or Zvenigorodka , German: Swenigorodka, is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine on the river Gniloi Tikich.- History :The town is the administrative center of the Zvenyhorodsky Raion ....
, and became its leader. After the fall of Kiev to Bolshevik forces
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1918, Tiutiunnyk transformed the unit to a kish-size of 20 thousand and engaged in battles throughout central Ukraine. He had a number of victories over the Bolshevik forces, including winning battles against 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 8th Army and 8,000 group of Mikhail Muravyov, while reclaiming the towns and cities like Birzula
Kotovsk, Ukraine
thumb|Kotovsky Memorial in KotovskKotovsk is a city in Odessa Oblast, Ukraine, the administrative center of Kotovskyi Raion. Population is 40,718 ....
and Vapniarka
Vapniarka
Vapniarka , also known as Vapniarca, Vapnyarka, Wapnjarka or Wapniarka, is a town in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine, known since 1870 as a railroad station. Its name from the Ukrainian language translates as a lime settlement...
from Bolshevik forces. Later, in 1918, Tiutiunnyk's unit waged a guerilla warfare against both the occupying German forces and the forces of the new Hetmanate.
In February 1919, Tiutiunnyk merged his unit with that of Matviy Hryhoryev
Nikifor Grigoriev
Nikifor Grigoriev was born Nychypir Servetnyk in a small village of Zastavlia was a paramilitary leader noted for numerous switching of sides and anti-Semitism...
. Hryhoryev became the Commander in Chief while Tiutiunnyk became the Chief of Staff. The combined force was formidable, numbering over 23,000 soldiers, 52 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, and 20 armoured trains. The force cooperated through various battles, including with and against Bolshevik forces, against Entente
Triple Entente
The Triple Entente was the name given to the alliance among Britain, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907....
forces and the White Army, taking under control cities of Kherson
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
and 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,...
.
Later, however, Tiutiunnyk concluded that 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 aims in Ukraine were not beneficial, he united with the units of Ukrainian People's Army
Ukrainian People's Army
The Ukrainian People's Army , also known as the Ukrainian National Army were often quickly reorganized units of the former Russian Imperial Army or newly formed volunteer detachments that later joined the national armed forces. The army for a long period lacked a certain degree of uniformity,...
near Zhmerynka
Zhmerynka
Zhmerynka [ʒ’mærınkɑ:] is a town in the Vinnytska Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Zhmerynsky Raion , the town itself is also designated as a separate community within the oblast, and is located at around .The current estimated population is around 37.000...
. In summer of 1919 along with the 3rd Steel Rifle Division, 2nd Volyn Division, and 2nd Halych Brigade conducted series of successful military operations liberating several cities such as Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
, Bratslav
Bratslav
Bratslav |Breslov]] as the name of a Hasidic group, which originated from this town) is a townlet in Ukraine, located in the Nemyriv Raion of Vinnytsia Oblast, by the Southern Bug river. It is a medieval European city having dramatically lost its importance during 19th-20th centuries...
, Uman
Uman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
, and others. By the end of the summer his forces were faced against the Southern group of Iona Yakir
Iona Yakir
Iona Emmanuilovich Yakir was the Red Army commander and one of the world's major military reformers between World War I and World War II.-Early years:...
and later in the fall dealing against the White movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
General Yakov Slashchov.
From December 6, 1919 to May 5, 1920 took part in the First Winter Campaign
First Winter Campaign
The First Winter Campaign was a campaign between the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and bolshevik forces in Ukraine during the Ukrainian-Soviet War...
under the command of Mykhailo Pavlenko, leading the Kiev Rifle Division with which he fought against 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 to the fall of 1920.
Tiutiunnyk remained undaunted by the failure of the campaign, and participated in planning of the Second Winter Campaign
Second Winter Campaign
The Second Winter Campaign was a failed military campaign by the Ukrainian National Army in October and November 1921 against Bolsheviks. It was the last campaign of the Ukrainian armed forces in post-World War I attempt to achieve independence of Ukraine....
. This campaign took place in 1921, and although there were some early victories, it ultimately ended in failure. The unit was overrun, and over 300 soldiers were executed by the Red Guard
Red Guards (Russia)
In the context of the history of Russia and Soviet Union, Red Guards were paramilitary formations consisting of workers and partially of soldiers and sailors formed in the time frame of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
near Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
. Tiutiunnyk, together with a small number of soldiers, escaped.
Soviet Ukraine and execution
Ukrainization
Ukrainization is a policy of increasing the usage and facilitating the development of the Ukrainian language and promoting other elements of Ukrainian culture, in various spheres of public life such as education, publishing, government and religion.The term is used, most prominently, for the...
policies of the Soviet government
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....
at that time, Tiutiunnyk was able to return to Soviet Ukraine after he was arrested on June 16, 1923 after crossing Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
. The Soviet government invited him to work cooperatively, and he agreed, lecturing at the School of Red Commanders in Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
. Later he co-wrote a movie script for the film "Zvenigora
Zvenigora
Zvenigora, or Zvenyhora is a 1928 Soviet silent film by Ukrainian director Alexander Dovzhenko. Regarded as a silent revolutionary epic, Dovzhenko's initial film in his "Ukraine Trilogy" is almost religious in its tone, relating a millennium of Ukrainian history through the story of an old man...
" by Alexander Dovzhenko
Alexander Dovzhenko
Aleksandr Petrovich Dovzhenko , was a Soviet screenwriter, film producer and director of Ukrainian descent. He is often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, alongside Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin.- Biography :...
He also played himself in an anti-Symon Petliura propaganda film.
Later, however, there was a reversal of Ukrainization policies in Soviet Ukraine
Reversal of Ukrainization policies in Soviet Ukraine
The Holodomor followed the assault on Ukrainian national culture that started in 1928. The events of 1932-1933 in Ukraine were seen by the Soviet Communist leaders as an instrument against Ukrainian self-determination...
and many Ukrainians became victims of political repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
by the Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
ist regime. On February 12, 1929, Tiutiunnyk was arrested in Kharkiv, and deported to Moscow where he was put on trial. On December 3, 1929 he was found guilty of anti-Soviet agitation and sentenced to death
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. On October 20, 1930, he was executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
in Lubyanka
Lubyanka (KGB)
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB and affiliated prison on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V...
, Moscow.
Family
Tiutiunnyk's family was secretly transferred by the ChekaCheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
from abroad to Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, then after the death of Yurii they lived in Kuban
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
until 1932. The further fate of Tiutiunnyk's family is unknown.
- Wife: Vira Andriivna Tiutiunnyk
- Children: two daughters
Tiutiunnyk in popular Ukrainian culture
Through playing himself in various movie films, Tiutiunnyk created an image of himself as a dashing revolutionary in popular Soviet Ukrainian culture. This image was captured in verse by the Ukrainian writer Ivan BahriannyIvan Bahrianyi
Ivan Bahrianyi was a Ukrainian writer and politician. The writer's real name was Ivan Pavlovych Lozoviaha.-Biography:Ivan Bahrianyi was born in the village of Kuzemyn, Okhtyrskyi Raion, Sumy Oblast, in eastern Ukraine...
and set to music by Hryhory Kytasty
Hryhory Kytasty
Hryhoriy Trokhymovych Kytasty was a Ukrainian émigré composer and conductor. In 2008 he was honored with the Hero of Ukraine state decoration.- Early years :Hryhory Kytasty was born in the town of Kobeliaky, Poltava oblast...
. The song "Pisnya Pro Tiutiunnyka" ( — "Song about Tiutiunnyk") describes a popular image of his unit rushing to Ukraine from Siberia to help the Petliura government of the Ukrainian National Republic in 1919.