Mikhail Batorsky

Mikhail Alexandrovich Batorsky (; 25 January 1890 8 February 1938) was a Red Army Komkor.

The son of an officer and a member of the nobility, Batorsky fought in World War I as a staff officer, ending the war with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He sided with the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, serving as a staff officer. During the Polish–Soviet War Batorsky served as chief of staff for the 16th Army and was decorated for his leadership. After the end of the war he became a cavalry commander and was head of a cavalry school. Batorsky was executed during the Great Purge and posthumously acquitted after Stalin's death.

Early life and World War I Batorsky was born on 25 January 1890 in Saint Petersburg, the son of a General Staff officer Aleksander Batorsky (1850–1897), later the governor of Yekaterinoslav Governorate. In 1909, he graduated from the Page Corps with honors and became a cornet on 6 August, serving in Her Majesty's Own Cuirassier Regiment. On 6 August 1913 he was promoted to lieutenant. In 1914, Batorsky graduated from the General Staff Academy in the second class, with a transfer for an additional course.

After the announcement of mobilization for World War I in August 1914, he was seconded to his unit. He fought in World War I on the Northern Front and the Western Front. On 6 October Batorsky was awarded the Order of Saint Anna 4th class. He received the Order of Saint Vladimir 4th class with Swords and Ribbon on 15 March 1915. Between 20 April 1915 and 19 March 1916, he served as the senior adjutant of headquarters of the 23rd Army Corps. From 19 March to 17 April, Batorsky was the assistant senior adjutant of the General Department of the 5th Army's Quartermaster General staff. On 17 April, he became senior adjutant of the headquarters of the Guards Cavalry Corps, a position he held until March 1917. On 14 July 1916, he was promoted to staff captain, and was later promoted to captain with seniority for 19 July 1914. On 6 December 1916, Batorsky was awarded the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3rd class, with Swords. His name appears on the "Moscow-Center" list of persons designated for trial by the Supreme Court of the USSR under the 1st category, signed by Stalin, Voroshilov, Molotov and Kaganovich on 3 February 1938. He was convicted by the Supreme Court of the USSR on 7 February 1938 and shot the following day. He was buried in the Kommunarka shooting ground.

Georgy Zhukov later wrote about Batorsky:

In the summer of 1925, we were mainly engaged in field tactical training, which took place under the direct supervision of the head of the courses, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Batorsky. He passed on a great deal of knowledge and experience to us.

It is with pain in our hearts that we regret that he too did not escape a difficult fate. In 1937, he was slandered and died tragically.

Batorsky was rehabilitated on 24 August 1957.