Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich short biography hero Civil War, one of the first Marshals of the USSR, is described in this article.

Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich biography briefly

Semyon Budyonny was born on the Kozyurin farm in April 1883. He was the second child in a family of six children. The difficult financial situation forced their father to go to work. But in 1892, a particularly difficult situation arose and Mikhail Budyonny borrowed money from the merchant Yatskin, which he could not return. The merchant invited the father of the family to give him his son Semyon as a farm laborer for a year. Despite his wife's protests and tears, the father was forced to agree. Semyon was 9 years old at the time.

But a year later, Yatzkin did not return Semyon. The boy agreed with him about education in exchange for cleaning the room, washing dishes and shining shoes.

Working during the day and studying at night, he developed a masculine and strong character. On the smart and handsome guy girls began to look in. In 1903, Semyon married a certain Nadezhda and in the same year he was drafted into the army. This is where his brilliant military career began. He distinguished himself as a member of the Don Cossack Regiment, participating in Russian-Japanese war. In 1907, Budyonny was sent to St. Petersburg to study at the cavalry Officer School.

With the outbreak of World War I, Budyonny fought on 3 fronts - Caucasian, German and Austrian. He was a member of the 18th Dragoon Northern Regiment with the rank of senior non-commissioned officer. For this he received St. George medals of four degrees and St. George crosses of the same levels. There was a case when Budyonny’s first St. George Cross was taken away for assault. But he was able to return it by participating in the battle on the Turkish front in the city of Van.

In 1917, Semyon Mikhailovich came with the Caucasian cavalry division to Minsk. He was elected to the post of chairman of the regimental committee. After the October Revolution ended, Budyonny returned home. But he was not able to enjoy his native place for long. He was drafted into the Civil War.

In 1918, Budyonny created his own detachment, which fought against the White Guards. Later he was appointed deputy commander of first a regiment, then a brigade and a division. The victories of his detachment contributed to the rapid defeat of the enemy forces on the Don. He led it until 1923. Under the leadership of Budyonny, the troops of Wrangel and Denikin were defeated.

After the end of hostilities, he organized stud farms and developed new breeds of horses - “Terskaya” and “Budennovskaya”. Semyon Mikhailovich graduated from the Military Academy named after. Frunze and received the title of Marshal Soviet Union.

In 1940, he was appointed to the post of first deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR, and began to form cavalry-mechanized formations. By the beginning of World War II, Budyonny was part of the Headquarters group of the Supreme High Command. And already in the fall he commanded the Southwestern and Southern fronts.

After the Great Patriotic War, the marshal was 62 years old. He was engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry.

As for his personal life, his first wife, Nadezhda, died in 1924. Not even six months had passed since the death of his wife, Budyonny married Olga Budnitskaya, an opera singer. His third wife was Maria, the cousin of his second wife, who was 30 years younger than him. She gave birth to Semyon Mikhailovich 3 children - Sergei, Nina and Misha.

Place of Birth:	Kozyurin farm, Platovskaya village, Salsky district, Don Army Region, Russian Empire
A place of death:	Moscow, USSR
Affiliation:
Type of army:	Cavalry
Years of service:
	Marshal of the Soviet Union
Commanded:	Districts and fronts, First Cavalry Army, cavalry Soviet army
Battles/wars:	Russo-Japanese War, World War I, Russian Civil War, Great Patriotic War
	Awards Russian Empire: Soldier's Cross of St. George, 1st degree Soldier's Cross of St. George 2nd degree Soldier's Cross of St. George 3rd degree Soldier's Cross of St. George 4th degree Foreign awards:

Civil War

The Great Patriotic War

Post-war activities

Opinions of contemporaries

Perpetuation of memory

Monuments

Awards and commemorations

Awards of the Russian Empire

USSR awards

Interesting Facts

Essays

Film incarnations

(April 13 (April 25) 1883 - October 26, 1973) - Soviet military leader, participant in the Civil War, commander of the First Cavalry Army, one of the first Marshals of the Soviet Union, three times Hero of the Soviet Union.

Born on the Kozyurin farm (now Proletarsky district of the Rostov region) Platovskaya village (now Budyonnovskaya) in the poor peasant family of Mikhail Ivanovich Budyonny. Russian. Member of the RCP(b)/VKP(b)/CPSU since 1919.

Service in the Imperial Army

In 1903 he was drafted into the army. Served conscript service on Far East in the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment, and stayed there for extra-term service. Participated in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 as part of the 26th Don Cossack Regiment.

In 1907, as the best rider of the regiment, he was sent to St. Petersburg, to the Officer Cavalry School for rider courses for lower ranks, which he completed in 1908. Until 1914 he served in the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment. He took part in the First World War as a senior non-commissioned officer of the 18th Dragoon Seversky Regiment on the German, Austrian and Caucasian fronts, and was awarded for bravery the Cross of St. George (soldier's "Egory") of four degrees ("full bow") and four St. George medals.

By order of the division, he was deprived of his first St. George Cross, 4th degree, which he received on the German front, for assault on a senior rank - a sergeant, who had previously insulted and hit Budyonny in the face. He again received the 4th degree cross on the Turkish front at the end of 1914. He received the 3rd degree cross in January 1916 for his participation in the attacks near Mendelij. In March 1916, Budyonny was awarded the 2nd degree cross. In July 1916, Budyonny received the St. George Cross, 1st degree, for leading 7 Turkish soldiers from a sortie behind enemy lines with four comrades.

In the summer of 1917, together with the Caucasian Cavalry Division, he arrived in the city of Minsk, where he was elected chairman of the regimental committee and deputy chairman of the division committee. In August 1917, together with M.V. Frunze, he led the disarmament of echelons of Kornilov troops in Orsha. After October revolution returned to the Don, to the village of Platovskaya, where he was elected a member of the executive committee of the Salsky District Council and appointed head of the district land department.

Civil War

In February 1918, Budyonny created a revolutionary cavalry detachment that operated against the White Guards on the Don, which grew into a regiment, a brigade, and then a cavalry division that successfully operated near Tsaritsyn in 1918 - early 1919.

In the second half of June 1919, the first large cavalry formation was created in the young Red Army - the Cavalry Corps, which took part in August 1919 in the upper reaches of the Don in stubborn battles with the Caucasian Army of General P. N. Wrangel, reached Tsaritsyn and was transferred to Voronezh, in The Voronezh-Kastornensky operation of 1919, together with the divisions of the 8th Army, completely defeated the Cossack corps of generals Mamontov and Shkuro. Parts of the corps occupied the city of Voronezh, closing a 100-kilometer gap in the positions of the Red Army troops in the Moscow direction. The victories of Budyonny's Cavalry Corps over the troops of General Denikin near Voronezh and Kastornaya accelerated the defeat of the enemy on the Don.

On November 19, 1919, the command of the Southern Front, based on a decision of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, signed an order to rename the Cavalry Corps into the First Cavalry Army. Budyonny was appointed commander of this army. The First Cavalry Army, which he led until October 1923, played an important role in a number of major operations of the Civil War to defeat the troops of Denikin and Wrangel in Northern Tavria and Crimea. The First Cavalry Army under the command of Budyonny twice suffered heavy defeat from the Whites in oncoming horse battles on the Don: on January 6 (19), 1920, near Rostov from General Toporkov and 10 days later from the cavalry of General Pavlov in battles on the Manych River on January 16 (29) - January 20 (February 2), 1920, when Budyonny lost 3 thousand sabers and was forced to abandon all his artillery. In the Soviet-Polish War, in battles with Pilsudski's army, he was also ultimately defeated, but inflicting heavy losses on it, in particular, having carried out the Zhitomir breakthrough.

Service in the Red Army after the end of the Civil War

In 1921-23, Budyonny was a member of the RVS, and then deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District. He did a lot of work in organizing and managing stud farms, which, as a result of many years of work, developed new breeds of horses - Budyonnovsky and Terek.

In 1923, Budyonny became the “godfather” of the Chechen Autonomous Region: wearing the hat of the Bukhara emir, with a red ribbon over his shoulder, he came to Urus-Martan and, by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, declared Chechnya an autonomous region.

In 1923, Budyonny was appointed assistant to the commander-in-chief of the Red Army for cavalry and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. In 1924-37 he was an inspector of the Red Army cavalry. In 1932 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. At the same time, as part of the study of new modern methods fighting the enemy - in 1931 he made his first parachute jump from an airplane.

On September 22, 1935, “Regulations on the service of command and control personnel of the Red Army” introduced personal military ranks. In November 1935, the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR assigned new titles to the five largest Soviet commanders. military rank"Marshal of the Soviet Union." Budyonny was among them.

At the February-March (1937) plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, when discussing the issue of N.I. Bukharin and A.I. Rykov, he advocated their expulsion from the party, “put on trial and shot,” in May 1937, when questioning about expulsion from party of M. N. Tukhachevsky and Y. E. Rudzutak wrote: “Of course, for. These scoundrels need to be executed." He became a member of the Special Judicial Presence of the Supreme Court of the USSR, which on June 11, 1937 examined the case of the so-called “military-fascist conspiracy” (the case of M. N. Tukhachevsky and others) and sentenced the military leaders to death.

From 1937 to 1939, Budyonny commanded the troops of the Moscow Military District, from 1939 - a member of the Main Military Council of the USSR NGO, deputy people's commissar, from August 1940 - first deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR. Budyonny noted the important role of cavalry in maneuver warfare, while at the same time advocating technical re-equipment army, initiated the formation of cavalry-mechanized formations. Predominant in pre-war years there was an opinion that cavalry could not seriously compete with tank and motorized formations on the battlefield. As a result, out of the 32 cavalry divisions and 7 corps directorates available in the USSR by 1938, by the beginning of the war 13 cavalry divisions and 4 corps remained. However, according to a number of historians, the experience of the war showed that the reduction of the cavalry was hastened.

The Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War, he was part of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, participated in the defense of Moscow, commanded a group of troops of the reserve armies of the Headquarters (June 1941), then - commander-in-chief of the troops of the South-Western direction (July 10 - September 1941), commander of the Reserve Front ( September - October 1941), commander-in-chief of the troops of the North Caucasus direction (April - May 1942), commander of the North Caucasus Front (May - August 1942).

On the recommendation of Budyonny, the Soviet command in the summer of 1941 began forming new cavalry divisions; by the end of the year, over 80 additional light cavalry divisions were deployed (according to other sources, this was done on the initiative of G. Zhukov). In July-September 1941, Budyonny was the commander-in-chief of the troops of the South-Western direction (South-Western and Southern fronts), standing in the way of the German invasion of Ukraine.

In August, on the orders of Marshal Budyonny in Zaporozhye, sappers of the 157th NKVD regiment blew up the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station. Soldiers of both the German and Soviet armies died in the gushing waves. In addition to troops and refugees, many people who worked there, the local civilian population, and hundreds of thousands of livestock died in the floodplains and coastal zone. An avalanche of water quickly flooded the vast expanses of the Dnieper floodplain. In one hour, the entire lower part of Zaporozhye with huge reserves of industrial equipment was demolished. In September, Budyonny sent a telegram to Headquarters with a proposal to withdraw troops from the threat of encirclement, for which he was removed from the post of commander-in-chief of the South-Western direction by Stalin and replaced by S.K. Timoshenko.

Then - commander of the Reserve Front (September-October 1941), commander-in-chief of the North Caucasus direction (April - May 1942), commander of the North Caucasus Front (May - August 1942). From January 1943 - Commander-in-Chief of the cavalry of the Soviet Army, and in 1947-1953 at the same time - Deputy Minister Agriculture USSR on horse breeding.

Post-war activities

From May 1953 to September 1954, cavalry inspector. Since 1954 - deputy for special assignments under the USSR Minister of Defense, member of the Presidium of the DOSAAF Central Committee, chairman of its award commission. He was the chairman of the Soviet-Mongolian Friendship Society.

By decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 1, 1958, April 24, 1963 and February 22, 1968, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Member of the CPSU Central Committee in 1939-52 (candidate in 1934-39 and 1952-73). Member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st–8th convocations, since 1938 member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

He died at the age of 91, on October 26, 1973 in Moscow from a cerebral hemorrhage. He was buried on Red Square in Moscow near the Kremlin wall. A monument was erected at the grave. Budyonny's widow Maria Vasilievna, who was 33 years younger than him, died in 2006 at the ninety-first year of her life. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Opinions of contemporaries

From a conversation between Konstantin Simonov and the former chief of staff of the South-Western direction, Colonel General A.P. Pokrovsky.

Budyonny is a very peculiar person. This is a real nugget, a man with a people's mind, with common sense. He had the ability to quickly grasp the situation. He himself did not propose solutions, he himself did not understand the situation in such a way as to propose a solution, but when they reported to him, proposed certain solutions, a program, this or that, action, he, firstly, quickly grasped the situation and, secondly , as a rule, supported the most rational decisions. And he did it with sufficient determination. In particular, we must give him his due that when the situation that had developed in the Kiev sack was reported to him, and when he understood it and assessed it, the proposal that was made to him by headquarters to raise the issue with Headquarters about withdrawing from the Kyiv sack, he accepted immediately and wrote a corresponding telegram to Stalin. He did this decisively, although the consequences of such an act could be dangerous and formidable for him. And so it happened. It was for this telegram that he was removed from the commander of the South-Western direction, and Tymoshenko was appointed instead.

Perpetuation of memory

• A bronze bust was installed in the city of Rostov-on-Don, where the name legendary commander Avenue (formerly Taganrogsky) was named.
• City of the Holy Cross (since 1920 Prikumsk Stavropol Territory) in 1935 renamed Budennovsk, which name it bore until 1957. The second time it was named after the marshal was in 1973, after his death. In Budennovsk, the avenue where the bust is installed is also named after him. On the facade of the city station, facing the city, there is a bas-relief in the form of Budyonny’s face.
• In 1919, the city of Biryuch was renamed Budyonny and bore this name from 1919 to 1958.
• Budennovskaya village in the Rostov region.
• The village of Budenovka in Khakassia.
• Budyonny Street in Lipetsk, Krasnodar, Tver, Brest, Nikolaev, Belgorod, Simferopol and Minsk, Budyonny Avenue in Moscow, Tolyatti, Novocherkassk, Budyonnovsky Avenue in Rostov-on-Don bear the name of the marshal.
• The Marshal's name is borne by the Military Academy of Communications in St. Petersburg (as of 2010), Tikhoretsky Prospekt, building 3, next to the Politekhnicheskaya metro station, opposite the Polytechnic University.
• Honorary citizen of the city of Serpukhov since 1973
• One of the districts of Donetsk bears his name
• A street in Dnepropetrovsk on Western is named after Budyonny.
• A microdistrict in the city of Stary Oskol, Belgorod region, is named after the marshal
• In one of the districts of Voronezh there is a cemetery named in memory of the hero

Monuments

• At the grave near the Kremlin wall
• Bronze bust and monument in Rostov-on-Don
• On Budyonny Square in the city of Donetsk
• Bust in the center of the village of Velikomikhailovka (Belgorod region)

Awards and commemorations

Awards of the Russian Empire

• Full Knight of the Insignia of the Military Order of St. George

USSR awards

• Medal "Gold Star" of Hero of the Soviet Union No. 4
• Medal "Gold Star" Twice Hero of the Soviet Union No. 45
• Medal "Gold Star" of Three Times Hero of the Soviet Union No. 10827
• 8 Orders of Lenin:

1. February 23, 1935 No. 881
2. November 17, 1939 No. 2376
3. April 24, 1943 No. 13136
4. February 21, 1945 No. 24441
5. April 24, 1953 No. 257292
6. February 1, 1958 No. 348750
7. April 24, 1958 No. 371649
8. April 24, 1973

6 Orders of the Red Banner (No. 34, No. 390/2, No. 100/3, No. 42/4, No. 2/5, No. 299579)

Order of Suvorov, 1st degree (No. 123)

Order of the Red Banner Azerbaijan SSR

Order of the Red Banner of Labor of the Uzbek SSR

Honorary revolutionary weapon (three times):

1. golden military weapon with the Order of the Red Banner on it
2. honorary revolutionary firearms with the Order of the Red Banner on it
3. honorary weapon - saber with the image State emblem USSR

Soviet medals

Other

• Orders and medals foreign countries
• Honorary citizen of the cities of Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd, Serpukhov.

• In the name S. M. Budyonny The breed of horses was named “Budennovskaya”.
• On May 7, 1918, a competition was announced in the RSFSR to develop new uniforms for military personnel of the Red Army, in which famous Russian artists V. M. Vasnetsov, B. M. Kustodiev, M. D. Ezuchevsky, S. Arkadyevsky and others took part. December 18 In 1918, based on the works submitted to the competition, the RVSR approved a new type of winter headdress made of uniform cloth. For its epic appearance, at the first time of its existence, the Red Army helmet received the name “heroka”; later it was called by the names of the military leaders, whose units were the first to receive new uniforms - M. V. Frunze and S. M. Budyonny: “Frunzevka” and “Budenovka” " The latter name has taken root and is included in Russian language dictionaries. There is an alternative opinion that a headdress of this shape was developed before the revolution and began to be produced during the First World War, but was stored in warehouses and was not delivered to the troops, and then was used to uniform Red Army soldiers.

• Budyonny was married three times. The relationship with the first and second wife did not work out due to adultery and the wild life that high-ranking wives led. Budyonny's first wife died in 1924. official version as a result of an accident, however, despite the fact that everything happened in front of witnesses, rumors were widespread that Budyonny shot her out of jealousy. According to some sources, he remarried on the second day after her death, and according to other sources, less than a year later. Budyonny's second wife was an opera singer, 20 years his junior, and led the same hectic life as his first wife, with numerous affairs and visits to foreign embassies, which attracted the close attention of the NKVD. She was arrested in 1937 on charges of espionage and attempting to poison a marshal, during the investigation she gave numerous testimonies against her husband, in her own words she was subjected to numerous bullying and violence, was sentenced first to camps and then to exile and was released only in 1956 with the active assistance of Budyonny himself. Nevertheless, during Stalin’s life, Budyonny made no attempts to alleviate her fate, although he repeatedly stood up for the unjustly convicted directors of his stud farms, since he was told that she died in prison. Soon he married for the third time - to the cousin of his arrested second wife, through the mediation of his own mother-in-law, who remained to live with them. The third marriage turned out to be happy and with many children, unlike previous childless marriages. After the release of his second wife, Budyonny moved her to Moscow, supported her, and she even came to visit his new family.

• The Museum of the First Cavalry Army houses S. M. Budyonny’s headset, donated to the museum in 1979.

• There is a legend in various variations, according to which one night a “black funnel” came to Budyonny. The marshal met the armed night guests with a saber drawn and shouting “Who’s first!!!” rushed at the guests (according to another version, he put a machine gun out the window). They hastened to retreat. The next morning, Lavrenty Pavlovich reported to Stalin about the need to arrest Budyonny (and described the event in vivid colors). Comrade Stalin replied: “Well done, Semyon! That’s how we need them!” Budyonny was no longer disturbed. According to another version, having shot the security officers who came after him, Budyonny rushed to call Stalin: “Joseph, counter-revolution! They've come to arrest me! I won’t give up alive!” After which Stalin gave the command to leave Budyonny alone: ​​“This old fool is not dangerous.”

• Budyonny’s favorite horse, named Sophist, is immortalized in the monument to M. I. Kutuzov by sculptor N. V. Tomsky, installed in Moscow in front of the Battle of Borodino panorama museum.
• He played the accordion masterfully. Having a good ear, he often played “The Lady” to Stalin himself. There are rare recordings left where you can hear the button accordion in Budyonny’s hands.
• In the summer of 1929, a new brick building of the Voronezh Circus with 30,000 seats was built on Plekhanovskaya Street in Voronezh. The circus was named after S. M. Budyonny.

Essays

• Cavalry in the World War. - Military Bulletin, 1924, No. 28. Page. 53-57.
• Fundamentals of tactics of cavalry units. - M., 1938. - 41 p.
• The first horse on the Don. - Rostov n/d, 1969. - 168 p.
• Distance traveled. - M., 1959-1973. Book 1-3.
• Meetings with Ilyich. 2nd ed. - M., 1972. - 286 p.
• Book about a horse: In 5 volumes. (Editor.) M., 1952-1959.

Film incarnations

• Konstantin Davidovsky (“Little Red Devils”, 1923)
• Alexander Khvylya (First Horse, 1941, Defense of Tsaritsyn, 1942, Oath, 1946)
• Lev Sverdlin (Oleko Dundich, 1958, Elusive Avengers, 1966)
• Vadim Spiridonov (First Horse, 1984)
• Pyotr Glebov (Battle for Moscow, 1985)
• Alexey Buldakov (Burnt by the Sun 2, 2010)

The image of S. M. Budyonny in fiction

• A. Tolstoy “Walking through torment.” Book 3 "Gloomy Morning"
• I. Babel “Cavalry”
• A. Bondar “Black Avengers”
• P. Blyakhin “Red Devils”

In 1935, in the USSR, the “Regulations on the service of command and command personnel of the Red Army” introduced personal military ranks. Five commanders of the Red Army became marshals, among them S. M. Budyonny (1883-1973).

In the young Soviet state, he was a legend, the “father” of the red cavalry, a commander from the “men”; abroad he was called “Red Murat”.

But after the end of the “Stalin era”, the image of a kind of “horseman”, a narrow-minded cavalryman, gradually began to take shape. Even a whole layer of myths and anecdotes about the marshal has formed.

A review of his merits also began - they remembered that the idea of ​​​​creating the red cavalry belonged to Trotsky-Bronstein, that the true founder of the Cavalry Consolidated Corps of the Red Army was B. M. Dumenko (the talented commander was shot on charges of Judeophobia and preparing a rebellion, although Stalin tried to justify him , but Trotsky-Bronshein’s positions were much stronger), Budyonny was his deputy. “Red Murat” began to be accused of mediocrity, of the failure of the campaign against Warsaw in 1920, because he allegedly did not carry out Tukhachevsky’s order and did not transfer the Cavalry Army from near Lvov to Warsaw.

A myth was created that Budyonny resisted the modernization of the Red Army, leading famous phrase, whose ownership has not been proven to the marshal - “The horse will show itself yet.” The fact of his “failure” in military affairs is cited - the insignificant position he occupied at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War - commander of the cavalry of the Soviet Army.

The beginning of the military journey

Born in 1883 on the Don, on the Kozyurin farm in the Platovskaya village (now Rostov region), into a poor peasant family. In 1903 he was drafted into the army, served in the Far East in the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment, and remained there for extended service. Participated in the Russian-Japanese War as part of the 26th Don Cossack Regiment.

In 1907, as the best rider of the regiment, he was sent to the capital, to the Officer Cavalry School, to take courses for riders of the lower ranks. He studied there until 1908. Then, until 1914, he served in his Primorsky Dragoon Regiment.

First world war fought on three fronts - German, Austrian and Caucasian as a non-commissioned officer of the 18th Seversky Dragoon Regiment. Budyonny was awarded for bravery the St. George Cross (soldier's "Egory") of four degrees ("full bow") and four St. George medals.

In the summer of 1917, as part of the Caucasian Cavalry Division, Budyonny arrived in the city of Minsk, where he was elected chairman of the regimental committee and deputy chairman of the division committee. In August 1917, together with M.V. Frunze, he led the disarmament of the echelons of Kornilov’s troops (Kornilov mutiny) in Orsha. After the October Revolution, he returned to the Don, to the village of Platovskaya, where he was elected a member of the executive committee of the Salsky District Council and appointed head of the district land department.

Civil War

In February 1918, S. M. Budyonny created a cavalry detachment that operated against the White Army in the Don region. The detachment quickly grew into a regiment, then a brigade, and eventually became a division that successfully operated near Tsaritsyn in 1918 and early 1919. In the second half of June 1919, the Cavalry Corps was created. B. M. Dumenko became his commander, but a month later he was seriously wounded, and the corps was commanded by his deputy, Budyonny. The corps took part in heavy battles with the Caucasian Army of General P. N. Wrangel. Therefore, Budyonny’s military mediocrity, if it were a reality, would have been revealed very quickly, especially considering that some of the best white cavalry generals fought against him - Mamontov, Golubintsev, Ataman Ulagai.

But the corps under the command of the peasant Budyonny acted decisively and skillfully, remaining the most combat-ready unit of the 10th Army defending Tsaritsyn. Budyonny's divisions covered the army's retreat, invariably appearing in the most threatened directions, and did not allow units of Wrangel's Caucasian Army to reach the flank and rear of the 10th Army. Budyonny was a principled opponent of the surrender of Tsaritsyn to the Whites and proposed launching a counterattack on the enemy’s flank. Budyonny’s plan had reasonable grounds and chances of success, since the Cossack units that stormed Tsaritsyn were exhausted and suffered serious losses. Wrangel directly wrote to Denikin about this. But Army Commander Klyuev showed indecisiveness and ordered the abandonment of Tsaritsyn. The retreat of the 10th Army was poorly organized, and Budyonny had to create special barrage detachments in order to prevent disorganization of the rifle units. As a result: the 10th Army did not collapse, the left flank of the red Southern Front was not exposed, and this is the merit of S. M. Budyonny.

In the summer and autumn of 1919, the corps successfully fought against the troops of the Don Army. During the Voronezh-Kastornensky operation (October - November 1919), the Cavalry Corps, together with divisions of the 8th Army, defeated the Cossack units of generals Mamontov and Shkuro. Parts of the corps occupied the city of Voronezh, closing a 100-kilometer gap in the positions of the Red Army troops in the Moscow direction. The victories of Budyonny's Cavalry Corps over the troops of General Denikin near Voronezh and Kastornaya accelerated the defeat of the enemy on the Don.

In November 1919, the corps was reorganized into the 1st Cavalry Army, Budyonny was appointed commander of this army, he commanded the army until the fall of 1923.

In December 1919, the Cavalry Army occupied Rostov, the Cossacks gave it up without a fight, leaving for the Don. Budyonny's units tried to cross the Don, but suffered a serious defeat from the White Guard divisions. But this is most likely not Budyonny’s fault - the commander of the South-Western Front, Shorin, ordered to cross the Don “head-on”, and crossing a large water barrier when the other bank is occupied by the enemy’s defending units, only with cavalry is not very easy. Be that as it may, the defeat of the White armies in the south of Russia was largely due to the actions of the Cavalry, which made a deep encirclement of the White troops in February 1920.

Budyonny’s army did not act very successfully against Wrangel in Crimea - the army was unable to prevent the withdrawal of the main white forces beyond the Crimean isthmus. But this is not only Budyonny’s fault; in many ways, the actions of F.K. Mironov’s 2nd Cavalry were erroneous. Because of his slowness, Wrangel managed to withdraw his troops behind the fortifications of Perekop.

War with Poland

In the war with Poland, Budyonny’s army, as part of the Southwestern Front, operated on the southern flank and was quite successful. Budyonny broke through the defensive positions of the Polish troops and cut off the supply routes to the Kyiv group of Poles, launching an attack on Lviv.

During this war, the legend of the “invincible” strategist Tukhachevsky was destroyed. Tukhachevsky did not critically accept the reports received by the headquarters of the Western Front that the Poles were completely defeated and were fleeing in panic. Budyonny assessed the state of affairs more intelligently, as evidenced by lines from his memoirs: “From the operational reports of the Western Front, we saw that the Polish troops, retreating, did not suffer large losses; the impression was created that the enemy was retreating before the armies of the Western Front, preserving forces for decisive battles..."

Mid August Polish army struck at the Red Army troops encircling Warsaw from the north. Tukhachevsky's right flank was destroyed. Tukhachevsky demands that Budyonny’s army be withdrawn from the battle and prepared for an attack on Lublin. At this time, the 1st Cavalry Army was fighting on the Bug River and could not simply withdraw from the battle. As Budyonny wrote: “It was physically impossible to leave the battle within one day and make a hundred-kilometer march in order to concentrate in the specified area on August 20th. And if this impossible had happened, then with access to Vladimir-Volynsky, the Cavalry would still not have been able to take part in the operation against the Lublin enemy group, which was operating in the Brest area.”

The war was lost, but Budyonny personally did everything for victory; the troops entrusted to him acted quite successfully.

20-30s

In 1921-1923 S. M. Budyonny - member of the RVS, and then deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District. He did a lot of work in organizing and managing stud farms, which, as a result of many years of work, developed new breeds of horses - Budennovsky and Terek. In 1923, Budyonny was appointed assistant to the commander-in-chief of the Red Army for cavalry and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. In 1924-1937 Budyonny was appointed inspector of the cavalry of the Red Army. In 1932 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze.

From 1937 to 1939, Budyonny was appointed commander of the troops of the Moscow Military District, from 1939 - a member of the Main Military Council of the USSR NGOs, deputy people's commissar, from August 1940 - first deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR. Budyonny noted the important role of cavalry in maneuver warfare, while at the same time advocating the technical re-equipment of the army and initiated the formation of cavalry-mechanized formations.

He correctly identified the role of cavalry in a future war: “The reasons for the rise or decline of cavalry should be sought in relation to the basic properties of this type of troops to the basic data of the situation of a certain historical period. In all cases, when the war acquired a maneuverable character, and the operational situation required the presence of mobile troops and decisive actions, the cavalry masses became one of the decisive elements of the armed force. This manifests itself as a well-known pattern throughout the cavalry; as soon as the possibility of a maneuverable war developed, the role of the cavalry immediately increased, and its blows completed one or another operation... We are stubbornly fighting for the preservation of powerful independent red cavalry and for its further strengthening solely because a sober, realistic assessment of the situation convinces us of the undoubted need to have such cavalry in the system of our Armed Forces.”

Unfortunately, Budyonny’s opinion on the need to maintain a strong cavalry was not fully appreciated by the country’s leadership. At the end of the 1930s, the reduction of cavalry units began; by the war, 4 corps and 13 cavalry divisions remained. The Great War confirmed that he was right - mechanized corps turned out to be less stable than cavalry units. Cavalry divisions did not depend on roads and fuel, like mechanized units. They were more mobile and maneuverable than motorized rifle divisions. They successfully operated against the enemy in wooded and mountainous areas, successfully carried out raids behind enemy lines, in conjunction with tank units developed a breakthrough of enemy positions, developed an offensive and envelopment of Nazi units.

By the way, the Wehrmacht also appreciated the importance of the cavalry units and quite seriously increased their numbers in the war. The red cavalry went through the entire war and ended it on the banks of the Oder. Cavalry commanders Belov, Oslikovsky, Dovator entered the elite of Soviet commanders.

Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny speaks to the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, August 1942.

Joseph Stalin, Semyon Budyonny (foreground), Lavrentiy Beria, Nikolai Bulganin (background), Anastas Mikoyan head to Red Square for the parade in honor of Tankman Day.

Great War

During the Great Patriotic War, Budyonny was part of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. He was appointed commander of a group of troops of the reserve armies of Headquarters (June 1941), then - commander-in-chief of the troops of the South-Western direction (July 10 - September 1941).

The southwestern direction quite successfully held back the onslaught of Nazi troops and counterattacked. In the North, in the Baltic states, troops also operated under the overall command of Voroshilov. As a result, Berlin realized that the troops of Army Group Center were under great threat - the opportunity arose to strike from the flanks, from the North and from the South. The blitzkrieg failed, Hitler was forced to throw Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group to the south in order to reach the flank and rear of the Soviet group defending Kyiv.

On September 11, the division of the 1st Panzer Group Kleist launched an offensive from the Kremenchug bridgehead towards Guderian. Both tank groups united on September 16, closing the ring around Kyiv - the troops of the Southwestern Front found themselves in a cauldron, and the Red Army suffered heavy losses. But, having tied up significant enemy forces in heavy battles, it gained time to strengthen the defense in the central strategic direction.

Marshal S. M. Budyonny warned Headquarters about the danger threatening the troops of the Southwestern Front, recommended leaving Kyiv and withdrawing the armies, i.e., he proposed conducting not a positional war, but a maneuverable one. So, when Guderian’s tanks broke into Romny, General Kirponos turned to the Chief of the General Staff, Marshal B.M. Shaposhnikov, with a request to allow the evacuation of Kyiv and the withdrawal of troops, however, he was refused. Budyonny supported his subordinate and, in turn, telegraphed to Headquarters: “For my part, I believe that by this time the enemy’s plan to envelop and encircle the Southwestern Front from the Novgorod-Seversky and Kremenchug directions has fully emerged. To counter this plan it is necessary to create a strong group of troops. The Southwestern Front is not able to do this. If the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, in turn, does not have the opportunity to concentrate in this moment such a strong group, then a retreat for the Southwestern Front is completely overdue... A delay in the retreat of the Southwestern Front could lead to the loss of troops and a huge amount of materiel.”

Unfortunately, in Moscow they saw the situation differently, and even such a talented General Staff officer as B. M. Shaposhnikov did not recognize the impending danger in time. It can be added that Budyonny had great courage to defend his point of view, because the marshal knew about Stalin’s desire to defend Kyiv at all costs. A day after this telegram, he was removed from this position, and a few days later the front troops were surrounded.

In September–October 1941, Budyonny was appointed commander of the Reserve Front. On September 30, the Wehrmacht launched Operation Typhoon, the Wehrmacht broke through the defenses Soviet troops, in the Vyazma area the troops of the Western (Konev) and Reserve Fronts were surrounded. It was a disaster, but Budyonny cannot be blamed for this. Firstly, the General Staff's reconnaissance was unable to reveal the areas of concentration of the Wehrmacht strike forces, so the available troops were stretched along the entire front and could not withstand a blow of such power when the defending division accounted for 3-4 enemy divisions (in the main directions of attack). Secondly, Budyonny could not use his favorite tactics of maneuver; it was impossible to retreat. It is stupid to accuse him of military mediocrity; Konev became one of the most famous heroes of the war, but he could not do anything.

In fact, it was only in the North Caucasus that he was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the North Caucasus direction (April - May 1942) and commander of the North Caucasus Front (May - August 1942) that he was able to demonstrate his skills. When the Wehrmacht reached the Caucasus in July 1942, Budyonny proposed withdrawing troops to the borders of the Main Caucasus Ridge and Terek, reducing the overextended front, and also forming two reserve armies in the Grozny region. Stalin considered these proposals rational and approved them. The troops retreated to the line planned by Budyonny in August 1942 and, as a result of fierce fighting, stopped the enemy.

In January 1943, Budyonny became commander-in-chief of the cavalry; apparently Stalin decided that the time had come to show his skills to the young. Budyonny's merit is that he helped the Red Army survive and learn to fight.

The most objective assessment of the activities of Marshal Budyonny in the Great Patriotic War can be called the words of the chief of staff of the South-Western direction, General Pokrovsky: “He himself did not propose solutions, he himself did not understand the situation in such a way as to propose a solution, but when they reported to him, they offered certain solutions, a program , one or another action, he, firstly, quickly grasped the situation and, secondly, as a rule, supported the most rational decisions. And he did it with sufficient determination.”

The son of the Russian peasantry did not let his homeland down. He honestly served the Russian Empire on the fields of the Russo-Japanese and World War I, and earned awards for himself with his courage and skill. He supported the construction of a new state and served it honestly.

After the war, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union by decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on February 1, 1958, April 24, 1963 and February 22, 1968 and became a Three-Time Hero of the USSR. He fully deserved it.

Soviet military leader, Marshal of the Soviet Union (1935) Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny takes part in a parade on Red Square in Moscow on November 7, 1947.

Among the personal qualities of this worthy Man one can note personal courage and bravery(for example: in July 1916, Budyonny received the St. George Cross, 1st degree, for leading 7 Turkish soldiers from a sortie behind enemy lines with four comrades). There is a legend that one day the security officers decided to “feel” the marshal. The marshal met the armed night guests with a saber drawn and shouting “Who’s first!!!” rushed at the guests (according to another version, he put a machine gun out the window). They hastened to retreat. The next morning, Lavrenty Pavlovich reported to Stalin about the need to arrest Budyonny (and described the event in vivid colors). Comrade Stalin replied: “Well done, Semyon! That’s how we need them!” Budyonny was no longer disturbed. According to another version, having shot the security officers who came after him, Budyonny rushed to call Stalin: “Joseph, counter-revolution! They've come to arrest me! I won’t give up alive!” After which Stalin gave the command to leave Budyonny alone. Most likely, this is a historical anecdote, but even it characterizes Budyonny as a very brave man.

He played the button accordion masterfully and danced excellently - during the reception of the Soviet delegation in Turkey, the Turks performed folk dances, and then invited the Russians to respond in kind. And Budyonny, despite his age, danced, taking the rap for everyone. After this incident, Voroshilov ordered the introduction of dance classes in all military universities.

He spoke three languages, read a lot, collected large library. I couldn't stand drunkenness. He was unpretentious in food.

Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny. Born on April 13, 1883 on the Kozyurin farm, Platovskaya village, Salsky district, Don Army Region - died on October 26, 1973 in Moscow. Soviet military leader, one of the first Marshals of the Soviet Union.

Three times Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of the St. George Cross of all degrees. Commander of the First Cavalry Army of the Red Army during the Civil War, one of the key organizers of the Red Cavalry.

Semyon Budyonny was born on April 13 (25th according to the new style) on April 13, 1883 on the Kozyurin farm of the Platovskaya village of the Salsky district of the Don Army Region, now the Proletarsky district of the Rostov region in the poor peasant family of non-resident Mikhail Ivanovich and Melania Nikitichna Budyonny (1859-1944) originally from the central Russia.

By nationality - Russian.

In 1903 he was drafted into the army. He served conscript service in the Far East in the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment, and remained there for extra conscription. Participated in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905 as part of the 26th Don Cossack Regiment.

In 1907, as the best rider of the regiment, he was sent to St. Petersburg, to the Officer Cavalry School for rider courses for lower ranks, which he completed in 1908.

Until 1914 he served in the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment. He took part in the First World War as a senior non-commissioned officer of the 18th Dragoon Seversky Regiment of the Caucasian Cavalry Division on the German, Austrian and Caucasian fronts, and was awarded the “full St. George’s bow” for bravery - St. George’s crosses of four degrees and St. George’s medals of four degrees.

Non-commissioned officer Budyonny received the first cross of the 4th degree for the capture of a German convoy and prisoners on November 8, 1914. By order of the squadron commander, Captain Krym-Shamkhalov-Sokolov, Budyonny was to lead a reconnaissance platoon of 33 people, with the task of conducting reconnaissance in the direction of the town of Brzeziny. Soon the platoon discovered a large convoy of German troops moving along the highway. In response to repeated reports to the captain about the discovery of enemy convoys, a categorical order was received to continue secretly conducting surveillance. After several hours of aimlessly observing the enemy’s movements with impunity, Budyonny decides to attack one of the convoys. In a sudden attack from the forest, the platoon attacked an escort company armed with two heavy machine guns and disarmed it. Two officers who resisted were hacked to death. In total, about two hundred prisoners were captured, including two officers, a cart with revolvers of various systems, a cart with surgical instruments and thirty-five carts with warm winter uniforms. The platoon's casualties were two killed. However, by this time the division had managed to retreat far, and the platoon and convoy caught up with its unit only on the third day.

For this feat, the entire platoon was awarded St. George's crosses and medals. Captain Krym-Shamkhalov-Sokolov, who did not take part in the sortie, also received the St. George Cross. The Tsarist military press, covering events on the Western Front, wrote that the valiant Caucasian Cavalry Division defeated the Germans with a dashing attack near Brzeziny, capturing large trophies.

After the redeployment of the division to the Caucasus Front, by order of the division he was deprived of his first St. George Cross, 4th degree, which he received on the German front, for assault on his senior rank - sergeant Khestanov, who had previously insulted and hit Budyonny in the face.

He again received the 4th degree cross on the Turkish front at the end of 1914. In the battle for the city, Van, while on reconnaissance with his platoon, penetrated deep into the rear of the enemy’s position, and at the decisive moment of the battle attacked and captured his battery of three guns. He received the 3rd degree cross in January 1916 for his participation in the attacks near Mendelij.

In March 1916, Budyonny was awarded the 2nd degree cross.

In July 1916, Budyonny received the St. George Cross, 1st degree, for leading 7 Turkish soldiers from a sortie behind enemy lines with four comrades.

In the summer of 1917, together with the Caucasian Cavalry Division, he arrived in the city of Minsk, where he was elected chairman of the regimental committee and deputy chairman of the division committee. In August 1917, together with him, he led the disarmament of echelons of Kornilov troops in Orsha. After the October Revolution, he returned to the Don, to the village of Platovskaya, where he was elected a member of the executive committee of the Salsky District Council and appointed head of the district land department.

In February 1918, Budyonny created a revolutionary cavalry detachment that operated against the White Guards on the Don, which joined the 1st cavalry peasant socialist regiment under the command of B. M. Dumenko, in which Budyonny was appointed deputy regiment commander. The regiment subsequently grew into a brigade, and then a cavalry division, which successfully operated near Tsaritsyn in 1918 - early 1919.

Member of the RCP(b) (VKP(b)/CPSU) since 1919.

In the second half of June 1919, the first large cavalry formation was created in the Red Army - the Cavalry Corps, which took part in August 1919 in the upper reaches of the Don in stubborn battles with the Caucasian Army of General P. N. Wrangel, reached Tsaritsyn and was transferred to Voronezh, to Voronezhsko -Kastornensky operation of 1919, together with divisions of the 8th Army, won a victory over the Cossack corps of generals Mamontov and Shkuro. Units of the corps occupied the city of Voronezh, closing a 100-kilometer gap in the positions of the Red Army troops in the Moscow direction.

The victories of Budyonny's Cavalry Corps over the general's troops near Voronezh and Kastornaya accelerated the defeat of the enemy on the Don.

Troops under the command of Budyonny (14th Cavalry Division of Gorodovikov) took part in the disarmament of the Don Corps of Mironov (future commander of the 2nd Cavalry Army), which went to the front against Denikin, allegedly for attempting a counter-revolutionary rebellion.

On November 19, 1919, the command of the Southern Front, based on a decision of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, signed an order to rename the Cavalry Corps into the First Cavalry Army. Budyonny was appointed commander of this army.

First Cavalry Army, which he led until October 1923, played an important role in a number of major operations of the Civil War to defeat the troops of Denikin and Wrangel in Northern Tavria and Crimea.

The First Cavalry Army under the command of Budyonny twice suffered heavy defeat from the Whites in oncoming horse battles on the Don: on January 6 (19), 1920, near Rostov from General Toporkov and 10 days later from the cavalry of General Pavlov in battles on the Manych River on January 16 (29) - January 20 (February 2), 1920, when Budyonny lost 3 thousand sabers and was forced to abandon all his artillery.

In the Soviet-Polish War, in battles with Pilsudski's army, he was also ultimately defeated, but inflicting heavy losses on it, in particular, having carried out the Zhitomir breakthrough.

In 1921-23, Budyonny was a member of the RVS, and then deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District. Did a lot of work on organizing and managing stud farms USSR, who, as a result of many years of work, developed new breeds of horses - Budennovsky and Terek.

In 1923, Budyonny became the “godfather” of the Chechen Autonomous Region: wearing the hat of the Bukhara emir, with a red ribbon over his shoulder, he came to Urus-Martan and, by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, declared Chechnya an autonomous region.

In 1923, Budyonny was appointed assistant to the commander-in-chief of the Red Army for cavalry and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. In 1924 - 37 he was an inspector of the Red Army cavalry. Since July 1, 1928, one of the organizers and editor of the magazine “Horse Breeding and Horse Breeding.” In 1930, he oversaw the creation of the Moscow Zootechnical Institute of Horse Breeding and Horse Breeding in Uspensky on the basis of the Experimental Stud Farm.

In 1932 he graduated from the Military Academy. M. V. Frunze. At the same time, as part of the study of new modern methods of fighting the enemy, in 1931 he made his first parachute jump from an airplane.

On September 22, 1935, “Regulations on the service of command and control personnel of the Red Army” introduced personal military ranks.

In November 1935, the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR awarded the five largest Soviet commanders the new military rank of “Marshal of the Soviet Union.” Budyonny was among them.

At the February-March (1937) plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, when discussing the issue of N.I. Bukharin and A.I. Rykov, he advocated their expulsion from the party, “put on trial and shot,” in May 1937, when questioning about expulsion from party of M. N. Tukhachevsky and Y. E. Rudzutak wrote: “Of course, for. These scoundrels need to be executed." He became a member of the Special Judicial Presence of the Supreme Court of the USSR, which on June 11, 1937 examined the case of the so-called “military-fascist conspiracy” (the case of M. N. Tukhachevsky and others) and sentenced the military leaders to death.

From 1937 to 1939, Budyonny commanded the troops of the Moscow Military District, from 1939 - a member of the Main Military Council of the USSR NGO, deputy people's commissar, from August 1940 - first deputy people's commissar of defense of the USSR.

Budyonny noted the important role of cavalry in maneuver warfare, while at the same time advocating the technical re-equipment of the army and initiated the formation of cavalry-mechanized formations. The prevailing opinion in the pre-war years was that cavalry could not seriously compete with tank and motorized formations on the battlefield. As a result, out of the 32 cavalry divisions and 7 corps directorates available in the USSR by 1938, by the beginning of the war 13 cavalry divisions and 4 corps remained. However, according to a number of historians, the experience of the war showed that the reduction of the cavalry was hastened.

During the Great Patriotic War, he was part of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, participated in the defense of Moscow, commanded a group of troops of the reserve armies of the Headquarters (June 1941), then - commander-in-chief of the troops of the South-Western direction (July 10 - September 1941), commander of the Reserve Front ( September - October 1941), commander-in-chief of the troops of the North Caucasus direction (April - May 1942), commander of the North Caucasus Front (May - August 1942).

On the recommendation of Budyonny, the Soviet command in the summer of 1941 began forming new cavalry divisions; by the end of the year, over 80 light cavalry divisions were additionally deployed (according to other sources, this was done on the initiative).

In July-September 1941, Budyonny was the commander-in-chief of the troops of the South-Western direction (South-Western and Southern Fronts), standing in the way of the German invasion of the territory of the Ukrainian SSR.

In August, on the orders of Marshal Budyonny in Zaporozhye, sappers of the 157th NKVD regiment blew up the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station. Soldiers of both the German and Red armies died in the gushing waves. In addition to troops and refugees, many people who worked there, the local civilian population, and hundreds of thousands of livestock died in the floodplains and coastal zone. An avalanche of water quickly flooded the vast expanses of the Dnieper floodplain. In one hour, the entire lower part of Zaporozhye with huge reserves of industrial equipment was demolished. According to other sources, losses among Soviet troops and civilians are greatly exaggerated.

In September, Budyonny sent a telegram to Headquarters with a proposal to withdraw troops from the threat of encirclement, at the same time the front commander M.P. Kirponos informed Headquarters that he had no intention of withdrawing troops. As a result, Budyonny was removed by Stalin from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the South-Western direction and replaced by S.K. Timoshenko.

Then - commander of the Reserve Front (September-October 1941), commander-in-chief of the North Caucasus direction (April - May 1942), commander of the North Caucasus Front (May - August 1942).

Since January 1943 - commander of the cavalry of the Red Army.

In 1943, on the initiative of Budyonny, the Moscow Zootechnical Institute of Horse Breeding was recreated.

In 1947-1953, at the same time - Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the USSR for horse breeding.

From May 1953 to September 1954, cavalry inspector. Since 1954 - at the disposal of the USSR Minister of Defense, member of the Presidium of the DOSAAF Central Committee, chairman of its award commission. He was the chairman of the Soviet-Mongolian Friendship Society.

By decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 1, 1958, April 24, 1963 and February 22, 1968, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Member of the CPSU Central Committee in 1939-52 (candidate in 1934-39 and 1952-73). Member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Central Executive Committee of the USSR. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 1st-8th convocations, since 1938 member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Personal life of Semyon Budyonny:

Was married three times.

He married his first wife, Nadezhda Ivanovna, a Cossack from a neighboring village, in 1903. During the Civil War, she served with him and was in charge of supplies in the medical unit. The first wife died in 1924, according to the official version, from an accident as a result of careless handling of weapons. Everything happened in front of witnesses, but there were widespread rumors that Budyonny shot (or hacked) her during a quarrel (the wife was allegedly indignant that Budyonny, being drunk, invited his mistress home).

He remarried, according to some sources, on the second day after the death of his first wife, according to others, less than a year later.

Budyonny's second wife, Olga Stefanovna Mikhailova, was an opera singer, 20 years his junior, and led the same hectic life as her first, with numerous affairs and visits to foreign embassies, which attracted the close attention of the NKVD. She was arrested in 1937 on charges of espionage and attempting to poison the marshal; during the investigation she gave numerous testimonies against her husband. According to her own words, she was subjected to numerous bullying and violence, was sentenced first to camps and then to exile, released in 1956 with the active assistance of Budyonny himself.

However, during Stalin’s lifetime, Budyonny made no attempts to alleviate her fate, although he repeatedly stood up for the convicted directors of subordinate stud farms, since he was told that she died in prison. Soon he married for the third time the cousin of his arrested second wife through the mediation of his mother-in-law, who remained to live with them.

Semyon Budyonny with his third wife Maria Vasilievna and children

The third marriage turned out to be happy and with many children, unlike the previous childless ones.

A year later, in 1938, his son Sergei was born.

In 1939, daughter Nina was born.

In 1944 - another son, Mikhail. At the same time, Budyonny was already well over fifty.

After the release of his second wife, Budyonny moved her to Moscow, supported her, and she even came to visit his new family.

Budyonny's widow, Maria Vasilievna, who was 33 years younger than him, died in 2006, also at the age of 90. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Children of Budyonny

Interesting facts about Semyon Budyonny:

♦ On May 7, 1918, a competition was announced in the RSFSR to develop new uniforms for military personnel of the Red Army, in which famous Russian artists V. M. Vasnetsov, B. M. Kustodiev, M. D. Ezuchevsky, S. Arkadyevsky and others took part. 18 In December 1918, based on the works submitted to the competition, the RVSR approved a new type of winter headdress made of uniform cloth. For its epic appearance, at the first time of its existence, the Red Army helmet received the name “heroka”; later it was called by the names of the military leaders, whose units were the first to receive new uniforms - M. V. Frunze and S. M. Budyonny: “Frunzevka” and “Budenovka” " The latter name has taken root and is included in Russian language dictionaries.

♦ The Military Academy of Communications houses a personalized pistol of the Voevodina system (1939) donated to S. M. Budyonny.

♦ The museum of the First Cavalry Army houses the headphone of S. M. Budyonny, donated to the museum in 1979.

♦ There is a legend in various variations, according to which one night a “black funnel” came to Budyonny. The marshal met the armed night guests with a saber drawn and shouting “Who’s first!!!” rushed at the guests (according to another version, he put a machine gun out the window). They hastened to retreat. The next morning he reported on the need to arrest Budyonny (and described the event in vivid colors). Comrade Stalin replied: “Well done, Semyon! That’s how we need them!” Budyonny was no longer disturbed. According to another version, having shot the security officers who came after him, Budyonny rushed to call Stalin: “Joseph, counter-revolution! They've come to arrest me! I won’t give up alive!” After which Stalin gave the command to leave Budyonny alone.

♦ There is a legend that during the battles for the Crimea, when Budyonny checked the captured cartridges - whether they were smokeless or not - he brought a cigarette to them. The gunpowder flared up and singed one mustache, which turned gray. Since then, Semyon Mikhailovich has been painting it. Budyonny wanted to completely shave off his mustache, but Stalin did not allow it: “This, Semyon, is not your mustache, but the people’s...”

♦ Budyonny’s favorite horse, named Sophist, is immortalized in the monument to M. I. Kutuzov by sculptor N. V. Tomsky, installed in Moscow in front of the “Battle of Borodino” panorama museum.

♦ Played the accordion. Having a good ear, he often played “The Lady” to Stalin himself. There are rare recordings left where you can hear the button accordion in the hands of Budyonny, in particular, the record “Duet of Accordion Players”, where Budyonny performs the harmonica part of the German system, and the famous Rostov button accordion player Grigory Zaitsev performs the accordion part.

♦ In the summer of 1929, a new brick building of the Voronezh Circus with 3,000 seats was built on Plekhanovskaya Street in Voronezh. The circus was named after S. M. Budyonny.

♦ Budyonny kept and wore the crosses of St. George received during the First World War on a separate jacket.

♦ Owned foreign languages: German, French, Turkish, English.

Bibliography of Semyon Budyonny:

Cavalry in the World War // Military Bulletin. - 1924. - No. 28. - P. 53-57;
Red Cavalry: Sat. Art. - M.; L.: Gosizdat. Dept. military lit., 1930;
Fundamentals of tactics of cavalry units. - M., 1938;
The first horse on the Don. - Rostov n/d, 1969;
Distance traveled. - M., 1959-1973. Book 1-3;
Stalin and the army. - M. 1959;
Meetings with Ilyich. - 2nd ed. - M., 1972;
A book about the horse (edited by Budyonny): in 5 volumes - M., 1952-1959.

Semyon Budyonny in fiction:

Tolstoy A. N.. Walking through torment. Book 3: “Gloomy Morning”;
Babel I. E.. Cavalry: Sat. stories;
Listovsky A.P. Cavalry;
Bondar A.V.. Black Avengers;
Blyakhin P. A., Little Red Devils;
Sholokhov M. A., Quiet Don;
R. B. Gul, “Red Marshals: Voroshilov, Budyonny, Blucher, Kotovsky” (Berlin: Parabola), 1933;
Petrov D. M. (Biryuk) “The South is on Fire”: A Novel. (Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1988.

Semyon Budyonny in cinema (performers):

Konstantin Davidovsky (Little Red Devils, 1923);
Alexander Khvylya (First Horse, 1941, Defense of Tsaritsyn, 1942, Oath, 1946);

Lev Sverdlin (Oleko Dundich, 1958, Elusive Avengers, 1966);
Stanislav Franio (Fearless Ataman, 1973 - about Budyonny’s childhood);
Pyotr Timofeev (Walking through torment, 1977);
Leonid Bakshtaev (Marshal of the Revolution, 1978);
Vadim Spiridonov (First Horse, 1984; Not subject to disclosure, 1987);
Pyotr Glebov (Battle for Moscow, 1985);
Alexey Buldakov (Burnt by the Sun 2, 2010);

Alexander Samoilov (Tukhachevsky. Marshal's Conspiracy, 2010);
Viktor Smirnov (Son of the Father of Nations, 2013)

Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny (born April 13 (25), 1883 - death October 26, 1973) - military leader, participant in the Civil War, commanded the First Cavalry Army, Marshal of the Soviet Union, three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Full Knight of St. George. He was part of Stalin's inner circle.

Origin. early years

Semyon Mikhailovich was born on the Kozyurin farm of the Platovskaya village, in the Salsk district of the Don Army Region (now Rostov region) in the family of a peasant farm laborer. He was the second child in large family(he had 4 brothers and 3 sisters).

Budyonny's ancestors came from Russian peasants in the Voronezh province. In his youth, the future marshal worked as a farm laborer, a store peddler, a blacksmith's assistant, and a fireman.

Service in Imperial Army

1903 - was drafted into the army. He did military service in the Far East in the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment, then stayed for extra-long service. He took part in the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905. as part of the 26th Don Cossack Regiment.

1907 - as one of the best riders of the regiment, he was sent to St. Petersburg, to the Officer Cavalry School for rider courses for lower ranks, graduating in 1908.

1914 - served in the Primorsky Dragoon Regiment. During the First World War, he was a senior non-commissioned officer of the 18th Dragoon Seversky Regiment of the Caucasian Cavalry Division on the German, Austrian and Caucasian fronts, for his bravery he was awarded the “full St. George's bow” (St. George's crosses of 4 degrees and St. George's medals of four degrees).

Civil War

After the events of October 1917, I went to small homeland- Don. Lived in the village of Platovskaya. There he was appointed a member of the executive committee of the district council, and also served as head of the land department.

1918, winter - he created a cavalry detachment that successfully resists the white armies. The detachment eventually became an entire division, and was noted for its great activity near Tsaritsyn.

1919, summer - the Cavalry Corps is created in the Red Army, the commander of which is Semyon Mikhailovich. The corps made a significant contribution to the defeat of the White armies, Mamontov, and. 1919, November - Budyonny's cavalry corps was renamed the Cavalry Army.

Service in the Red Army after the war

After the Civil War, Budyonny was an active member of the Revolutionary Military Council and was the commander of the North Caucasus Military District. In his position, he reorganized the activities of stud farms, which soon developed a number of new breeds of horses.

1923 - appointed assistant to the commander-in-chief of the Red Army. A year later he will take the position of inspector of the cavalry of the Red Army. 1923 - graduated from the Frunze Military Academy. 1935, November - The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Executive Committee awarded Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union.

The Great Patriotic War

During the Great Patriotic War(WWII) - was part of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the South-Western direction from July to September 1941. He ordered the explosion of the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station during the retreat of the Red Army, which caused extensive flooding, but the occupiers did not get the industrial reserves of Zaporozhye.

1941, from September to October - commanded the Reserve Front. It was he who hosted the legendary parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941. 1942, April-May - Semyon Mikhailovich holds the post of commander-in-chief of the North Caucasus direction, and from May to August 1942 - commander of the North Caucasus Front. His activities during the war were not successful. 1942 - removed from command posts. 1943, January - received an honorary appointment to the post of commander of the cavalry of the Red Army and became a member of the Supreme Military Council of the People's Commissariat of Defense.

Post-war years. Death

After the Second World War, along with the post of cavalry commander in 1947-1953. - Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Soviet Union for horse breeding. He was removed from the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1952, again becoming a candidate member of the Central Committee. Since 1954, in honorable retirement in the group of inspectors general of the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Already in his old age, Semyon Mikhailovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union three times for his previous services (1958, 1963, 1968), and published three-volume memoirs “The Path Traveled.” Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny died in Moscow at the age of 91 on October 26, 1973, and was buried on Red Square near the Kremlin wall.

Personal life

Semyon Mikhailovich was married three times. First wife Nadezhda Ivanovna, a Cossack from a neighboring village. They served together, she was in charge of supplies in the medical unit. The woman died in 1925 as a result of careless handling of weapons.

Second wife Olga Stefanovna Mikhailova, opera singer, for 20 years younger than husband, demonstratively cheated on him. 1937 - she was arrested on charges of espionage and attempting to poison her husband. Released in 1956. When Stalin was alive, the marshal made no attempts to alleviate her fate, because he was told that she had died in prison. When his second wife was released, Budyonny moved her to Moscow and supported her.

Only with his third wife (he married the cousin of his arrested second wife) was he able to find quiet family happiness, despite the huge difference in age: he was 54 years old at the time of their acquaintance, she was only 19 years old. Three children were born into the family: Sergei (1938); Nina (1939) - later for some time she was the wife of artist Mikhail Derzhavin; Mikhail (1944).

There is a legend in different variations, according to which one night a “black funnel” came to the marshal. Budyonny met the security officers with a saber drawn and shouting “Who’s first!!!” rushed at the uninvited guests (according to the second version, he placed a machine gun out the window). They retreated in a hurry. In the morning he reported to the leader about the need to arrest the marshal (and described the events that took place in detail). Stalin replied: “Well done, Semyon! That’s how we need them!” Semyon Mikhailovich was no longer disturbed. According to another version, after shooting the security officers who came for him, the marshal rushed to call Stalin: “Joseph, counter-revolution! They've come to arrest me! I won’t give up alive!” After which the “father of all nations” gave the command to leave Budyonny alone.

“Budenovka” was the popular name for the headdress that was worn by the Red Army in 1919-1941.

Played the accordion. He had a good ear and often played “The Lady” to Stalin himself.

Already at an advanced age, Budyonny realized his dream of his youth - he opened a stud farm. As a breeder, he developed two new breeds of horses - the Budenovskaya and the Terek Arab. It took more than 20 years.

There is a legend that during the battles for the Crimea, when the commander checked the captured cartridges - whether they were smokeless or not - he brought a cigarette to them. Having flared up, the gunpowder singed one mustache, which turned gray. After that, the marshal tinted it. Semyon Mikhailovich wanted to completely shave his mustache, but Stalin did not allow: “This, Semyon, is not your mustache, but the people’s...”.

The Marshal kept and wore the Crosses of St. George, received during his service in the Imperial Army, on a separate jacket.