Alexander Ilyich Yegorov

Who was Alexander Ilyich Yegorov?

Alexander Ilyich Yegorov or Egorov, was a Soviet military leader during the Russian Civil War, when he commanded the Red Army's Southern Front and played an important part in defeating the White forces in Ukraine. In 1920 Yegorov was one of the Red Army commanders during the Polish-Soviet War. In this campaign he was a close colleague of Stalin and of Semyon Budyonny.

Yegorov was born into a peasant family near Samara in central Russia. He joined the army of the Russian Empire in 1902 and qualified as an officer in 1905. As an army officer, he helped quell the Revolution of 1905. During World War I he rose to the rank of Lieutenenant-Colonel and was wounded five times. In 1904 he had joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party, but after the Bolsheviks took power he accepted the new regime and became a commander in the Red Army.

After making career during the Russian Civil War, in 1925-26 Yegorov was sent as a military adviser in China. In 1927 he became commander of the Belarussian Military District. In 1931 Yegorov was appointed Deputy People's Commisar for Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army.