Imperial Uniforms, pre-revolution

[MishaB]

Could someone kindly indentify the photographs of my Great Uncle and Great Grand Father - Military unit, rank and decorations

[Mike]

Roughly: upper photo - lieutenant-colonel of the General Staff; lower photo - second lieutenant, Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment. Both are wearing the 1910s dress uniforms and awards appropriate for their respective ranks.

[MishaB]

Thank you Mike. I suspected as much about the Preobrazhensky Regiment but I thought the shoulder boards of my Gfather was of general rank.
Can you suggest where I can research them more deeply?

[Kalafrana]

Interesting that a second lieutenant has a clutch of awards - in the British Army this wouldn't happen in peacetime. Just to put some perspective on it, my father served in the Royal Air Force from 1953 to 1984, and got one medal. This was the General Service Medal with clasp for the Suez Canal garrison, awarded long after he retired. By a nice irony he spent three years with the Sultan of Oman's Air Force and got two medals!

Can anyone identify the awards.

Ann

[Mike]

2MishaB: If you wish I could post your photos on a Russian military history forum, the guys there are real experts and would provide more info.
2Kalafrana: All these medals are commemorative and were awarded to all officers who served at a given time, including those who had just entered the military service.

[MishaB]

Yes, thank you Mike, that would be great.

[Kalafrana]

Many thanks - presumably similar to the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal then.

Ann

[Mike]

MishaB, I've news for you. Your ancestor might actually be major-general, likely of the Corps of Gendarmes - as some detail of his uniform suggests. The guys on the Russian forum tend to believe that his epaulettes look more like those of a general officer's rather than of a staff officer's. I'm still not finally convinced, primarily due to the lack of order stars that are normally seen on generals' images. I'll wait for more learned opinions and then will let you know. [By the way, it would help if we knew his name].

As to your "younger" relative, he is indeed second lieutenant, Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, who graduated from Poltava Peter I Cadet Corps and then from Pavlovskoye Officer School, as his badges suggest.

[MishaB]

Mike, I am very gratefull for all your efforts. I am so glad I stumbled accross this site. My G.Mother came out with few belongings but included photographs which I always believed were of her father and brother. The family name is Filatiev. My mother always referred to the younger one as "The Prince" although I do not believe that is so.

[MishaB]

Mike, the Poltava Peter I Cadet Corps makes sense. My grandfather (Bronislav Blonsky) ran the Ukrainian Railway system. He and my g.mother(Filatiev) had homes in St Petersburg, Kiev and I believe an estate (either Blonsky or Filatiev) in Elizavetgrad (Kirovgrad). I have fouind from Google Earth that the latter is not far from Poltava. It's all starting to come together!!

[Mike]

We're now almost certain that the older officer is Major-General Mikhail Nikolayevich Filatiev, Russian Imperial Corps of Gendarmes. More details to follow.

[Mike]

Mikhail Filatiev was born on 2 November 1846 and began his military service in 1866. By 1902 he was chief of Kovna regional headquarters of the Corps of Gendarmes, had the rank of colonel and was father of 4.

The younger officer is apparently his son, Boris Mikhailovich Filatiev.

[MishaB]

Mike, I am speechless. I am totally without speech. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine after stumbling accross this website, that these identities that have perplexed us all these years would be identified and with such detail. My family is so gratefull for your efforts and look forward with great anticipation to further news from you.

Again, the Ukraine link appears with GGfather being at Kovna (Novi Kovna- SE Ukraine) so it looks like the Ukraine is where the whole story begins.

Once again, thank you Mike 

[Mike]

My pleasure. The guys over there were also excited to see a quite rare photo of a gendarmes' general. In the meantime, brace yourself for further details on your great-grandfather:

He graduated from the same Pavlovskoye Officer School in Petersburg as his son thirty-some years later - which makes sense since it was customary for an officer's son to enroll in the same school as his father - and began his military service at 3rd Elisavetgrad Hussar regiment, then stationed at Zolotonosha, near Kharkov. In 1874 he retired and led a civil life until 1883, when he returned to the active service, this time at the Corps of Gendarmes. He was subsequently promoted and eventually became Major-General in 1907. In the same year he was appointed chief of Don regional headquarters of the Corps of Gendarmes [after holding similar offices in various regions: Kovna (which is in Lithuania), Yaroslavl, Poltava and Olonets] and served in such capacity until his final retirement in 1913, at which he was promoted to Lieutenant-General (Ret.). As of 1917, he lived in Petrograd at 13, Tverskaya St. (a rather upscale neighborhood I must say).

[MishaB]

Mike, you have helped to start filling a void in our family history. The Filatiev family are preparing more photos of relatives in uniform which I shall post when available.
Once again, thank you very much from all the family.