Pyotr Krasnov

Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov (Russian: Пётр Николаевич Краснов; September 22 (10 old style), 1869 – January 17, 1947), sometimes referred to in English as Peter Krasnov, was a Don Cossack historian and officer, promoted to Lieutenant General of the Russian army when the revolution broke out in 1917, and one of the leaders of the counterrevolutionary White movement afterwards.

Russian Army

Petro Krasnov was born in 1869 in Saint Petersburg, son to lieutenant-general Nikolay Krasnov and grandson to general Ivan Krasnov. In 1888, Krasnov graduated from Pavlovsk Military School and later served in the Ataman regiment of the Life Guards. During World War I, he commanded a Cossack brigade and a division, in August–October 1917, of the 3rd Cavalry Corps. During the October Revolution, Alexander Kerensky appointed Krasnov commander of the army, which was sent to Petrograd from the front to suppress the Bolshevik revolution (see Kerensky-Krasnov uprising). However, Krasnov was defeated and taken prisoner. He was released by the Soviet authorities on the condition that he would not continue his struggle against the revolution. He agreed to this but reneged on his promise to do so.