Lot 2495
Nicholas II, 1894-1917, Medal. Iron. 80 mm. By P. Leibkuchler. Vladimir Sukhomlinov Conviction, 1917. Diakov --, Schulma. Nicholas II, 1894-1917, Medal. Iron. 80 mm. By P. Leibkuchler. Vladimir Sukhomlinov Conviction, 1917. Diakov --, Schulman, La Guerre European --. Hand of Corruption in a bag of coins, satirical dedication to the "honorable" war minister of 1914-1915 whose ministry’s bungling and graft is blamed for the Russian war disasters / Jailor, a scimitar on his belt, leads the disgraced Sukhomlinov into a the fortress-prison of Saints Peter and Paul, before his execution by the provisional government, Imperial eagle on wall in background. This is apparently the first time that thisvery rare and intriguing satirical medal is being offered in a public sale.About extremely fineChief of the General Staff (1908-1909) and Minister of War until 1915, Vladimir Sukhomlinov was disliked by the army committee of the Duma and resented by Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaevich, commander-in-chief of the Russian forces in the early part of World War I. As minister of war he opposed training innovations that emphasized firearms over edged weaponry and resisted change. His enemies and detractors called him lazy, incompetent and dishonest, but his charm and favor with Tsar Nicholas II protected his position. Maurice Paleologue, the last French ambassador to the Imperial Russia, described Sukhomlinov as "intelligent, clever and cunning, obsequious towards the tsar and a friend of Rasputin – a man who has lost the habit of work – I know few men who inspire more distrust at first sight."Ultimately, the negative opinion of Sukhomlinov placed the responsibility of Russia’s military stagnation at his feet and Russia’s woeful lack of military preparation at the outbreak of World War I squarely on him. That opinion, meanwhile, at the time demonized Sukhomlinov as a sort of Rasputin in uniform. In March 1916, he was finally accused on charges of abuse of power and treason after some of his close associates had been convicted of espionage (on behalf of Germany). For the first time in Russian history a public jury took part in a political trial. In April, Sukhomlinov was imprisoned in Peter and Paul Fortress. In July, he was transferred to a hospital. His wife meanwhile sought help from Grigori Rasputin and Dr. Peter Badmayev, a Buryat Mongol popular in the upper strata of Russian society where mysticism and Tibetanicism held great fascination. Rasputin intervened on the minister’s behalf with the empress. Within six months, Sukhomlinov was freed and placed under house arrest.After the February Revolution, he was arrested again. Although acquitted of charges of treason, Sukhomlinov was found guilty of abuse of power and inactivity – leaving Russia unprepared for the Great War. Sentenced to an open-ended ‘katorga’, back he went to a fortress-prison. Turning 70, he was released on the first of May, 1918. Sukhomlinov emigrated to Finland, then Germany. In 1924 his "Memoirs" appeared. Dedicated to the deposed German Emperor Wilhelm II, and highly critical of his former Imperial colleagues, it was translated and published by the new Soviet government. Sukhomlinov himself was living then in abject poverty in Berlin. He was found frozen to death on a park bench two years later.
Estimated Value $400-UP.
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| Realized $790 |
