Viktorin Molchanov

Viktorin Mikhailovich Molchanov
Viktorin Molchanov
Born	(1886-01-11)January 11, 1886 Chistopol,Governorate of Kazan,Russian Empire
Died	January 10, 1975(1975-01-10)(aged 88) San Francisco,United States of America
Allegiance	Russian Empire
Service/branch	Russian Imperial Army,White Army
Years of service	1906-1922
Rank	Major-General
Battles/wars	World War I,Russian Civil War

Viktorin Mikhailovich Molchanov(Russian:Викторин Михайлович Молчанов) (January 11, 1886 inChistopol,Governorate of Kazan – January 10, 1975 inSan Francisco), was a RussianMajor-Generaland a participant in theWhite movement.

Biography

Molchanov was born in 1886 to parents who were members of the minor Russian nobility. His father was the head of the local post office. Viktorin Molchanov graduated from theElabugaComprehensive School and Alekseev Military School in Moscow in 1906. After graduation, he first served in the Second Caucasus Engineering Battalion inTbilisi.In 1909 Molchanov transferred to theRussian Far East,serving inPrimorsky Krai.He fought inWorld War Ias the captain of a field engineer company in the Third Siberian Division stationed in Poland. After he finished his tour, he returned to theUralsin time for the start of theRussian Revolution,in which he fought against the Bolsheviks. During the Revolution, Molchanov was promoted and put in charge of the Izhevsk brigade and eventually of an entire division in 1918.

After the defeat ofAdmiral Kolchak's armies and the subsequentGreat Siberian Ice Marchretreat toTransbaikal,Molchanov was appointed the head of the 3rd Separate Rifle Corps of the Far Eastern Army by AtamanGrigory Semyonov.In October 1920 the Ataman was defeated and the surviving units evacuated to China. General Molchanov moved toPrimoryeand establishedVladivostokas his base on May 31, 1921. Under his command the Whites launched an offensive and capturedKhabarovskin November 1921 but his troops were smashed at theBattle of Volochayevkaon February 12, 1922 by the forces commanded byVasily Blyukher.General Molchanov moved to China, where he served for a brief time underwarlordZhang Zongchang,then to Japan, where he was credited with inventing theCalifornia roll,and in 1923 settled in the United States, where he was interviewed for a lengthy oral history of his life for the University of California's Center for Slavic and East European Studies.

References

• the Encyclopedia of Transbaikalia

External links

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