Second Russian Civil War (Tukhachevsky Russia)

Tukhachevsky Coup

Second Russian Civil War (Coup phase)
Part of Second Russian Civil War
Date May 1 - 8, 1937 Location Soviet Union 55°45′21″N 37°37′2″E (Moscow) 59°56′15″N 30°18′31″E (Leningrad) Result Disputed: Stalin deposed and killed Stalinist government deposed New government appointed Separatist rebellions Japanese invasion of Far East
Belligerents
National Committee of Russia	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Commanders and leaders
Chairman Tukhachevsky Minister Y. Gamarnik Minister I. Yakir Minister N. Bukharin † Minister G. Sokolnikov Admiral N. Kuznetsov Minister L. Beria (later)	Joseph Stalin † Chairman V. Molotov † N. Vlasik † N. Yezhov † Commissar K. Voroshilov † Commander Shaposnikov (POW) Genrikh Yagoda (POW) L. Beria (defected)
Units involved
Leningrad Military District Arkhangelsk Military District (nominal) Western forces of Moscow Military District Belarus Military District Kiev Military District Black Sea Fleet Baltic Fleet	Moscow Military District Far East Military District Internal Troops of NKVD Northern Fleet Pacific Fleet
Strength
150,000+ troops 35,000+ cavalry 900+ tanks and IFV	200,000+ troops and cavalry (most demobilized) 12,500 NKVD troops
Casualties and losses
Moderate	All internal troops killed or captured, most of regular troops surrendered
40,000+ stalinist officials killed or exiled in the aftermath

Second Russian Civil War was military conflict caused by partial-successfull military coup initiated by marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky in the Soviet Union, in May 1937. Conflict led to collapse of the Soviet Union and replacement of USSR by rump states, with strongest Russian People Republic, military dictatorship in Western Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Western Siberia, led by Tukhachevsky, while Russian Far East turned in to Russian Democratic Republic, puppet state of Japanese Empire and Transcaucasian Soviet Republics declared independence on Russia.

Second Russian Civil War later turned in to Cold War with Russian People Republic as strong and expansionist militaristic state with various military conflicts.

Plan for coup was prepared shortly after murder of Sergei Kirov in 1934. Tukhachevsky slowly, but steadily formed clique of extremely capable and extremely ambitious army and naval officers, who were dissatisifed with general politics of Soviet Union and Stalin government and he also called for few civilians, who were invited to his circle. Despite common myth, Bukharin was not aware of coup until very late phase and most of his tasks were, until his appointment, assigned to Grigori Sokolnikov, former Commissar of Finance and Minister of Finance in National Council of Russian People Republic (1937-1949).

Conspiracy was composed of 7 high-ranked officers and officials:

• Marshal Mikhail N. Tukhachevsky, deputy of Marshal Voroshilov and former Chief of Staff of Red Army, then, 1st President of Russian People Republic
• Marshal Yan Gamarnik, Head of the Political Directorate of the Red Army, then, 1st Minister of Interior Affairs of Russian People Republic (1937-1938)
• Commandarm Iona Yakir, Kiev Military District commander, Tukhachevsky Minister of Defense and hero of Russo-Japanese War (1939-1940), Winter War (1941) and Second World War (1938-1949)
• Grigori Sokolnikov, Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Tukhachevsky minister of finance and economic reformer (1937-1949).
• Admiral Nikolai Kuznetsov, popular naval commander, Tukhachevsky Minister of National Navy (1937-1946)
• Genrikh Lyushkov, member of the Central Committee and NKVD officer, later political governor of Governorate of Finland (1941-1944)
• Alexander Abramov-Mirov, former Comintern official and obscure intelligence officer, later Minister of Foreign Trade (1937-1943)

Lyushkov, Abramov-Mirov and Sokolnikov were invited to coup after many long discussions and personal screenings and all coup plotters agreed that coup must be quick and must be surgical. Without Stalin and/or his leadership and top government officials, Red Army will not act and NKVD will collapse, especially when some NKVD units, commanded by Lyushkov, will defect to coup side.

Tukhachevsky used his connections and especially Lyushkov works to orient Stalin focus on different places and to different threats. Tukhachevsky had no remorse to sacrifice other people, just to confuse Stalin. Lyushkov also used his position to scare some of Stalin officials about threat of Stalin paranoia against themselfs. That was one of most important factor in Yagoda decision to not inform Stalin about traces of Tukhachevsky conspiracy, for which, he was amnested by Tukhachevsky and allowed to leave Russia.

Tukhachevsky also ordered to leave Shaposhnikov alone. While Shaposhnikov was Stalin most loyal army commander, he was extremely popular and influental, and thus, he was spared of Tukhachevsky coup.

On April 29, 1937, Tukhachevsky invited Bukharin, who was popular communist leader, to join coup. Bukharin declined and decided to warn Stalin, but instead, Tukhachevsky troops arrested Bukharin wife and daughter and forced Bukharin to accept position in National Committee of Russia.

Coup plan was simple, composed of three steps:

1. Securing soviet naval bases and shipyards in all seas (in first 4 hours of coup)
2. Attacking Stalin dacha, when he will be at home and killing all inhabitants of dacha (1st day of coup)
3. Disarm or prevent mobilization of loyalist troops (1st - 10th day of coup)

Total lenght of coup was planned for 10 days, most of this time for pacification and disarming regular units. Also, no military commanders below corps commander rank, were informed about coup and only 40 of 60 corps commanders were informed week before coup. Of soviet admirals, only 3 of 8 were involved (small participation of Far Eastern Army and Fleet was one of crucial reasons for defections, civil war and Japanese invasion of Far East). Whole coup was staged as military exercise of western districts and through Lyushkov and Abramov-Mirov, Tukhachevsky was able to secure forged Stalin approval for all his commands.

On April 30, 1937, heated discussion erupted at Stalin dacha, where Molotov and Yezhov tried to warn Stalin about Tukhachevsky, as Yezhov found out Yagoda original documents about his secret investigation of Tukhachevsky plans. Shaposhnikov dismissed this documents and Lavrenty Beria shocked all participants, when he denied any Tukhachevsky plot. According soviet archives opened in 1961, Beria was fully aware of Tukhachevsky coup whole time, but he decided to ignore coup plan to use this for his promotion under new regime, which indeed happend in 1938, when he was appointed as Minister of Interior Affairs and Security Forces of Russian People Republic. Beria did not openly joined coup planning, but his inactivity was important in preventing NKVD to stop coup.

Controversial decision was to kill not only Stalin, but also some other members of supreme Soviet leadership to prevent various factions took power instead of Tukhachevsky faction. At 1:00 on May 1, 1937, Kuznetsov supporters and Vladimirsky naval infantry captured Leningrad, Azov and Sevastopol shipyards and ports. Arkhangelsk was secured at 2:10 and Murmansk at 3:25. At 5:16, Lyushkov and Abramov-Mirov troops infiltrated area around dacha and at 5:20, they went in to first armed fight with NKVD patrols. At 5:25, dacha personnel was alarmed, include Stalin, while Yakir troops arrived to Moscow and encirceled Kremlin. At 5:45, Gamarnik as chief political commissar ordered Kremlin guard to surrender, but guard units declined and started fierce resistance. Kremlin was attacked by tank T-26 and small-calibre artillery. At 6:00, commander of Stalin guard, Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik, was killed during mortar fire against dacha. At 6:25, Lyushkov troops arrived to outer perimeters of dacha and about 800 Tukhachevsky troops arrived as reserves. Yezhov called Moscow Regiment of NKVD to arms and attacked coup forces from rear. NKVD units caused many casualties to attacking plotters, but good news arrived from Leningrad and Kiev - in Leningrad, coup troops arrested Andrei Zhdanov, that time city chairman and used him as hostage to force city garrison surrender. In Kiev, Sergei Kudryavtsev, Zhdanov counterpart in Kiev, ordered all garrison troops to surrender and participated on arrest Pavel Postyshev, who was executed to secure support of Ukrainian-born party officials, who were critical to Postyshev Russification policies. Minsk suffered 2-hours long street fighting, before Uborevich troops secured city center and arrested Nikolay Goloded, chief of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. Goloded immediately accepted new government rule. Skilled and elite guard troops of Stalin dacha were able to defend outer perimeters until 6:30 and lost inner perimeters at 7:45, while Kremlin was captured by Tukhachevsky already at 6:37. During this time, coup patrols arrested Anastas Mikoyan (according one sources, he was arrested travelling from Moscow to Leningrad, according other, he was captured near Smolensk). Despite Tukhachevsky desire quick action, he did not disregard some important elements, like Stalin family. Coup troops were instrued to protect Stalin family and eliminate only Stalin himself.

Second Russian Civil War (Military phase)
Part of Second Russian Civil War
Date 1937-1940 Location Soviet Union Result Russian pyrrhic victory: Alash autonomy and warlords defeated Independence of Transcaucasus Russian Far East captured by Japanese forces
Belligerents
Russian People's Republic	Soviet warlords: Far Eastern Republic Mongolian People's Republic (puppet) Tuvan People's Republic (puppet) Ural Military Governorate Omsk Revolutionary Government Rakutin forces Separatists: Transcaucasian Federation¨ Alash Republic Independent Russian Army Japan Empire (secretly)
Commanders and leaders
Chairman Tukhachevsky Minister Y. Gamarnik Minister I. Yakir Minister G. Sokolnikov Admiral N. Kuznetsov Minister L. Beria	President Pyotr Kobozev Georgy Zhukov Sergei Yegorov Konstantin Rakutin Separatists: Mikheil Javakhishvili Alikhan Bukeikhanov G. M. Semyonov Urzhin Gamaev Kōtoku Satō
Units involved
Russian Army	Far Eastern Military District Pacific Fleet NKVD remnants Ural Military District Transcaucasian separatist armies White Russian Army
Strength
1.2 million troops	300,000+ troops (warlords) 80,000+ Alash militia 120,000+ Caucasian Liberation Army 260,000+ White Russians and Japanese troops
Casualties and losses
High	Moderate
3,200,000+ killed or starved civilians