General S. L. Markov in January — April 1917

Abstract

The article describes the life of General Sergey Leonidovich Markov at the beginning of 1917 when he held the position of the Inspector General under General of Infantry V. N. Gorbatovsky, commander of the 10th army. Special attention is devoted to Markov’s activity in the first months of the Revolution when in March-April, 1917 he participated in the army committees which appeared on the Western Front during World War I. During this period (March 1917) Markov visited Bryansk, where outbreaks in the city garrison took place and which started with the beginning of the February Revolution. A number of officers had been arrested by the Bryansk Council of Military Deputies and by military committees which had been formed before. The result of Markov’s trip and his speeches at the meetings at the Bryansk Council implemented in the bailment of 24 officers who he personally sent to the headquarters of the Western Front. The success of the trip to Bryansk led to the fact that for a while Markov actively worked for the army committees (he joined the Committee of Officers’ Deputies in the 10th Army). Having accepted the February Revolution Markov considered his main task in maintaining the army’s combat efficiency, for which he had to partly support the revolutionary rhetoric of committees and councils. Markov’s attitude towards the monarchy is the subject of particular consideration in the article. To the write the article the materials of the military periodicals of 1917 (the newspaper “Vestnik X of the Army”), the State Bryansk Region Archives materials, as well as excerpts from Sergei Markov’s letters to his wife Marianna Markova taken from the personal archive were used.