Vladimir Mikhaïlovitch Bezobrazov

Безобразов, Владимир Михайлович — Википедия https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki

He entered the Corps of Pages in 1873 as an external student (living at home and coming in to classes every morning), following in the footsteps of his brother. He entered the Junior Special Class in 1875 and was still in the Class when he left to go to the front on January 24th, 1877. As one normally remained in the Junior Special Class for one year, one might assume that Vladimir Mikhailovich was not a good student. He left before promotion (graduation) and such was normally frowned upon. However, as it was a time of great national enthusiasm for the war against the Turk, his lack of concern at such niceties was probably overlooked. In line with his seniority, he received his promotion to Cornet in the 8th "Voznesenski" Lancer Regiment and with the Regiment he took part in numerous engagements and battles during the Spring and Summer, was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 4th Class, and on October 1st was attached to His Majesty's Hussar Guards Regiment. It was the beginning of an intimate and lifelong association. The Lancers were but temporary staging post: the Hussars were "home!" He remained with the Hussars for the remainder of the War, took part in the "Crossing of the Balkans" and many more skirmishes and battles, was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd Class, with Swords and Bows, received a commendation for his role at the battle of Philippopol (17.VII.1878), and returned home at the conclusion of a victorious campaign as a youg officer who had proven himself. From June 1st 1879 to 1881 he was Brigade Adjutant of the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Guars Cavalry Division, of which the Hussars were part. On August 30th, 1880 he was promoted to Lieutenant. In 1883 he was temporarily detached to the Officer's Cavalry School (to attend a course). He was promoted to to Staff~Captain on April 8th 1884. In 1885 he was made head of the Regimental School. In 1887 he became a riding instructor and in the same year he was appointed commander of the 4th Squaron. He was promoted to Captain on April 24th, 1888 and Colonel on August 30th, 1891. He received his first independent command when he was appointed Commander of the 26th "Bugski" Dragoon Regiment on September 6th, 1896. This was an unusual appointment for a Guards Cavalry officer, two~thirds of the commands of Line cavalry regiments at that time being reserved for Guards officers who in all probability would return to the Guards. The Regiment had a respectable history, having taken part in every one of Russia's wars since it was founded at the beginning of the century, but it was nothing special - either militarily or socially. On May 30th, 1900 he was appointed Commander of the Chevalier Gardes Regiment and on July 22nd he was confirmed in his appointment and promoted to Major~General. This was one of the truly choice commands in the Imperial Guard (and thus the Army), from every point of view. Although a relative late~comer compared to some of the older regiments, the Chevalier Gardes Regiment dated only from 1799, it was the first regiment of the Imperial Army, "the regiment closest to the Throne" according to the formula based on the role the Regiment played during the coronations of Russia's sovereigns. The "Chief" of the Regiment was the Empress Maria Feodorovna, the widow of the Emperor Aleksandr III, and she - like the Empress Aleksandra Feodorovna, consort of Emperor Nicholas II, who was "Chief" before her lavished great interest and care on what was truly a beautiful thing. The officers of the Chevalier Gardes were drawn primarily from the old Russian nobles families and were widely known as a quiet and well behaved aristocratic group of gentlemen, not at all the reputation "enjoyed" by the officers of some of the other regiments, noted for exessive drinking and gambling. Indeed, when an officer of the Chevalier Gardes stepped over the boundary of acceptable behavior, as did one gentleman who took his squadron to the Gypsies, there was no room for him and he had to go. As in most Guards Regiments, but particularely in the Chevalier Gardes, this was to a great extent a family. They considered it so and acted accordingly. Naturally the honour and discipline of the Regiment came first but within "the family" all were equal and protected to the extent possible from the problems in the outside world. The Regimental Commander might apologise to a youg cornet or allow himself to be corrected by a subordinate, aged colonels and young subalterns would drink "bruderschaft" together. It was all warm and agreable. The lower rank too were a fine lot, big and blond peasants primarily fromm Little Russia although a Jewish under-officer from Vilna was a fixture in the Regiment for 36 years. The relationship between officers and lower ranks was a as good as such could possibly be. There was no corporal punishment and no officer would strike a man for an infraction, something regrettably too frequent in other regiments. Substantial funds were available for those in need, and any proplem could be taken to an officer in the certain knowledge that somehow it would be solved. With magnificent barracks, superb horseflesh, uniforms, and equipment, the pick of the new soldiers, very agreable comrades in the officer's club, the heart~warming concern of the beloved "Chief", and the constant interest of the Sovereign, where could one possibly find a better command? No one ever thought seriously about even asking such a question. In 1901 the General was President of the committee for Setting Examinations and Programs in Officer Schools and two years later, in 1903, he was President of the Commission for the Prevention of Anthrax in Horses, which was held in the Hussar Guards Regiment. This interest in improving and modernising not only his own unit but the army in general continued throughout his career. On April 6th, 1904 he was appointed Commander of the 1st Brigade of the first 1st Guards Cavalry Division, which consisted of the Chevalier Gardes and Horse Guards Regiments, and was enroled in the lists of the Guards Cavalry while remaining on the lists of the Chevalier Gardes. He surrendered his command of the Chevalier Gardes on April 14th. He did not go to the front in 1904 nor did the Guards. The only action, if one term it such, was on the streets of St. Petersburg in January 1905. On November 6th, 1906 he was appointed Head of the Officer's Cavalry School and in due course was promoted to Lieutenant-General. He had received the Order of St. Anna, 2nd Class in 1893, the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd Class in 1903, the Order of St. Stanislav, 1st Class in 1905, and was appointed to the Imperial Suite in 1906. On January 5th, 1909 he was appointed Commander of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division, succeeding as commander Lieutenant-General A.A. Brusilov, who he had previously succeeded in command of the Officer's Cavalry School. Brusilov was also a former Page, so the outsider would think that the two would have much in common. Such was certainly not the case. On January 29th, 1912 Lieutenant-General Bezobrazov was appointed Commander of the Guard Corps. In many ways it was a particularly fortunate appointment for the Corps. Vladimir Mikhailovich had served in the Hussars with and was a close friend of his immediate superior, the most important figure in the Imperial Army, the Commander of the Guard and the St. Petersburg Military District General-of-Cavalry General-Adjutant His Imperial Highnes Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. Appointed to his post in 1905, the Grand Duke was doing everything in his power to expand and modernise the Army, using the troops at his immediate disposal as the proving ground for new ideas and equipment. Such fitted in exactly with the views of Bezobrazov and the mutuality of ideas combined with ties of background and friendship ensured harmony and progress in the Guard. Bezobrazov had also been fortunate to serve with the then Emperor Nicholas II in the Hussars. Here too ties of a shared experience, the comradship of the regiment which the Emperor looked back to often with a sad longing for what cannot return, opened between them a door that was usually closed to others. Vladimir Mikhailovich Bezobrazov was very tall and heavy for his age. His cousin Count Ivan Ivanovich Stenbock~Fermor wrote that he was comparable to the figure of an old Russian bear standing erect. If so, it was a very imposing old bear. Tall imposing people are frequently bullies, making the lives of their subordonates very uncomfortable. Thre is no evidence that Bezobrazov was injust or harsh with any except the deserving among his subordinates and no bully would go after his superiors the way Bezobrazov did - and yet in a way he did bully his superiors, refusing to accept military procedure if it intefered with getting things done as he wished. The diary itself provides all of the details of his life and career from the beginning of the war until his arrival in exile in Swedent three years after. The remainder of his life was that of a typical Russian emigre, longing to return to a world that was no more. He himself would undoubtely state that nothing of interest occurred during those years. He died in the Pasteur Clinic in Nice on September 17th, 1932 and was buried in the local La Caucade Russian Cemetery. His last word was "BO3".......+......"DYX"