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Semchevskii (Konstantin Vasil'evich) papers
2001C38
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Title: Konstantin Vasil'evich Semchevskii papers
Date (inclusive): 1917-1978
Collection Number: 2001C38
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
Russian
Physical Description:
2 microfilm reels
(0.3 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Memoirs, other writings, correspondence, printed matter, and photographs, relating to the Russian Civil War in Siberia, and
to Russian émigré affairs.
Creator:
Semchevskiĭ, Konstantin Vasilʹevich, 1894-1978
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2001.
[Identification of item], Konstantin Vasil'evich Semchevskii papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library
& Archives.
Originals in: Museum of Russian Culture, San Francisco.
| 1894 May 6 | Born, Russia |
| 1913 | Commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant in the Life-Guard Horse Artillery |
| Graduated, Corps de Pages, St. Petersburg, Russia | |
| 1918 | Temporary chief of operations section, Siberian Army headquarters |
| Captain, Siberian Army | |
| 1919 | Instructor, military school, Vladivostok |
| 1920 February | Promoted to Colonel and appointed Quartermaster-General, Third Army, Siberia |
| 1950 | Arrived, United States |
| 1978 | Died, United States |
Colonel K. V. Semchevskii was born on 6 May 1894 (O. S.) in Tiflis (Tbilisi). After graduating with honors from the Corps
de Pages in 1913, he was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the Life Guard Horse Artillery, with which he served until 1917.
In October of that year, he entered the General Staff Academy, where he studied through July 1918, when, with a group of fellow
officers, he escaped from Ekaterinburg to join Siberian White military units operating in the area. In August 1918 he was
appointed head of the operations section of the army staff in Omsk, and promoted to the rank of guards captain the following
month. In December 1918, he was appointed an instructor at an army school in Vladivostok. In November 1919, he assumed the
duties of chief of staff of the 1st Cavalry Division, taking command of its remnants to lead them out of encirclement in January
1920. The following month, Semchevskii was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed quartermaster general of the 3rd
Army (from March 1920 - III Corps).
Along with his wife, Elena Vasil'evna Semchevskaia (a writer and poet), Semchevskii lived in China until emigrating to the
United States in 1950. He wrote his memoirs, primarily of life in the Corps de Pages, and maintained correspondence with many
of his fellow pages through the 1970s. He also taught at the Army Language School in Monterey, California, where he died in
February 1978.
K. V. Semchevskii was a Russian army colonel and member of the association of graduates of the Corps de Pages and former officers
of the Guards Horse Artillery. Most of the correspondence (almost entirely with former comrades-in-arms), writings, and subject
file reflect his involvement in these organizations and general information on Russian military history. The SUBJECT FILE/Russia.
Armiia/General contains the diary of Gen. Bezobrazov for 1917-1924.
Detailed processing and preservation microfilming for these materials were made possible by a generous grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities and by matching funds from the Hoover Institution and Museum of Russian Culture. The grant also
provides depositing a microfilm copy in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. The original materials remain in the Museum
of Russian Culture, San Francisco as its property. A transfer table indicating corresponding box and reel numbers is available
at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
The Hoover Institution assumes all responsibility for notifying users that they must comply with the copyright law of the
United States (Title 17 United States Code) and Hoover Rules for the Use and Reproduction of Archival Materials.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Russians -- United States
Siberia (Russia) -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921
Soviet Union -- History -- Revolution, 1917-1921
Officers
Russia. Armii͡a