Today the name of Lieutenant Schmidt is known to many, even to people with little knowledge of Russian. "Children of Lieutenant Schmidt" were mentioned in the novel "The Golden Calf" by Ilf and Petrov, and relatively recently the famous KVN team from Tomsk appeared under the same name. The debut of the "children" of one of the heroes of the first Russian revolution took place in the spring of 1906, when, by a court verdict, Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt, who was at the head of the sailor's mutiny on the cruiser Ochakov, was shot. The high-profile trial of the revolutionary, which everyone knew about, attracted numerous swindlers and fraudsters, whose heyday fell on the 1920s.
The name of Schmidt has been preserved in history, but not so many people know about him. Glorified as the hero of the first Russian revolution, decades later this man moved to the periphery of history. The attitude towards his personality is ambiguous. Usually, Schmidt's assessment directly depends on a person's attitude to revolutionary events in Russia. For those people who consider the revolution a tragedy of the country, this character and the attitude towards him are often negative, those who believe that the collapse of the monarchy in Russia was inevitable, treat Lieutenant Schmidt as a hero.
Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt (February 5 (12), 1867 - March 6 (19), 1906) - Russian naval officer, revolutionary, self-proclaimed commander of the Black Sea. It was Pyotr Schmidt who led the Sevastopol uprising of 1905 and seized power on the cruiser Ochakov. He is the only naval officer who took part in the revolution of 1905-1907 on the side of the socialist revolutionaries. It is worth noting that Lieutenant Schmidt was not actually a lieutenant at that time. In fact, this is a nickname that is firmly entrenched in history. His last naval rank was Captain 2nd Rank. The rank of junior naval officer "lieutenant", which did not exist at that time, was invented and "assigned" to him in order to support the class approach and explain the transition of the nephew of the full admiral to the side of the revolution. By the verdict of the court, Peter Schmidt was shot 110 years ago, on March 19, 1906, in a new style.
The future famous, albeit unsuccessful revolutionary, was born into a family of very high origin. He was the sixth child in the family of a respected nobleman, hereditary naval officer, rear admiral and later mayor of Berdyansk Peter Petrovich Schmidt. His father and full namesake was a participant in the Crimean War and a hero in the defense of Sevastopol. His uncle was no less famous person, Vladimir Petrovich Schmidt rose to the rank of full admiral (1898) and was a knight of all orders that were at that time in Russia. His mother was Elena Yakovlevna Schmidt (nee von Wagner), descended from an impoverished, but very noble royal Polish family. As a child, Schmidt read the works of Tolstoy, Korolenko and Uspensky, studied Latin and French, played the violin. Even in his youth, from his mother, he inherited the ideas of democratic freedom, which later influenced his life.
In 1876, the future "red lieutenant" entered the Berdyansk men's gymnasium, which after his death will be named in his honor. He studied at the gymnasium until 1880, after graduating from it, he entered the St. Petersburg Naval School. After his graduation in 1886, Peter Schmidt was promoted to warrant officer and assigned to the Baltic Fleet. Already on January 21, 1887, he was sent on a six-month vacation and transferred to the Black Sea Fleet. The reasons for the leave are called different, according to some sources it was associated with a nervous fit, according to others - because of the radical political views of the young officer and frequent quarrels with the personnel.
Peter Schmidt has always stood out among his colleagues for his eccentric thinking and versatile interests. At the same time, the young naval officer was an idealist - he was abhorred by the harsh manners that were prevalent in the navy at that time. The "stick" discipline and beating of the lower ranks seemed to Peter Schmidt something monstrous and alien. At the same time, he himself, in relations with his subordinates, was quickly able to gain the glory of a liberal.
At the same time, it was not only a matter of the peculiarities of service in the navy. Schmidt considered the very foundations of tsarist Russia to be unjust and wrong. So the naval officer was instructed to very carefully choose his life partner, but Schmidt met his love literally on the street. He saw and fell in love with a young girl Dominika Pavlova. The main problem here was that the beloved of the naval officer was a prostitute, which did not stop Schmidt. Perhaps, his passion for the work of Dostoevsky also affected. One way or another, he decided to marry the girl and engage in her re-education.
Young people got married as soon as he graduated from college. Such a bold step practically put an end to his military career, but this did not stop him. In 1889, the couple had a son, whom their parents named Eugene. It was Evgeny who was the only real son of "Lieutenant Schmidt". Together with his wife, Schmidt lived for 15 years, after which their marriage broke up, but the son remained to live with his father. The father of Peter Schmidt did not accept his marriage and could not understand, having died soon (1888). After the death of his father, the patronage of the young officer was taken by Vladimir Petrovich Schmidt, a war hero, an admiral, and for some time now a senator. He managed to hush up the scandal with the marriage of his nephew and send him to serve on the gunboat "Beaver" of the Siberian flotilla of the Pacific squadron. Uncle's patronage and connections helped Peter Schmidt almost until the Sevastopol uprising in 1905.
In 1889, Schmidt decides to retire from military service. On leaving the service, he refers to a "nervous illness." In the future, with every conflict, his opponents will hint at his mental problems. At the same time, Peter Schmidt could indeed undergo a course of treatment in the private hospital of Dr. Savei-Mogilevich for the nervous and mentally ill in Moscow in 1889. One way or another, after retiring from service, he and his family went on a trip to Europe, where he became interested in aeronautics. He even tried to make a living by conducting demonstration flights, but in one of them he was injured on landing and was forced to give up his hobby.
In 1892, he was again restored to military service, but his character, political views and worldviews became the cause of frequent conflicts with conservative colleagues. In 1898, after a conflict with the commander of the Pacific Squadron, he applied for a transfer to the reserve. Schmidt was dismissed from military service, but did not lose the right to serve in the commercial fleet.
The period of his life from 1898 to 1904 was, most likely, the happiest. During these years he served on the ships of ROPiT - the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade. This service was difficult, but very well paid. At the same time, employers were satisfied with the professional skills of Peter Schmidt, and there was no trace of the “stick” discipline, which he simply hated. From 1901 to 1904, Schmidt was the captain of the passenger and merchant steamers "Igor", "Polezny", "Diana". During the years of his service in the merchant marine, he managed to earn respect among his subordinates and sailors. In his spare time, he tried to teach sailors to read and write and navigate.
On April 12, 1904, due to martial law, Russia was at war with Japan, Schmidt was drafted from the reserve to active service. He was appointed a senior officer on the Irtysh coal transport, which was assigned to the 2nd Pacific Squadron. In December 1904, a transport with a cargo of coal and uniforms left after the squadron that had already left for Port Arthur. A tragic fate awaited the Second Pacific Squadron - it almost completely died in the Battle of Tsushima, but Peter Schmidt did not take part in it. In January 1905, in Port Said, he was decommissioned from the Irtysh due to an exacerbation of kidney disease. He started having kidney problems after an injury he received while doing aeronautics.
Schmidt began his propaganda activities in support of the revolution in the summer of 1905. In early October, he organized in Sevastopol the "Union of Officers - Friends of the People", and then took part in the creation of the "Odessa Society for Mutual Assistance of Merchant Marine Seamen". Carrying out propaganda among officers and sailors, he called himself a non-partisan socialist. The Tsar's Manifesto of October 17, 1905, which guaranteed "the unshakable foundations of civil freedom on the basis of the real inviolability of the person, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and unions," Peter Schmidt meets with genuine jubilation. Dreams of a new, more just structure of Russian society were about to come true. On October 18, in Sevastopol, Schmidt went with a crowd to the city prison, demanding the release of political prisoners. On the outskirts of the prison, the crowd comes under fire from government forces: 8 people were killed, about 50 were wounded. For Schmidt, this is a real shock.
On October 20, at the funeral of the dead, he takes an oath, which later became known as the "Schmidt Oath". For giving a speech in front of a crowd, he was immediately arrested for propaganda. This time, even his well-connected uncle could not help his unlucky nephew. On November 7, 1905, Peter Schmidt was dismissed with the rank of captain of the 2nd rank; the authorities were not going to try him for seditious speeches. While still under arrest on the battleship "Three Saints", on the night of November 12, he was elected by the workers of Sevastopol as a "life deputy of the Soviet", and soon, under pressure from the broad public, he was released from the ship on recognizance not to leave.
Already on November 13, a general strike began in Sevastopol, in the evening of the same day, a deputy commission, which consisted of soldiers and sailors delegated from various branches of the army, including from 7 ships of the fleet, came to Peter Schmidt with a request to lead the uprising in the city. For such a role, Schmidt was not ready, but, having arrived on the cruiser Ochakov, whose crew was the core of the rebels, he quickly became involved in the mood of the sailors. At this moment, Schmidt made the decision, which became the main thing in his life and preserved his name to this day, he agrees to become the military leader of the uprising.
The next day, November 14, he declared himself the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, giving the signal: “I am in command of the fleet. Schmidt ". At the same time, the Ochakov team manages to free some of the previously arrested sailors from the Potemkin battleship. But the authorities did not sit idly by, they blocked the rebellious cruiser and urged him to surrender. On November 15, the red flag was raised over the cruiser and the ship took its first and last battle in these revolutionary events. On other warships of the Black Sea Fleet, the rebels did not manage to take control of the situation, so "Ochakov" was left alone. After 1.5 hours of battle, the uprising on it was suppressed, and Schmidt and other leaders of the rebellion were arrested. The restoration of the cruiser from the consequences of this battle lasted more than three years.
Cruiser "Ochakov"
The trial of Pyotr Schmidt was held behind closed doors in Ochakov. An officer who joined the insurgent sailors was accused of preparing a mutiny while on active duty. The trial ended on February 20, Pyotr Schmidt, as well as three sailors of the instigators of the uprising on the "Ochakov" were sentenced to death. The verdict was carried out on March 6 (March 19, new style), 1906. The convicts were shot on the island of Berezan. The execution was commanded by Mikhail Stavraki, a childhood friend and fellow student of Schmidt at the school. Stavraki himself 17 years later, already under Soviet rule, was found, tried and also shot.
After the February Revolution in 1917, the remains of the revolutionary were reburied with military honors. The order for the reburial of Peter Schmidt was given by Admiral Alexander Kolchak. In May of the same year, Russian Minister of War and Marine Alexander Kerensky laid the St.George Cross on Schmidt's grave. At the same time, the non-partisanship of "Lieutenant Schmidt" only played into the hands of his glory. After the October Revolution of the same year, Peter Schmidt remained in the ranks of the most revered heroes of the revolutionary movement, staying among them during all the years of Soviet power.
Based on materials from open sources
150 years ago, on February 17, 1867, a Russian naval officer, one of the leaders of the Sevastopol uprising of 1905, Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt, was born. Peter Schmidt was the only Russian officer who joined the 1905-1907 revolution and led a major uprising, so his name became widely known.
Pyotr Petrovich, who is now mostly remembered in connection with the "sons of Lieutenant Schmidt" from "The Golden Calf", lived a short, but very dramatic, full of contradictions life. Born on February 5 (17), 1867 in the city of Odessa, Odessa district, Kherson province, into a noble family. His father, Peter Petrovich Schmidt, is a hereditary naval officer, participant in the Crimean War, hero of the defense of Sevastopol, later Rear Admiral, mayor of Berdyansk and head of the Berdyansk port. Schmidt's mother is Ekaterina Yakovlevna Schmidt, nee von Wagner. Uncle, also a hero of the defense of Sevastopol, Vladimir Petrovich, had the rank of admiral and was the senior flagship of the Baltic Fleet. It was his uncle (at the time of his father's death, Peter Petrovich Schmidt Jr. was only 22 years old) who became the main assistant in the career of a young officer.
Since childhood, Peter Schmidt Jr. dreamed of the sea and, to the delight of his family, in 1880 entered the St. Petersburg Naval School (Naval Cadet Corps). After graduating from the Naval School in 1886, he was promoted to the warrant officer exam and assigned to the Baltic Fleet. The young man was distinguished by his great academic abilities, he sang well, played music and drew. But along with good qualities, everyone noted his increased nervousness and excitability. The authorities closed their eyes to the oddities of the cadet, and then the midshipman Schmidt, believing that over time everything would be fine by itself: the harsh life of the ship's service would do its job.
However, the young officer surprised everyone. Already in 1888, two years after being promoted to officer, he married and retired "due to illness" with the rank of lieutenant. He underwent a course of treatment in a private hospital for the nervous and mentally ill in Moscow. Schmidt's wife, to put it mildly, stood out from the crowd. The daughter of a tradesman, Dominikia Gavrilovna Pavlova, was a professional prostitute and had a “yellow ticket” instead of her passport. It is believed that Schmidt wanted her to "morally re-educate", but in general their family life did not work out. The wife considered all his teachings to be a fool, did not give a penny and openly cheat. In addition, in the future, Peter Petrovich had to deal with the household and the upbringing of his son Eugene, since Dominicia was indifferent to household duties. The father did not accept this marriage, broke off relations with his son and soon died. In general, this case, shocking for the society of that time, had no consequences for Peter, but no reaction from the command of the fleet followed. They did not even demanded an explanation from him, for behind the midshipman Schmidt the figure of his uncle, Vladimir Schmidt, the senior flagship of the Baltic Fleet, rose like a mighty cliff.
Interestingly, during his retirement, Peter Schmidt lived in Paris, where he became seriously interested in aeronautics. He purchased all the necessary equipment and intended to fly professionally in Russia. But, returning to Russia for demonstration performances, the retired lieutenant crashed in his own balloon. As a result, for the rest of his life, he suffered from kidney disease caused by the hard impact of the balloon on the ground.
In 1892, Schmidt applied for the highest name "for enrollment in the naval service" and returned to the fleet with the previous rank of midshipman with enrollment in the 18th naval crew as a watch officer on the 1 rank cruiser Rurik under construction. Two years later, he was transferred to the Far East, to the Siberian Flotilla (the future Pacific Fleet). Here he served until 1898 on the Yanchikha destroyer, the Admiral Kornilov cruiser, Aleut transport, the Silach port ship, and the Ermine and Bobr gunboats. However, the disease soon recalled itself again. He had an exacerbation of a nervous illness, which overtook Peter during a trip abroad. He ended up in the naval infirmary of the Japanese port of Nagasaki, where he was examined by a council of doctors from the squadron. On the recommendation of the council, Schmidt was written off to the reserve. The 31-year-old lieutenant is enlisted in the reserve and goes to serve on commercial (or, as they said at the time, on "commercial") ships.
For six years of sailing on ships of the merchant fleet, Peter managed to serve as an assistant captain and captain on the steamers Olga, Kostroma, Igor, St. Nicholas, Diana. With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the lieutenant was called up for active service and sent to the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet. Petr Petrovich was sent to the Baltic and was appointed a senior officer of the huge for those times transport "Irtysh" with a displacement of 15 thousand tons. The ship was intended to supply the 2nd Pacific squadron of Admiral Rozhdestvensky with the necessary materials and supplies. Peter went by transport only to the Egyptian port of Suez, where he was written off ashore due to an exacerbation of kidney disease. "Irtysh" during the Tsushima battle received one large hole in the bow, apart from other less serious damage, and sank.
The next few months, Schmidt spent in the Black Sea Fleet, commanding destroyer No. 253, which was stationed in Izmail. In October 1905, unexpectedly for his friends and acquaintances, he took part in a political demonstration in Sevastopol, after which he was arrested. In the course of the ensuing investigation, it became clear that government money was wasted from the destroyer and that the service was neglected. In November, Schmidt was dismissed from service. Many naval officers were sure that the former commander of destroyer # 253 managed to avoid the trial only thanks to the eternal patronage of his uncle-admiral.
Thus, in the fall of 1905, Pyotr Petrovich found himself without certain occupations and special prospects in Sevastopol. Schmidt was not a member of any party. He generally avoided "herd", as he considered himself a unique person. But when a booze began in Sevastopol, he, embittered by the "injustices", joined the opposition and became very active. Being a good orator, Petr Petrovich, participating in anti-government rallies, spoke so sharply and energetically that he quickly became a famous person. These performances and his imprisonment in the guardhouse created a reputation for him as a revolutionary and a sufferer.
In November, during the revolution that swept Russia, strong fermentation began in Sevastopol (). On November 24, 1905, the unrest escalated into a mutiny. On the night of November 26, the rebels with Schmidt arrived on the cruiser Ochakov and called on the sailors to join the uprising. "Ochakov" was the newest cruiser and for a long time was "fine-tuned" at the plant. The team assembled from different crews, closely communicating with the workers and the agitators of the revolutionary parties among them, turned out to be thoroughly propagandized, and among the sailors there were their own informal leaders, who actually acted as initiators of insubordination. This upper class of sailors - several conductors and senior sailors - understood that they could not do without an officer, and therefore recognized the supremacy of the unexpectedly announced and resolutely-minded revolutionary leader. The sailors under the leadership of the Bolsheviks A. Gladkov and N. Antonenko seized the cruiser into their own hands. The officers who tried to disarm the ship were driven ashore. Schmidt ended up in its head, declaring himself the commander of the Black Sea Fleet.
He had ambitious plans. According to Schmidt, the seizure of Sevastopol with its arsenals and warehouses was only the first step, after which it was necessary to go to Perekop and place artillery batteries there, block the road to Crimea with them and thereby separate the peninsula from Russia. Further, he intended to move the entire fleet to Odessa, land troops and take power in Odessa, Nikolaev and Kherson. As a result, the "South Russian Socialist Republic" was created, at the head of which Schmidt saw himself.
The forces of the rebels were outwardly large: 14 ships and vessels and about 4.5 thousand sailors and soldiers on ships and on the shore. However, their combat power was insignificant, since most of the ship's guns were rendered unusable even before the uprising. Only on the cruiser Ochakov and on the destroyers was the artillery in good order. The soldiers on the shore were poorly armed, lacking machine guns, rifles and cartridges. The rebels missed a favorable moment for the development of success, the initiative. The passivity of the rebels prevented the involvement of the entire Black Sea squadron and the Sevastopol garrison. Schmidt sent a telegram to Tsar Nicholas II: “The glorious Black Sea Fleet, sacredly remaining faithful to its people, demands from you, sir, an immediate convocation of the Constituent Assembly and no longer obeys your ministers. Fleet Commander P. Schmidt.
However, the authorities have not yet lost their will and determination, as in 1917. The commander of the Odessa military district, General A.V. Kaulbars, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice-Admiral G.P. Chukhnin, and the commander of the 7th artillery corps, Lieutenant General A.N. thousand soldiers and were able to exhibit 22 ships with 6 thousand crew members. The rebels were given an ultimatum to surrender. Having received no response to the ultimatum, troops loyal to the government went on the offensive and opened fire on the "internal enemies". The order was given to open fire on the rebel ships and vessels. Not only ships fired, but also coastal artillery, guns of the ground forces, as well as soldiers from machine guns and rifles from the coast. As a result, the mutiny was suppressed. The wounded Schmidt with a group of sailors tried to break through to the Artillery Bay on the destroyer No. 270. But the ship was damaged, lost speed, and Schmidt and his comrades were arrested. At the trial, Schmidt tried to mitigate the punishment of others, took all the blame on himself, expressed his full readiness to be executed.
In general, given the scale of the rebellion and its danger to the empire, when there was a possibility of an uprising of a significant part of the Black Sea Fleet, with the support of a part of the ground forces, the punishment was quite humane. But the uprising itself was suppressed harshly and decisively. Hundreds of sailors were killed. The leaders of the Sevastopol uprising P.P.Shmidt, S.P. Chastnik, N.G. Antonenko and A.I. Over 300 people were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and hard labor. About a thousand people were disciplined without any trial.
It is worth noting that there was a strict ban on political activity in the Russian Imperial Navy. Moreover, this "taboo" was rather informal, but strictly observed. Even those naval officers who were considered liberals in the navy, for the most part, did not violate the established unwritten rules. Vice-Admiral Stepan Makarov has always said bluntly that the army and navy should be out of politics. The business of the armed forces is to stand guard over their Fatherland, which must be defended regardless of the form of the existing system.
Schmidt was a rare exception. It is possible that the reason for the sharp transition of the naval officer to the side of the revolutionaries is Peter's mental instability. In Soviet historiography, taking into account the popularization of this character, this issue was bypassed. Pyotr Petrovich was a highly excitable man; he had previously been treated in a hospital "for the nervous and mentally ill." His illness manifested itself in unexpected bouts of irritability, turning into rage, followed by hysterics with convulsions and rolling on the floor.
According to Warrant Officer Harold Graf, who served with Peter on the Irtysh for several months, his senior officer “came from a good noble family, could speak beautifully, played the cello perfectly, but at the same time was a dreamer and a visionary”. It cannot be said that Schmidt also came under the category of "friends of the sailors." “I myself saw how he several times, driven out of patience by the indiscipline and rude answers of the sailors, beat them right there. In general, Schmidt never ingratiated himself with the team and treated it in the same way as other officers did, but he always tried to be fair, "Graf noted. According to the naval officer: "Knowing Schmidt well from the time of joint service, I am convinced that if his plan succeeded in 1905 and the revolution triumphed throughout Russia ... he would be the first to be horrified at the results of what he had done and would become the sworn enemy of Bolshevism."
Meanwhile, the revolutionary events in the Russian Empire continued to boil, and very soon after the execution of the lieutenant, young people began to appear at meetings of various parties who, calling themselves "the son of Lieutenant Schmidt," on behalf of their father who died for freedom, called for revenge, to fight the tsarist regime, or to do what they could. material assistance to the revolutionaries. Under the "son of the lieutenant" not only revolutionaries acted, but also just speculators. As a result, an absolutely indecent number of "sons" have been divorced. Moreover, even "Schmidt's daughters" appeared! For some time, the "children of the lieutenant" flourished quite well, but then, with the decline of the revolutionary movement, Lieutenant Schmidt was practically forgotten.
In Soviet times, the "children of the lieutenant" were revived in the second half of the 1920s. In 1925, the twentieth anniversary of the first Russian revolution was celebrated. While preparing for the holiday, the veterans of the party, to their considerable surprise and chagrin, discovered that the majority of the country's population did not remember at all or did not know at all the heroes who died during the first revolution. The party press launched an active information campaign, and the names of some of the revolutionaries were hastily extracted from the darkness of oblivion. A lot of articles and memoirs were written about them, monuments were erected to them, streets, embankments, etc. were named after them. Petr Petrovich Schmidt became one of the most famous heroes of the first revolution. True, the propagandists hurried a little and in a hurry missed some unfavorable facts for the hero. So, the relatives of the revolutionary turned out to be prominent tsarist admirals, and his son Yevgeny participated in the Civil War on the side of the White movement and died in exile.
On November 14 (27), he led a mutiny on the Ochakov cruiser and other ships of the Black Sea Fleet. Schmidt declared himself the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, giving the signal: “I am in command of the fleet. Schmidt ". On the same day, he sent a telegram to Nicholas II: “The glorious Black Sea Fleet, sacredly remaining faithful to its people, demands from you, sir, an immediate convocation of the Constituent Assembly and no longer obeys your ministers. Fleet Commander P. Schmidt.
Throwing out the admiral's flag on the Ochakovo and giving the signal: "I am in command of the fleet, Schmidt," with the expectation of immediately attracting the entire squadron to the uprising, he sent his cruiser to the "Prut" in order to free the Potemkinites. No resistance was shown. "Ochakov" took the convict sailors on board and went around the whole squadron with them. From all ships cheers were heard. Several of the ships, including the battleships Potemkin and Rostislav, raised the red banner; on the latter, however, it fluttered for only a few minutes.
November 15 at 9 o'clock In the morning, a red flag was raised on the Ochakovo. Against the rebel cruiser, the government immediately began military action. On November 15, at 3 pm, a sea battle began, and at 4 hours 45 minutes. the tsarist fleet has already won a complete victory. Schmidt, along with other leaders of the uprising, was arrested.
Death and burial
Schmidt, along with his associates, was sentenced to death by a closed naval court, which took place in Ochakov from 7 to 18.02.1906. It was unlawful to surrender the captain of the second rank (retired) Schmidt to the court-martial [ ], since the court-martial had the right to judge only those on active military service. Prosecutors argued that Schmidt allegedly plotted a conspiracy while still a lieutenant on active duty. Schmidt's lawyers convincingly refuted this unproven fact by the fact that, for patriotic reasons, Schmidt, who voluntarily entered active service during the Russo-Japanese War, was considered unlawfully subject to a court-martial, since for health reasons he was not subject to conscription, regardless of his patriotic impulse. his health is quite obvious, and his legitimate military rank is the rank of naval lieutenant, which did not exist for many years, whose surrender to a court-martial is not just a legal incident, but a blatant lawlessness.
On February 20, a sentence was passed, according to which Schmidt and 3 sailors were sentenced to death.
On May 8 (21), 1917, after the plans of the masses, under the influence of the revolutionary impulse, became known, to dig up the ashes of the "counter-revolutionary admirals" - participants in the Defense of Sevastopol during the Crimean War and in their place to reburial Lieutenant Schmidt and his comrades, who were shot for participation in the November 1905 Sevastopol uprising, the remains of Schmidt and the sailors who were shot along with him were, by order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice-Admiral A.V. Kolchak, expedited to Sevastopol, where they were temporarily buried in the Intercession Cathedral. This order of Kolchak made it possible to bring down the heat of revolutionary passions on the Black Sea front and finally suppress all conversations about the exhumation of the remains of admirals who died during the Crimean War and were buried in the Vladimir Cathedral of Sevastopol.
11/14/1923 Schmidt and his comrades were reburied in Sevastopol at the Communards cemetery. The monument on their grave was made of stone that had previously stood on the grave of the commander of the battleship "Prince Potemkin - Tavrichesky", Captain 1st Rank E. N. Golikov, who died in 1905. Granite was used for the pedestal, confiscated in the former estates and remaining after the erection of the monument to Lenin.
A family
Awards
- Medal "In commemoration of the reign of Emperor Alexander III", 1896.
- In May 1917, Minister of War and Navy A.F. Kerensky laid the officer's St. George's Cross on Schmidt's tombstone.
Evaluations
Retired captain of the second rank Pyotr Schmidt was the only known officer of the Russian navy who joined the revolution of 1905-1907. To explain the transition of the admiral-general's nephew to the side of the revolution by the class struggle, Peter Schmidt was "assigned" the rank of junior naval officer - lieutenant. So, on November 14, 1905, V.I.Lenin wrote: “The uprising in Sevastopol is growing ... armed machines, made them tools to suppress the slightest desire for freedom. "
At the trial, Schmidt stated that if he really was preparing a conspiracy, the conspiracy would have won, and he agreed to lead the uprising that was being prepared by the left and broke out without his participation, only in order to avoid massacre by sailors of all representatives of the privileged classes and non-Russians and to introduce the revolt into the constitutional channel.
Memory
Since Schmidt Streets are located in several cities on different shores of the Taganrog Bay, journalists talk about the informal “widest street in the world” (tens of kilometers) (the official record holder - 110 meters - is July 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina).
The P.P.Schmidt Museum in Ochakov was opened in 1962, the museum is currently closed, some of the exhibits were moved to the former Palace of Pioneers.
Since 1926, P.P. Schmidt is an honorary member of the Sevastopol Council of Working People's Deputies.
Lieutenant Schmidt in art
- The story "Black Sea" (chapter "Courage") by Konstantin Paustovsky.
- Poem "Lieutenant Schmidt" by Boris Pasternak.
- Chronicle novel "I Swear by the Earth and the Sun" by Gennady Alexandrovich Cherkashin.
- The film "Postal Novel" (1969) (in the role of Schmidt - Alexander Parr) is the story of the complex relationship between PP Schmidt and Zinaida Rizberg (in her role - Svetlana Korkoshko) based on their correspondence.
- "Lieutenant Schmidt" - painting by Vyacheslav Fedorovich Zhemerikin (oil on canvas) 1972 (Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts)
- In the novel by Ilf and Petrov, The Golden Calf, there are mentioned “thirty sons and four daughters of Lieutenant Schmidt” - swindlers-impostors who roam the outback and beg for material assistance from the local authorities under the name of their famous “father”. O. Bender became the thirty-fifth descendant of Lieutenant Schmidt. The real son of Peter Petrovich - Yevgeny Shmidt-Zavoisky (memoirs about his father were published under the name "Shmidt-Ochakovsky") - was a Socialist-Revolutionary and an emigrant.
- In Berdyansk, the name of P.P. Schmidt bears the central city park, named in honor of his father, the founder of the park, and not far from the entrance to the park near the DK im. NA Ostrovsky installed a pair sculpture (by G. Frangulyan) depicting the "sons of Lieutenant Schmidt" - Ostap Bender and Shura Balaganov, sitting on a bench.
- In the film “VV Vodovozov // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- "Crimean Bulletin", 1903-1907.
- "Historical Bulletin". 1907, no. 3.
- Vice-Admiral G.P. Chukhnin. According to the recollections of colleagues. SPb. 1909.
- II Neradov. Red Admiral: [Lieutenant P.P. Schmidt]: a story-story from the revolution of 1905 M.: Volia,.
- Calendar of the Russian Revolution. From-in "Rosehip", St. Petersburg, 1917.
- Lieutenant Schmidt: letters, memoirs, documents / P. P. Schmidt; ed. and foreword. V. Maksakov. - M.: New Moscow, 1922.
- A. Izbash. Lieutenant Schmidt. Memories of a sister. M. 1923.
- I. Voronitsyn. Lieutenant Schmidt. M-L. State Publishing House. 1925.
- Izbash A.P. Lieutenant Schmidt L., 1925 (sister of the PPSh)
- Genkin I. L. Lieutenant Schmidt and the uprising on "Ochakov", M., L. 1925
- Platonov A.P. The uprising in the Black Sea Fleet in 1905 L., 1925
- Revolutionary movement in 1905. Collection of memoirs. M. 1925. Society of political prisoners.
- "Hard labor and exile." M. 1925-1926.
- Karnaukhov-Kraukhov V.I.Red Lieutenant. - M., 1926 .-- 164 p.
- Schmidt-Ochakovsky. Lieutenant Schmidt. "Red Admiral". Memories of a son. Prague. 1926.
- Revolution and autocracy. Selection of documents. M. 1928.
- A. Fedorov. Memories. Odessa. 1939.
- A. Kuprin. Compositions. M. 1954.
- Revolutionary movement in the Black Sea Fleet in 1905-1907. M. 1956.
- Sevastopol armed uprising in November 1905. Documents and materials. M. 1957.
- S. Witte. Memories. M. 1960.
- V. Dolgy. Purpose. Novel. Kaliningrad. 1976.
- R. Melnikov. Cruiser Ochakov. Leningrad. "Shipbuilding". 1982.
- Popov M.L. Kiev, 1988
- V. Ostretsov. Black Hundred and Red Hundred. M. Military Publishing. 1991.
- S. Oldenburg. Reign of Emperor Nicholas II. M. "Terra". 1992.
- V. Korolev. Riot on my knees. Simferopol. "Tavria". 1993.
- V. Shulgin. What we don't like about them. M. Russian book. 1994.
- A. Podberezkin. Russian way. M. RAU-University. 1999.
- L. Zamoyskiy. Freemasonry and Globalism. Invisible Empire. M. "Olma-press". 2001.
- Shigin. Unknown Lieutenant Schmidt. "Our contemporary" No. 10. 2001.
- A. Chikin. Sevastopol confrontation. Year 1905. Sevastopol. 2006.
- L. Nozdrina, T. Vaishlya. A guide to the memorial house-museum of P.P.Schmidt. Berdyansk, 2009.
- I. Gelis. November uprising in Sevastopol in 1905.
- F.P. Rerberg. Historical secrets of great victories and unexplained defeats
Notes (edit)
- According to some reports, having unexpectedly received an inheritance after the death of his maternal aunt, A. Ya. Esther, Schmidt with his wife and little Zhenya left for Paris and entered the aeronautics school of Eugene Godard. Under the name of Leon, Aera is trying to master hot air ballooning. But the chosen enterprise did not promise success, the family was in poverty, and at the beginning of 1892 they moved to Poland, then to Livonia, St. Petersburg, Kiev, where Leon Aer's flights also did not give the desired fees. In Russia, in one of the demonstration flights, the retired lieutenant suffered an accident, and as a result, for the rest of his life, he suffered from kidney disease caused by the hard impact of the balloon's basket on the ground. Further flights had to be stopped, the Schmidts owed money for the hotel. The balloon, along with the flight support equipment, had to be sold.... “In the midst of the ball, during a respite from dancing, the senior officer of the transport“ Anadyr ”Muravyov, who was dancing with the blue-eyed, blond beauty - Baroness Krudener, sat and talked with his lady. At this time, the senior officer of the Irtysh transport, Schmidt, who was at the other end of the hall, came close to Muravyov and, without saying a word, slapped him in the face. Baroness Krudener screamed and fainted; Several people from near those who were sitting rushed to her, and the lieutenants grappled in a deadly battle and, striking each other with blows, fell to the floor, continuing to fight. From under them, as from under fighting dogs, pieces of paper, candy, cigarette butts flew. The picture was disgusting. The first to rush to the fighters of the 178th Infantry Regiment was Staff Captain Zenov, his example was followed by other officers, who by force took the fighters away. They were immediately arrested and sent to the port. When they were taken out into the hallway, the large crystal glass windows of which overlooked Kurgauz Avenue, where hundreds of cabbies stood in line, Schmidt grabbed a heavy yellow chair and threw it into the glass. " According to Rerberg, Schmidt arranged this incident specifically in order to be kicked out of service. A fragment from the memoirs of the chief of staff of the Libau fortress F. P. Rerberg In the memoirs of Schmidt's colleague in transport “Irtysh” Harald Graf, the reason for the fight is stated as follows: “Lieutenant Schmidt, together with the senior mechanic P. went ashore and got to a dance evening in the kurhauz. Schmidt saw Lieutenant D. here, who in their youth was the cause of his family drama. Since then, he has not met D., but he also did not forget his promise to "count" at the first meeting. On that ill-fated evening, many years later, this meeting took place, and when the dancing ended and almost the entire audience dispersed, Schmidt went up to D. and, without long conversations, hit him in the face. " /G. K. Graf “Sketches from the life of a naval officer. 1897-1905 "./ , P. 166 References
The expression "son of Lieutenant Schmidt" is firmly entrenched in the Russian language as a synonym for a swindler and a swindler thanks to the novel Ilf and Petrova"Golden calf".
But today much less is known about the man, whose sons the cunning scammers impersonated at the time of the creation of the novel.
Glorified as a hero of the first Russian revolution, decades later Peter Petrovich Schmidt turned out to be somewhere on the periphery of the attention of historians, not to mention ordinary people in the street.
Those who remember Schmidt differ radically in their assessments - for some he is an idealist who dreamed of creating a society of justice in Russia, for others he is a mentally unhealthy subject, pathologically deceitful, greedy for money, hiding selfish aspirations behind lofty speeches.
As a rule, Schmidt's assessment depends on people's attitude to revolutionary events in Russia as a whole. Those who consider the revolution a tragedy tend to have a negative attitude towards the lieutenant, those who believe the collapse of the monarchy is inevitable treat Schmidt as a hero.
Marriage for the purpose of re-education
Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt was born on February 5 (17), 1867 in Odessa. Almost all the men of the Schmidt clan devoted themselves to service in the navy. Father and full namesake of the future revolutionary Peter Petrovich Schmidt rose to the rank of rear admiral, was the mayor of Berdyansk and Berdyansk port. Uncle, Vladimir Petrovich Schmidt, held the rank of full admiral, was a knight of all Russian orders, was the senior flagship of the Baltic Fleet.
Peter Schmidt graduated from the St. Petersburg Naval School in 1886, was promoted to warrant officer and assigned to the Baltic Fleet.
Among his colleagues, Peter Schmidt stood out for his extraordinary thinking, versatile interests, love for music and poetry. The young sailor was an idealist - he was abhorred by the harsh customs that reigned at that time in the tsarist fleet. Beatings of lower ranks, "cane" discipline seemed monstrous to Peter Schmidt. He himself, in relations with his subordinates, quickly gained the glory of a liberal.
But the point is not only in the peculiarities of the service, Schmidt found the foundations of tsarist Russia as a whole wrong and unjust. The naval officer was instructed to be extremely careful in choosing a life partner. And Schmidt fell in love literally on the street, with a young girl whose name was Dominika Pavlova... The problem was that the sailor's beloved turned out to be ... a prostitute.
This did not stop Schmidt. Perhaps his passion affected Dostoevsky, but he decided that he would marry Dominica and re-educate her.
They got married right after Peter graduated from college. This bold step deprived Schmidt of hopes for a great career, but this did not frighten him. In 1889, the couple had a son, who was named Eugene.
Schmidt failed to achieve the correction of his beloved, although their marriage lasted more than a decade and a half. After the divorce, the son stayed with his father.
Merchant Marine Captain
Peter Schmidt's father could not accept and understand his son's marriage, soon died. Peter retired from service due to illness with the rank of lieutenant, went with his family on a trip to Europe, where he became interested in aeronautics, tried to earn money with the help of demonstration flights, but in one of them he was injured on landing and had to give up this hobby.
In 1892, he was reinstated in the navy, but his character and views led to constant conflicts with conservative colleagues.
In 1889, upon leaving the service, Schmidt referred to a "nervous illness." Subsequently, with each new conflict, his opponents will hint at the officer's mental problems.
In 1898, Peter Schmidt was again dismissed from the navy, but received the right to serve in the commercial navy.
The period from 1898 to 1904 in his life was perhaps the happiest. Service on the ships of the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade (ROPiT) was difficult, but well paid, employers were satisfied with Schmidt's professional skills, and there was no trace of the "stick" discipline that abhorred him.
However, in 1904, Peter Schmidt was again called up for service as a reserve officer in the fleet in connection with the outbreak of the Russian-Japanese war.
Love in 40 minutes
The lieutenant was appointed a senior officer on the Irtysh coal transport assigned to the 2nd Pacific Squadron, which in December 1904 with a cargo of coal and uniforms went after the squadron.
A tragic fate awaited the 2nd Pacific Squadron - it was defeated in the Battle of Tsushima. But Lieutenant Schmidt himself did not participate in Tsushima. In January 1905, in Port Said, he was decommissioned from the ship due to an exacerbation of kidney disease. Schmidt's kidney problems began just after an injury sustained during his hobby for aeronautics.
The lieutenant returns to his homeland, where the first salvoes of the first Russian revolution are already thundering. Schmidt was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet and appointed commander of destroyer No. 253, based in Izmail.
In July 1904, the lieutenant, without obtaining permission from the command, went to Kerch to help his sister, who had serious family problems. Schmidt was traveling by train, passing through Kiev. There, at the Kiev hippodrome, Peter met Zinaida Ivanovna Rizberg... She soon turned out to be his fellow traveler on the Kiev-Kerch train. We drove together for 40 minutes, talked for 40 minutes. And Schmidt, an idealist and a romantic, fell in love. They had a romance in letters - it is about him that the hero recalls Vyacheslav Tikhonov in the movie "We'll Live Until Monday."
This romance proceeded against the background of more and more flaring up events that reached the main base of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
Oath over the grave
Peter Schmidt did not participate in any revolutionary committees, but enthusiastically greeted the tsarist manifesto of October 17, 1905, guaranteeing "the unshakable foundations of civil freedom on the basis of the real inviolability of the person, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and unions."
The officer is delighted - his dreams of a new, more just structure of Russian society are beginning to come true. He finds himself in Sevastopol and participates in a rally, at which he calls for the release of political prisoners languishing in a local prison.
The crowd goes to the prison and comes under fire from government forces. 8 people were killed, more than fifty were wounded.
For Schmidt, this is a deep shock. On the day of the funeral of the murdered, which resulted in a demonstration with the participation of 40 thousand people, Peter Schmidt makes a speech at the grave, which literally in a couple of days makes him famous throughout Russia: “At the grave, one should say prayers. But let the words of love and the holy oath, which I want to say here with you, be like a prayer. The souls of the departed look at us and ask silently: “What will you do with this good, which we have been deprived of forever? How will you use your freedom? Can you promise us that we are the last victims of arbitrariness? " And we must calm the troubled souls of the departed, we must swear to them in this. We swear to them that we will never give up a single inch of the human rights we have won. I swear! We swear to them that we will devote all our work, all our souls, our very lives to preserving our freedom. I swear! We swear to them that we will devote all our social work to the benefit of the working poor people. We swear to them that between us there will be no Jew, no Armenian, no Pole, no Tatar, and that from now on we will all be equal and free brothers of the great free Russia. We swear to them that we will see their case through to the end and achieve universal suffrage. I swear! "
Rebellion leader
For this speech, Schmidt was immediately arrested. The authorities were not going to bring him to justice - they intended to dismiss the officer for seditious speeches.
But at that moment an uprising had actually begun in the city. The authorities did their best to suppress the discontent.
On the night of November 12, the first Sevastopol Soviet of sailors, soldiers and workers' deputies was elected. The next morning, a general strike began. On the evening of November 13, a deputy commission, consisting of sailors and soldiers delegated from various types of weapons, including from seven ships, came to Schmidt, who had been released and was awaiting resignation, with a request to lead the uprising.
For this role, Peter Schmidt was not ready, however, having arrived on the cruiser Ochakov, whose crew became the core of the rebels, he was carried away by the mood of the sailors. And the lieutenant makes the main decision in his life - he becomes the military leader of the uprising.
On November 14, Schmidt declared himself the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, giving the signal: “I am in command of the fleet. Schmidt ". On the same day he sent a telegram Nicholas II: “The glorious Black Sea Fleet, sacredly faithful to its people, demands from you, sir, an immediate convocation of the Constituent Assembly and no longer obeys your ministers. Fleet Commander P. Schmidt. His 16-year-old son Yevgeny, who participates in the uprising with his father, also arrives on the ship to his father.
The Ochakov command manages to free some of the previously arrested sailors from the Potemkin battleship. The authorities, meanwhile, are blocking the rebellious Ochakov, urging the rebels to surrender.
On November 15, the red banner was raised over the Ochakovo, and the revolutionary cruiser took her first and last battle.
On other ships of the fleet, the rebels failed to take control of the situation. After an hour and a half battle, the uprising was suppressed, and Schmidt and its other leaders were arrested.
From execution to honors
The trial of Pyotr Schmidt was held in Ochakovo from 7 to 18 February 1906 behind closed doors. The lieutenant, who had joined the rebellious sailors, was accused of plotting a mutiny while on active duty.
On February 20, 1906, Pyotr Schmidt, as well as three instigators of the uprising at Ochakovo - Antonenko, Gladkov, Private trader- were sentenced to death.
On March 6, 1906, the sentence was carried out on the island of Berezan. The execution was commanded by Schmidt's fellow student at the school, a friend of his childhood Mikhail Stavraki... Stavraki himself 17 years later, already under Soviet rule, was found, tried and also shot.
After the February Revolution, the remains of Peter Petrovich Schmidt were reburied with military honors. The order for reburial was given future Supreme Ruler of Russia Admiral Alexander Kolchak... In May 1917 Minister of War and Marine Alexander Kerensky laid the officer's St.George Cross on Schmidt's tombstone.
Schmidt's non-partisanship played into the hands of his posthumous glory. After the October Revolution, he remained among the most revered heroes of the revolutionary movement, which, in fact, became the reason for the appearance of people posing as the sons of Lieutenant Schmidt.
Schmidt's real son fought in Wrangel's army
The only real son of Peter Schmidt, Eugene Schmidt, was released from prison as a minor in 1906. After the February Revolution, Yevgeny Schmidt submitted a petition to the Provisional Government for permission to add the word "Ochakovsky" to his surname. The young man explained that this desire was caused by the desire to preserve in his offspring the memory of the name and the tragic death of his revolutionary father. In May 1917, such permission was given to the son of Lieutenant Schmidt.
Schmidt-Ochakovsky did not accept the October Revolution. Moreover, he fought in the White Army, in shock units baron Wrangel, and left Russia after the final defeat of the White movement. He wandered in different countries; arrived in Czechoslovakia, where in 1926 he published the book “Lieutenant Schmidt. Memoirs of a Son ”, full of disillusionment with the ideals of the revolution. The book, however, was not successful. Among the emigration, the son of Lieutenant Schmidt was not even treated with suspicion, he was simply not noticed. In 1930 he moved to Paris, and the last twenty years of his life were not marked by anything remarkable. He lived in poverty and died in Paris in December 1951.
The lieutenant's last beloved, Zinaida Rizberg, unlike his son, remained in Soviet Russia and even received a personal pension from the authorities. Based on the correspondence she saved with Peter Schmidt, several books were created, and even a film was shot.
But the name of Lieutenant Schmidt is best preserved in history thanks to the satirical novel by Ilf and Petrov. Amazing irony of fate ...
Lieutenant Schmidt (1867-1906) went down in history as the leader of an armed uprising of the Black Sea Fleet sailors against tsarism. It was November 1905. This was the time of the most severe crisis of power in the Russian Empire. The First Russian Revolution (1905-1907) raged in the country. A wave of popular anger splashed up a motley, adventurous audience. It was she who claimed leadership.
But these people were driven not by a heightened sense of justice, but by the desire for power, the satisfaction of exorbitant ambitions and the desire for personal well-being. However, this is inherent in all revolutions and popular revolts. So there was nothing new about the Russian mutiny. It was provoked by economic problems that no one wanted to solve. But we must pay tribute to the government. It managed to stabilize the situation and restored law and order. True, these most important components were enough for only 10 years.
Our hero, the conversation about which will go below, was a rather ordinary person. He was ambitious, arrogant, but his desires never matched his capabilities. The situation was aggravated by a mental disorder, which immediately raises a completely natural question - how could a sick person become a military naval officer? This is explained by the presence of a high-ranking relative. He sat so high that all of Russia was visible from his office - from the Pacific Fleet to the Baltic. But let's take a step-by-step look at the entire fateful path of a person who, without having the talents, managed to get into the annals of history.
The beginning of life
Peter Petrovich Schmidt (this is the full name of our hero) was born on February 5, 1867 in the glorious city of Odessa. The origin was of the nobility. Father was also called Peter Petrovich. He was the bravest and most decent man who gave his whole life to the navy. He heroically defended Sevastopol during the Crimean War. He rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. But the name of this worthy man would never have been remembered if it had not been for his unlucky son. These are the grimaces of history.
The first marriage, Peter Petrovich Sr. was combined with the widow Skorobogatova (nee von Wagner). From this family connection, 2 girls and a boy, Peter, were born. In 1877, his wife died, and the children were left without a mother. But even before the second marriage of his father, our hero entered the Naval Cadet Corps. It happened in September 1880.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the boy was distinguished by his quarrelsome character. He was characterized by unreasonable outbursts of anger and even hysteria. There was no endurance and courage in him, but the features of an overripe lady who had sat up late in the girls prevailed. Clouds began to gather over Peter's head, as the commander filed a report for his expulsion from the cadet corps for health reasons. But we already know that the boy's father enjoyed indisputable authority in the navy. But my uncle was even more influential. His name was Vladimir Petrovich, and he held an important post in the Admiralty. Therefore, the commander's report was taken into account, but he was not given a move.
In 1886, the young man successfully graduated from the cadet corps, received a worthy profession of a military sailor and was promoted to warrant officer. He was sent to serve in the Baltic Fleet. At that time, all young officers were sent there. They gained experience, and only then received directions to the Pacific or Black Sea Fleets.
From the very first days of the service, the unbalanced character of the young man began to appear. But he apparently never crossed the line of decency, since no one called him to a duel. At least there is no such information. Another thing is the sailors, who fully experienced the extravagant character of the young chief. In the officer's environment, Peter did not make friends with anyone. He went on vacation several times due to illness and was even treated in a hospital for the mentally ill.
In 1888, a young officer stunned everyone with the desire to marry a prostitute, and a real one with a "yellow ticket". To those around him, he explained this act by the fact that he wanted to save the lost fallen soul. At that time, neither Leo Tolstoy's Resurrection, nor Kuprin's Pit had been written yet. Therefore, the influence of the classics on the fragile young soul is excluded. Our hero himself thought of this act, which some called stupid, while others called noble.
But the officers reacted to this marriage sharply negatively. And in 1889, Peter was dismissed from military service with the rank of lieutenant. The dismissal, of course, was voluntary. He wrote the report himself, and his superiors readily signed it. This is how retired Lieutenant Schmidt appeared.
The further fateful path of Lieutenant Schmidt
At a very young age, our hero was out of work, but with his wife and son, whom his wife hurried to give birth to. However, family life did not work out. Apparently, the wife was attracted by a completely different type of men, since infidelity began, and then a break came. The benefactor, who dreamed of saving the fallen soul, was thrown along with the child, and the owner of this soul herself returned to the most ancient profession.
And what was left for Pyotr Petrovich to do? Of course, ask to go back to the navy. In 1892, a report was written to the highest name. The stunned officer was taken back to the Baltic Fleet, but with the rank of midshipman. In 1894 he was transferred to the Pacific Fleet. In 1895 he was awarded the military rank of lieutenant for the second time.
The state and the navy treated the young officer with understanding and gave him the opportunity to serve for the good of the Fatherland. In 1896, Pyotr Petrovich improved his qualifications in long voyages, plowing the seas and oceans. But in 1897, the young man's nervous disease worsened, and he was admitted to the hospital for 3 months. In August of the same year, he had a conflict with the commander of the ship. In general, you should not quarrel with the authorities, and even more so with the military. For arguing with a senior in rank, a restive lieutenant was put in a guardhouse. But that didn't teach him anything. Exactly a year later, a conflict arose with the squadron commander.
Here the situation was much more serious, and Schmidt had to file a letter of resignation from service. He was retired a second time, but given the opportunity to serve in the commercial fleet. This was noble on the part of the command, since Pyotr Petrovich did not know how to do anything in life and would simply starve to death.
Our hero got a job in the Volunteer Navy. It represented that shipping society, which existed on donations. Here in it, on the steamer "Kostroma", the lieutenant, expelled from the navy, continued his naval activities. Russia bought this vessel from Great Britain. The ship was brand new and operated between Vladivostok and Port Arthur. These were mainly the transportation of military personnel.
In 1900, Pyotr Petrovich changed the ship. He was put on board the steamer Olga as a senior assistant. And then he began to go captain on other ships. But in April 1904 he was again taken to military service and sent to serve in the Black Sea Fleet. Appointed as a senior officer on the Irtysh coal transport ship. In October 1904, the ship was assigned to the 2nd Pacific Squadron. He went out after the warships, having on board large reserves of coal and military uniforms.
But the gallant lieutenant was not destined to get to the Indian Ocean. In the Mediterranean, he developed renal colic. In Port Said, Schmidt was removed from the ship and sent to Sevastopol for treatment. After recovering, he was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet. Thus, for objective reasons, our hero did not take part either in the legendary passage of the 2nd Pacific Squadron, or in the Battle of Tsushima.
Rebel cruiser "Ochakov"
Revolutionary activity
In February 1905, Pyotr Petrovich was put at the head of 2 old destroyers stationed in Izmail. But, finding himself in an independent position, the commander immediately stole state money in the amount of 2.5 thousand rubles. At that time, the amount was very large. With this money, the gallant lieutenant began to travel around the southern cities of the empire. He stayed in restaurants and rented expensive apartments. When the state property ended, then Pyotr Petrovich, as if nothing had happened, returned to the service.
But the cruise to the southern cities did not go unnoticed. An audit was appointed, and then the investigation began. The lieutenant was accused of embezzlement of state funds and desertion. Everyone understands what is due for desertion in wartime. But the almighty uncle Vladimir Petrovich Schmidt intervened. He reimbursed the waste from his own funds and saved his nephew from prison. The trial did not take place, but the impudent embezzler was thrown out of the fleet with a bang. At this point, my uncle could not do anything.
Pyotr Petrovich was out of work and in August 1905 arrived in Sevastopol. And the city was seething, excited by the revolution. And our hero decided to take up politics in order to devote the rest of his life to the struggle for the happiness of the people. Among the revolutionaries, he immediately began to enjoy popularity, since other naval officers ignored all this fraternity.
Lieutenant Schmidt always spoke nervously and exaltedly in front of the broad masses. He knew how to get the crowd going by playing on her basest instincts. But calling for the overthrow of the monarchy was a criminal offense. Therefore, in October 1905, the newly-made revolutionary was arrested, which further increased his popularity.
The excited sailor masses demanded that the authorities release the hero. She backed down and released Pyotr Petrovich from prison, but took from him the officer's word of honor that he would immediately leave Sevastopol. However, the former embezzler did not keep his word. He did not go anywhere, and on November 14 he climbed aboard the cruiser Ochakov, whose crew revolted. Our hero took over the leadership of the uprising.
He declares himself the commander of the Black Sea Fleet. The admiral's flag flies up on the cruiser. He proudly soars at the match, letting everyone know who is the boss here now. A telegram is flying to St. Petersburg personally to the emperor. In it, the newly minted commander demands the immediate convocation of the Constituent Assembly and declares that the main fleet of the empire no longer obeys the sovereign.
But the ships of the Black Sea Fleet reacted very sluggishly to the passionate appeal of the rebel. Firstly, they did not recognize the new admiral, and secondly, they remained faithful to the oath and to the Fatherland. Only the battleship Panteleimon (formerly Potemkin) expressed a desire to follow the impostor.
On November 15, after 2 pm, the warships were ordered to destroy the rebels. At exactly 15 o'clock, fire was opened on the rebel cruiser. Only a few shots were fired from the Ochakov, and then the resistance ceased. The entire operation to suppress the rebellion took 1 hour and 40 minutes. But the self-styled admiral was not on the rebel ship. He managed to get to the destroyer and tried to leave on it into the open sea. The pursuit began, the destroyer was knocked out. Pyotr Petrovich put on the sailor's uniform and thus wanted to deceive the pursuers. But he was immediately recognized and arrested.
Monument to Lieutenant Schmidt
Trial and execution
A naval trial was held over the traitor. It took place from 7 to 18 February 1906. The failed admiral tried to present himself as mentally ill. But the military board ignored this fact and sentenced the troublemaker who broke the oath to death. Together with him, the third most active sailors were sentenced to death: Antonenko, Gladkov and Chastnikov.
The verdict was carried out on March 6, 1906. The shooting took place on the island of Berezan (8 km from Ochakov in the Black Sea). They say that during the execution of the execution, both Lieutenant Schmidt and the sailors behaved with dignity. They met death with courage and did not ask for pardon.
The bodies of the executed were buried on the island. In May 1917, the remains were transported to Sevastopol and buried in the Intercession Cathedral, which was built in 1905. In the same month, the head of the Provisional Government, Kerensky, visited the grave. On the tombstone, he laid the St.George cross.
In November 1923, the remains of those executed were again reburied. This time they found shelter at the city cemetery of the Communards. A monument was erected over the grave and even a pension was awarded to the woman whom Pyotr Petrovich loved. She proved her connection with the hero by the letters he wrote to her. Streets and ships were named after the rebel lieutenant. But in our time, few people know this person. Only thanks to the "Golden Calf" Ilf and Petrov, people still remember this name.
However, it should be understood that each era has its own heroes. But the violation of the oath and calls for the violent overthrow of the government under any regime was and is considered a crime. So the described historical personality is far from unambiguous. She still finds both supporters and opponents. It all depends on the specific person and the time in which he lives.
Alexander Arsentiev
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