My Memoirs. From the Tsarist Army to the Red Army

Cavalry General A. A. Brusilov was one of the most talented generals of the Russian Imperial Army and, soon after the February Revolution, became Supreme Commander of the Russian Army. During the Civil War, he supported the young Soviet power and contributed to the military construction of Soviet Russia.

Brusilov began his military service during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878; then he taught at the Officer Cavalry School, was one of the best mounted riders in the Russian Imperial Army, and at the start of World War I he appeared as commander of the 8th Army. During the war, his army fought on the Southwestern Front in Galicia and achieved brilliant results, while Brusilov himself in 1916 became Supreme Commander of the armies of the Southwestern Front. He reacted positively to the February Revolution and actively participated in the democratization of the army, becoming its Supreme… In the Red Army, Brusilov worked on questions of cavalry training; in 1920 he signed an appeal to the military personnel of Wrangel’s army with a call to end the struggle. In 1923–1924 he served as Inspector of Cavalry of the Red Army, and then was attached to the Revolutionary Military Council.

Among Russian émigrés, attitudes toward Brusilov were far from unanimous; he was accused of “Februarism,” hypocrisy, and treachery. The general’s past merits faded into oblivion… But in Soviet Russia, until the very last day, he was surrounded by honor.