Ivan Pavlovich Shevchuk

Born 1892 in the village of Chaplia, in what is now Letichev Raion, Khmel’nitskii Oblast, Ukrainian SSR; died Oct. 30, 1942, on the Northwestern Front. Partisan leader in the Far East during the Civil War of 1918–20. Major general (1940). Member of the CPSU from March 1917.

The son of a poor peasant, Shevchuk fought in World War I; he was awarded four Crosses of St. George and was promoted to ensign. After the October Revolution of 1917 he helped recruit and train Red Guard detachments in Khabarovsk. In the summer of 1918 he led Red Guard detachments on the Ussuri Front against interventionists and White Guards.

In mid-1919, in accordance with a decision of the Fifth Regional Congress of Soviets of the Far East and the Urul’ga Conference of Party and Soviet Workers, Shevchuk formed and headed the Tungus Partisan Detachment. He fought against the Japanese for Khabarovsk in April 1920 and became one of the commanders of the Second Amur Partisan Army in June of the same year. In February 1922, Shevchuk commanded an enveloping column near Volochaevka.

Shevchuk graduated from advanced courses for command personnel and served as a regimental commander. In 1929 he fought in the Soviet-Chinese conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway. Shevchuk graduated from the M. V. Frunze Military Academy in 1933. He commanded a rifle division in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45 and died in combat. Shevchuk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star, and a medal.