On January 15, 1920, an unusual train arrived in Irkutsk from Nizhneudinsk. It was guarded by soldiers of the Czechoslovak Corps - former Austro-Hungarian military personnel of the Czech and Slovak nationalities, who were captured by Russia. Of these, a special Czechoslovak unit was formed, which was under the control of the "allies", primarily France.
In the second-class carriage there was a very remarkable passenger - Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak, who recently was the sole ruler of vast territories in Eastern Siberia. But now Kolchak was driving in the position of a prisoner. On January 4, 1920, he, believing the word of the representatives of the Allied command, handed over power to General Anton Ivanovich Denikin, and he himself agreed to follow to Irkutsk.
When the train arrived in Irkutsk, it was immediately surrounded by a tight ring of Czechoslovak soldiers. Without further ado, the admiral and the persons accompanying him, among whom was the chairman of the Russian government, Viktor Nikolayevich Pepelyaev, were detained and soon handed over to the local authorities - the Irkutsk Political Center, which was a regional Socialist-Revolutionary-Menshevik government. The Political Center itself was not a strong structure and was preparing to transfer power to the Bolsheviks, who had significant armed formations.
The extradition of Kolchak was authorized by the head of the French military mission under the Russian government, General Maurice Janin (pictured). Historians call him the "indirect killer" of Admiral Kolchak.
Of course, Janin could not help but understand what fate awaited the admiral after being handed over to the Irkutsk Political Center. But the general, who treated Kolchak and the White movement as a whole extremely negatively, was not going to change his decision. The Czechoslovakians, by the way, were under the control of the French military mission and carried out its orders, therefore, without Janin's consent, no one would dare to detain the admiral and hand him over to the Political Center.
In fact, Kolchak by this time was no longer of any interest to the allied command. The Russian admiral was "waste material" for them. Therefore, General Janin insisted that the words "if it turns out possible" be included in the written instructions on ensuring Kolchak's security. That is, if there was no opportunity, then no one would defend Kolchak. And the admiral himself understood perfectly well that he had actually turned out to be a devotee, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Kolchak was placed in the Irkutsk provincial prison, and on January 21, 1920, the Political Center transferred power in Irkutsk to the Bolshevik Military Revolutionary Committee headed by Samuil Chudnovsky. On the same day, the interrogations of the admiral began. Perhaps they would have lasted much longer, but the Bolsheviks feared that Kolchak could be repelled by the units of the surviving Eastern Front of the Kolchak army, which were rushing to Irkutsk. Therefore, it was decided to eliminate the admiral and his prime minister, Pepeliaev. On January 25 (February 7) 1920, Admiral Alexander Kolchak and politician Viktor Pepeliaev were shot near the mouth of the Ushakovka River near its confluence with the Angara River. Chudnovsky himself commanded the execution of Kolchak and Pepelyaev, and the chief of the Irkutsk garrison and the military commandant of Irkutsk Ivan Bursak (real name - Boris Blatlinder) headed the execution team. The bodies of Kolchak and Pepelyaev were thrown into the hole.
Of course, the most surprising thing in the tragic death of Kolchak is not that the Bolsheviks shot him, but how he fell into their hands. The supreme ruler of Russia, as Admiral Kolchak called himself, was actually deposed and arrested on his own territory, which was under the control of loyal troops. He was carried on a train under an escort of Czechoslovak soldiers under the command of the Czechoslovak corps and the French military mission. It turns out that in fact, Admiral Kolchak did not even control his own railways on the territory that seemed to be listed under his rule. He was in such a situation that he could not even attract to help the still relatively numerous units and subdivisions of his army, headed by devoted officers.
What was the matter? Why did the French general Janin and the Czechoslovak general Syrovs decide the fate of the "supreme ruler of Russia" guided by their own ideas and interests? Now they say that the Zhanin and the Syrovs simply had their eyes on that part of the gold reserve of the Russian Empire, which was at that time under the control of the Kolchakites. But even if so, how did they manage to carry out such a large-scale operation as the detention and removal of the ruler from the territory he controlled?
Everything was explained quite simply. The Trans-Siberian Railway, which had the most important, strategic importance for Siberia and the Far East, was not controlled by Admiral Kolchak and the troops loyal to him at the time of the events described. The most important railway artery was guarded by the very Czechoslovak corps, whose soldiers handed Kolchak to certain death. But how did the main line end up in the hands of the Czechoslovakians, who were subordinate to the command of the "allies"?
Recall that Admiral Kolchak came to power in Omsk in the fall of 1918. And already at the beginning of 1919, the Czechoslovak corps appeared in Siberia. It was quite an impressive force - 38 thousand soldiers, hardened in the battles of the First World War. The Czechoslovakians were subordinate to the French military mission in Siberia, headed by General Janin. In Transbaikalia, the power of ataman Grigory Semyonov was established, who, in turn, collaborated with Japan. Representatives of the Japanese military mission were under Semenov. Now one of the main tasks of the allies was to establish control over the richest Siberian territories. And a way to establish control was soon found.
In March 1919, the so-called Inter-Union Railway Committee was born. The task of this strange structure was to monitor the Chinese-Eastern and Siberian railways. The committee included representatives from each allied power stationed in Siberia. It was allowed to participate in its activities and "representatives of Russia", that is, the Kolchak government.
The document establishing the Inter-Union Railway Committee stated:
The technical operation of the railways is entrusted to the chairman of the Technical Council. This council is chaired by Mr. John Stephens. In cases involving such exploitation, the chairman may give instructions to the Russian officials mentioned in the previous paragraph. He can appoint assistants and inspectors to the service of the Technical Council, choosing them from among the citizens of the powers with armed forces in Siberia, assign them to the central administration of the council and determine their duties. If necessary, he can send groups of railway specialists to the most important stations. When sending railway specialists to any station, the convenience of the respective powers, under whose protection these stations will be, will be taken into account.
In fact, the adoption of this document meant that the entire Trans-Siberian Railway was under the control of the "allies". Considering that there was virtually no air and automobile communication in Siberia at that time, the “allies” gained control not only over the railroad, but also over the entire economy of Eastern Siberia. By agreeing to such conditions, Kolchak himself deliberately put himself in a dependent position, in fact turning his "Russian government" into an administrative body of the protectorate of the allied powers. After all, what else, if not a protectorate, can be called a state entity, on the territory of which the troops of several foreign states rule at once, and all railway communication is under the control of foreign states and is guarded by foreign armed forces?
The formidable admiral, considered one of the most serious opponents of Soviet Russia, clearly gave "slack" in the issue of control over the Trans-Siberian Railway. And giving it once, again and again yielded to the allies. He became completely dependent on the supply of weapons, ammunition, and uniforms. For these supplies, the Kolchak command paid with that part of the gold reserve that was exported to the territories controlled by Kolchak from the Volga region.
Since the Trans-Siberian Railway was under the control of the Entente, in the event of disobedience on the part of Kolchak, the allies were able to instantly "punish" him, paralyzing all railway communication in Eastern Siberia. Formally, Kolchak's representative participated in the activities of the Inter-Union Railway Committee, but in fact he had only one vote there. And the allies could carry out any decisions without the approval of a representative of the Kolchak government.
The Trans-Siberian Railway itself was guarded by foreign troops. In Eastern Siberia, railways were guarded by soldiers of the Czechoslovak Corps, in Transbaikalia - by Japanese units. The entire technical part of the railway communication was also under the control of the Allies, and the Kolchakites had to obey the instructions of the American specialists who headed the technical part of the Trans-Siberian Railway. On the railway there were foreign engineers and managers who completely determined its work, arranged the movement of trains as it was convenient for the command of the allies.
It is interesting that the Czechoslovak troops also took the railway to Kuzbass, the main coal-mining region, under protection. The area of responsibility of the Czechoslovak Corps ended in the Irkutsk region, and then the Japanese and American troops controlled the railway to Dairen and Vladivostok. The Amur Railway was also under joint Japanese and American control. Small sections of the Chinese Eastern Railway were controlled by Chinese troops.
It is interesting that in the zone of influence of the Kolchak troops proper there were only railways to the cities located to the west of Omsk. These areas were of little interest to the Allied command, since to control Eastern Siberia it was enough to control one Trans-Siberian Railway, which connected Siberian cities with Far Eastern ports. Through it, the allies were going to export Russian national wealth - from natural resources to gold reserves.
Thus, Admiral Kolchak himself prepared a fertile ground for his arrest and death, placing the entire railway infrastructure of Siberia in dependence on the allies. The Transsib was ruled by the Czechoslovakians, Japanese, Americans - anyone, but not the Kolchak people. And therefore, when Zhanen offered Kolchak to evacuate to Irkutsk, the admiral simply had no other options. It was not he himself and not Prime Minister Pepelyaev who decided to pass or not to let the trains with his soldiers, but the command of the allies.
As a result, Kolchak humbly asked generals Zhanen and Syrov to let not only trains with soldiers of the Czechoslovak corps, but also Russian echelons through the railway. And foreign generals had the opportunity to allow or not to allow the "supreme ruler of Russia" to send trains across the territory in which he seemed to be considered a sovereign master.
Thus, the defeat of Kolchak's troops was already a foregone conclusion. The allies themselves were not interested in Kolchak and every month they "drowned" him deeper and deeper. But the gold reserve was safely "evacuated" under the protection of the Czechoslovak Corps and its further traces were lost in the banks of Europe and Japan. It remains only to be amazed at the credulity and pliability of the admiral, a man who is not stupid and not devoid of personal courage and toughness, but who allowed the allies not only to be deceived, but also to force him to dig his own grave.
