Anton Stankevich

Stankevich, Anton Vladimirovich 

Born June 13 (25), 1862, on the estate of Gubino, now Oktiabr’ Kolkhoz, Postavy Raion, Vitebsk Oblast; died October 1919 near Zolota-revo Station, now in Orel Raion, Orel Oblast. Russian and Soviet military figure; major general (1917).

Born into a gentry family, Stankevich graduated from the Vil’na (Vilnius) Infantry School in 1880. During World War I, he was a regimental, brigade, and division commander. After the October Revolution of 1917, he sided with Soviet power. In 1919 he commanded the 42nd and 55th Rifle Divisions of the Thirteenth Army of the Southern Front. During the Orel-Kromy Operation of 1919, owing to betrayal on the part of former General Laurits, chief of staff of the 55th Division, Stankevich and a group of commanding officers were taken prisoner by the White Guards. Loyal to Soviet authority, Stankevich refused to go over to the White Guards and was hanged. He was buried in Moscow in Red Square at the Kremlin Wall. Stankevich was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner.