Kipryian Kandratovich

Kipryian Antonovich Kandratovich (, Kipryjan Kandratovič, ), (April 29, 1859 – October 31, 1932) was an Imperial Russian corps commander and the appointed commander of the armed forces of the short-lived Belarusian Democratic Republic.

Born in what is now Belarus, he joined the military in 1875 and served in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). He graduated from the General Staff Academy in 1884. He participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion and protection of the Chinese Eastern Railway in northern China. At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Kondratovich was tasked with the formation of the 9th East Siberian Brigade. He saw action in the Battle of Te-li-Ssu and Battle of Liaoyang, suffered a severe chest injury, and was promoted to lieutenant general. He served in Russian Turkestan and Caucasus Viceroyalty in 1907–1913. In December 1910, at the age of 51, he was promoted to general of the infantry becoming the youngest full general in the Russian Empire. In August 1913, Kandratovich was appointed commander of the 23rd Army Corps that participated in the Russian invasion of East Prussia and was nearly destroyed in the Battle of Tannenberg. After this defeat, Kandratovich was dismissed from the command and demoted to the reserve ranks. He inspected military units and briefly commanded the 75th Infantry Division in 1917.

In October 1918, Kandratovich worked to organize Belarusian military units that were approved by the Russian Provisional Government. He joined the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in April 1918 and became the Minister of the Interior in the government of Raman Skirmunt. After the German surrender in November 1918, Kandratovich worked on organizing military units to defend against the Soviet westward offensive. As the Red Army pushed forward, he evacuated to Vilnius where he briefly joined the Lithuanian government of Augustinas Voldemaras before retreating further to Hrodna in December 1918. In 1919–1920, he represented Belarus at the Paris Peace Conference. He lived a few years in Paris before retiring to his estate in near Voranava where he died in 1932.

Biography Education Kandratovich was born in the Lidsky Uyezd to a family of local nobles in 1859. According to a family legend, he was, in fact, an illegitimate son of Yuri from the princely Trubetskoy family.