Gayk Bzhishkyan - Hayk Bzhishkyan (February 6 (February 18 (O.S.)), 1887 - December 11, 1937) was a Soviet military commander of the Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War.

(Russian: Гайк Бжишкян, also known as Gay Dmitrievich Gay (Гай Дмитриевич Гай), the first name is sometimes given as Gaya, Гая, or Gai, the patronymic is sometimes spelt as "Dimitrievich" or "Dimitriyevich", last name also spelt as Bzhishkyants (Бжишкянц); in Polish sources related to Polish-Soviet War he is referred to as either Gaj Brzyszkian, Gaj Dimitrijewicz Gaj or Gaj-Chan (Khan)). His first name, Гайк, is a Russian transliteration of "Haik", which was further corrupted in various Latinizations.

Gayk was Armenian, born in Tabriz, Iran to a family of teachers.

He joined the military of Imperial Russia as praporshchik (an officer rank similar to ensign) and fought in World War I. After the Russian Revolution he joined the Bolsheviks and became a Party member and military commander in 1918, when he fought against the Czech Legion ("White-czechs") and the Orenburg Cossacks of ataman Alexander Dutov.

He commanded some regiments, divisions and higher military formations. For instance:

• July-November 1918: 1st Samara Infantry Division, transformed into 24th Rifle Division that took over Simbirsk (Ulyanovsk) and was later known as "Samara-Ulyanovsk Iron Division" (Georgy Zhukov served under his command and highly praised him later in his memoirs).
• January-May, 1919: 1st Army
• August-September 1919: 42nd Rifle Division
• September 1919-March 1920: 1st Caucasus Cavalry Division
• During the Polish-Soviet War he commanded the 2nd Cavalry Corps and (from July) 3rd Cavalry Corps on the right flank of the Western Front. In August 1920 he covered the retreat of the 4th Army and was interned in East Prussia

Since 1922 he was the People's Commissar of the Army and Navy of the Armenian SSR and later a military history lecturer and researcher.

Since 1933 he was a professor and the Chair of the Department of War History and Military Art in the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.

He was twice awarded with the Order of the Red Banner: in 1919 for battles in Volga Region of 1918 and in 1920 for the Polish campaign.

On July 3, 1935 he was arrested, accused of "participation in an anti-Soviet terrorist organization" by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR on December 11, 1937 (АП РФ, оп. 24, дело 413, лист 252) and shot the same day. His books were declared politically harmful and banned. He was rehabilitated on January 21, 1956.

The passenger river motor ship (riverboat) Komdiv Gay (Комдив Гай, 1963) bears his name. But it must be Komkor Gay, as Gay was a Commander of Corps.

Works

• На Варшаву! Действия 3 конного корпуса на Западном фронте. Moscow, Leningrad, 1928.
• В боях за Симбирск. Ulyanovsk, 1928.
• Первый удар по Колчаку. Leningrad, 1926.

Armenian people | Soviet military people | Exonerated Soviet death sentences | 1887 births | 1937 deaths

Gaj Dimitriewicz Gaj | Гай, Гая Дмитриевич