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Supreme Ruler of Russia | |
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Верховный правитель России | |
Status | Head of state and supreme commander-in-chief |
Seat | Omsk, Russia |
Appointer | All-Russian Council of Ministers |
Formation | 18 November 1918 |
First holder | Alexander Kolchak |
Final holder | Alexander Kolchak as Supreme Ruler Anton Denikin as acting Supreme Ruler |
Abolished | 4 January 1920 |
The Supreme Ruler of Russia (Russian: Верховный правитель России, romanized: Verkhovnyy pravitel' Rossii), also referred to as the Supreme Leader of Russia, was the head of state and supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian State, an anti-Bolshevik government established by the White Movement during the Russian Civil War. For nearly two years from November 1918 until April 1920, the armies of the White Movement were nominally united under the administration of the Russian State, during which the Russian State claimed to be the sole legal government of Russia. The office's sole holder for most of its existence, and the only one to officially adopt the titles and functions of the Supreme Ruler, was Admiral Alexander Kolchak, who was elected to the position by the All-Russian Council of Ministers following the November 18 coup which overthrew the Directory.[1]
All commanders of the White armies in the south and west of Russia, as well as in Siberia and the Far East recognized the Supreme Ruler; at the turn of May — June 1919, the generals Anton Denikin, Yevgeny Miller, and Nikolai Yudenich voluntarily submitted to Alexander Kolchak and officially recognized his Supreme Command over all armies in Russia. The Supreme Commander at the same time confirmed the powers of commanders. For nearly two years, Alexander Kolchak was supported both diplomatically and militarily by the former Allied Powers of World War I. On 4 January 1920, Kolchak announced his resignation, granting the office of Supreme Ruler to Anton Denikin. Denikin served as the final acting Supreme Ruler of the Russian State, though he accepted neither the titles or functions of the office, which was finally declared extinct on 4 April 1920.