Roman Romanovich Levgovd — Officer of the Revolutionary Black Sea Fleet

Abstract

The article explores the life and activity in 1917–1918 of Roman Romanovich Levgovd, a staff officer in the Black Sea Fleet. At the beginning of the revolutionary events of 1917, he was one of the most politically active officers in Sevastopol. Levgovd was one of the first officers included in the electoral revolutionary body, the Sevastopol Central Military Executive Committee. He played an important role in the first convocation of the Sevastopol soviet , was a member of the soviet’s governing bodies, searched through the Crimean estates of the Romanov family, and resolved conflicts between officers and sailors. He was involved in the confrontation between the Sevastopol soviet and the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, A. V. Kolchak, where he defended the soviet’s position. As a representative of the Sevastopol soviet, he participated in the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets. In the second half of 1917, Levgovd left active political activity. At the beginning of 1918 he joined the Black Sea Central Fleet and was engaged in manning the crews of ships on new civilian principles. He twice visited Moscow as part of Black Sea delegations, who tried to influence decisions about the Black Sea Fleet in 1918 and to prevent the loss of ships. In 1918 Levgovd commanded the Novorossiisk fortified area. Having been captured by the Whites, he was sentenced to six years of penal servitude for active support of the Soviet authorities. In 1920 he again served in the Red Army. After the Civil War, he was in the military and diplomatic service. He wrote three short small memoirs and was a victim of political repression (and was shot in 1938).