Andrey Kirisenko: “Even the memory of such personalities as General Kappel is unbearable to people hypocritical, vile, cowardly and deceitful”

The director and screenwriter of the film “The Last Secret of General Kappel”, one of the participants in the expedition to find the body of General Kappel, Andrei Kirisenko, in an interview with Polit.Ru portal, very emotionally commented on the decision of the representatives of the Ministry of Defense to dismantle the plaque installed in honor of the general near the checkpoint of the Interspecific Regional Training Center for Communications in Simbirsk:
“Someone may ask: why all this? Why is someone so dear to the memory of this white general? Kappel was not only a brilliant leader of the White movement, he was one of the noblest and most valiant leaders of his time. Even the Reds treated him with great respect. Therefore, I believe that the memory of the general is important for all who cherish the history of our Fatherland.
<...> Against the background of other leaders of the White movement, Vladimir Kappel was distinguished by exceptional nobility and humanity. He always released prisoners, because he considered it extremely important that prisoners tell that the whites are not some animals. In addition, Kappel was also an excellent military leader who skillfully and successfully led military operations; he was very much loved in the army.
General Kappel led the White’s retreat, which went down in history as the Great Siberian ice campaign, it was a truly heroic story. He fell into the hole, but even after that he refused to get off the horse because he knew that his duty was to inspire the army. As a result, he froze his legs, and the foot of one leg and the fingers of the other were amputated with a kitchen knife. The general began pneumonia, but even after that he refused the offer of Czechoslovakians to evacuate from Russia by rail in a warm carriage. For him, it was a choice between life and death, and he chose death, but remained with his army.
Kappel was buried in Chita, and when the whites retreated to Harbin, the officers and lower ranks carried the coffin with his body in his hands, in order to express his respect to this outstanding man.
I believed that the perpetuation of the memory of General Kappel is extremely important for the historical memory of our people. And so I found out that on the Officer’s Day, our Russian military (my language doesn’t dare to call them Russian) dismantled the memorial plaque because it “caused an ambiguous reaction in society”.
At first, I was outraged, because what happened was disgusting and ugly, but then I calmed down and thought - whatever happens. Let Ulyanovsk forever remain Ulyanovsk and never return its historical name - Simbirsk. And Lenin Square will forever remain Lenin Square and will never again become Cathedral. And may there never be a General Kappel memorial plaque in this city, since nobody needs the memory of this amazing outstanding person there.
The civil war did not end; we are still divided into white and red. Ulyanovsk was occupied by the Reds. They are disgusted by General Kappel and any reminders of him, despite the fact that he was an outstanding, noble, amazing, and just a good person.
Apparently, such examples of nobility and fidelity to military duty today are pricked by many. Even the memory of such personalities as General Kappel is unbearable to hypocritical, vile, cowardly and deceitful people. Therefore, right now we are increasingly faced with attempts to shut up, or even completely rewrite history.
It seemed to me that the memory of General Kappel could reconcile the whites and the reds, but I was probably just an idealist. I made a film about the deeds and fate of the general and how his body was regained in a completely miraculous way. The film is called "The Last Secret of General Kappel", it can be watched on YouTube. ": «Последняя тайна генерала Каппеля»

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Kozma Kriuchkov Honoured in Volgograd

Kozma Kriuchkov, a Don Cossack, was a real person. He was born in 1890 and died in 1919 in the Russian Civil War (1917-1922). Don Cossacks lived in an autonomous republic in the present day Southern Russia (in the basin of the river Don) from the end of the 16th until the early 20th century. They had their own military tradition and formed independent army forces, playing an important part in the historical development of the Russian Empire and successfully participating in all of its major wars. Kozma Kriuchkov was the first hero of the First World War to be awarded the Cross of St. George, a reward for ‘undaunted courage’ by the lower ranks of the military. He received the Cross for the battle where he fought on his own against superior numbers of Germans and killed 11 of them. He later became a popular figure in mass literature and culture and his portrait even appeared on sweet wrappers branded as ‘St George’ sweets. Kryuchkov was fatally wounded in 1919 during the civil war and died on August 18th fighting for the white army. He was mortally wounded in a battle near the village of Lopukhovka, Saratov province, fighting on the side of the whites, during the Veshensky uprising.

Volgograd region paid tribute on August 18th to legendary Cossack. The ceremony was attended by Cossacks of the Ust-Medveditsky Cossack District of the Military Cossack Society, the Great Don Army, members of the public, residents of the settlement, the leadership of the Serafimovichi district. During the years of Soviet rule, the name of the brave Cossack was practically not mentioned anywhere. And, nevertheless, the inhabitants of the Serafimovichi district were able to preserve the memory of their heroic countryman. In 2018, the Volgograd Regional Duma adopted a law allowing Cossack societies to rent land plots that are in state or municipal ownership, on preferential terms - without bidding. This measure is aimed at the development of rural territories, the involvement in the economic turnover of unclaimed so far lands, the creation of new jobs and the preservation of the traditional way of life of the Cossacks. A number of Cossack societies have already taken advantage of this right.

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