Andrei Shkuro - Definition and Overview

Andrei Grigoriyevich Shkuro (Shkura) (Андрей Григорьевич Шкуро (Шкура) in Russian) (1887-01-19 [01-07 Julian] – 1947-01-17), Lieutenant General (1919) of the White movement.

Shkuro graduated from Nikolayev Cavalry School in 1907 and later served in the Kuban Cossack Army. He took part in the World War I, during which he was a commander of a special guerrilla unit. Shkuro would be promoted to the rank of colonel.

In the spring of 1918, Shkuro organized a counterrevolutionary Cossack unit in the area of Batalpashinsk and in May-June raided Stavropol, Yessentuki and Kislovodsk. Later, he became a commander of the Kuban Cossack brigade and division in the Denikin army. In May of 1919, Shkuro was put in charge of the cavalry corps. Shkuro's army was known for its cruelty and lack of discipline, which would cause discontent even in the ranks of the White commanders.

After the defeat of the White movement, Shkuro emigrated and conducted anti-Soviet activities. In 1939–1945, he cooperated with the Nazi Germany and, at their request, took part in organizing anti-Soviet Cossack units out of White emigres and Soviet (mostly Cossack) prisoners of war. In 1945, Shkuro was detained by the British forces in Austria and handed over to the Soviet authorities in Operation Keelhaul. The Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced Andrei Shkuro to death. On January 17, 1947, he was executed.

See also

• Pyotr Krasnov