Russian General, Revolutionary. He was one of the early supporters of the Bolshevik Party under the political leadership of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, and one of the founding fathers of the Russian Red Army. He was one of the leaders of the 1905 Textile Workers Strike in the Russian towns of Shuya and Ivanovo. He was sentenced to prison later in the year for instigating political violence in Moscow, but managed to escape after ten years of imprisonment in a Siberian labor camp. In 1917 he was instrumental in organizing Bolshevik resistance to the national government in Minsk and Moscow, resulting in the political overthrow of Czar Nicholas II during the October Revolution. He served in the Russian Civil War following the Bolshevik rise to power, defeating the anti-government forces of Aleksander Kolchak and Pyotr Wrangel. He was elected to the Central Committee in 1921, and became the Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council in January 1925. In 1924 he was appointed people's commissar of war for the army and navy replacing Leon Trotsky. As head of the military he introduced radical reforms including compulsory peace time military service, standardization of military uniforms and drilling procedures, and a fighting doctrine based on offensive capabilities and action. He became a political opponent of Joseph Stalin following the death of Lenin in 1924, after publicly expressing support for Stalin's political rival Gregory Zinoviev. He died during surgery for repair of stomach ulcers under a cloud of suspicion, with many close to Frunze believing that Stalin was somehow personally involved in his death. In 1918 the Frunze Military Academy was established and named in his honor.
Russian General, Revolutionary. He was one of the early supporters of the Bolshevik Party under the political leadership of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, and one of the founding fathers of the Russian Red Army. He was one of the leaders of the 1905 Textile Workers Strike in the Russian towns of Shuya and Ivanovo. He was sentenced to prison later in the year for instigating political violence in Moscow, but managed to escape after ten years of imprisonment in a Siberian labor camp. In 1917 he was instrumental in organizing Bolshevik resistance to the national government in Minsk and Moscow, resulting in the political overthrow of Czar Nicholas II during the October Revolution. He served in the Russian Civil War following the Bolshevik rise to power, defeating the anti-government forces of Aleksander Kolchak and Pyotr Wrangel. He was elected to the Central Committee in 1921, and became the Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council in January 1925. In 1924 he was appointed people's commissar of war for the army and navy replacing Leon Trotsky. As head of the military he introduced radical reforms including compulsory peace time military service, standardization of military uniforms and drilling procedures, and a fighting doctrine based on offensive capabilities and action. He became a political opponent of Joseph Stalin following the death of Lenin in 1924, after publicly expressing support for Stalin's political rival Gregory Zinoviev. He died during surgery for repair of stomach ulcers under a cloud of suspicion, with many close to Frunze believing that Stalin was somehow personally involved in his death. In 1918 the Frunze Military Academy was established and named in his honor.
Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.
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