from the nobles of the Orenburg village of the 1st military department of the Orenburg Cossack army, born into the family of a Cossack officer in the city of Kazalinsk, Syrdarya region. He graduated from the Orenburg Neplyuevsky Cadet Corps (1889-1897), the Nikolaev Cavalry School in the 1st category (1897-1899), a course of science in the 3rd Sapper Brigade in the category “outstanding” (1901), passed the exam at the Nikolaev Engineering School (1902 ), graduated from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff in the 1st category, but without the right to be assigned to the General Staff (1904-1908). In service since 08/31/1897. Khorunzhiy (from 08/09/1899, from 08/08/1898). Second lieutenant (from 02/12/1903). Lieutenant (from 01.10.1903 from seniority from 08.08.1902). Staff captain (from 10/01/1906, with seniority from 08/10/1906). Esaul (from 12/06/1909 from the same date). Military foreman (from 12/06/1912). Colonel (Order to the army and navy 10/16/1917 from 09/25/1917). Major General (from 07/25/1918). Lieutenant General (from 10/04/1918). Service: in the 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment (from 08/15/1899-1902), junior officer of the 6th hundred. Seconded to the engineering troops (1902). In the 5th Engineer Battalion (1902-1909). Participant in the Russian-Japanese War (11.03-01.10.1905). On a temporary assignment at the Orenburg Cossack Junker School (from 01/13/1909). Transferred to school (09/24/1909). In service at the school (1909-1916), assistant class inspector, class inspector. Annual qualification command of the 5th hundred of the 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment (10/16/1912-10/16/1913). Full member of the Orenburg Scientific Archival Commission (1914-1915). Went to the front (03/20/1916). Commander of the rifle division of the 10th Cavalry Division (from 04/03/1916), participated in the battles in the Carpathians and Romania. Wounded and shell-shocked near the village of Panici in Romania, temporarily lost his sight and hearing, and received a fractured skull (10/01/1916). Appointed commander of the 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment (10/16/1916, took command 11/18/1916). Arrived in Petrograd as a regiment delegate to the All-Cossack Congress (03/16/1917). Took part in the 1st General Cossack Congress (03/23-29/1917). Member of the Provisional Council of the Union of Cossack Troops (since 04/05/1917). In the reserve of ranks at the headquarters of the Petrograd Military District (1917). He took part in the 2nd All-Cossack Congress (06/01-13/1917), and was unanimously elected chairman of the congress. Elected member (then chairman) of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops (06/13/1917). Trip to Orenburg (07.1917). Took part in the Moscow State Conference (12-15.08.1917). Elected Troop Ataman by the Extraordinary Military Circle of the Orenburg Cossack Army (01. 10.1917). Appointed chief commissioner of the Provisional Government for food for the Orenburg Cossack army, Orenburg province and Turgai region (10/15/1917). Issued an order not to recognize the Bolshevik coup (10/26/1917). Member of the Orenburg Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland and the Revolution (since 11/08/1917). Elected as a deputy of the Constituent Assembly from the army (11.1917). Commander of the Orenburg Military District (since 12.1917). Participant of the Turgai campaign (04/17-07/07/1918). Chief Commissioner of the Committee of Members of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly on the territory of the Orenburg Cossack Army, Orenburg Province and Turgai Region (07/10-08/05/1918). Chief of Defense of the Orenburg Cossack Army (1918). Trip to Samara (07/13-19/1918). Trip to Omsk (07/22-08/03/1918). Komuch was deprived of all powers (08/13/1918). Member of the Ufa State Conference, member of the Council of Elders of the meeting and chairman of the Cossack faction (09.1918). White troops under the leadership of Dutov captured the city of Orsk (09/28/1918). Commander of the Southwestern Army (10.17-12.28.1918). Commander of the Separate Orenburg Army (12/28/1918-05/23/1919). Chief commander of the Orenburg region (from 02/13/1919). Trip to Omsk (04/07-18/1919). Assigned to the General Staff (04/11/1919). Marching ataman of all Cossack troops and inspector general of the cavalry of the Russian army (since 05/23/1919). Trip to Perm (05.29-06.04.1919). Trip to the Far East (06/08-08/12/1919). Commander of all Russian troops located in the cities of Khabarovsk, Nikolsk-Ussuriysky, Grodekovo and in the railway zone between them (from 07/07/1919). Commander of the Orenburg Army with dismissal from the post of Inspector General of Cavalry (09/18/1919). Commander of the Separate Orenburg Army (since 11.1919). Participant of the Hunger March (11/22–12/31/1919). Chief Head of the Semirechensk Territory (from 01/06/1920). Crossed the Chinese border (04/02/1920). Prepared a campaign against Soviet Russia (1920-1921). Mortally wounded by Soviet agent M. Khodzhamiarov during an assassination attempt (02/06/1921 at about 6 p.m.) and died the next morning (at about 7 a.m.). Buried in Suiding (Western China). By order of the naval department of the Amur Provisional Government (12/10/1921), the school of sub-sorrels of the separate Orenburg Cossack brigade was named after Ataman Dutov. Awards: St. Stanislaus 3rd class. (01/23/1906, approved by the Highest order 01/17/1907), St. Anna 3rd Art. (06.12.1910), St. Anna 2nd Art. (1915), swords and bow for the Order of St. Anna 3rd Art. (1916-1917), dark bronze medal in memory of the Russian-Japanese War, “Ribbon of Distinction” of the Orenburg Cossack Army (1918). Honorary old man of the village of Grodekovskaya of the Ussuri Cossack army (from June 24, 1919), the village of Travnikovskaya of the Orenburg Cossack army. Listed among the villages of Krasnogorskaya (since 07.1918) and Berdskaya. Wife Olga Viktorovna Petrovskaya, from the hereditary nobles of the St. Petersburg province. Children: Olga (05/31/1907), Nadezhda (09/12/1909), Maria (05/22/1912), Elizaveta (08/31/1914), Oleg (ca. 1917-1918?). Common-law wife of Alexandra Afanasyevna Vasilyeva, Ostrolenskaya village of the 2nd military department of the Orenburg Cossack army. Daughter Vera.

Works: About the lecture by T.I. Sedelnikova // Orenburg Cossack Herald (Orenburg). 1917. No. 8. 16.07. S. 4; All-Russian Cossack circle // Orenburg Cossack Bulletin. 1917. No. 10. 21.07. pp. 1-2; German espionage // Orenburg Cossack Herald. 1917. No. 67. 01.11. pp. 1-2; Alarm // People's Affairs. 1918. No. 116. 30.11. S. 1; Essays on the history of the Cossacks // Orenburg Cossack Bulletin. 1919. No. 62. 09.04; My observations about the Japanese // Vladivostok News. 1919. 26.07; My observations about a Russian woman // Vladivostok News (Vladivostok). 1919. No. 23. 28.07; “The people themselves are dark and easy to agitate.” Note from Ataman A.I. Dutov about the internal political situation in Bashkiria and north-west Kazakhstan. Publ. YES. Amanzholova // Source. 2001. No. 3. P. 46-51.

The White Guard commanders, forced to leave Russia, did not believe that the war with the Bolsheviks was over. Many of them tried to find allies on the side in order to return and free the country from the Red regime. This was Ataman Dutov. Having moved to China, he began to prepare a liberation campaign and maintained contact with numerous underground organizations. The Cheka could not wait until he gained enough strength. And therefore they prepared a special operation to eliminate Dutov.

Against the Bolsheviks

The future ataman of the Orenburg Cossacks was born in 1879. By the beginning of the First World War, he had graduated from the Orenburg Cadet Corps, the Nikolaev Cavalry School and the Academy of the General Staff. Alexander Ilyich also had a chance to take part in the Russian-Japanese War. Then there was the war with Germany. And by 1917, Dutov had many awards, several serious injuries, as well as unconditional authority among the Cossacks. He was even delegated to the Second All-Cossack Congress in Petrograd. And then Dutov became chairman of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops.

When the Bolsheviks carried out an armed coup d'etat and seized power, Alexander Ilyich did not obey them. At the beginning of November 1917, he signed a decree stating that the Orenburg province did not recognize the Bolshevik system. He officially became the head of the Orenburg province. In a short time, Dutov managed to clear his estate of sympathizers with the red movement. And although Alexander Ilyich considered himself the master of the Orenburg land, he accepted Kolchak’s power unconditionally. Ataman understood that in order to defeat the Bolsheviks it was necessary to step over personal ambitions.

But still White lost. Kolchak’s army suffered defeats, and soon Ataman Dutov himself drank the bitter cup of the defeated. And at the beginning of April 1920, he, along with the remnants of the army, had to leave his native country. The defeated White Guards settled in the Chinese fortress of Suidong and the town of Gulja. Despite the difficult situation, Alexander Ilyich did not think of giving up. He told his subordinates: “The fight is not over. Defeat is not defeat yet.” Ataman gathered the scattered forces of the White Guards who had taken refuge in China and created the Orenburg Separate Army. And his phrase “I will go out to die on Russian soil and will not return back to China” became the motto of all opponents of the Bolshevik government.

Alexander Ilyich launched a vigorous activity, establishing contacts with the underground. He prepared a liberation campaign, trying to attract as many people as possible to this. In fact, Dutov became a formidable opponent who only needed time to successfully implement his plan. And the security officers understood this very well. And when they learned about the successful negotiations between the ataman and the Basmachi, it became completely clear that they could not delay. Initially, it was decided to kidnap him from Suidun and bring him to an open proletarian trial. This important task was entrusted to a native of the city of Dzharkent, Tatar Kasymkhan Chanyshev. The Chanyshev family traced its history either to a certain prince or to a khan. She was rich and influential. The Chanyshevs were merchants and conducted active trade with China. True, their business was smuggling, so merchants had to cross the border along secret paths. Yes, they had extensive connections and informants in the neighboring state.

All this predetermined Kasimkhan’s choice.

Secret agent

Chanyshev quickly assessed the situation and joined the Bolsheviks in 1917. He formed a Red Guard detachment from his horsemen, captured Jankert and declared it Soviet. And even the fact that many of his relatives were dispossessed did not affect Kasimkhan’s political views. He continued to fight for the Bolsheviks and kept in touch with a relative who lived in Gulja. According to the security officers, Chanyshev was ideally suited for the role of one offended by the Bolsheviks. Like, he fought for them, and they treated his many relatives so cruelly. And Kasimkhan agreed to carry out an important task.

In the fall of 1920, he, in the company of several devoted horsemen, went to Gulja to carry out preparatory work. The operation lasted several days, after which they returned. Kasimkhan reported that he was able to make contact with Colonel Ablaykhanov, Dutov’s translator. And he promised Chanyshev to arrange a meeting with the ataman. In general, the result exceeded all expectations.

Then there were several more reconnaissance trips. Kasimkhan met with Dutov a couple of times, told him his legend and informed him about the underground fighters in Jankert. He assured the chieftain that in the event of a liberation campaign, they would be able to capture the city, and then support his movement. Alexander Ilyich believed and told Kasimkhan about his grandiose plans. When the security officers became aware of them, it was decided to speed up the operation. The fact is that Dutov already had a great force behind him, entangling many large cities. And the Orenburg Separate Army was numerous and combat-ready, and not imaginary, as some of the Bolsheviks wanted to think. The threat became too frightening.

And when the West Siberian uprising began in January 1921, the security officers became alarmed. It was decided not to kidnap Dutov for subsequent trial, but simply to liquidate him. Chanyshev received a new task. And on the night from January 31 to February 1, a group of six people under the leadership of Chanyshev crossed the border. Kasimkhan wrote a letter to Dutov in which he announced his readiness for an uprising: “Mr. Ataman. We've stopped waiting, it's time to start, everything is done. Ready. We’re just waiting for the first shot, then we won’t sleep.” The message was delivered by Mahmud Khadzhamirov. He, accompanied by orderly Lopatin, entered Dutov’s house on February 6. As soon as Alexander Ilyich opened the letter, a shot followed. Having dealt with the chieftain, Khadzhamirov also killed Lopatin. Meanwhile, another security agent dealt with the sentry. And soon the entire group crossed the border without losses.

There is information that the security officers did not trust Chanyshev, considering him a double agent. Therefore, they took his relatives hostage. And Kasimkhan was given a condition: either you eliminate Dutov, or you bury your relatives.

Ataman Dutov passed away the next day. The dream of dying on Russian soil was not destined to come true. He and the other two victims were buried in a cemetery near Seydun. A few days later, Alexander Ilyich’s grave was opened, and his body was beheaded. According to one version, Chanyshev took the head to prove the reality of Dutov’s death. But there is no information confirming this fact.

For successfully completing an important task, the entire group received a reward. Khadzhamirov received from Dzerzhinsky a gold watch and a Mauser with a commemorative engraving. Chanyshev was presented with the award by Peters. Along with a gold watch and a personalized carbine, he also received a “safe-conduct”: “The bearer of this, Comrade. Chanyshev Kasymkhan on February 6, 1921 committed an act of national significance, which saved several thousand lives of the working masses from a gang attack, and therefore the named comrade requires attentive attention from the Soviet authorities and the said comrade is not subject to arrest without the knowledge of the Plenipotentiary Representation.”

Kolchak and Dutov bypass the line of volunteers.

In order not to take the benefit (a 3-4 year mandatory break in the service of a Cossack officer, caused by the need to deploy Cossack regiments of the 2nd and 3rd lines in the event of war), which was available in the Orenburg Cossack army after three years of combat officer service, Dutov decided transfer to the engineering troops, where there were no such breaks in the officer’s combat service as in the Cossack troops. He probably wanted to serve his next rank faster. So, in 1902, the young, capable officer was first sent to Kyiv for preliminary testing at the headquarters of the 3rd Engineer Brigade for transfer to the engineering troops, and having passed the tests, he went to St. Petersburg to take an exam at the Nikolaev Engineering School for the right to be seconded to the engineering troops. The preparation took four months, and then, having successfully passed the exam for the entire course of the school (according to the official biography, he was the first), Dutov was placed at the disposal of the Main Engineering Directorate and again found himself in Kyiv, in the 5th engineer battalion, for testing in service and subsequent translation.

In the battalion, three months later Dutov was appointed teacher of the sapper school, and from 1903 - of the telegraph school. In addition to this work, he was in charge of the battalion soldiers' shop; On October 1, 1903, he received the rank of lieutenant. At this time, his marriage took place to Olga Viktorovna Petrovskaya, who came from hereditary nobles of the St. Petersburg province. Apparently, Petrovskaya was K.V.’s cousin. Sakharov (1881-1941) - the future lieutenant general, commander-in-chief of the armies of the Eastern Front in 1919. He made another important decision - to enter the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff. To get into the Academy, at the beginning of the twentieth century. the officer had to serve at least three years in the ranks and take part in at least two camp training sessions.

The dropout rate, even at the stage of preliminary tests, at the district headquarters, was quite high. Having successfully passed the preliminary written exams at the headquarters of the Kyiv Military District (tactics, political history, geography, Russian language, horse riding) in the summer of 1904, 25-year-old Dutov again went to the capital. As a rule, it took officers a year of hard work to prepare and pass the entrance exams to the Academy; they had to demonstrate knowledge of drill regulations, artillery, fortification, mathematics, military administration, political history, geography, topographical drawing, Russian and foreign languages). Based on the results of the exam, Dutov was enrolled in the junior year of the Academy.

As soon as classes began, he volunteered for the war with Japan. His sapper battalion, as part of the 2nd Manchurian Army, took part in the war at its final stage. Lieutenant Dutov was in Manchuria from March 11 to October 1, 1905, and for “excellent, diligent service and special labor” during hostilities in January 1906 he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree. After the war, Dutov resumed his studies at the Academy. At about the same time, they studied with him at the Academy and, very likely, already in their academic years, his future comrades in the struggle during the Civil War, M.G., knew each other. Serov, I.M. Zaitsev, N.T. Sukin and S.A. Shchepikhin.

On May 31, 1907, Dutov’s daughter Olga was born. The future ataman graduated from two classes of the Academy in the first category and an additional course “successfully”, but “without the right to promotion to the next rank for graduation from the academy and to be assigned to the General Staff,” as he believed, due to the presence of a family. Failure gave him a feeling of inferiority that he tried to overcome throughout his life. The dissatisfaction with his achievements that arose in Dutov after the Academy did not manifest itself in any way until 1917. But, having received a chance in the spring of 1917 to rehabilitate himself in his own eyes and in the eyes of those around him, Dutov grabbed it and took full advantage of this chance.

Upon completion of the additional course, Academy graduates were distributed to military districts to pass a staff qualification, and the first ten officers in the graduating class had the right to be appointed to vacancies in the St. Petersburg Military District. For each year of study you were required to serve a year and a half in the military department. To familiarize himself with the service of the General Staff, Staff Captain Dutov was sent to the Kiev Military District, to the headquarters of the X Army Corps, located in Kharkov. After three months of practice, in the fall of 1908 he returned to his 5th engineer battalion, where he had not been since 1905.

At the beginning of 1909, Dutov went on a “temporary business trip” to his native Orenburg Cossack army and took the position of teacher at the Orenburg Cossack Junker School. Why did he do this, what was he guided by in his desire to get into such a seemingly insignificant position for an Academy graduate?! There is no documentary evidence of this. But there are several possible reasons: firstly, Orenburg was Dutov’s hometown, where his parents and numerous relatives lived, secondly, Dutov could transfer to school in order to get a calm, quiet place and live comfortably, devoting himself to his family, and finally, one possible reason is Dutov’s desire to realize his skills acquired at the Academy and in the engineering troops. Such a step characterizes him during this period of his life by no means as a careerist.

Extending his “temporary business trip,” Dutov in September 1909 first achieved transfer to the school as an assistant class inspector with a renaming to podesaul, and in March 1910 he was enlisted in the army. By this time, Dutov was already an esaul. From 1909 to 1912 He served in the school in various positions, temporarily acting as a class inspector. Among Dutov’s wards was the cadet G.M. Semenov (graduated from college in 1911), later ataman of the Transbaikal Cossack Army. During this, probably the calmest period in Dutov’s life, two more daughters were born, Nadezhda in 1909 and Maria in 1912. The youngest daughter Elizaveta was also born in Orenburg, but already during the First World War - on August 31, 1914. Dutov also had a son, Oleg, but documents about his birth have not been found; one can only say that he was born in 1917-1918. Dutov obviously liked just such a calm, measured and predictable life as a provincial officer.

With his activities at the school, Dutov earned the love and respect of the cadets, for whom he did a lot. In addition to the exemplary performance of his official duties, he organized performances, concerts and evenings at the school. In December 1910, Dutov was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree, and on December 6, 1912, at the age of 33, he was promoted to military sergeant major (the corresponding army rank is lieutenant colonel); for comparison, his father received the same rank only at the age of 47.

In October 1912, Dutov was sent to the 5th hundred of the 1st Orenburg Cossack regiment in Kharkov to acquire an annual qualification for command of a hundred. “There were no circumstances in the service of this staff officer that deprived him of the right to receive the insignia of blameless service or delayed the period of service to it,” read the standard wording from the service record of the future ataman, compiled on January 24, 1913. During his qualification command, Dutov earned several thanks from the chief of the 10th Cavalry Division. At that time, the gratitude of Major General Count F.A. Kellera meant a lot in the cavalry. The 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment was Keller’s favorite regiment, and Dutov, during his stay in the division of this talented general, who most seriously prepared his units for a future war, probably learned a lot as a cavalry officer. After his term of command expired, Dutov passed the hundred in October 1913 and returned to school, where he served until 1916. In 1914-1915, in addition to military service, he was a full member of the Orenburg Scientific Archival Commission, which had already graduated 30 volumes of their scientific works. Dutov, being a member of the commission, collected materials about A.S.’s stay in Orenburg. Pushkin. In general, history was one of Dutov’s favorite sciences.

Despite attempts by the school authorities to keep Dutov at the school, he went to the front on March 20, 1916. As they said, Dutov got ready in three days and left for the already familiar 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment of His Imperial Highness the Heir Tsarevich of the 10th Cavalry Division). The circumstances of his departure and the reason why he left in 1914-1915. remained in Orenburg, are known from the memoirs of the ataman of the Orenburg Cossack army, General M.S. Tyulina: the authorities, who did not have an academic education, did not want to let Dutov go to the front out of envy. Still, it is not entirely clear why he was never able to go to the front before. It is possible that he was waiting for a suitable vacancy, but it is obvious that he was clearly not eager to go to the front.

The regiment was considered one of the best in the Orenburg Cossack army. By December 1915, there were five holders of the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, six holders of the St. George's Arms, 609 Cossacks of the regiment were awarded St. George's crosses, 131 were awarded St. George's medals. During this time, the regiment took 1200 prisoners, 4 guns, 15 cartridge gigs, about 200 guns, 42 camp pack kitchens, and many convoys. At the time of Dutov’s arrival, the regiment was fighting the Austrians as part of the 9th Army of General P.A. Lechitsky. On March 29, the Cossacks were personally greeted by Nicholas II, then they received rest and from April 6 guarded the state border along the Prut River.

Lechitsky's army was located on the left flank of the Southwestern Front, its left flank was covered by Keller's III Cavalry Corps, and the left flank of the corps was covered by the 10th Cavalry Division. Thus, Dutov fought on the extreme left flank of the entire Eastern Front, near the Romanian border itself. 9th Army in preparation by the Commander-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front, General A.A. The Brusilov offensive was assigned a supporting role. Lechitsky decided to first defeat the enemy in Bukovina, then advance towards the Carpathians, and after that transfer the blow to Transnistria.

At the front, Dutov formed a rifle division, which from April 3 took part in the battles on the Prut River. The division was organized by Dutov from scratch and gradually acquired its own convoys and workshops. At dawn on May 22, 1916, the troops of the 9th Army went on the offensive. According to the regiment's log of military operations, the crossing of the Prut on May 28 took place under heavy artillery fire. The Cossacks forded the river (the bridges were blown up), with a strong current, and the water, according to the testimony of the crossing participants, as a result of the spring flood, was above the waist (they probably crossed on horseback). In a night battle while crossing the Prut, Dutov’s rifle division took the trench line and held it for two days until the shift, losing 50% of the lower ranks and 60% of the officers. Despite the concussion, Dutov remained in the ranks and in the chain until the end of the battle and was the last to leave after his shift.

The operation progressed successfully. Enemy losses amounted to up to 95,000 killed, wounded and captured. The 9th Army lost 26,500 men. At its first stage, Keller's cavalry was assigned only a passive role of supporting the left flank. After occupying Chernivtsi on June 5, the army’s strike group was stopped on the Prut River line to change the operational direction, and the III Cavalry and Combined Corps were allocated to pursue the retreating enemy. It was not possible to cut off the Austrians from the Carpathians; after retreating, they organized a stubborn defense.

Dutov's division as part of the III Cavalry Corps took part in the pursuit of the Austrians from Chernivtsi through Bukovina to the Carpathian mountain passes near Kirlibaba - Dorna-Vatra. As noted on July 24 in the regiment's log of military operations, “the conditions at the position are very difficult - snow at the heights, cold, strong piercing wind.” The division practically kept up with its cavalry regiment, having fought 450 miles on foot for 10 days. Dutov’s reports were laconic: “Your order has been executed by the village (Ney-Itskani in the Carpathians. - A.G.), thanks to the valor of the riflemen, was taken; I move on to height 1227.” Another report from an attack on a fortified position near Runkul is no less brief and eloquent: “Having overcome seven rows of wire and taking four lines of trenches, the riflemen and Cossacks of the area entrusted to me are pursuing the enemy to Kirlibabu. I present 250 prisoners and trophies. Losses are insignificant. Now I am with a chain at the height of Obchina.”

Subsequently, the 130,000-strong 7th Austro-Hungarian Army in the area between the Dniester and Prut rivers was defeated. The Russian 9th Army threatened Hungary and the oil wells of Galicia. In July, Lechitsky’s army operated in two directions: to Galich and to Transylvania. The fighting at the army front was distinguished by maneuverability, there were mounted clashes, but the command was unable to use the cavalry properly. Of course, the cavalry was not intended for mountain warfare, however, for some reason there was no other use for Keller’s corps at that time. On July 28, Lechitsky’s troops occupied Stanislaviv. The army was preparing to march through the Carpathians to Transylvania. On August 14, Romania entered the war against Austria-Hungary on the side of the Entente, largely thanks to the brilliant actions of Lechitsky’s troops, which, however, did not lead to a strengthening of the Russian front, but rather, on the contrary, weakened it.

The offensive of the 9th Army to assist the Romanians was scheduled by Brusilov for August 18. Lechitsky’s army was supposed to advance in the direction of Kirlibaba-Sigot, and securing the Sigot region for the Russian troops, according to the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, in fact the commander-in-chief, General M.V. Alekseev, was supposed to provide Romanian operations in Transylvania. Keller's corps was part of the southern group of the 9th Army, operating in the sector from Kirlibaba to the Romanian border.

August and September at the army front were spent in fierce and extremely difficult battles, and already in September the troops in the Carpathians were fighting in deep snow. Lechitsky was still opposed by the 7th Austro-Hungarian Army. To the Germans from the division transferred there as reinforcements from the Western Front, the battles at Dorn-Vatra, Kirlibaba and Jacoben seemed harder than those at Verdun. However, the Russian offensive developed extremely slowly. Until September 13, when Lechitsky was forced to suspend the operation due to significant losses (145 officers and 10 thousand soldiers), the fighting continued continuously. The troops occupied the heights commanding the Kirlibaba-Dorna-Vatra highway.

On October 1, near the village of Panichi in Romania, Dutov was shell-shocked for the second time and, in addition, wounded by a shell fragment, as a result of which he lost his sight and hearing for some time and received a fractured skull. It seemed that the young officer would be forced to leave the ranks forever, but after two months of treatment in Orenburg he returned to the regiment. On October 16, Dutov was appointed commander of the 1st Orenburg His Imperial Highness the Heir to the Tsarevich Cossack Regiment. The newly appointed commander arrived at the regiment on November 18, and on December 15, due to the uncertainty of his status, he wrote to the chief of staff of the 10th Cavalry Division: “I arrived at the regiment on November 18, which I reported. I ask you not to refuse [to inform] whether there was an order from the division about my situation or not. Then, how can I consider the rifle division passed or should I still pass it. Military Sergeant Major Dutov.”

Meanwhile, fierce fighting continued at Kirlibaba. The losses were significant. As A.A. wrote Kersnovsky, “the slopes of the mountains near Kirlibaba turned into vast Russian cemeteries... Throughout November, heroic battles took place here in the clouds and behind the clouds... Their history will someday be written. Our trophies in this mountain war were significant, our losses were enormous, our heroism was boundless.” On November 15, the 9th Army launched an attack on the city of Dorna-Vatra; the fighting also became protracted, and it was not possible to dislodge the Austrians from the Carpathian mountain passes. As A.G. later recalled. Shkuro, “the mountains were terribly steep, the movement of convoys was impossible, the supply of food had to be carried out in packs along mountain paths, and the removal of the wounded was difficult. In general, the work was terribly difficult.”

On November 15, Brusilov ordered the III Cavalry Corps to move to the Rymnik area. Due to the defeat of the Romanian army, Russian troops had to save both their new ally and the position on the left flank of their own Eastern Front. From the Prut, the troops followed through the territory of Wallachia in marching order, the horses were extremely exhausted. Having covered 500 miles from Bukovina to Bucharest, the corps in December became part of the 6th Army, which occupied the front section from Firul Mare to the Black Sea coast.

Interesting are the certifications of Dutov, given in February 1917 by the head of the 10th Cavalry Division, General V.E. Markov and corps commander Count Keller. On February 11, Markov wrote: “The last battles in Romania, in which the regiment took part under the command of army sergeant major DUTOV, give the right to see in him a commander who is well versed in the situation and makes the appropriate decisions energetically, which is why I consider him outstanding , but due to the short time of command of the regiment, it is only fully consistent with its purpose.”

His certification dated February 24 noted: Dutov “is in good health. He doesn’t complain about the hardship of camping life - he’s always cheerful. Good morals. Well developed mentally. He is keenly interested in service and loves it. Well read and well educated. He has no combat experience yet, but strives to independently solve combat problems. In battle he is somewhat impressionable and tends to give the situation of the battle according to the impression of juniors and is somewhat exaggerated. He likes to work for show, although in general he is tireless in his work. The farm knows. He cares about his subordinates. Good [commander]. Corresponds to the position of commander of a Cossack regiment.” Keller got acquainted with both certifications and expressed his opinion: “I do not agree with the first certification of the division chief and fully agree with the second, since I always considered the military foreman DUTOV to be an excellent combat commander of the regiment. “Excellent”[,] is quite consistent with the position held. Signed: General Count KELLER." By February 1917, for military distinctions, Dutov was awarded swords and a bow to the Order of St. Anne, 3rd class. and the Order of St. Anne, 2nd class. The authors of Dutov’s official biography argued that his merits “in the war were assessed very little by the previous government, he had few orders - the reason for this was the independence of the ataman, reluctance to flatter the higher authorities, defending Cossack interests and complete contempt for deliberately false reports in order to decorate his affairs and describe the exploits." Judging by the above data, there are many exaggerations here.

Dutov served as regimental commander for only four months; the February Revolution changed his, until then rather ordinary, life path of an unknown Cossack headquarters officer. In March 1917, Prime Minister G.E. Lvov gave permission to hold the first all-Cossack congress in Petrograd “to clarify the needs of the Cossacks,” and on March 16, military foreman Dutov arrived in the capital as a delegate from his regiment. His political career began.

As noted by A.V. Shmelev, “the role of the Cossacks in the events of 1917 has not yet been clarified in many ways.” A serious study of this role is impossible without considering the activities of Dutov, one of the largest political figures put forward by the Cossacks in 1917. By February 1917, he had not yet emerged as a political figure, he was only one of hundreds of regimental commanders, and was not a coward in the war ( I spent about a year at the front), but had it not been for the revolution, I would hardly have been able to show all my abilities.

In the spring of 1917, the fate of this man changed dramatically. Unfortunately, there is no completely reliable information about what brought him to the crest of the revolutionary wave. The official biography of the Orenburg ataman reports that Dutov was elected because he was “a regiment commander, beloved by both officers and Cossacks.” The only evidence that clarifies anything belongs to the Orenburg Cossack general I.M. Zaitsev. Zaitsev wrote about Dutov: “At first it seemed strange why a commander was sent from the regiment, while the representatives of the divisions were, in most cases, chief officers. Subsequently, it turned out that the regiment was dissatisfied with its commander and, in order to get rid of him under a plausible pretext, he was delegated to Petrograd. The point is this: in the first days of the revolution, the dashing Count Keller, commander of the III Cavalry Corps, which was at that time in Bessarabia, urgently invited the regimental commanders and asked them: “Can they and their regiments go on a campaign to Tsarskoe Selo, free the royal family?” . A.I. Dutov, as the commander of the chief’s regiment, stated on behalf of the regiment that his regiment would willingly go to free its chief. This is what seemed to arouse the discontent of the entire regiment. There were such conversations then. Subsequently, as a result of all the events, it turned out that the main agitator against Dutov, who condemned his statement on behalf of the regiment about the Cossacks’ readiness to go save the royal family, was the old regiment officer Losev, who later remained with the Bolsheviks.”

One way or another, in the spring of 1917, the Cossacks, along with the entire country, found themselves in new, largely incomprehensible conditions. The first general Cossack congress (later called preliminary) was held in Petrograd on March 23-30, but the telegrams were late and a number of Cossack troops did not have time to send their delegates from the field. Part of the Cossack troops was represented exclusively by front-line delegates. The congress was opened by A.P., a member of the State Duma from the Don Cossack Army. Savvateev. The congress was attended by the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General L.G. Kornilov. The idea of ​​creating a mass Cossack organization immediately arose - the Union of Cossack Troops with its own permanent Council. The Council of the Union of Cossack Troops was supposed in the future to free the Cossack units from the corrupting influence of various committees and councils of soldiers' deputies. It was expected that this would preserve the combat effectiveness of the Cossack units and, in the conditions of the disintegration of the regular army, would make them an impressive force in the all-Russian political arena.

However, the participants of the congress themselves did not consider it authorized to resolve such issues, so it was decided in May to convene a more representative second all-Cossack congress (it was also called the First All-Russian Cossack Congress, or circle). A commission was formed to work on the creation of the Union of Cossack Troops, called the “Provisional Council of the Union of Cossack Troops”, chaired by Savvateev. Dutov became one of the chairman’s comrades (assistants). As I.M. later recalled. Zaitsev, in Petrograd, Dutov turned to him “with a request for assistance. He asked what he should do and whether he could find any use for it. I advised him to continue working in the Provisional Cossack Council, together with Savvateev, and to work in the spirit and direction of the directives given at one time by A.I. Guchkov and that under this condition one can hope to second him to the General Staff. Indeed, it was possible to arrange a secondment to the General Staff, and A.I. Dutov was entrusted with work on the Cossack issue together with Savvateev.”

The Provisional Council of the congress delegates included 34 representatives of 13 Cossack troops. Dutov was a member of the economic, financial-economic, organizational and military affairs commissions of the Provisional Council. In April, he toured front-line Cossack units, campaigning for the continuation of the war. In May, he and Council member A.N. The Greeks obtained an audience with the Minister of War and Navy A.F. Kerensky, the conversation lasted about an hour. Dutov reported on the goals of convening and the work of the congress and the Provisional Council, official permission was received to hold the 2nd All-Cossack Congress, and Kerensky asked to come to him and keep him informed of the work. A counterweight to the Provisional Council also emerged - the Cossack section of the Petrograd Council of Workers', Soldiers', Peasants' and Cossacks' Deputies, which sought to subordinate the Provisional Council to itself. As Dutov himself later wrote, “the work of this Council was extremely tense, nervous and difficult. The Cossacks in Petrograd were viewed from a biased point of view, and therefore the idea of ​​the Cossacks was difficult to implement. But labor and energy won and the voice of the Cossacks became heard in Petrograd.” Initially, the Provisional Council had absolutely no funds, but over time, work began to improve. The Cossacks were given the premises of the former Main Directorate of Cossack Troops. The 2nd Congress opened its work on June 1. In addition to representatives from the places elected by military circles, two elected delegates from each Cossack unit were to be present at the congress. (Soviet historiography spoke without evidence about the falsification of elections to the congress and that only the Cossack elite participated in its work.)

The convention opened in a large hall in the Army and Navy Assembly building in the presence of about 600 delegates. Dutov was unanimously elected chairman of the congress, which brought him all-Russian fame. Dutov in this post was, however, in many ways a random person - he had practically no experience in political and social activities. In the mornings, general meetings were held, in the evenings there were meetings on the Cossack troops. This way of working turned out to be very advantageous, since the political figures present at the congress had the impression of complete unity of the entire Russian Cossacks. During the work of the congress, the meetings were attended by A.F. Kerensky, M.V. Rodzianko, A.I. Guchkov, P.N. Milyukov, N.V. Nekrasov and V.D. Nabokov, foreign ambassadors and military attaches; There was a large audience present. The main slogan of the congress was “War to a victorious end”; the delegates also actively advocated the convening of a Constituent Assembly. From the first days of work, contradictions emerged between front-line Cossack youth and representatives of Cossack regions, mainly “old men.” The final general resolution included such provisions as: a united and indivisible Russia, broad local self-government, war until victory, an honorable peace, all power to the Provisional Government until the convening of the Constituent Assembly and the resolution of the issue of the form of government. On June 13, delegates elected the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops - a permanent, representative and completely legitimate Cossack body that was supposed to work during the break between congresses. 36 (according to other sources, 38) people were elected to the Council for a period of three years in proportion to the number of their Cossack troops, and many of the elected members had previously served on the Provisional Council.

During this period, Dutov, apparently, successfully established contacts, joining the military and political elite of post-February Petrograd. He collaborated with the Republican Center, and within this organization there allegedly existed a “secret military department” that united various military alliances, including the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops. It is obvious that the Soviet authors, and somewhat earlier Kerensky, tried in this way to prove the existence of a carefully prepared right-wing military conspiracy in the summer of 1917. An indication of Dutov’s cooperation with a certain underground organization requires evidence, but it (in the form of links to sources) is missing; significant evidence of the very existence of a large-scale conspiracy, and even more so of the participation in it of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops, has not yet been identified.

Dutov’s role during the working days of the congress seems to be purely technical - to conduct meetings, put questions to a vote, etc. At the same time, he had the opportunity to make his first political statements. On July 7 he asserted: “We (Cossacks. - A.G.) we will never part ways with all Russian democracy.” Dutov was present at some meetings of the Provisional Government as a permanent representative of the All-Russian Cossacks, and until October 1917 he was a member of the commissions under the Provisional Government for convening the Constituent Assembly, for Cossack affairs, and for interdepartmental work. On August 6, the Council issued a resolution in support of Kornilov. This statement by the Cossack representatives was a kind of ultimatum to Kerensky. The resolution quickly appeared in the press and received the full support of the Union of Officers and the Union of St. George Knights.

By mid-August, the center of political life briefly moved to Moscow. At the Moscow State Conference, the Cossack Council was given 10 seats, and since many of its members participated in the meeting as representatives of their troops, it turned out that almost the entire composition of the Council took part in the meeting. The comrades of the chairman of the Cossack faction were Dutov and M.A. Karaulov. At the first meeting, two commissions were formed: on general issues (chaired by Karaulov) and on military issues (chaired by Dutov). During the work of the State Conference, the unity of views of the Cossack representatives was revealed, and by August 13 they developed a common resolution; its final edition was prepared by Dutov and F.A. Shcherbina. The next day, on behalf of the entire Cossacks, it was read out by Don Ataman A.M. Kaledin. According to V.I. Lenin, it was “the most significant political statement made at the Moscow meeting.” What could be more convincing than such a confession made by a direct enemy!

According to rumors that leaked to the press, a new Bolshevik uprising was expected in Petrograd on August 28-29 in connection with the six-month “anniversary” of the February events. To suppress a possible rebellion, the Provisional Government called troops from the front, and members of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops were aware from August 24 that the III Cavalry Corps of General A.M. Krymova, by order of Kornilov, moves towards the capital. However, on August 26, Kerensky declared Kornilov a traitor and began to arm the Petrograd workers.

There is no definite information about Dutov’s role in those days, so it is difficult to talk about the reliability of reports according to which he allegedly was supposed to raise an uprising in Petrograd. Subsequently, Dutov worked closely with the Provisional Government, was promoted to the next rank and received a responsible appointment in the Orenburg province, which would have been impossible if his involvement in any conspiracy had been revealed. The Council of the Union of Cossack Troops did not participate organizationally in Kornilov’s movement. Moreover, all the activities of Dutov and the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops during the period of Kornilov’s speech speak of their neutrality, although to a greater extent favorable towards Kornilov. As Kerensky later testified, the leaders of the Council “belonged to that group of people, like Miliukov, who were convinced that victory would be on the side of Kornilov, and not on the side of the revolution.” The position taken by Dutov did not suit either the right or the left.

On August 31, Dutov was summoned to the Winter Palace. He said he was sick and did not go, staying at the hotel. On Dutov’s instructions, military sergeant A.N. went to see Kerensky. Grekov. Kerensky received him in the former imperial office and demanded decisive action against Kornilov and Kaledin: the Council had to declare Kornilov a traitor and Kaledin a rebel. Grekov refused to fulfill his request, saying that he did not have the necessary powers. Then Kerensky demanded the entire presidium of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops, with whom he conducted a conversation in a raised voice, seeking from the Council a decisive condemnation of Kornilov and Kaledin. Dutov answered, drawing Kerensky’s attention to the fact that the Cossacks had already proposed a peaceful solution, but were refused a trip to Headquarters, and now Kerensky was faced with a refusal. Then he told the delegates that this was the decision of the Cossack officers, not the labor Cossacks, and demanded a resolution of the entire Council. After this conversation, the members of the presidium had the impression that Kerensky would arrest them. To clarify the situation, before leaving, Dutov asked him whether the members of the Council present could consider themselves safe and whether their refusal would not cause reprisals. Kerensky responded to this: “You are not dangerous to me, I repeat to you, the working Cossacks are on my side. You can be free; I expect from you today the resolution I need.” Dutov scheduled an emergency meeting of the Council for 6 p.m. At the meeting, Dutov outlined his point of view; after the debate, he, together with Karaulov, who was present, drafted a letter to Kerensky. The letter listed all the grievances inflicted by the government on the Cossacks. It was noted that Kaledin and Kornilov are Cossacks and the Council cannot condemn them without finding out all the circumstances. In addition, it was stated that the Council cannot work when it is under threat. It was decided to send the Council’s response not with officers, but exclusively with ordinary Cossacks, in order to clearly demonstrate to Kerensky that this was the decision of the working Cossacks. When the delegates were received by the minister-chairman, Kerensky asked them to take the paper back, but the Cossacks refused. “So much the worse for you, I can’t vouch for the consequences,” was Kerensky’s last phrase. On the same day, Kornilov and Kaledin were declared traitors and rebels. The Council of the Union of Cossack Troops, in response, passed a resolution stating that Kerensky did not have the right to remove the elected Don Ataman, which was Kaledin (Kerensky believed that since he confirmed Kaledin in office, he could recall him).

Kerensky's attitude towards the Soviet after the suppression of Kornilov's speech worsened. There is, however, information that in relation to the Kaledin case, Kerensky regretted “the misunderstanding that had arisen between him and the Cossacks.” Perhaps, in order to reconcile with the Cossacks as his last support, he decided to appease their representatives, not only with words of apologies and regrets, but also with new appointments and ranks. Kerensky's populist steps towards the Cossacks were crowned with success - Lenin, right up to the 20th of October, was seriously afraid of their speech in defense of the Provisional Government.

On September 16, Dutov’s policy article “The Position of the Cossacks” appeared in print. From this article one can judge his political views, at least at the time of the Bolshevik revolution. Even if we put aside his probably forced bowing to the Provisional Government after the August conflict, Dutov stood on republican and democratic positions. At the same time, he was summoned to Orenburg for the Extraordinary Military Circle, which became a complete triumph for Dutov, who was able to fully reap the fruits of his work in Petrograd.

The first meeting on September 20 was opened with a welcoming speech by the first elected military chieftain, General N.P. Maltsev, apparently, did not enjoy authority among the Cossacks. A.I. was elected Chairman of the Circle. Krivoshchekov. On the very first day, Dutov’s welcoming speech was heard, and the speaker himself was elected honorary chairman of the Circle. On September 22, Dutov received the decisive vote on the Circle. The next day he made a report to the deputies of the Circle on the political position of the Cossacks. According to available information, Dutov extremely negatively characterized the situation in the country, which seemed chaotic to him. The speech caused a great resonance among listeners. On September 27, the work of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops, headed by Dutov, was highly praised by deputies. On September 30, he was elected as a candidate for deputy of the Constituent Assembly from the Orenburg Cossack Army, and on October 1, by secret ballot, he was elected military ataman of the Orenburg Cossack Army and chairman of the military government. Dutov's powers were determined for a period of three years.

Dutov could have triumphed, but the autumn of 1917 was far from the most favorable time for the Cossack leaders. On October 7, Dutov went to Petrograd to transfer his position as chairman of the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops and report to the Provisional Government on the state of affairs in the army. Soon he was confirmed in the position of ataman and promoted to colonel.

October 1917 is another milestone in Dutov’s rapid rise. By October, 38-year-old Dutov had transformed from an ordinary staff officer into a major figure, known throughout Russia and popular among the Cossacks, although perceived controversially. Of course, during 1917 he changed, developed the will to fight, became both more demanding of himself and more ambitious. Perhaps, not the least role in his rise was played by the feeling of dissatisfaction with himself that arose in him after the Academy, the desire to overcome the injustice committed against him under the old regime. And if by October he was already a very significant figure for Petrograd, then in provincial Orenburg the scale of Dutov’s personality seemed much larger. In addition, he was the only well-known Orenburg politician in the country. So, Dutov in 1917 is a figure created by the revolution. However, later, thanks to the scope that his activities acquired during the Civil War, Dutov in the public consciousness turned into a figure created by the counter-revolution.

In Petrograd, Dutov on October 15 surrendered his position as a member of the commissions under the Provisional Government and was appointed chief food commissioner for the Orenburg Cossack army, the Orenburg province and the Turgai region with the powers of a minister. He held this position until January 1, 1918. It was Dutov, according to General I.G. Akulinin, came up with the idea of ​​holding a general demonstration in Petrograd on October 22, 1917, on the day of the Kazan Mother of God, of all Cossack units of the Petrograd garrison. Lenin feared that this demonstration would disrupt his plans to seize power, but the Provisional Government itself did not allow the procession to take place. The leader of the Bolsheviks wrote about this on October 22-23, Ya.M. Sverdlov: “The cancellation of the Cossack demonstration is a gigantic victory. Hooray! advance iso with all our might and we will win in a few days! Best regards! Your". With the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks, the Council of the Union of Cossack Troops ceased to play any significant role, and in early December it was defeated.

On October 26 (November 8), Dutov returned to Orenburg and began work at his posts. On the same day, he signed an order for Army No. 816 on non-recognition of the violent seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd. Dutov’s actions were approved by the Commissioner of the Provisional Government, Second Lieutenant N.V. Arkhangelsky, representatives of local organizations and even the Orenburg Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, who condemned the actions of the Bolsheviks and promised not to speak in Orenburg until they received instructions from the party leadership from Petrograd in this regard (the Bolsheviks did not constitute a majority in the Council). By order of Dutov, Cossacks and cadets occupied the station, post office, telegraph office, rallies, meetings and demonstrations were prohibited. Orenburg was declared under martial law. Nevertheless, rallies were held in the city. Due to the reluctance of local Bolsheviks to obey, by order of Dutov, the Orenburg Bolshevik Club was closed, the literature stored there was confiscated, on November 5 the printing of the 3rd issue was scattered and further publication of the newspaper “Proletary” was prohibited, the editor of the newspaper A.A. Korostelev was detained, but ten hours later, under pressure from the “public,” he was released.

Dutov took control of a strategically important region that blocked communications with Turkestan and Siberia, and this also affected the food supply of central Russia. Dutov's performance overnight made his name known throughout the country. The ataman was faced with the task of holding elections to the Constituent Assembly and maintaining stability in the province and army until its convocation. Dutov generally coped with this task. Although he was elected as a deputy, he was not able to personally take part in the work of the Constituent Assembly.

There were no military operations on the territory of the army until the end of December, since the warring parties did not have sufficient forces for this. At his disposal, Dutov had Cossacks from the Orenburg Cossack reserve regiments and cadets from the Orenburg Cossack School. In relation to the first period of the struggle, we can talk about Dutov’s defensive strategy, which involved preventing Bolshevik detachments from entering the province and army.

On November 4, 27-year-old S.M. arrived in Orenburg from Petrograd. Tsviling is a delegate to the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets, appointed by the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee as extraordinary commissar of the Orenburg province. He was a determined man who distinguished himself during the years of the first Russian revolution by participating in robberies in Omsk and Tomsk, and even the Social Democrats then chose to dissociate themselves from his actions. In November 1917, Tsviling intended to replace the former provincial commissar Arkhangelsky, but he transferred power to Dutov, who was not so easy for Tsviling to replace. During the week after his arrival, Tsviling spoke daily at rallies in front of the troops of the Orenburg garrison with calls to overthrow Dutov.

On the night of November 7, the Bolshevik leaders were arrested and exiled to the villages of Verkhne-Ozernaya and Nezhinskaya. Among the reasons for the arrest were not only calls for an uprising against the Provisional Government, the distribution of appeals and verbal agitation among the soldiers of the Orenburg garrison and workers, but also Tswiling’s statement about the opening of hostilities by the Bolsheviks, information about the movement of Bolshevik troops from Tashkent to Orenburg and the discovery of a carriage at the Orenburg station with hand grenades from Kazan. However, intensive campaigning did its job, and on November 7, the Orenburg Council of Soldiers' Deputies was re-elected, with the Bolsheviks acquiring the leading role (90% of the seats). They were preparing to seize power, counting on the 104th, 105th and 238th infantry reserve regiments, which were part of the local garrison (in addition to these units, the Orenburg garrison included reserve battalions of the 48th Infantry Division). Eliminating the threat of a local Bolshevik coup in Orenburg itself became the main task for Dutov, and he coped with it.

Meanwhile, quite significant groups of officers began to arrive in Orenburg, including those who had already taken part in the battles with the Bolsheviks in Moscow, which strengthened the position of supporters of active armed resistance to the Reds. In particular, on November 7, from Moscow to Orenburg, with the assistance of sister of mercy M.A. Nesterovich managed to get through 120 officers and cadets (in November - no less than 188). For “self-defense and the fight against violence and pogroms, no matter from which side they come,” on November 8, the Orenburg City Duma established the Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland and the Revolution, chaired by the mayor V.F. Baranovsky; The Committee included 34 representatives of the Cossacks, city and zemstvo self-government, political parties (except for the Bolsheviks and Cadets), public and national organizations. Socialists played the leading role in it.

In response to the arrest of the Bolshevik leaders, a strike began on November 9 by workers at the main railway workshops and depots, and railway traffic stopped. On November 11 or 12, Extraordinary Commissioner of the Orenburg Province and Turgai Region P.A. secretly arrived in Orenburg to clarify the situation. Kobozev, it was he who should have led the fight against Dutov. The Orenburg Bolsheviks drew up an ultimatum to Dutov, which was supposed to be presented to the ataman after receiving a telegram from Kobozev indicating that he had gathered troops for an offensive. Kobozev left for Buzuluk, and in his absence the Orenburg Bolsheviks, perhaps due to Tswiling’s ambitions, decided to force events.

On November 14, the executive committee of the Orenburg Council was re-elected. On the night of November 15, at the initiative of Tswiling, the Council held a meeting in the Caravanserai building, which was attended by 125 people. At about two o'clock in the morning, a decision was made to create a military revolutionary committee and an order was immediately issued to transfer all power in Orenburg to the Military Revolutionary Committee. Opponents of the Bolsheviks reacted immediately. At the insistence of Dutov, the Committee decided to arrest the conspirators. The caravanserai was cordoned off by Cossacks, cadets and police, after which all those gathered were detained. Up to 36 members of the Orenburg Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies from the Bolshevik Party were arrested, some were sent to the villages, and later returned to prison, where they were kept in a gentle regime (already on the night of December 13, those arrested managed to escape). The Military Revolutionary Committee, and with it the threat of the Bolsheviks seizing power in the city, were eliminated.

At the end of November, Dutov was elected as a deputy of the Constituent Assembly from the Orenburg Cossack Army. The centers of two military districts were subordinate to Dutov (the territory of the army in military-administrative terms was divided into 3 military districts - 1st (Orenburg), 2nd (Verkhneuralsky), 3rd (Troitsky), in the fall of 1918 the 4th was formed th (Chelyabinsk) military district) - Verkhneuralsk and Troitsk, as well as the cities of Orsk and (very conditionally, only from November 2 to 20) Chelyabinsk. Thus, Dutov formally brought the vast territory of the Southern Urals under his control in November. The demobilization of the Orenburg garrison was announced, which the soldiers had long dreamed of. With the help of the 1st Orenburg Cossack reserve regiment, the decaying garrison (about 20,000 people) was disarmed, which made it possible to provide weapons to the detachments formed in Orenburg (the headquarters of the reserve regiments continued to exist in December). Dutov also mobilized older Cossacks.

To liquidate the strike of railway workers, the Food Committee stopped issuing bread to the strikers on November 11; on November 15, the Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland and the Revolution made a similar decision regarding the wages of the strikers. Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks began to blockade Orenburg, preventing food from entering the city by rail. They also did not allow soldiers returning from the front to enter Orenburg, which is why about 10,000 soldiers soon accumulated in the area between the Kinel and Novosergievka stations. On November 22, Orenburg workers and railway workers turned to Lenin for help. November 24 L.D. Trotsky in a conversation with the Bolshevik commander-in-chief N.V. Krylenko stated: “We propose to you, Comrade Supreme Commander-in-Chief, to immediately move towards Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and Orenburg such forces that, without shaking our front line, would be powerful enough to wipe them off the face of the earth in the shortest possible time.” counter-revolutionary revolt of the Cossack generals and the cadet bourgeoisie."

The Bolshevik leaders quickly realized the danger the uprising of the Orenburg Cossacks posed to them. On November 25, an appeal from the Council of People's Commissars to the population about the fight against Kaledin and Dutov appeared. The Southern Urals were declared in a state of siege, negotiations with the enemy were prohibited, white leaders were declared outlaws, and support was guaranteed for all Cossacks who went over to the side of Soviet power. Commissar Kobozev informed the Council of People's Commissars about the declaration of a state of siege on the Orenburg province on December 2.

At the military circle in December 1917, supporters of the Bolsheviks T.I. Sedelnikov and Podesaul I.D. Kashirin demanded Dutov's resignation and recognition of Soviet power, but their proposal did not meet with support. Dutov was again elected ataman, and on December 11, by a resolution of the military circle, the Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland and the Revolution, the Bashkir and Kyrgyz congresses, the Orenburg Military District was formed within the borders of the Orenburg province and the Turgai region (commander - Dutov, chief of staff - Colonel I.G. Akulinin) . Ataman knew what processes were taking place on the outskirts of Russia and hoped that the autonomous Cossack and national outskirts could become the embryos of the future unification of the country on an anti-Bolshevik platform. In the meantime, he temporarily allowed some separation of the Orenburg Cossack army and the Orenburg province.

On December 16, the ataman sent out a call to the commanders of the Cossack units to send Cossacks with weapons to the army. One of Dutov’s letters was intercepted by the Tashkent Bolsheviks, did not reach the addressee and was then published in order to discredit Dutov. To fight the Bolsheviks, people and weapons were needed; he could still count on weapons, but the bulk of the Cossacks returning from the front did not want to fight. Therefore, at the first stage of the struggle, the Orenburg ataman, like other leaders of the anti-Bolshevik resistance, was unable to rouse and lead any significant number of supporters to fight. Those volunteer detachments that were organized in 1917 in the Southern Urals by Dutov mainly consisted of officers and students; village squads were formed. Dutov managed to induce merchants and townspeople to raise funds to organize the struggle.

In November-December 1917, Dutov’s opponents had no idea about his weakness and were misinformed by information coming from Orenburg, in particular, information about Dutov’s presence of up to 7,000 Cossacks. In fact, due to the failure of the Cossack mobilization, Dutov could only count on volunteers and students of military schools, no more than two thousand people in total, including old people and youth. Most of the combat-ready Cossacks had not yet returned from the front of the First World War, and those who returned, as already mentioned, did not want to take up arms again, since the new government had not yet had time to prove itself, and there seemed to be nothing to fight for. It is interesting that in Soviet historiography the figure of “15,000 well-armed and trained soldiers” appeared.

Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks were building up their forces. Already in December, the Reds gathered at least 5,000 people against Dutov from Samara, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Perm, Ivashchenkovo, Ufa, Buzuluk, Chelyabinsk, Moscow, Petrograd and other cities, as well as from Arkhangelsk, Asha-Balashovsky, Beloretsky, Bogoyavlensky, Katav- Ivanovsky, Minyarsky, Simsky, Tirlyansky and Yuryuzansky factories, however, the detachments that came out to fight Dutov were motley. At the same time, this was far from a random rabble. For example, the sailors of the Baltic Fleet, who were part of the combined Northern flying detachment of midshipman S.D. Pavlov, were recruited from the crews of the battleships “Andrei Pervozvanny” and “Petropavlovsk”. The crews of these very ships tore to pieces their own officers in Helsingfors in March 1917. In addition to the sailors, veterans of the revolutionary underground, who were in militant detachments back in the years of the first Russian revolution, took part in the fight against Dutov at its initial stage. By the beginning of 1918, the Reds had recruited over 10,000 people to fight Dutov.

Extraordinary Commissar Kobozev, who led the fight against Dutov, sent him an ultimatum on December 20. There was no answer. On December 23, the Reds went on the offensive. Their echelons reached the Platovka station, but it was possible to advance further only with fighting. The first battle with the use of artillery took place at the Syrt station. When approaching the Kargala station near Orenburg, the Reds discovered a detachment of officers posted by Dutov and fled in panic to Platovka, pursued by the Whites. On the stretch between Kargala and Perevolotsk, telegraph poles were sawed down, which was enough for the Reds to escape, who decided that the army had risen against them.

The offensive began almost simultaneously from the northwest and northeast - from Buzuluk and Chelyabinsk. At the same time, the Reds tried to attack from Turkestan from the direction of Tashkent. General leadership and coordination of actions were at a very low level, which the Reds themselves admitted. The first serious offensive of Kobozev’s formations on Orenburg completely failed. At the same time, the Bolshevik offensive in the Chelyabinsk region was crowned with success. On December 24, the Reds occupied the villages of Yemanzhelinskaya and Nizhne-Uvelskaya, and on the night of December 25, Troitsk - the center of the 3rd Military District of the Orenburg Cossack Army (the Cossacks in Troitsk were carried away by the celebration of Christmas, which the Bolsheviks took advantage of).

With the approval of the Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland and the Revolution and the small military circle, Dutov on December 31 ordered to stop the pursuit of the enemy after occupying the Novosergievki station, since the territory under his control would thus be cleared of the Bolsheviks. At the same time, it was planned to set up a barrier of officers, cadets and volunteer Cossacks of 100-150 people with a machine gun on Novosergievka and conduct close-in cavalry and intelligence reconnaissance; the reserve (200 Cossacks with a machine gun) was supposed to be at the Platovka station. These parts had to be replaced periodically. The remaining forces were planned to be withdrawn to Orenburg.

During Kobozev’s second attack on Orenburg on January 7, 1918, a strong battle took place east of Novosergievka, but the most fierce battles were for the Syrt station, occupied by the Reds on January 13. The Reds estimated the strength of Dutov's supporters, who then retreated to Orenburg, at only 300 people.

Finally, on January 16, in the decisive battle near Kargala station, the Reds failed to recapture. On January 18, as a result of the retreat of the Cossacks and the uprising of workers in the city of Orenburg itself, the volunteer detachments were declared disbanded. Those who did not want to lay down their arms retreated in two directions: to Uralsk and Verkhneuralsk, or temporarily took refuge in the villages. The ataman himself had to hastily leave the military capital, accompanied by six officers, with whom he took military regalia out of the city. On January 19, the Reds entered the city. After the occupation of Orenburg, Lenin sent a radiogram to “Everyone, everyone” on January 22: “Orenburg was taken by the Soviet authorities, and the Cossack leader Dutov was defeated and fled.” Despite the demands of the Bolsheviks to detain Dutov, the promise of a reward for his capture and the almost complete lack of security for him, not one of the villages betrayed the military chieftain. Dutov decided not to leave the territory of the army and went to the center of the 2nd Military District - Verkhneuralsk, which was located far from major roads, hoping there to continue the fight and form new forces against the Bolsheviks, without losing control of the army.

The basis of the new formation was made up of partisan detachments of military foremen G.V. Enborisova and Yu.I. Mamaeva, Podesaulov V.A. Borodin and K.N. Mikhailova. Dutov’s troops held out in the district until mid-April. In March, the Cossacks also surrendered Verkhneuralsk. After this, Dutov’s government settled in the village of Krasninskaya, where by mid-April it was surrounded. At the military council, it was decided to make our way to the south and, if it was not possible to stay on military soil, to go along the Ural River to the Kyrgyz steppes. There they thought to remain until the opportunity opened up to resume the fight against the Bolsheviks (parallels with the Steppe Campaign of the Don Cossacks are obvious). Dutov himself subsequently claimed that the Cossacks set out on the campaign in order to obtain ammunition from warehouses in Turgai, as well as to rest after an intense struggle, that is, he denied the forced nature of the retreat, which was not true.

On April 17, having broken through the encirclement with the forces of four partisan detachments, as well as an officer platoon, Dutov escaped from Krasninskaya. This date can be considered the beginning of the 600-verst Turgai campaign. “The spring thaw did not allow us to pursue them (the Cossacks. - A.G.), and they (Cossacks - A.G.), having broken up into small groups in the Turgai region, dispersed in different directions,” wrote V.K. Blucher. It is not clear whether the thaw was the decisive reason for their salvation. Probably, the strengthening of rebel actions on the territory of the army also played a certain role. Blucher’s instructions about dividing the Cossacks into “groups” also do not correspond to reality. On the way to Turgai, the Cossacks, on the contrary, united into one detachment. In Turgai, the partisans received significant warehouses of food and ammunition left after the departure of General A.D.’s detachment. Lavrentiev, who pacified the Kyrgyz unrest of 1916. In addition, the Cossacks received 2.5 million Romanov rubles. During their stay in the city (until June 12), the Cossacks rested, replenished their cavalry, and updated their equipment.

The conflict between old men and front-line soldiers, which took place in the Orenburg Cossack army, as in other troops, prevented Dutov from uniting significant masses of Cossacks around himself at the initial stage of the struggle. However, the new government, regardless of Cossack traditions and way of life, spoke with the Cossacks mainly from a position of strength, which caused acute discontent among them, which quickly escalated into armed confrontation. For the majority of Cossacks, the struggle against the Bolsheviks took on the character of a struggle for their rights and the very possibility of free existence.

Thus, in the spring of 1918, without connection with Dutov, a powerful insurrectionary movement began on the territory of the 1st Military District, led by a congress of delegates from 25 villages and a headquarters led by military foreman D.M. Krasnoyartsev. On March 28, in the village of Vetlyanskaya, the Cossacks destroyed the detachment of the chairman of the Iletsk Defense Council P.A. Persiyanov, April 2 in the village of Izobilnaya - a punitive detachment of the chairman of the Orenburg Military Revolutionary Committee S.M. Tsvilinga, and on the night of April 4, a detachment of military foreman N.V. Lukina made a daring raid on Orenburg, occupying the city for some time and inflicting significant losses on the Reds. The Reds responded with brutal measures: they shot, burned the villages that resisted (in the spring of 1918, 11 villages were burned), and imposed indemnities. As a result, by June, more than six thousand Cossacks took part in the insurgent struggle in the territory of the 1st Military District alone. At the end of May, the Cossacks of the 3rd Military District, supported by the rebel Czechoslovaks, joined the movement.

On the 20th of May, a delegation of the Congress of United Stanitsas arrived in Turgai - a member of the military government G.G. Bogdanov and I.N. Pivovarov, who conveyed to Dutov the request of the Chairman of the Congress Krasnoyartsev to come to the army and lead the fight against the Bolsheviks there. Krasnoyartsev, addressing Dutov, wrote: “Batko Ataman. I and the congress of 25 united villages... having heard your proximity, we ask you to come to the village of Vetlyanskaya together with the government. You are necessary, your name is on everyone’s lips, your presence will further inspire unity, vigor and uplift. The struggle has been going on for five months, 11 machine guns and four serviceable cannons have been recaptured and in our hands... The spirit is cheerful, there is hope, the Bolsheviks are chasing from Russia: Samara, Syzran, Penza, Kuznetsk, Saratov, Tsaritsyn, Kamyshin have been overthrown, the life of the Bolsheviks in them is ending. The people of the Urals are in alliance with us. Go help, there’s a lot of work.” Probably, a little later, two Cossacks from Chelyabinsk, liberated from the Bolsheviks on May 26, 1918, arrived to Dutov with a similar proposal; they reported on the performance of the Czechoslovak Corps and the uprising of the Cossacks of the 3rd district.

As a popular Cossack leader, Dutov could unite significant masses of Cossacks around himself. He was legally elected under the Provisional Government, a military ataman, one of the most authoritative Cossack leaders. Among the commanders of the rebel detachments and even the fronts, junior officers, unknown to the bulk of the Cossacks, predominated, while several staff officers (including those with academic education) and members of the military government went on the campaign with Dutov.

In view of news of major anti-Bolshevik uprisings, the detachment returned to Orenburg, liberated from the Bolsheviks on July 3 by detachments under the command of military elders Krasnoyartsev and N.P. Karnaukhova. Dutov and the military government were solemnly greeted by the Cossack capital. July 7, 1918, the day the partisan detachment of the Orenburg Cossack army entered Orenburg, should be considered the date of the end of the Turgai campaign. For the anti-Bolshevik movement in the Orenburg Cossack army, the importance of the Turgai campaign can hardly be overestimated. Having gone to the Turgai steppes, the Cossacks managed to maintain both their administration (ataman, military government) and that core of ideological supporters of the anti-Bolshevik movement, around which the Orenburg Cossacks were later able to unite for further struggle against the Bolsheviks.

The liberation of the territory of the army from the Bolsheviks was undertaken on two sides: in the south - by the forces of the rebel detachments of the Orenburg Cossacks, in the north - by the combined forces of the Cossacks and units of the Separate Czechoslovak Rifle Corps that rebelled against the Bolsheviks, and the Orenburg Cossack units in the north acted as part of the Siberian Army and in subordination Provisional Siberian Government. The delicacy of Dutov’s position was that, as a result, the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army was divided between the Samara Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly (Komuch) and the Provisional Siberian Government. Meanwhile, Dutov immediately upon returning to the army recognized Komuch and, as a deputy of the Constituent Assembly, became a member of it. On July 13, he left for Samara, from where he returned on July 19 in the new position of chief commissioner of Komuch in the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army, Orenburg province and Turgai region.

Soon after returning from Samara, he went to Omsk to establish contacts with Siberian politicians. This trip should not be considered a double game. The Orenburg ataman adhered to his own political line, looked closely at the political forces that surrounded him, and sometimes flirted with both, trying to achieve maximum benefits for his army. Considering that the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army was divided between the Samara and Omsk governments, Dutov, as the ataman of the entire army, had to maintain relations with both. In terms of its political orientation, the coalition (from the Socialist Revolutionaries to the monarchists, with a predominance of representatives of the right wing) Provisional Siberian Government that existed in Omsk was significantly to the right of the Socialist Revolutionary Komuch, which was one of the reasons for the acute disagreements between them. In this situation, Dutov’s visit to Siberia was considered by the Socialist Revolutionaries almost as a betrayal of Komuch’s interests. Meanwhile, according to some sources, on July 24-25, 1918, an attempt was made on Dutov in Chelyabinsk, but the ataman was not injured.

On July 25, Dutov was promoted to major general by Komuch, but it seems that within a few days the leaders of the Committee regretted this. Dutov arrived in Omsk on July 26 and was received in the Council of Ministers in the evening of the same day; his first meeting took place with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Provisional Siberian Government P.V. Vologda. The Omsk visit caused an extremely negative reaction in Samara.

Following Dutov, Comrade Chairman Komuch and Manager of the Finance Department I.M. arrived in Omsk. Brushvit. Upon returning to Samara, Brushvit made the following report at the Committee meeting on August 9: “When I arrived in Siberia, I expected to talk with Chairman-Minister Vologodsky, but I was not able to talk with him. I was refused admission. At this time, a meeting of the Siberian government took place together with Dutov. At first Dutov behaved quite modestly. But later he said: there is nothing serious in Samara. The army is led by Soviet deputies. For these reasons, they allocated the active part of the Cossacks to liquidate the Samara Committee. He asks for the inclusion of the Cossacks in the Siberian Republic. Dutov's report was received unfavorably. However, he had several confidential conversations with Grishin-Almazov.”

On August 4, Dutov returned from Omsk and took up operations at the front, and in addition, was forced to explain himself to Samara. The fighting in August-September was characterized by attempts by the Orenburg residents to take Orsk - the last center not controlled by the whites on the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army. Fighting also took place in the Tashkent direction with varying degrees of success. After the capture of Orsk, Dutov planned to develop an offensive against Aktyubinsk and liquidate the entire southern front. However, this could only be achieved if all of Turkestan was completely liberated from the Reds, which, given its colossal territory, required very significant forces. Such a task was beyond the strength of the Orenburg residents; they could not count on any outside help, with the exception of supplies. Attempts to take Orsk dragged on until the end of September, and already at the beginning of October, in connection with the collapse of the Volga Front, the Buzuluk Front was formed in the north, which became the main one for the Orenburg residents.

In terms of his political sympathies in the summer of 1918, Dutov belonged to the liberal camp, most likely to supporters of the Kadet Party. The Orenburg ataman also spoke very kindly about Komuch, which allows us to lay the blame for the further conflict on the representatives of Samara. Up to a certain point, the imaginary hostility was exclusively a figment of the imagination of Komuch leaders. On August 12, Dutov, against the background of the developing conflict with Komuch, took an unprecedented step - the autonomy of the army’s territory, which significantly strengthened his position as an ataman. The autonomy of the army was formally a manifestation of separatism, but Dutov himself was a statist, not a separatist, it’s just that at that moment in Russia there was no supreme state power sufficiently authoritative for the Cossacks, and by a decree on August 12, the Cossack leaders sought to protect the army from external dangers and ill-conceived decisions of one or another another government (Samara or Omsk). Autonomy made Dutov more independent in the conflict and negotiations with Komuch. However, dependence on Samara for supplies of ammunition and food did not allow Dutov to completely break with Komuch.

As a result of Brushvit’s report, apparently already on August 13, a telegram from Samara was sent to Orenburg depriving Dutov of all Komuch powers. A member of Komuch V.V. was also sent to Orenburg. Podvitsky, considered a right-wing Socialist Revolutionary, with the goal of subordinating the rebellious region to the Samara government. “These actions of the Committee,” wrote Dutov, “are clearly offensive and defiant in nature, and yet there is no need to pose a sharp question, because just at that time the Bolsheviks went on the offensive, and again they needed cartridges and shells. These are the conditions under which we have to work.” The regime established by Dutov in the Southern Urals was relatively soft and tolerant of various political movements, including the Menshevik. Obviously, in order to strengthen his position, Dutov sought to enlist the support of as wide a range of political forces as possible.

Meanwhile, Dutov’s position not only on the political scene of the White East of Russia, but even in the Orenburg Cossack army itself, upon returning from Turgai, became precarious: he had political opponents in the Cossack leadership, and an opposition began to form, which most clearly manifested itself in the second half of 1918 .

In order to eliminate partisanship in the armed formations of the Orenburg Cossacks as quickly as possible, and at the same time weaken the opposition of the former rebels, Dutov made a successful attempt to unify the Cossack units with the goal of creating in the future his own Cossack army, which could be fully relied upon (military government decree No. 115 dated August 31, 1918). A month and a half after this reorganization, the Southwestern Army was created, the basis of which was the Orenburg Cossack units.

Dutov’s daily work schedule has been preserved. His working day began at 8 a.m. and lasted at least 12 hours with virtually no breaks. Dutov was completely accessible to ordinary people - anyone could come to the ataman with their questions or problems.

At the September State Conference in Ufa, the purpose of which was to create a unified state power in the territory not controlled by the Bolsheviks, Dutov was elected a member of the Council of Elders of the Conference and chairman of the Cossack faction. Dutov spoke at the Conference only once, on September 12, with a secret message about the difficult situation at the front, and in this report he emphasized the need to create a unified command and central authority. The main result of the work of the State Conference was the creation of the Provisional All-Russian Government (Directory). In its orientation, the government of the white east of Russia turned out to be cadet-socialist-revolutionary and did not receive recognition from either the left or the right. That is why the fall of the Directory and the rise to power of Admiral A.V. Kolchak's surgery was relatively painless.

On September 28, the Cossacks took Orsk - the last of the cities on the territory of the army occupied by the Bolsheviks. Thus, the territory of the army was completely cleared of the Reds for some time. This success was largely ensured by Ataman Dutov himself, who, despite the strong opposition to his power from the Socialist-Revolutionaries from the military intelligentsia and part of the rebel leaders, managed to retain sole power and subjugate the previously independent rebel partisan detachments, leading them to the traditional form of Cossack units. For the capture of Orsk, Dutov, by decision of the Military Circle, was promoted to lieutenant general on October 1, the promotion was officially carried out “for services to the Motherland and the Army” and approved by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of all land and naval armed forces of Russia, General V.G. Boldyrev.

After the army’s territory was liberated, most of the Cossacks, considering their task completed, sought to disperse to the villages and take care of farming. This, of course, played into the hands of the Bolsheviks. The retreat of the Whites from the Volga region turned the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army into a front-line zone.

At Headquarters, it was decided to transform the Cossack and army formations existing in the area into a separate army, called the South-Western. The name of the army was explained by the fact that this association included all the anti-Bolshevik forces in the southwestern direction in relation to Headquarters in Ufa. The Southwestern Army was formed on October 17, mainly from units of the Orenburg Cossack army; however, it also included the Ural and Astrakhan Cossack units, however, along with the Southwestern Army, there was also the Ural Army (orders for the army for 1918 are known), which apparently had tactical independence. Naturally, Dutov was appointed commander of the army. The headquarters of the Southwestern Army had only general management of the operations of the Urals, which is reflected in the orders for the army. Their subordination to Dutov was purely formal (however, the same as their subordination to Kolchak and Denikin), since for a long time the Urals fought separately from their allies in the anti-Bolshevik struggle. As of December 28, 1918, Dutov’s army consisted of 23 battalions and 230 hundreds or 10,892 bayonets and 22,449 sabers, of which 2,158 bayonets and 631 sabers were in the reserve of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The number of hundreds in the army was 10 times greater than the number of battalions!

In the second half of 1918 - the first half of 1919, the future fate of Russia was decided in a fierce struggle in the Urals. The situation at the front of the Southwestern Army developed as follows. The Buzuluk group of Colonel F.E. was included in the army. Mahina. Makhin himself was appointed commander of the troops of the Tashkent group and commander of the Orenburg Cossack Plastun division and on October 20 left for Ak-Bulak, and the head of the 2nd Syzran Rifle Division, Colonel A.S., took command of the troops of the Buzuluk group. Bakich. In addition to the Buzuluk and Tashkent groups, the Southwestern Army also included the Ural group under the command of General V.I. Akutina. The army’s task was to restrain the Reds’ advance, and in the Buzuluk direction it was supposed to hold the defense in supposedly fortified positions until the formation of the Orenburg Cossack consolidated division was completed, after which an offensive was probably planned. The Ural group was supposed to defend in the Saratov direction and cover the Ural region, as well as enter into contact with the Astrakhan Cossack army and the troops of Colonel L.F. Bicherakhov, operating on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Only the Tashkent group of Makhin, after regrouping, was supposed to go on a decisive offensive and take Aktyubinsk, preparing “for a non-stop advance to Tashkent.” However, battle happiness changed Dutov. On October 29, Buzuluk fell, and from the second half of November the Reds launched an attack on Orenburg.

On November 18, as a result of a coup in Omsk, Kolchak came to power, becoming the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of all land and naval armed forces of Russia. The reaction of political and military leaders in eastern Russia to the Omsk events was far from unambiguous. One of the first among them, on November 20, 1918, recognized the supreme power of Kolchak and Ataman Dutov came under his operational subordination, which largely influenced the choice of the remaining leaders. There were also those dissatisfied with the coup. In particular, after the fall of the Directory, the Central Committee of the Socialist Revolutionary Party declared Kolchak an “enemy of the people” and sentenced him to death in absentia.

On November 23, military ataman of the Transbaikal Cossack Army, Colonel G.M. Semenov sent to Prime Minister P.V. Vologda, High Commissioner of the Directory in the Far East, General D.L. A telegram to Horvat and Ataman Dutov, in which he indicated that he was protesting against Kolchak’s candidacy, and would only accept Denikin, Horvat or Dutov as Supreme Ruler. The nomination of Dutov was the initiative of Semyonov himself, Dutov did not know about it, but such an initiative to some extent compromised him before the supreme power, although he did not lay claim to it, probably not wanting to take responsibility and not considering himself for this quite capable. On December 1, Dutov sent a letter to Semenov, one of his former students, in which he called on him to recognize Kolchak.

With Kolchak coming to power, the socialists made a number of unsuccessful attempts at revenge. One of the most dangerous for the White movement can be called an attempt to seize power as a result of a conspiracy against Ataman Dutov in Orenburg. The danger of the Orenburg conspiracy for the whites was that among its organizers were representatives of several diverse and influential political forces: member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Revolutionary Party V.A. Chaikin, Bashkir leader A.-Z. Validov, Kazakh leader M. Chokaev, Social Revolutionary, commander of the Aktobe group of the Orenburg Cossack army Makhin and ataman of the 1st Military District, Colonel K.L. Kargin. Having seized power, the conspirators could split the anti-Bolshevik camp in eastern Russia and thereby lead to the fall of the entire Eastern Front and the defeat of Kolchak.

Validov, judging by his memoirs, hated Kolchak more than many Socialist Revolutionaries, and conducted constant negotiations via direct wire with members of the Constituent Assembly in Ufa. To coordinate the underground work, a member of the Central Committee, leader of the Turkestan Socialist Revolutionaries and extreme leftist politician V.A. arrived in Orenburg. Chaykin is an old friend of Validov; they easily found a common language.

Together with another future conspirator, deputy from the Fergana region Chokaev, Chaikin fled from Chelyabinsk on November 22, 1918. It was then, according to Chokaev’s memoirs, that they hatched a plan to liberate Turkestan from the Reds, for which it was necessary to remove Dutov. On November 6 and 25, Validov inspected units loyal to him at the front, where he met with the future conspirators: Makhin and Kargin (Kargin came from the same village of Burannaya as Makhin’s father), agreeing with them on measures against Dutov. Makhin and Kargin differed in their left-wing views, and the first was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party almost from 1906, and the second was under the secret supervision of the police for some time before the revolution.

On the night of December 2, the conspirators held their only meeting in Orenburg, in the building of the Caravanserai - the residence of the Bashkir government. According to Chokaev’s recollections, the meeting was attended by Validov, Chokaev, Makhin, Kargin and Chaikin. The conspirators approved the composition of the future united government of three countries (Kazakhstan, Bashkurdistan, Cossack State). Makhin was to become the commander-in-chief, Kargin was to become the military ataman of the Orenburg Cossack army (instead of Dutov), ​​Validov was scheduled to be the ruler of Bashkurdistan, S. Kadirbaev (representative of Alash-Orda in Orenburg) was appointed as the ruler of Bashkurdistan, Chokaev was to become the Minister of Foreign Relations; Chaikin also received a position in the future government. At that time, four Bashkir rifle regiments, the Ataman division of the Orenburg Cossack army, the 1st Orenburg Cossack reserve regiment, a convoy hundred and a guard company, as well as artillery and technical units were stationed in Orenburg. The conspirators, relying on the Bashkir units, had every reason to expect success.

However, Lieutenant A.-A. Veliev (Akhmetgali), a Tatar merchant from Chelyabinsk, reported the secret meeting to the commandant of Orenburg, Captain A. Zavaruev. He, in turn, warned the chief commander of the Orenburg Military District, General Akulinin, about this. The Ataman Division and the reserve regiment were immediately put on alert, surveillance was established over the Caravanserai and the barracks of the Bashkir units, and Russian officers who served in the Bashkir regiments were called to the command of the city. During the night, the conspirators tried to gather units loyal to them at the Orenburg station, which was in their hands. However, realizing that the initiative had passed to Dutov’s supporters, Validov left the city at noon on December 2, seizing all the available carriages. The conspiracy against Dutov and Kolchak failed. Dutov managed to keep the troops under his control, destroying the plans of the socialists.

Dutov fought hard not only against the real opposition, but also against any threats to his power in general. This was most clearly demonstrated in the case of a member of the military government, Colonel V.G. Rudakov, whom Dutov simply betrayed in order to prove his loyalty to the Supreme Ruler Kolchak. No less harshly, taking advantage of intrigues, Dutov fought with his potential competitor for the post of military chieftain, General N.T. Sukin. Such reprehensible methods of one of the largest Cossack leaders during the Civil War could not but affect the overall outcome of the White struggle in the East of Russia.

By order of the Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief No. 92 of December 28, 1918, the Southwestern Army was divided into separate Orenburg and Ural armies under the command of Generals Dutov and N.A. Savelyeva. On January 21, 1919, the whites left Orenburg, which had an extremely adverse effect on the mood of the Cossacks. The very next day, units of the 24th Simbirsk Iron Rifle Division and the cavalry of the Turkestan Red Army, which had broken through from the south, entered Orenburg. Soon after leaving Orenburg, the military government and the ataman moved first to Orsk and then to Troitsk.

Considering the main task to be not to allow the Reds to establish regular railway communications with Turkestan, Dutov fought for every piece of railway track in the section that still remained under Cossack control between Iletskaya Zashchita and Aktyubinsk. Preventing the union of Turkestan with Soviet Russia was one of the most important strategic tasks, and, to the credit of the Southwestern, Separate Orenburg and Southern armies, which are sometimes considered almost worthless associations, this task was successfully solved until the end of hostilities in the Southern Urals in the fall of 1919 Mr. Dutov himself, recalling this difficult period, said: “One of the best units of the Bolshevik army acted against us... the so-called “iron division” under the command of Guy... They had excellent weapons, and at first there was excellent discipline. Our situation was sometimes very difficult. But... I never despaired!”

In January 1919, units of the Separate Orenburg Army, having lost contact with the Separate Ural Army, retreated to the east, deep into the territory of the army. The Reds developed their success by advancing along the Orsk railway line. The separate Orenburg army retreated with heavy fighting. On February 13, the Council of Ministers in Omsk decided to establish the post of chief chief of the Orenburg region with the subordination of the Orenburg province (without Troitsky and Chelyabinsk districts), as well as the Kustanai and Aktobe districts of the Turgai region. The decision on the inclusion of Troitsky and Chelyabinsk districts in the region was left to the discretion of the command. Dutov was appointed head of the region with the rights of governor general. As a result of the retreat of Dutov's troops, the territory of the Orenburg province subordinate to him was minimal (in fact, only part of Orsky and Verkhneuralsky districts). Dutov was already entrusted with too many responsibilities, and therefore he could not begin work in his new post for a month.

Dutov’s activities in his new capacity focused primarily on complications related to the national issue: the betrayal of a part of the Bashkirs led by the head of the Bashkir military command, Validov, had ripened. After almost three months of secret negotiations, on February 18, the Bashkirs went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and opened the front to them. Already in December-February, before actually going over to the Red side, the Bashkirs showed disobedience to the command of the Southwestern and Separate Orenburg armies, acted independently, and the Bashkir leadership passed on secret information about the White troops to the Reds. The main reason for the betrayal was, obviously, the political preferences and ambitions of the Bashkir leadership, in particular Validov himself, a supporter of the Socialist Revolutionaries, who considered Kolchak and Dutov his worst enemies. It is also impossible not to note the lack of sufficient flexibility among the white command in resolving the extremely painful national issue. The Bolsheviks, despite initial hesitations, hastened to satisfy all the demands of the Bashkirs (broad autonomy), if only the latter would come over to their side.

As a result of the betrayal of the Bashkirs, a gap was formed at the junction of the Western and Separate Orenburg armies, which the Reds were not slow to take advantage of, and an urgent need arose to restore communication between the two white armies. For this, the left flank of the Western Army was supposed to be extended to the village of Kizilskaya, the II Orenburg Cossack Corps was formed, and the right flank of the Separate Orenburg Army and communication with the Western Army was supposed to be provided by the IV Orenburg Army Corps. Subsequently, to cover the gap, the Western Army formed the Southern Group on its left flank under the command of General P.A. Belova (G.A. Wittekopf).

Failures led to the fact that the morale of the troops dropped sharply, the Cossacks began to go home without permission and run over to the Reds. Significant overwork of the troops and shortcomings in the militia staff also had an impact. To increase the morale of the troops, Dutov had to disband unreliable units, take measures to strengthen discipline, and reform the command staff of the army.

At the beginning of March, the Western Army of General M.V. Khanzhina went on the offensive, the ultimate goal of which was to be the occupation of Moscow. On March 13, Ufa was captured in parts. Successes on the front of Khanzhin's army from the second half of March strengthened the position of the entire left flank of the white Eastern Front. On March 18, a simultaneous offensive of units of the Southern Group of the Western Army and the Separate Orenburg Army began.

From the first days of April, Dutov no longer actually commanded the Separate Orenburg Army, but went to Omsk and was engaged in political activities there. From April 7 until the disbandment of the army, Dutov was replaced (with a break from April 18 to April 25) by his chief of staff, General A.N. Vagin. Thus, it is hardly appropriate to blame Ataman Dutov for any military failures of this period - he no longer had anything to do with them.

On April 9, Dutov arrived in Omsk. In an official interview, he named some of the purposes of the visit: 1) military issues; 2) the question of new borders of the Orenburg region; 3) the national question - relations with the Bashkirs and Kyrgyz; 4) the question of sowing fields in connection with crop failure in 1918.

The Omsk period of Dutov’s life was far from cloudless. His active participation in Omsk political life gave rise to General Baron A.P. Budberg (assistant chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief) spoke of him as a person “poking his nose everywhere.” According to a correspondent for the Sibirskaya Speech newspaper, who talked with Dutov for the first time in the summer of 1918, over the past months, “the general has changed noticeably. Fatigue and weariness are spread across his features. The wrinkles around the lips became deeper and sharper. Only the eyes, black and shiny, still burn with iron will and daring.”

On May 23, the Separate Orenburg Army was reorganized into the Southern Army. The headquarters, apparently, realized the impossibility of the Cossack cavalry fighting independently without the support of the army infantry (the cavalry could not storm fortified areas in the railroad zone, and military operations were tied specifically to it) and created a mixed army with a significant proportion of Orenburg Cossacks (over 45%). Kolchak appointed Dutov as marching ataman of all Cossack troops and inspector general of cavalry, while also retaining for him the post of military ataman of the Orenburg Cossack army.

On May 27, Dutov began to perform his new duties. Initially, its headquarters was located in Yekaterinburg, later moved to Omsk. The position of marching chieftain and cavalry inspector was considered almost an honorable resignation (this is also indicated by the initial location of the marching chieftain's headquarters in Yekaterinburg), however, most likely, Kolchak sought to strengthen the status of Dutov, who had long been in Omsk, which was incomprehensible after the disbandment of the Separate Orenburg Army.

Not only Dutov enjoyed the support of Kolchak, but the Supreme Ruler himself also benefited from the support of such an authoritative and energetic figure as Dutov. There is information that on May 29, Dutov went to Yekaterinburg and further to Perm to clarify the situation on the eve of Kolchak’s visit to the city to resolve the conflict with the commander of the Siberian Army, General R. Gaida. On the eve of his arrival in Perm, Kolchak considered a variety of options for resolving this conflict, even using force, for which he took his convoy with him on the trip and ordered the Headquarters security battalion located in Yekaterinburg to be put on high alert. Apparently, in order to peacefully resolve the issue and preserve the prestige of the supreme power, Kolchak needed Dutov’s assistance in negotiations with Gaida. Kolchak visited Perm on the night of June 1, apparently immediately after Dutov’s arrival. The Orenburg ataman took part in negotiations with Gaida, even asked Kolchak for the rebel general, which contributed to a compromise resolution of the situation. And in the future, Dutov, for reasons that are still unclear, supported Gaida on various issues.

June 2 Kolchak, Dutov, Gaida and V.N. The Pepelyaevs left Perm for Yekaterinburg, where they were joined by General M.K. Dieterichs; On June 4, Kolchak, Gaida, Diterichs and Dutov returned to Omsk. Then Dutov went on an inspection tour of the Cossack troops of the Far East, where he led the fight against the partisan movement, and also established relationships between the supreme state power and local atamans G.M. Semenov, I.P. Kalmykov and I.M. Gamow, who oriented their policies toward Japan. The main result of Dutov’s trip was the reorientation of Omsk towards cooperation with local atamans in the fight against the partisan movement. The chosen course strengthened the importance of the Cossacks in Kolchak’s policies. The atamans themselves tried to demonstrate their complete loyalty to the Supreme Ruler, but they never gave a single unit to the Eastern Front. Dutov returned to Omsk only on August 12.

On September 18, 1919, the Southern Army was renamed the Orenburg Army, and on September 21, Dutov took command of it (in fact, he was forced to stay in Omsk to participate in the Cossack conference). Dutov and his chief of staff, General Zaitsev, arrived to the troops when they were in the area of ​​​​the cities of Atbasar and Kokchetav. Dutov accepted a difficult economy - the army was collapsing and retreating non-stop across the bare, deserted steppe, experiencing a lack of food. Typhus was raging, which by mid-October had wiped out up to half of the personnel. On October 14, the 5th Soviet Army crossed the Tobol and went on the offensive. The Whites retreated to the next line - the Ishim River. From the evening of October 23, the Reds (Kokchetav Group of the 5th Army) began to develop their offensive and on October 29, having occupied Petropavlovsk, they began an almost non-stop pursuit of the Whites along the Trans-Siberian Railway. On the left flank of the white Eastern Front, Dutov’s troops retreated to Ishim to take up defense along this river, covering the concentration of the main forces of the army. From the Atbasar-Kokchetav area it was convenient to launch a flank attack on the 5th Army, which was advancing along the Trans-Siberian Railway. However, due to a significant increase in the typhus epidemic and the onslaught of the Reds, it was not possible to gain a foothold on Ishim. Dutov ordered the movement to Atbasar to continue with a forced march. Retreating, the troops lost contact with the enemy. On November 6, news was received that the Orenburg Army was renamed into the Separate Orenburg Army. On the same day, the concentration of the army was suspended. Units took up defensive positions in the Atbasar-Kokchetav area. Until the news of the surrender of Omsk, abandoned by the Whites on November 14, was received on November 19, the army stood still; it was calm on the front of the still most combat-ready IV Orenburg Army Corps of General Bakich. Only after receiving news of the fall of the capital of White Siberia was the retreat continued, and at the same time the Reds became more active again.

During this period, Dutov developed a plan for partisan actions. He outlined this plan in detail in a telegram to Kolchak and Sakharov, but it hardly found application. On November 22, it became known that the Reds had bypassed Atbasar from the north and northwest and reached the rear of Dutov’s army. On November 25-26, the enemy launched an offensive at the front, and in addition, by skillfully maneuvering, on the night of November 26, he bypassed Akmolinsk from the north and captured it. Later, the Reds continued to operate in the rear of the Separate Orenburg Army and advanced in the direction of Karkaralinsk, where the army headquarters was located.

The hardships that befell the retreating units of Dutov can be compared, perhaps, only with those experienced by the troops of the Separate Ural Army, which almost completely died in Turkestan at the beginning of 1920. In the full sense of the word, for the Orenburg residents it was a “Hunger March” - exactly that Already in emigration, the name was given to the campaign of army units across the almost lifeless northern Hungry Steppe in Semirechye at the end of November-December 1919. This was truly the way of the cross of the Separate Orenburg Army, whose troops retreated through a sparsely populated, hungry area, spending the night in the open air. They slaughtered and ate horses and camels. Everything was taken from the local population - food, fodder, clothing, sleighs, but even this was not enough for the mass of thousands of people. As a rule, money was paid for everything requisitioned, although not always in the proper amount. Mortality from cold and exhaustion increased, rivaling that from typhus. The seriously ill were left to die in populated areas; the dead were not given time to be buried and the local residents were burdened with this sad rite. The troops moved in long marches, breaking away from the enemy. Lagging single soldiers and Cossacks were often attacked by the Kyrgyz, and it was impossible to even find out where the person had disappeared to.

On December 1, the Reds captured Semipalatinsk, and on December 10 they took Barnaul, leaving Dutov’s troops no chance to unite with the main forces of the white Eastern Front. The only possible way for further withdrawal was to Semirechye, where units of General B.V. operated. Annenkova. On December 13, Karkaralinsk was occupied by the Reds. Until the end of December, Dutov’s troops retreated to Sergiopol. This section of the route (550 versts) was one of the most difficult. Data on the size and losses of Dutov’s army during the Hunger March vary greatly. The closest to reality should be considered the option according to which, of the 20,000-strong army in the Kokchetav region, about half of the army reached Sergiopol.

The arrival of exhausted, exhausted Dutovites in Semirechye, 90% of whom were sick with various forms of typhus, was met with hostility by the Annenkovites, who were relatively prosperous here, and there were even cases of armed clashes. One of the participants in the White movement on the Eastern Front, who characterized himself as “a simple Russian intellectual... by the will of fate, who put on the uniform of Admiral Kolchak’s army,” noted that “having listened to all the stories of local residents, eyewitnesses, and judging by Annenkov’s attitude towards the Orenburg residents, for It became clear to us that we had found ourselves in the most - after the Bolsheviks - place without rights, and if anything happened to the ataman (Annenkov. - A.G.) comes into his head, that’s what he’ll do to us.”

By Dutov’s order for the Separate Orenburg Army No. 3 of January 6, 1920, all units, institutions and establishments of the army were consolidated into a separate “Ataman Dutov’s Detachment” under the command of General Bakich. Dutov himself became the civil governor of the Semirechensky region and settled in Lepsinsk. Perhaps Annenkov feared competition from his more famous rival and sought to remove Dutov from the army. Dutov's detachment was included in Annenkov's Separate Semirechensk Army and was subordinate to the latter in all respects. Dutov’s last order to the army said: “A heavy cross fell to the lot of the Separate Orenburg Army. As fate would have it, the troops had to make very long, almost continuous movements for six months - first from the region of the Orenburg province to the Aral Sea, then through Irgiz, Turgai and Atbasar to the Kokchetav-Petropavlovsk region. From here through Akmolinsk and Karkaralinsk to the Sergiopol region. All the difficulties, hardships and various hardships that the troops of the Orenburg Army endured during this long march through the desert-steppe regions defy description. Only impartial history and grateful posterity will appreciate the military service, labor and hardships of truly Russian people, devoted sons of their Motherland, who selflessly face all kinds of torment and torment for the sake of saving their Fatherland.”

In March 1920, Dutov and his supporters had to leave their homeland and retreat to China through the Kara Saryk glacial pass (at an altitude of 5800 m). Exhausted people and horses walked without a supply of food and fodder, following along the mountain cornices, it happened that they fell into the abyss. The chieftain himself, before the Chinese border, was lowered by rope from a steep cliff, almost unconscious. In China, Dutov’s detachment was interned in the city of Suidin, located in the barracks of the Russian consulate. Dutov did not lose hope of resuming the fight against the Bolsheviks. It was with his activities that Soviet historiography associated the preparation of the uprising in the Naryn district in November 1920. He maintained contact with the Basmachi leaders and made attempts to organize an anti-Bolshevik underground in the ranks of the Red Army.

Dutov was unable to unite all the anti-Bolshevik forces in Western China for a campaign against Soviet Russia. Nevertheless, on August 12 (July 30), 1920, Dutov issued order No. 141 on the unification of anti-Bolshevik forces in Western China into the Orenburg Separate Army. In fact, Dutov’s order was necessary, but the Orenburg ataman exceeded his capabilities and did not take into account the changed circumstances under which the commanders of the white detachments that moved to China actually turned out to be commanders independent of each other.

The concern of the Soviet leadership about the presence of significant anti-Bolshevik forces, organized and hardened by years of struggle, near the borders of Soviet Russia is understandable, especially since the Whites themselves did not lose hope of overthrowing the Bolshevik regime. Dutov's anti-Bolshevik activities and his unquestioned authority among the Cossacks prompted Moscow to take drastic measures. A special operation was prepared, initially to kidnap and later to liquidate Dutov. Under the guise of a like-minded person from Russia, Soviet agent K.G. penetrated the ataman. Chanyshev. On February 6, 1921, Dutov was killed in his apartment by one of Chanyshev’s subordinates, M. Khodzhamiarov, and two security guards who tried to resist were mortally wounded. The killers managed to escape. This murder was apparently the first in a series of similar foreign liquidations carried out by Soviet intelligence services.

This is how the life of the ataman, General A.I., was tragically cut short. Dutov, who laid the foundation for the White movement in the East of Russia. Ataman Dutov and the Cossacks who died with him were buried in a small cemetery near Suydin. According to some reports, a few days later, Dutov’s grave was dug up at night, and his body was beheaded: the killers had to provide proof of the execution of the order. Apparently, this cemetery, like many other Russian cemeteries in China, was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

The elimination of such a major political and military figure as Dutov dealt a severe blow to the Orenburg Cossacks. Of course, Dutov was not an ideal person, he did not stand out for his abilities, he had numerous weaknesses characteristic of ordinary people, but at the same time he still showed qualities that allowed him, in troubled times, to stand at the head of one of the largest Cossack troops in Russia, to create his own fully combat-ready force from almost nothing. army and wage a merciless fight against the Bolsheviks; he became a spokesman for hope, and sometimes even an idol for hundreds of thousands of people who believed in him.

To home

The ancestors of Alexander Ilyich on the male line came from the Samara Cossack army, which was later abolished. The father of the future Cossack leader, Ilya Petrovich, a military officer from the era of the Turkestan campaigns, was promoted to the rank of major general in September upon his dismissal from service. Mother - Elizaveta Nikolaevna Uskova - the daughter of a police officer, a native of the Orenburg province. Alexander Ilyich himself was born during one of the campaigns in the city of Kazalinsk, Syrdarya region. His childhood years were spent in Fergana, Orenburg, St. Petersburg and again in Orenburg...

World War I

On October 26 (November 8), Dutov returned to Orenburg and began work at his posts. On the same day, he signed an order for army No. 816 on the non-recognition of the power of the Bolsheviks on the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army, who carried out a coup in Petrograd, thus becoming the first military chieftain to declare war on Bolshevism.

Ataman Dutov took control of a strategically important region that blocked the communication between the center of the country and Turkestan and Siberia. The ataman was faced with the task of holding elections to the Constituent Assembly and maintaining stability in the province and army until its convocation. Dutov generally coped with this task. The Bolsheviks who arrived from the center were captured and put behind bars, and the Orenburg garrison, which had become disorganized and pro-Bolshevik (due to the anti-war position of the Bolsheviks), was disarmed and sent home.

In November, Dutov was elected a member of the Constituent Assembly (from the Orenburg Cossack army).

- these words opened the lengthy demagogic appeal of the Bolshevik Council of People's Commissars of November 25, 1917. And to the chief commissar of the Black Sea Fleet and the “red commandant of Sevastopol” V.V. Romenets, the Council of People's Commissars sent the following “introductory” telegram: - an eloquent monument to “revolutionary legal consciousness”... Opening on December 7 2nd Regular Military Circle of the Orenburg Cossack Army, Dutov said:

“Now we are living through the Bolshevik days. We see in the darkness the outlines of tsarism, Wilhelm and his supporters, and the provocateur figure of Vladimir Lenin and his supporters clearly and definitely stands before us: Trotsky-Bronstein, Ryazanov-Goldenbach, Kamenev-Rosenfeld, Sukhanov-Himmer and Zinoviev-Apfelbaum. Russia is dying. We are present at her last breath. There was Great Rus' from the Baltic Sea to the ocean, from the White Sea to Persia, there was a whole, great, formidable, powerful, agricultural, laboring Russia - it no longer exists.”

On December 16, the ataman sent out a call to the commanders of the Cossack units to send Cossacks with weapons to the army. To fight the Bolsheviks, people and weapons were needed; he could still count on weapons, but the bulk of the Cossacks returning from the front did not want to fight, only in some places village squads were formed. Due to the failure of the Cossack mobilization, Dutov could only count on volunteers from officers and students, no more than 2 thousand people in total, including old people and young people who had not been fired upon. Therefore, at the first stage of the struggle, the Orenburg ataman, like other leaders of the anti-Bolshevik resistance, was unable to rouse and lead any significant number of supporters to fight.

Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks launched an attack on Orenburg. After heavy fighting, the Red Army detachments, many times superior to the Dutovites, under the command of V.K. Blucher, approached Orenburg and on January 31, 1918, as a result of joint actions with the Bolsheviks settled in the city, captured it. Dutov decided not to leave the territory of the Orenburg army and alone went to the center of the 2nd Military District - Verkhneuralsk, which was located far from major roads, hoping to continue the fight there and form new forces against the Bolsheviks.

But in the meantime, the Bolsheviks with their policies embittered the main part of the Orenburg Cossacks, who were previously neutral to the new government, and in the spring of 1918, without connection with Dutov, a powerful insurrectionary movement began on the territory of the 1st Military District, led by a congress of delegates from 25 villages and a headquarters led by military foreman D. M. Krasnoyartsev. On March 28, in the village of Vetlyanskaya, the Cossacks destroyed the detachment of the chairman of the council of Iletsk Defense P.A. Persiyanov, on April 2 in the village of Izobilnaya - the punitive detachment of the chairman of the Orenburg Military Revolutionary Committee S.M. Tswilling, and on the night of April 4, a detachment of Cossacks of military foreman N.V. Lukin and the detachment of S.V. Bartenev carried out a daring raid on Orenburg, occupying the city for some time and inflicting significant losses on the Reds. The Reds responded with brutal measures: they shot, burned the villages that resisted (in the spring of 1918, 11 villages were burned), and imposed indemnities.

Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army: A. V. Kolchak † Don Army: P. N. Krasnov · A. P. Bogaevsky · K. K. Mamantov † · P. Kh. Popov · I. D. Popov † · E. F. Semiletov † · G. D. Kargalskov · A. N. Moller · M. V. Bazavov · M. G. Khripunov · I. F. Bykadorov · V. I. Sidorin · S. V. Denisov · A. P. Fitzkhelaurov Caucasian Army: V. L. Pokrovsky · Ya. D. Yuzefovich · P. N. Shatilov Kuban Army: A. G. Shkuro · S. G. Ulagai Crimean-Azov Army: A. A. Borovsky Volunteer Army: I. P. Romanovsky † · A. S. Lukomsky · P. S. Makhrov · I. M. Vasilchenko † · I. G. Barbovich · A. M. Kaledin † · M. V. Alekseev † · L G. Kornilov † · A. I. Denikin · V. Z. May-Maevsky † · P. N. Wrangel Turkestan Army (VSYUR): I. V. Savitsky · A. A. Borovsky · B. I. Kazanovich Troops of the Kyiv region: N. E. Bredov · A. M. Dragomirov · V. E. Flug Troops of the Novorossiysk region: M. N. Promtov · N. N. Shilling 1 AK: B. I. Kazanovich · A. P. Kutepov · V. K. Vitkovsky 2 AK: A. A. Borovsky · V. Z. May-Maevsky † · M. N. Promtov · Y. A. Slashchev 3 AK: V. P. Lyakhov · Y. A. Slashchev Drozdovites: M. G. Drozdovsky † · V. K. Vitkovsky · A. V. Turkul Kornilovites: A. P. Kutepov · N. V. Skoblin Markovites: S. L. Markov · N. S. Timanovsky Alekseevtsy: A. P. Bogaevsky · B. I. Kazanovich Eastern Front: A. V. Kolchak † · V. O. Kappel † · M. K. Diterichs · A. F. Matkovsky † · A. N. Grishin “Almazov” † · V. P. Gulidov † · A. I. Dutov† · G. M. Semenov · K. V. Sakharov · S. N. Voitsekhovsky · K. I. Sychev · V. S. Tolstov · B. V. Annenkov · A. N. Pepelyaev · A. S. Bakich † · R. F. Ungern von Sternberg † · B. P. Rezukhin † · P. P. Ivanov-Rinov · V. K. Molchanov · G. K. Stark ·

Excerpt characterizing Dutov, Alexander Ilyich

On the same evening, as the prince gave orders to Alpatych, Desalles, having demanded a meeting with Princess Marya, informed her that since the prince was not entirely healthy and was not taking any measures for his safety, and from Prince Andrei’s letter it was clear that he was staying in Bald Mountains If it is unsafe, he respectfully advises her to write a letter with Alpatych to the head of the province in Smolensk with a request to notify her about the state of affairs and the extent of the danger to which Bald Mountains are exposed. Desalle wrote a letter to the governor for Princess Marya, which she signed, and this letter was given to Alpatych with the order to submit it to the governor and, in case of danger, to return as soon as possible.
Having received all the orders, Alpatych, accompanied by his family, in a white feather hat (a princely gift), with a stick, just like the prince, went out to sit in a leather tent, packed with three well-fed Savras.
The bell was tied up and the bells were covered with pieces of paper. The prince did not allow anyone to ride in Bald Mountains with a bell. But Alpatych loved bells and bells on a long journey. Alpatych's courtiers, a zemstvo, a clerk, a cook - black, white, two old women, a Cossack boy, coachmen and various servants saw him off.
The daughter placed chintz down pillows behind him and under him. The old lady's sister-in-law secretly slipped the bundle. One of the coachmen gave him a hand.
- Well, well, women's training! Women, women! - Alpatych said puffingly, patteringly exactly as the prince spoke, and sat down in the tent. Having given the last orders about the work to the zemstvo, and in this way not imitating the prince, Alpatych took off his hat from his bald head and crossed himself three times.
- If anything... you will come back, Yakov Alpatych; For Christ’s sake, have pity on us,” his wife shouted to him, hinting at rumors about war and the enemy.
“Women, women, women’s gatherings,” Alpatych said to himself and drove off, looking around at the fields, some with yellowed rye, some with thick, still green oats, some still black, which were just beginning to double. Alpatych rode along, admiring the rare spring harvest this year, looking closely at the strips of rye crops on which people were beginning to reap in some places, and made his economic considerations about sowing and harvesting and whether any princely order had been forgotten.
Having fed him twice on the way, by the evening of August 4th Alpatych arrived in the city.
On the way, Alpatych met and overtook convoys and troops. Approaching Smolensk, he heard distant shots, but these sounds did not strike him. What struck him most was that, approaching Smolensk, he saw a beautiful field of oats, which some soldiers were mowing, apparently for food, and in which they were camping; This circumstance struck Alpatych, but he soon forgot it, thinking about his business.
All the interests of Alpatych’s life for more than thirty years were limited by the will of the prince alone, and he never left this circle. Everything that did not concern the execution of the prince’s orders not only did not interest him, but did not exist for Alpatych.
Alpatych, having arrived in Smolensk on the evening of August 4th, stopped across the Dnieper, in the Gachensky suburb, at an inn, with the janitor Ferapontov, with whom he had been in the habit of staying for thirty years. Ferapontov, twelve years ago, with the light hand of Alpatych, having bought a grove from the prince, began trading and now had a house, an inn and a flour shop in the province. Ferapontov was a fat, black, red-haired forty-year-old man, with thick lips, a thick bumpy nose, the same bumps over his black, frowning eyebrows and a thick belly.
Ferapontov, in a waistcoat and a cotton shirt, stood at a bench overlooking the street. Seeing Alpatych, he approached him.
- Welcome, Yakov Alpatych. The people are from the city, and you are going to the city,” said the owner.
- So, from the city? - said Alpatych.
“And I say, people are stupid.” Everyone is afraid of the Frenchman.
- Women's talk, women's talk! - said Alpatych.
- That’s how I judge, Yakov Alpatych. I say there is an order that they won’t let him in, which means it’s true. And the men are asking for three rubles per cart - there is no cross on them!
Yakov Alpatych listened inattentively. He demanded a samovar and hay for the horses and, having drunk tea, went to bed.
All night long, troops moved past the inn on the street. The next day Alpatych put on a camisole, which he wore only in the city, and went about his business. The morning was sunny, and from eight o'clock it was already hot. An expensive day for harvesting grain, as Alpatych thought. Shots were heard outside the city from early morning.
From eight o'clock the rifle shots were joined by cannon fire. There were a lot of people on the streets, hurrying somewhere, a lot of soldiers, but just as always, cab drivers were driving, merchants were standing at the shops and services were going on in the churches. Alpatych went to the shops, to public places, to the post office and to the governor. In public places, in shops, at the post office, everyone was talking about the army, about the enemy who had already attacked the city; everyone asked each other what to do, and everyone tried to calm each other down.
At the governor's house, Alpatych found a large number of people, Cossacks and a road carriage that belonged to the governor. On the porch, Yakov Alpatych met two noblemen, one of whom he knew. A nobleman he knew, a former police officer, spoke heatedly.
“It’s not a joke,” he said. - Okay, who is alone? One head and poor - so alone, otherwise there are thirteen people in the family, and all the property... They brought everyone to disappear, what kind of authorities are they after that?.. Eh, I would have outweighed the robbers...
“Yes, well, it will be,” said another.
- What do I care, let him hear! Well, we are not dogs,” said the former police officer and, looking back, he saw Alpatych.
- And, Yakov Alpatych, why are you there?
“By order of his Excellency, to Mr. Governor,” answered Alpatych, proudly raising his head and putting his hand in his bosom, which he always did when he mentioned the prince... “They deigned to order to inquire about the state of affairs,” he said.
“Well, just find out,” shouted the landowner, “they brought it to me, no cart, no nothing!.. Here she is, do you hear? - he said, pointing to the side where the shots were heard.
- They brought everyone to perish... robbers! - he said again and walked off the porch.
Alpatych shook his head and went up the stairs. In the reception room there were merchants, women, and officials, silently exchanging glances among themselves. The office door opened, everyone stood up and moved forward. An official ran out of the door, talked something with the merchant, called behind him a fat official with a cross on his neck and disappeared again through the door, apparently avoiding all the looks and questions addressed to him. Alpatych moved forward and the next time the official exited, putting his hand in his buttoned coat, he turned to the official, handing him two letters.
“To Mr. Baron Asch from General Chief Prince Bolkonsky,” he proclaimed so solemnly and significantly that the official turned to him and took his letter. A few minutes later the governor received Alpatych and hastily told him:
- Report to the prince and princess that I didn’t know anything: I acted according to the highest orders - so...
He gave the paper to Alpatych.
- However, since the prince is unwell, my advice to them is to go to Moscow. I'm on my way now. Report... - But the governor didn’t finish: a dusty and sweaty officer ran through the door and began to say something in French. The governor's face showed horror.
“Go,” he said, nodding his head to Alpatych, and began asking the officer something. Greedy, frightened, helpless glances turned to Alpatych as he left the governor’s office. Unwittingly now listening to the nearby and increasingly intensifying shots, Alpatych hurried to the inn. The paper that the governor gave to Alpatych was as follows:
“I assure you that the city of Smolensk does not yet face the slightest danger, and it is incredible that it will be threatened by it. I am on one side, and Prince Bagration on the other side, we are going to unite in front of Smolensk, which will take place on the 22nd, and both armies with their combined forces will defend their compatriots in the province entrusted to you, until their efforts remove the enemies of the fatherland from them or until they are exterminated in their brave ranks to the last warrior. You see from this that you have every right to reassure the inhabitants of Smolensk, for whoever is protected by two such brave troops can be confident of their victory.” (Instruction from Barclay de Tolly to the Smolensk civil governor, Baron Asch, 1812.)
People were moving restlessly through the streets.
Carts loaded with household utensils, chairs, and cabinets continually drove out of the gates of houses and drove through the streets. In the neighboring house of Ferapontov there were carts and, saying goodbye, the women howled and said sentences. The mongrel dog was barking and spinning around in front of the stalled horses.
Alpatych, with a more hasty step than he usually walked, entered the yard and went straight under the barn to his horses and cart. The coachman was sleeping; he woke him up, ordered him to lay him to bed and entered the hallway. In the master's room one could hear the crying of a child, the wracking sobs of a woman, and the angry, hoarse cry of Ferapontov. The cook, like a frightened chicken, fluttered in the hallway as soon as Alpatych entered.
- He killed her to death - he beat the owner!.. He beat her like that, she dragged her like that!..
- For what? – asked Alpatych.
- I asked to go. It's a woman's business! Take me away, he says, don’t destroy me and my little children; the people, he says, have all left, what, he says, are we? How he started beating. He hit me like that, he dragged me like that!
Alpatych seemed to nod his head approvingly at these words and, not wanting to know anything more, went to the opposite door - the master's door of the room in which his purchases remained.
“You are a villain, a destroyer,” shouted at that time a thin, pale woman with a child in her arms and a scarf torn from her head, bursting out of the door and running down the stairs to the courtyard. Ferapontov followed her and, seeing Alpatych, straightened his vest and hair, yawned and entered the room behind Alpatych.
- Do you really want to go? - he asked.
Without answering the question and without looking back at the owner, looking through his purchases, Alpatych asked how long the owner was supposed to stay.
- We'll count! Well, did the governor have one? – Ferapontov asked. – What was the solution?
Alpatych replied that the governor did not tell him anything decisive.
- Are we going to leave on our business? - said Ferapontov. - Give me seven rubles per cart to Dorogobuzh. And I say: there is no cross on them! - he said.
“Selivanov, he got in on Thursday and sold flour to the army for nine rubles a sack.” Well, will you drink tea? - he added. While the horses were being pawned, Alpatych and Ferapontov drank tea and talked about the price of grain, the harvest and favorable weather for harvesting.
“However, it began to calm down,” said Ferapontov, drinking three cups of tea and getting up, “ours must have taken over.” They said they won't let me in. This means strength... And after all, they said, Matvey Ivanovich Platov drove them into the Marina River, drowned eighteen thousand, or something, in one day.
Alpatych collected his purchases, handed them over to the coachman who came in, and settled accounts with the owner. At the gate there was the sound of wheels, hooves and bells of a car leaving.
It was already well after noon; half the street was in the shade, the other was brightly lit by the sun. Alpatych looked out the window and went to the door. Suddenly a strange sound of a distant whistle and blow was heard, and after that there was a merging roar of cannon fire, which made the windows tremble.
Alpatych went out into the street; two people ran down the street towards the bridge. From different sides we heard whistles, impacts of cannonballs and the bursting of grenades falling in the city. But these sounds were almost inaudible and did not attract the attention of residents in comparison with the sounds of gunfire heard outside the city. It was a bombardment, which at five o'clock Napoleon ordered to open on the city, from one hundred and thirty guns. At first the people did not understand the significance of this bombing.
The sounds of falling grenades and cannonballs aroused at first only curiosity. Ferapontov’s wife, who had never stopped howling under the barn, fell silent and, with the child in her arms, went out to the gate, silently looking at the people and listening to the sounds.
The cook and the shopkeeper came out to the gate. Everyone with cheerful curiosity tried to see the shells flying over their heads. Several people came out from around the corner, talking animatedly.
- That’s power! - said one. “Both the lid and the ceiling were smashed into splinters.”
“It tore up the earth like a pig,” said another. - That’s so important, that’s how I encouraged you! – he said laughing. “Thank you, I jumped back, otherwise she would have smeared you.”
The people turned to these people. They paused and told how they got into the house near their core. Meanwhile, other shells, now with a quick, gloomy whistle - cannonballs, now with a pleasant whistling - grenades, did not stop flying over the heads of the people; but not a single shell fell close, everything was carried over. Alpatych sat down in the tent. The owner stood at the gate.
- What haven’t you seen! - he shouted at the cook, who, with her sleeves rolled up, in a red skirt, swaying with her bare elbows, came to the corner to listen to what was being said.
“What a miracle,” she said, but, hearing the owner’s voice, she returned, tugging at her tucked skirt.
Again, but very close this time, something whistled, like a bird flying from top to bottom, a fire flashed in the middle of the street, something fired and covered the street with smoke.
- Villain, why are you doing this? – the owner shouted, running up to the cook.
At the same moment, women howled pitifully from different sides, a child began to cry in fear, and people with pale faces silently crowded around the cook. From this crowd, the cook’s moans and sentences were heard most loudly:
- Oh oh oh, my darlings! My little darlings are white! Don't let me die! My white darlings!..
Five minutes later there was no one left on the street. The cook, with her thigh broken by a grenade fragment, was carried into the kitchen. Alpatych, his coachman, Ferapontov’s wife and children, and the janitor sat in the basement, listening. The roar of guns, the whistle of shells and the pitiful moan of the cook, which dominated all sounds, did not cease for a moment. The hostess either rocked and coaxed the child, or in a pitiful whisper asked everyone who entered the basement where her owner, who remained on the street, was. The shopkeeper who entered the basement told her that the owner had gone with the people to the cathedral, where they were raising the Smolensk miraculous icon.
By dusk the cannonade began to subside. Alpatych came out of the basement and stopped at the door. The previously clear evening sky was completely covered with smoke. And through this smoke the young, high-standing crescent of the month strangely shone. After the previous terrible roar of guns had ceased, there seemed silence over the city, interrupted only by the rustling of footsteps, groans, distant screams and the crackle of fires that seemed to be widespread throughout the city. The cook's moans had now died down. Black clouds of smoke from the fires rose and dispersed from both sides. On the street, not in rows, but like ants from a ruined hummock, in different uniforms and in different directions, soldiers passed and ran. In Alpatych’s eyes, several of them ran into Ferapontov’s yard. Alpatych went to the gate. Some regiment, crowded and in a hurry, blocked the street, walking back.
“They are surrendering the city, leave, leave,” the officer who noticed his figure told him and immediately shouted to the soldiers:
- I'll let you run around the yards! - he shouted.
Alpatych returned to the hut and, calling the coachman, ordered him to leave. Following Alpatych and the coachman, all of Ferapontov’s household came out. Seeing the smoke and even the fires of the fires, now visible in the beginning twilight, the women, who had been silent until then, suddenly began to cry out, looking at the fires. As if echoing them, the same cries were heard at other ends of the street. Alpatych and his coachman, with shaking hands, straightened the tangled reins and lines of the horses under the canopy.
When Alpatych was leaving the gate, he saw about ten soldiers in Ferapontov’s open shop, talking loudly, filling bags and backpacks with wheat flour and sunflowers. At the same time, Ferapontov entered the shop, returning from the street. Seeing the soldiers, he wanted to shout something, but suddenly stopped and, clutching his hair, laughed a sobbing laugh.
- Get everything, guys! Don't let the devils get you! - he shouted, grabbing the bags himself and throwing them into the street. Some soldiers, frightened, ran out, some continued to pour in. Seeing Alpatych, Ferapontov turned to him.
– I’ve made up my mind! Race! - he shouted. - Alpatych! I've decided! I'll light it myself. I decided... - Ferapontov ran into the yard.
Soldiers were constantly walking along the street, blocking it all, so that Alpatych could not pass and had to wait. The owner Ferapontova and her children were also sitting on the cart, waiting to be able to leave.
It was already quite night. There were stars in the sky and the young moon, occasionally obscured by smoke, shone. On the descent to the Dnieper, Alpatych's carts and their mistresses, moving slowly in the ranks of soldiers and other crews, had to stop. Not far from the intersection where the carts stopped, in an alley, a house and shops were burning. The fire had already burned out. The flame either died down and was lost in the black smoke, then suddenly flared up brightly, strangely clearly illuminating the faces of the crowded people standing at the crossroads. Black figures of people flashed in front of the fire, and from behind the incessant crackling of the fire, talking and screams were heard. Alpatych, who got off the cart, seeing that the cart would not let him through soon, turned into the alley to look at the fire. The soldiers were constantly snooping back and forth past the fire, and Alpatych saw how two soldiers and with them some man in a frieze overcoat were dragging burning logs from the fire across the street into the neighboring yard; others carried armfuls of hay.
Alpatych approached a large crowd of people standing in front of a tall barn that was burning with full fire. The walls were all on fire, the back one had collapsed, the plank roof had collapsed, the beams were on fire. Obviously, the crowd was waiting for the moment when the roof would collapse. Alpatych expected this too.
- Alpatych! – suddenly a familiar voice called out to the old man.
“Father, your Excellency,” answered Alpatych, instantly recognizing the voice of his young prince.
Prince Andrei, in a cloak, riding a black horse, stood behind the crowd and looked at Alpatych.
- How are you here? - he asked.
“Your... your Excellency,” said Alpatych and began to sob... “Yours, yours... or are we already lost?” Father…
- How are you here? – repeated Prince Andrei.
The flame flared up brightly at that moment and illuminated for Alpatych the pale and exhausted face of his young master. Alpatych told how he was sent and how he could forcefully leave.
- What, your Excellency, or are we lost? – he asked again.
Prince Andrei, without answering, took out a notebook and, raising his knee, began to write with a pencil on a torn sheet. He wrote to his sister:
“Smolensk is being surrendered,” he wrote, “Bald Mountains will be occupied by the enemy in a week. Leave now for Moscow. Answer me immediately when you leave, sending a messenger to Usvyazh.”
Having written and given the piece of paper to Alpatych, he verbally told him how to manage the departure of the prince, princess and son with the teacher and how and where to answer him immediately. Before he had time to finish these orders, the chief of staff on horseback, accompanied by his retinue, galloped up to him.
-Are you a colonel? - shouted the chief of staff, with a German accent, in a voice familiar to Prince Andrei. - They light houses in your presence, and you stand? What does this mean? “You will answer,” shouted Berg, who was now the assistant chief of staff of the left flank of the infantry forces of the First Army, “the place is very pleasant and in plain sight, as Berg said.”
Prince Andrei looked at him and, without answering, continued, turning to Alpatych:
“So tell me that I’m waiting for an answer by the tenth, and if I don’t receive news on the tenth that everyone has left, I myself will have to drop everything and go to Bald Mountains.”
“I, Prince, say this only because,” said Berg, recognizing Prince Andrei, “that I must carry out orders, because I always carry out them exactly... Please forgive me,” Berg made some excuses.
Something crackled in the fire. The fire died down for a moment; black clouds of smoke poured out from under the roof. Something on fire also crackled terribly, and something huge fell down.
- Urruru! – Echoing the collapsed ceiling of the barn, from which the smell of cakes from burnt bread emanated, the crowd roared. The flame flared up and illuminated the animatedly joyful and exhausted faces of the people standing around the fire.

Biography

The ancestors of A.I. Dutov on the male line came from the Samara Cossack army, which was later abolished. Father, Ilya Petrovich Dutov, a military officer from the era of the Turkestan campaigns, was promoted to the rank of major general in September 1907, upon his dismissal from service. Mother - Elizaveta Nikolaevna Uskova - the daughter of a police officer, a native of the Orenburg province.
A.I. Dutov was born during one of the campaigns in the city of Kazalinsk, Syrdarya region, the first-born in the family. His childhood years were spent in Fergana, Orenburg, St. Petersburg and again in Orenburg.

During his father’s training at the Officer Cavalry School in 1888-1889, he lived in St. Petersburg and at the age of seven began going to Letnikova’s school, and then, in preparation for entering the cadet corps, to Nazarova’s school. Later he entered the Zhoravovich School in Orenburg.
In 1889, he was accepted on a military scholarship to the Orenburg Neplyuevsky Cadet Corps, which he graduated from in the same year.
After graduating from the Nikolaev Cadet School in 1899, he was promoted to the rank of cornet and sent to the 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment stationed in Kharkov.

World War I

On March 20, 1916, he volunteered to join the active army, to the 1st Orenburg Cossack Regiment of His Imperial Highness the Heir to the Tsarevich, which was part of the 10th Cavalry Division of the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the 9th Army of the Southwestern Front.

On October 26 (November 8) he returned to Orenburg and began work at his posts. On the same day, he signed an order for army No. 816 on the non-recognition of the power of the Bolsheviks on the territory of the Orenburg Cossack army, who carried out a coup in Petrograd, thus becoming the first military chieftain to declare war on Soviet power. On October 27, he issued a new decree regarding the Orenburg Cossack army: “Pending the restoration of the powers of the Provisional Government and telegraph communications, I assume full executive state power.” The city and province were declared under martial law. The created Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland, which included representatives of all parties, with the exception of the Bolsheviks and Cadets, appointed him head of the region's armed forces.

A.I. Dutov took control of a strategically important region that blocked the communication between the center of the country and Turkestan and Siberia. He was faced with the task of holding elections to the Constituent Assembly and maintaining stability in the province and army until the convening of the assembly. He generally coped with this task. The Bolsheviks who came from Petrograd and locals who did not go underground were arrested, and the decayed and pro-Bolshevik garrison of Orenburg was disarmed and sent home.

In November, A.I. Dutov was elected a member of the Constituent Assembly from the Orenburg Cossack Army.

These words opened a lengthy appeal from the Council of People's Commissars dated November 25, 1917. And to the chief commissar of the Black Sea Fleet and the “red commandant of Sevastopol” V.V. Romenets, the SNK sent the following “introductory” telegram:

Opening the 2nd regular Military Circle of the Orenburg Cossack Army on December 7, Dutov said:

“Now we are living through the Bolshevik days. We see in the darkness the outlines of tsarism, Wilhelm and his supporters, and the provocateur figure of Vladimir Lenin and his supporters clearly and definitely stands before us: Trotsky-Bronstein, Ryazanov-Goldenbach, Kamenev-Rosenfeld, Sukhanov-Himmer and Zinoviev-Apfelbaum. Russia is dying. We are present at her last breath. There was Great Rus' from the Baltic Sea to the ocean, from the White Sea to Persia, there was a whole, great, formidable, powerful, agricultural, laboring Russia - it no longer exists.”

In the spring of 1918, without connection with Dutov, a powerful insurrectionary movement began on the territory of the 1st Military District, provoked by the policies of Soviet power and led by a congress of delegates from 25 villages and a headquarters led by military foreman D. M. Krasnoyartsev. On the night of April 4, a detachment of Cossacks of a military foreman