Cavalry General Count Fakeller. Literary and historical notes of a young technician

12/21/1918 - Count General Fyodor Arturovich Keller was killed in Kiev by Petliurists.

A Russian man with German roots, Count Keller by birth belonged to the Lutheran faith, in which he officially remained most of his life, as evidenced by his service record for 1910 and an earlier list of graduates of the Tver Cavalry School. However, the indisputable facts known to us relating to his last years, connected with the Great War and the Great Troubles, allow us to assert with confidence that he met his way of the cross and martyrdom in the bosom of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Anyone who carefully looked through the materials on the last years of F.A. Keller, it is striking that she is surrounded by the spirit of Orthodoxy. Not imperial, not common Christian, but precisely Orthodox.

It is known that Keller, who in 1918 was preparing to lead the monarchical Northern Army, was blessed by St. Patriarch Tikhon "a neck icon of the Sovereign Mother of God and a prosphora". This fact was made public decades later by E.N. Bezak, the wife of F.N. Bezak, then appointed by Keller as chairman of the Defense Council under the commander in chief. The patriarchal gifts were delivered to Kiev by Bishop Nestor Kamchatsky (the inspirer of one of the attempts to save the Royal Family, he was close to the Patriarch and served him at the funeral liturgy in the church of the Theological Seminary, where the names of the new martyrs and confessors of Russia were commemorated for the first time). It should be noted that the brought shrines - and the neck(underwear)the icon, and the prosphora, were objects of personal use, andbothcontained a religious meaning, unacceptable for Lutherans (who do not honor, especially not wearing icons on their bodies, and not eating prosphora).

When Keller gets the opportunity to independently choose the symbols for the Northern Army formed in his name, he prefers the double-headed eagle or other imperial symbols, which are not traditional for monarchists, but approves a white eight-pointed Orthodox cross as a sleeve insignia. During the civil war, this sign will appear only once - on the chest of the fighters from the squads of the Holy Cross of General M.K. Diterichs. Among the white military leaders, only Keller and Dieterichs can be called Orthodox monarchists, not in the political, but in the religious sense of the word.

In his address to old comrades-in-arms, Fedor Keller says: “The time has come when I again call you to follow me. Remember and read the prayer before the battle - the prayer that we read before our glorious victories, overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross and with God's help forward for the Faith, for the Tsar and for our indivisible homeland Russia. " Such a speech in the mouth of a sincere Protestant is impossible, and Keller could not prevaricate "for the good of the cause", like those commanders who were Orthodox by birth, who fawned before the Gentiles with loud phrases about the "banner prophet" and "sacred lotus".

Keller associated the future revival of Russia with nationwide repentance. His unhypocritical love, desire for everything Russian, Orthodox, and not just all-Russian, abstract state, reveals a mentality unusual for German Lutherans. The very style of the message he sent to Headquarters is unusual for official documents of that time: "The Third Cavalry Corps does not believe that You, Sovereign, voluntarily abdicated. Command, Tsar, we will come and protect You!" This syllable rather belongs to another era, the era of ancient Russia.

The commander of the life hussars and the palace commandant, Keller's friend V.N. Voeikov, in his memoirs, speaks of him as "a truly Russian, crystal clear man, imbued to the marrow of his bones with a sense of duty and love for the Motherland."

In those days when nationality was usually determined by religion, a Lutheran could be praised for everything, but even out of politeness they would not be called Russian - and vice versa, a German, Tatar or Jew converted to Orthodoxy, in the eyes of those around him, automatically fell out of the former national-religious group and entered into a new environment, becoming Russian.

Keller's German origins and his innate affiliation with the relevant religious tradition were evident. And if, at the same time, contemporaries spoke of him as a Russian, it was only because they knew exactly about his Orthodoxy. This indirectly indicates that he converted to the True Faith at a mature age, and this fact from the life of a high-ranking military leader and illustrious hero was widely known, at least among the army.

However, it would be wrong to believe that Keller acquired the Russian mentality and beliefs only after his conversion to Orthodoxy - he absorbed these qualities from a young age. His actual conversion became a matter of time (remember the story of St. Emperor Constantine the Great: from what time can he be considered a Christian - from his campaign against Maxentius, when the Truth of the Christian faith was revealed to him, or from the moment of actual baptism at the end of his life - it is clear that the first ).

In the references of contemporaries about Keller there is not a single indication of his "Germanness". Even General A.A. Brusilov, who wrote about him in his memoirs with open malice, did not dare to deny him either courage or Russianness - there simply could not be people who doubted these qualities of Keller.

Let's not forget that the World War was accompanied by anti-German hysteria and spy mania, the victims of which were many senior officers with German surnames. A typical example was the case of P. Rennenkampf, on whom, due to his origin, the failures of the Russian troops in East Prussia were attributed (after retiring, Rennenkampf converted to Orthodoxy, and a few years later, refusing to join the Red Army, death at the hands of the Bolsheviks).

“Beat them in the face and on the neck!” Russian General Fyodor Keller ordered his horsemen at the sight of the Austrian cavalrymen, whose heads were reliably protected by steel helmets. “If you can’t drink glasses, don’t drink; if you can drink a bucket, blow a bucket!” he ordered in besieged Kiev, ordering quarters of vodka to be distributed to volunteers freezing in positions. Somehow, neither these phrases, which have fallen into the memory of contemporaries, nor much else, somehow fit in with the appearance of an “honest German” in the Sovereign’s service, accustomed to evaluate the Russian way of life and the Russian faith in a European way from the outside.

In his work "A Few Cavalry Questions" (written in 1910-14), Keller condemned the desire of the high command to follow the models of Western armies and criticized the false opinion that arose "due to our constant readiness for self-spitting" (how accurately it was noticed!) Western soldier in comparison with the Russian.

Fellow soldier in the "immortal hussars", officer-Alexandrian S.A. Toporkov later wrote: "A characteristic feature of Count Keller was the dislike of everything foreign. Always and in everything he emphasized this."

In the post-revolutionary period of the "choice of orientation" - universal hopes for the support of the Germans or "allies", Keller urged not to forget about the only acceptable one - "Russian orientation". Excellent in German, he preferred to speak with the German military through an interpreter. An attempt with their help to save Keller from Petliura's arrest failed due to the fact that the Russian general, refusing to remove the saber and Georgy from his neck, threw off the German overcoat thrown over his shoulders with the words: "If you want to dress me as a completely German, then I I'm not going anywhere." Neither pleading nor threats could shake his decision.

Despite the fact that no official document has yet been found confirming the fact that F.A. Keller of the Orthodox faith, we have the opportunity to add to the above evidence and direct, obvious evidence of his belonging to the Holy Church.

Archbishop Nestor of Kamchatsky (who had previously given the Count the Patriarchal blessing with an icon and prosphora), who was in Kiev besieged by the Petliurists, wrote about how Keller, having decided to break out of the city with a group of officers, persistently asked the lord to bless him for this enterprise, which seemed to him impossible. It's no secret that Lutherans do not need the blessings of the Orthodox clergy, who are not revered and about whom they usually have a low opinion.

Keller, on the contrary, according to his diary entries, expected from the hierarchs who were with him in the Mikhailovsky Monastery a struggle and a sacrificial feat.

It is also important that the burial of Fyodor Keller was found in the old cemetery of the Intercession Convent. As you know, after the death of the general at the hands of the Petliurists, his body was exhibited in the mortuary, and from where it was taken away by relatives and buried. Since Keller was not buried by random people, the place for burial was chosen by them quite consciously. The cemeteries were then still clearly divided on the basis of religion, and Lutherans were buried separately from the Orthodox, in Kiev of that time - in the Lutheran part of the Baikovo cemetery.

And ten years later, in the Russian magazine "Double-Headed Eagle", published in France, an announcement appeared: "On Sunday, December 10/23 at 11 am, in the Cathedral Church of the Sign of the Mother of God in Paris, at the request of the monarchist association, a funeral service will be performed by Count Keller, Colonel Panteleev and Captain Ivanov" (this announcement precedes the article "Heroes of Duty" by N.D. Talberg, who, together with Keller and Panteleev, was a member of the Great United Russia monarchist organization). A memorial service for the dead soldiers was ordered by those who knew Fyodor Arturovich well in the last period of his life.

The officer and poet P. N. Shabelsky-Bork, who was with Keller in Ukraine in 1918, published his poem in the same issue of the magazine:

Knight of Glory

When Kiev is golden-domed
Suddenly, a violent wave surged again,
Count Keller, hero of Russian glory,
I did not seek salvation in flight.
He turned down all offers
He took off neither checkers nor shoulder straps:
"I went to battle hundreds of times
And I saw death," he replied.
Well, could he take off the cross of victory,
What should always be with him,
Part with the reserved saber,
Given to him by the Tsar?
Killer gang brutalized
They broke into a peaceful monastery.
He went out to meet them boldly,
Epic Russian hero.
The bastards quieted down.
They were burned and tormented by a bright gaze,
They are ashamed and no longer happy
They carry out the sentence.
Accompanied by villains
The count left his last shelter.
With him - the noble Panteleev
And the faithful captain Ivanov.
Silent night reigned all around.
Covered in a white veil
Rising a horse over the abyss,
Khmelnitsky stood as if alive.
Clearly beloved homeland,
At the moment of rampant dark forces,
He is about the One - Indivisible
In opposition to them, he spoke.
Before this gang of prisoners,
Creation of the Orthodox Cross,
Count Keller rose to his gigantic height,
Giving life for the Tsar.
So as not to meet him in the eye
By chance, even in the night,
Cowardly killing everyone from behind,
Executioners fled from the bodies.
Morning flickered. The trail is bloody
Alel on snowy silver...
So the hero of Russian glory died
With the last thought of the King...

Today is the day of memory of the faithful servant of the Sovereign, General of the Cavalry, Count Fyodor Arturovich Keller, who was villainously killed by the Petliurists in 1918.He was born in 1857 and devoted his life to military affairs. The hero of the First World War, Lieutenant-General Keller, was one of the two highest military leaders who, in the shameful days of February 1917, showed loyalty to his Sovereign by sending a telegram in response to a message about the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II: “Order the Tsar, we will come and protect You.”

The door of the monastery cell creaked disgustingly. Awakened by this creak, the three prisoners rose towards the unknown. Chattering their weapons, several figures appeared in the doorway, illuminated by the flickering light of torches. - Ordered to transfer you to prison. - Why at night? - Ordered. Three of them threw on their overcoats, slowly buttoning them up with all the buttons. The tallest of the prisoners was the first to enter the monastery courtyard, the other two silently followed him. Accompanied by guards, they went to the monastery gates. Further, their path lay along the night Kiev streets and alleys. Here appeared the walls of St. Sophia Cathedral, a monument to Bohdan Khmelnitsky. The escorts slowed down, falling further and further behind. At some point, feeling the emptiness behind their backs, the three arrested people stopped. The one who walked in front turned to his companions, quietly said: - Well, that's all, gentlemen ...

His last words were drowned out by a rifle salvo that ripped through the stillness of the December night. Then single shots rang out.

When all was quiet, the guards approached the bodies lying on the snow. The one who went first and who was destined for most of the fired bullets was dead. The other two still showed signs of life. They were finished off with bayonets.

The corpses were dumped on a cart that had been stored in advance, to which a horse, barely standing on its feet, was harnessed. Taking the horse by the bridle, she was taken to the monastery gates, where they left a terrible load to the mercy of fate. In the morning, the monks who discovered this "hearse" took the dead to a military hospital.

The next day, the bodies of the dead were exhibited in the anatomical theater. The invited relatives and friends identified Captain Ivanov, Colonel Panteleev and General Count Keller, on whose body eleven wounds gaped ...

All life is in the saddle

In 1789, the Prussian king elevated the Kellers to the GRAF dignity. During the reign of Nicholas I, they moved to Russia, adopted the Orthodox faith, and after a hundred years of impeccable service to their new homeland, they became completely Russified.

In 1877, the successor of one of the most noble families of the Russian Empire, the heir to the title, the young Count Fyodor Arturovich, who was not even twenty, fled to the Balkan War. He escaped without asking for a parental blessing, barely finishing the preparatory boarding school of the Nikolaev Cavalry School. He escaped, exchanging officer epaulettes for shoulder straps of a private of the 1st Life Dragoon Moscow Regiment. It is clear that after such liberties, the young man could return to the family nest only as a hero - alive or dead.

However, the young count was in no hurry to die. But he had no shortage of courage and heroism.

On the day of the fiercest Sheinovsky battle, when the attack of infantry battalions stormed under the roar of drums and with banners unfolded across the open plain, showering them with fire, enemy redoubts, it was Moscow dragoons in cavalry formation that broke into the fortified camp of the Turkish Pasha and decided the outcome of the battle. Keller was then among the first. And subsequently distinguished himself more than once.

At the beginning of January 1878, only thanks to the unbridled dashing of the Russian cavalry, the Ternov railway station was taken. The retreating Turks set fire to the bridge, through which ran the only way to the town. The flaming crossing was covered by an enemy battery located on the mound. Major General Strukov, who led the cavalry of the Skobelev detachment, called the hunters and, throwing up his saber, was the first to rush into the fire. Behind him - from a place in a gallop! - jerked the squadron of Moscow dragoons, in which Keller served. By some miracle they swept across the spans of the bridge engulfed in flames, flew up the slopes of the height to the cannon trenches, cut down the gun servants in the blink of an eye. And then the infantry came up ...

The young man who returned home appeared before his parents' eyes crowned with two silver Georges - soldier's insignia of III and IV degrees. And to his father’s question: “For what?”, He modestly answered: “The first - when he was carrying a report to the headquarters and did not part with the Turkish patrol. And the second - when he rode across the burning bridge. By the way, Fedor Arturovich proudly wore these awards, without taking them off, all his life, even becoming a full general.

Immediately after returning from the Balkans, Keller passed the exam at the Tver cavalry cadet school for the first officer rank and in March 1878 became an ensign. Two years later, he was transferred as a cornet to the 18th Klyastitsky Dragoon Regiment and seven years later he rose to the rank of squadron commander. Then he successfully graduated from the Cavalry Officer School in St. Petersburg and returned to the combat cavalry units with excellent certification.

It cannot be said that the count's military career at first went up steeply. He became a lieutenant colonel only at the age of thirty-seven, a colonel at forty-four. Then, in 1901, for the first time he received a separate cavalry unit under his command. But what! For three years, Fedor Arturovich headed the Crimean division, which carried out security service in Livadia during visits to the summer residence of Emperor Nicholas II and members of the royal family. Obviously, it was then that Keller became intimately acquainted with the monarch and his relatives. The result was, on the one hand, the count's selfless devotion to the last Russian tsar and, on the other hand, the boundless trust of royal persons in the ingenuous, straightforward cavalryman, for whom nothing but service and a once given oath existed.

In February 1904, Count Keller led the 15th Alexander Dragoon Regiment, stationed in Poland. In this position, he met the first Russian revolution. Martial law was introduced in the seething outskirts of the empire, and Fyodor Arturovich became the temporary governor-general of Kalish, suppressing any manifestation of sedition with an iron fist. At the same time, he almost fell victim to revolutionary militants: an attempt was made on Keller. During the explosion of a bomb thrown at him, the colonel received a shell shock and many shrapnel wounds. He survived by a miracle: he managed to catch and throw aside a deadly charge on the fly.

From this moment on, the favors of the monarch begin to fall on the faithful servant, as if from a cornucopia. In November 1906, Count Keller was appointed commander of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment, and the very next he became an aide-de-camp and enrolled in the retinue of His Imperial Majesty with simultaneous promotion to major general. Three years later, he receives a cavalry brigade under his command, and in February 1912 - the 10th cavalry division, which by the beginning of the world war he managed to make one of the most combat-ready formations of the Russian army.

As army wits joked, the count managed to rush from private to lieutenant general without leaving the saddle and bypassing the Academy of the General Staff. But despite the lack of an academic education, by the summer of 1914, Fedor Arturovich was considered the best Russian cavalry commander.

The outbreak of the First World War will confirm this: on its fields, the count will gain the reputation of "the first checker of Russia" and "the golden blade of the empire." Newspapers and magazines will talk about him with enthusiasm, he will be admired at court and in society, and thirteen- and fifteen-year-old boys from wealthy families will run away from home to the front to "serve with Keller."

In Galicia, Carpathians and Romania

On July 24, 1914, the 10th Cavalry Division, which was part of the 3rd Army of the Southwestern Front, crossed the Russian-Austrian border near the town of Vyshgorodok and, without much difficulty, knocking out the Austrians from Zbarazh, rushed in the direction of Lvov. On August 3, Count Keller's cavalry, pursuing the enemy, captured the first prisoners - about 500 soldiers and 16 officers.

And five days later, near the village of Yaroslavitsy, blades were crossed with the 4th Austrian cavalry division. That battle was the first major clash of cavalry in the war that was just flaring up. Despite the fact that the enemy had almost double superiority, Keller's subordinates managed to win a brilliant victory. As trophies, in addition to almost a thousand prisoners, they got 8 guns, more than 300 horses and all the headquarters documentation of the utterly defeated Austrian division. The awards were not long in coming: by the royal decree of September 23, the head of the division was awarded the Order of St. George IV degree, the commanders of the regiments - the St. George weapon.

In mid-August, fighting broke out near the town of Krasnik on the Southwestern Front, which escalated into the grandiose Battle of Galicia. In thirty-three days, Russian troops, advancing 280–300 kilometers, occupied Lvov, captured the Galich fortress, and came close to Krakow. Count Keller's 10th Cavalry Division played a prominent role in those days. "For accomplished feats in cases against the enemy in August-September 1914" by the St. George's Order Duma, Fedor Arturovich was introduced to the St. George's weapon. For some reason, it turned out that the saber, decorated with a black and orange lanyard, was handed to him only in April 1916, a year and a half after the events described. But it was handed over by the emperor himself. It was then that Nicholas II called the count "the first checker of Russia" ...

At the end of September 1914, the 10th Cavalry Division was transferred to General Brusilov's 8th Army, which, after breaking through the Austrian defense, drove the enemy to the Carpathian Mountains. Keller's cavalry, acting at the forefront of the advancing, captured the cities of Dobromil, Sanok and Rimanov, having withstood a stubborn battle near the village of Zaluzh, they were the first to approach the Duklinsky pass. And then the commander, who at fifty-seven did not personally stop leading the cavalry lava on the attack, almost paid with his life for his dashing and youthfulness: on December 3, the count was wounded in the leg. Fortunately, the bullet that passed right through did not damage the bone.

Fedor Arturovich was sent to Kharkov to treat the wound, where his family lived. However, the old warrior was not going to lie in a hospital bed - already on January 14, 1915, the commander of the 8th Army, General Brusilov, was surprised to read the telegram: “I report that he arrived after the wound was healed and took command of the division. Keller.

In the early spring of the second war year, cavalry corps began to form in the Russian army. Two of them were to appear as part of the 9th Army of the Southwestern Front. And it is quite logical that Count Keller was appointed commander of one of them, the 3rd Cavalry. On April 3, he was approved in this position by the highest decree.

Having not yet completed the formation of the corps, Fedor Arturovich led him into battle - as the situation demanded. Already on March 16–17, he clashed with the 42nd Hungarian infantry division and the Austrian hussar brigade, which were bypassing the left flank of the Southwestern Front, overturned them and threw them back into the territory of Bukovina. In the next two days, the corps withstood several oncoming clashes with the Austrian cavalry and on March 30 was the first to enter Hungary. For these battles, the 3rd Cavalry and personally Count Keller were awarded the praise of the Supreme Commander.

Keller presents the George Cross to the sergeant-major of the 1st Orenburg Cossack Heir to the Tsarevich Regiment.

But events on the Southwestern Front were just unfolding. At the end of April, General Lechitsky's 9th Army went on the offensive along the Dniester. During the outbreak of the Transnistrian battle, the Russian cavalry under the command of Count Keller increased its glory. In just one day of fighting, on April 27, Fyodor Arturovich's cavalrymen captured sixteen artillery pieces, two dozen machine guns from the enemy, captured about 2,000 soldiers and 23 officers. During the further offensive of the Russian troops, the 7th Austro-Hungarian army was driven back beyond the Prut.

On May 1, 1915, Count Keller was awarded the Order of St. Anna, I degree with swords, for military successes. And ten days later he was awarded an even higher distinction - the Order of St. George III degree. It is noteworthy that on the same days Fedor Arturovich received an award from the Orenburg Cossacks who fought under him, which was later approved by the Emperor - the title of Honorary Cossack of the Orenburg Cossack Host. Since then, the "count-Cossack" constantly wore a huge furry wolf hat on his head, and on his chest - the sign of the Orenburg Cossack army.

It must be said that the Keller cavalrymen did not lag behind their dashing commander in the "collection of awards": in March-June 1915 alone, 867 dragoons, Cossacks, hussars and artillerymen of the 3rd cavalry corps were presented to the St. George Cross of various degrees.

Alas, at the beginning of the summer the situation on the Southwestern Front changed dramatically - a powerful offensive of German troops near Gorlitsa began. After two weeks of bloody battles, the Russian armies were squeezed out by the Germans across the San River. In June, the Germans captured Lvov and Przemysl, driving the Russians out of Galicia. To avoid encirclement between the Vistula and the Bug, the Headquarters decided to retreat from Poland. It was not until mid-September that the front was stabilized on the Riga-Dvinsk-Pinsk-Dubno-Novosiltsy line. Both sides were preparing for a new summer campaign.

The year 1916 remained in the history of the First World War primarily as the year of the Lutsk (Brusilovsky) breakthrough, which began at the end of May. In its course, the troops of the Southwestern Front captured almost 9,000 Austrian officers, more than 408,000 lower ranks, captured 581 guns, 1,795 machine guns, 448 bombers and mortars, and took away from the enemy a territory of more than 25,000 square meters. kilometers. Russia's Western allies never dreamed of such successes throughout the war!

Left to right: Count Keller, General Brusilov

The corps of Count Keller, whose number by the beginning of the offensive had been increased to 15,000 sabers, took the most active part in the Lutsk breakthrough, noticeably standing out with its valor even against the background of the best parts of the Russian army, showing mass heroism, which was noted by General Brusilov himself.

During the offensive, Keller's cavalry, pursuing the retreating enemy, entered the Carpathians. The cavalry was forced to take unusual positions in the trenches. Riding the peaks and passes, units of the 3rd Cavalry Corps fought off the continuous attacks of the Austrians. The enemy pulled up heavy guns and with crazy fire literally compared the Russian fortifications to the ground.

On June 16, Fedor Arturovich, during another artillery raid, was wounded in his right leg by a shrapnel bullet that split the bone. This time he had to leave his native building for three months. All this time, the Kellerites continued to fight stubbornly and, as the prisoners later showed, not only withstood the onslaught of 30 fully equipped Austrian and German battalions, supported by numerous artillery, but also threw them back to their original positions.

Count Keller returned to his valiant cavalry only at the end of September. By this time, Romania entered the war on the side of the Entente. And almost immediately she had to be saved from defeat. The 9th Russian Army, and with it the 3rd Cavalry Corps, became part of the newly formed Romanian Front.

The weak combat effectiveness of the newly-minted ally caused irritation and discontent of Fedor Arturovich, whose corps was forced to constantly close the Romanian units that were worthless in combat. Keller remembered these warriors from Plevna, when Moscow dragoons (it happened!) Saved captured Turks from their excesses and robbery.

By the end of 1916, parts of the 3rd Cavalry Corps, after many months of continuous heavy fighting, were in dire need of rest. In addition, the Romanians constantly exposed the corps to blows, not bothering themselves with such “trifles” as supplying the Russian cavalrymen with all that without which it is impossible to live or fight. Often, Romanian soldiers simply plundered transports intended for the Russians, which caused armed clashes between the allies. Due to poor nutrition due to the disgusting work and theft of the Romanian quartermasters and the equally poor supply of medicines, the personnel and horses of the Keller corps mowed down diseases no worse than Austrian and German bullets. And by January 1917, Fedor Arturovich had no more than 3000 bayonets and sabers with 650 horses left in the ranks. So the corps could be considered a cavalry corps except by name ...

On January 15, 1917, Count Keller was promoted to general of the cavalry by royal decree. In the Russian army, this was the last promotion to full generals, signed by the Emperor. And five days later, the withdrawal of parts of the weakened 3rd Cavalry Corps began from Yass to Russian Bessarabia.

In the rear, the impending chaos was already felt ...

In the whirlpool of bloody turmoil

MARCH 2, 1917, as soon as the manifesto of Nicholas II on the abdication of the throne was announced in the troops, Keller gathered his officers. The count was laconic: “Gentlemen, I have just sent a telegram to the king, asking him not to leave us and not to take away from us the rightful heir to the throne. I do not believe that the sovereign abdicated voluntarily! And if he asks for it, the 3rd Cavalry Corps will always come to his defense. The last words of the commander were drowned in the enthusiastic cries of his desperate grunts, who were really ready, at the first command of their adored chief, to rush even to hell with the horns. To say that Fyodor Arturovich was loved in the army means to say nothing ... A few hours later the answer came.

True, not from the emperor, but from the commander of the Russian armies of the Romanian Front, General Dmitry Grigorievich Shcherbachev. He ordered Keller to immediately surrender command of the corps, otherwise he threatened to declare him a rebel. Without waiting for direct orders from Nicholas II, the count was forced to obey the order received. To the sounds of "God Save the Tsar!" The sixty-year-old general said goodbye to his soldiers and officers. After leaving the active army, Keller went to Kharkov, where his family was. There he experienced both a surge of nationalist sentiments in Little Russia, which caused the Ukrainization of the southwestern Russian provinces, and the October coup in the capital, after which power passed to the Bolsheviks, and the subsequent occupation of Ukraine by German troops. Fedor Arturovich did not participate in any political activity in those days, although several times he received at his home envoys from monarchist organizations that aimed at liberating royal family from Tobolsk imprisonment. In April 1918, with the support of the Germans, an independent state was proclaimed in Ukraine, headed by Hetman Skoropadsky. German bayonets protected numerous hetman headquarters and a single division from the attacks of the Red Army. Thanks to this, by the summer, Kiev, along with the Don, became one of the main centers of anti-Bolshevik resistance. It was there that many right-wing politicians gathered. The vast majority of them dreamed of seeing Count Keller at the head of the Southern Army, created with the help of the German military. To their great surprise, Fyodor Arturovich refused, telling the delegates that “they are all trying either in the interests of the allies in the Entente, or yesterday's German enemies. And we must act in the interests of the Russian tsar and remember that we are all Russians first of all. Isn't it amazing: a man with Prussian roots in the days of general chaos and the collapse of the empire remained the most ardent Russian patriot, taught native Russians how to love and defend Russia! At the same time, Keller corresponded with Generals Alekseev and Denikin, who stood at the head of the Volunteer Army. Former associates called the count to the Don. He answered that “the fight against Bolshevism can be waged only with the name of an autocratic tsar. It is possible to collect and unite the scattered ones only around one specific person. But you are silent about this person, who can only be a born, legitimate sovereign. Announce that you are going for a lawful sovereign, and all the best that remains in Russia will follow you without hesitation. On other conditions, Fyodor Arturovich, a convinced and adamant monarchist, refused to join the Volunteer Army. In September 1918, officers of the Northern Army, which was formed on the territory of the Pskov province and the Baltic states, arrived in Kiev. Although it was already known about the execution of Nicholas II and the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei, it was initially proclaimed that the soldiers and officers of this army would take an oath to the Russian monarch. The old charters and the old uniform were introduced in the regiments with the addition of a stripe - a white cross on the left sleeve. Fedor Arturovich was invited to arrive in Pskov and lead the army, aimed at St. Petersburg - the capital of the empire. The count, having received the blessing of Patriarch Tikhon, agreed. And he even promised to raise the imperial standard over the Winter Palace before the New Year. However, in November, the troops of defeated Germany, in accordance with the terms of the armistice concluded with the Entente countries, began to withdraw to the pre-war borders. Taking advantage of the situation, supporters of Ataman Petliura rebelled against the hetman. A graduate of the Corps of Pages, Skoropadsky, who felt confident only on the palace floor, was not able to organize any decent resistance to the rebels. Knowing Keller from his service in the royal retinue, the hetman turned to the general for help, temporarily transferring to him all military and civil power in Ukraine. Calling himself the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian and Northern armies, Fyodor Arturovich began to act, emphasizing in his address to officers and cadets that “he will make every effort and lay down his head only to create a great, united Russia, and not for separating a federal state from it.” In Kiev, the troops loyal to him immediately began to tear down the yellow-blue flags, replacing them with the Russian tricolor ... The count lasted a little more than a week in his new position. During the ten days that Fedor Arturovich held the post of commander-in-chief, having at his disposal units that were far from the strongest in combat terms, he nevertheless managed to somewhat improve the situation with the defense of Kiev. The untrained and unfired hetman's army, which consisted of more than half of yesterday's high school students and students, who had previously suffered only failures at the front, unexpectedly went on the offensive, throwing the Petliurists away from the city and capturing four guns. In that battle, the aged count personally led the chains in the attack, limping and leaning on a stick. The Hetman's government perked up and immediately ... found a reason to remove Keller. They were served by the execution without trial by officers of one of the Keller squads of thirteen captured Petliurists caught looting. The officers were court martialed and immediately executed, and the count, who allegedly lost control of the army, was dismissed. Resigning, Fyodor Arturovich issued the last order, ending with the words: "Let whoever wants to protect this Ukraine, and I'm leaving." On December 1, 1918, Petliura's troops entered Kiev.

Hetman Skoropadsky and Prince Dolgorukov, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian troops appointed to replace Keller, fled despite promises to “die among the regiments”. The Sich Riflemen, who broke into the city, began to do such things that even the German invaders who remained in Kiev had their hair on end: the Petliurists betrayed to painful death the Russian officers and other defenders of the city caught on the streets, mocked already dead bodies. These bloody outrages could not but cause a response. In the Ukrainian capital, armed groups of Russian officers and cadets began to spontaneously gather in order to simply protect their lives. One of the participants in those events later recalled: “When the Russian officers left by everyone rushed around Kiev in search of someone to entrust their fate to, one of us got the idea to turn to Count Keller, who then lived in a private apartment, with a request to become the head of the remnants of the troops and get them out of the city. The count, who perfectly understood the difficulty and even the hopelessness of such an attempt, did not, however, consider it possible not to come to the call of the Russian officers. Fedor Arturovich hoped that “with due energy, it is still possible to break through to the Dnieper and that the enemy, seeing an organized army ready to join the battle, will agree to let all the volunteer squads to the Don without resistance and bloodshed, since he could not detain them in Kiev no calculation." The general's assumptions were not justified: everywhere his detachment ran into the fierce resistance of the Petliurists, each time losing part of their fighters. In the end, the remnants of the last defenders of Kiev gathered on Sophia Square. No more than 70 sullenly silent officers and beardless junkers crowded around Count Keller, who did not hide their fear. Glancing at them, Fyodor Arturovich gave the order to take off their shoulder straps and disperse, getting rid of their weapons along the way. The general himself with several officers took refuge in the Mikhailovsky Monastery.

Last days of the last defender of the monarchy

AMAZINGLY, but the Germans, his former opponents in the war, made an attempt to save the count. Keller's stay in the monastery was not a secret, and in the evening of the same day representatives of the German command arrived to him with a proposal to drive in a closed car to the German city commandant's office, where his life would be completely safe.

Keller refused. Russian officers joined the Germans. “We took the count almost by force out of the cell into the courtyard and brought him to the exit from the fence,” Colonel N. D. Nelidov wrote in his memoirs, published in exile. - On the way, at the request of the German major, they threw a German overcoat over the count and replaced his huge wolf hat with a German cap, to which he reluctantly obeyed. When the major asked him to remove the saber and George from his neck so that these items would not be conspicuous when leaving the car, the count angrily threw off his cap and overcoat, saying: “If you want to dress me as a completely German, then I won’t go anywhere.” ". Then he turned and went back to the cell.

No pleading could change his mind." It seems that it was at these moments that Fyodor Arturovich abandoned all hope of personal salvation and, realizing what end awaited him, began to prepare for a worthy end to his earthly journey. The next day, Petliurists came to the monastery with a search. After some time, the monks suggested that the count and Colonel Panteleev and the staff captain Ivanov, who remained with him, go through an underground passage to the building already inspected by the Sich. But Fyodor Arturovich refused. Moreover, he ordered one of his adjutants to inform the searchers that he, Count Keller, a cavalry general, was in the monastery. Immediately, the Petliurists rushed into the cell, declaring all three arrested and demanding to hand over their weapons.

Petlyura's officers, with almost childlike curiosity, examined the St. George saber - a gift from the emperor! - noticed a grin on the face of the general, whose chest was almost touched by the tips of several bayonets. St. George's weapon, taken from Count Keller, was presented by the Sich as a gift to ataman Simon Petliura. Girded with this sword, the ataman drove into the Ukrainian capital occupied by his troops. All this pretentious ceremony was vividly described in his memoirs “The Beginning of an Unknown Age” by its unwitting witness Konstantin Paustovsky, the future famous Soviet writer, and in December 1918, an ordinary defeated by the Petliurists of Serdyutsky, the clairvoyant pan hetman of the Skoropadsky regiment, making his way to his Kiev apartment through enthusiastic crowds " independents". Count Keller did not see all this, as he was under arrest in a monastery cell. On the night of December 20-21, its doors were thrown open, and three prisoners were taken outside the gates of the Mikhailovsky Monastery, ostensibly to be transferred to prison. Even in the monastery courtyard, Fyodor Arturovich noticed a cart harnessed by one horse, which slowly set off after the guards. And I realized how it all ends ...

To the unforgettable memory of the valiant General Keller

Unique photos from the count's personal album

General F.A. Keller with his officers

.

Soldiers - Knights of St. George

Saber swing -

And the pipes sighed heavily -

see off

Light dust.

With a branch of green cap -

In their heads.

Deaf, deaf

Idle noise.

Let's pay the last debt

Those who gave the debt - the soul.

Marina Tsvetaeva "To the Junkers killed in Nizhny"

Cavalry General Count Fyodor Arturovich Keller is one of the most famous domestic commanders and became truly legendary during his lifetime. But it is no less important that he forever remained in our history a symbol of nobility, honor and loyalty to the oath - the general fulfilled his duty to the end and paid for it with his life without hesitation. Keller's attitude to issues of honor and duty is vividly characterized by an entry in his personal diary, which explains his entire life path and the general's Golgotha: the vast majority of people."

Even the place of his martyrdom contains a deeply symbolic character - the Russian general and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian State was killed near the monument to Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky. A monument that has become forever a visible personification of the indestructible Russian-Ukrainian unity, repeatedly sealed over the centuries by the blood shed together in the wars for the common Motherland.

The future commander was born on October 12, 1857 in Kursk. His father, Major General Count Arthur Keller, came from a noble Swabian family. Fyodor Arturovich's grandfather, Count Fyodor Keller, entered the military service in Russia at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander I and was a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaigns of the Russian army.

Mother Natalia von Rosenshield-Paulin also came from a well-known noble family of German origin, whose representatives held prominent positions in the administrative apparatus of the Russian Empire and the Russian Imperial Army.

Like his ancestors, who shed blood in the sovereign service, the young man could not imagine any other way than military service and went to study at the preparatory boarding school of the Glorious Guards School. So lovingly called it the graduates of the Nikolaev Cavalry School, which trained several generations of the best cavalrymen of the empire.

However, Keller did not have to study at the school itself. When the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 began, he considered it his duty to go to the theater of operations and personally take part in the liberation of the Slav brothers from the Ottoman yoke. After graduating from the seventh grade of the boarding school, the count, without the knowledge of his parents, volunteered for the war, which caused extraordinary enthusiasm for the entire Russian society. He signed up as a volunteer in the 1st Life Dragoon Moscow Regiment of His Imperial Majesty Alexander II, in which he went to fight in the Balkans.

In the war, the young volunteer immediately showed extraordinary courage, which did not go unnoticed. For the bloody battle near Sheinov and the occupation of the Semenli Ternov station, he was awarded the soldier's Georges of the 3rd and 4th degrees, and participated in the dashing capture of the city of Germanli by the Life Dragoons. At the same time, which happened very rarely and was considered a special honor, Keller received both of his awards directly from the hands of the commander - Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich Sr.

It is significant that until the end of his life, due to his extreme modesty, the count avoided stories about his military exploits in the Russian-Turkish war, however, as well as all subsequent ones. And if he spoke about military awards, then in a somewhat ironic way. For example, to frequent questions about the received soldier Georges, he answered with a grin: “The first cross was due to his inexperience: he carried orders as an orderly and instead of headquarters ran into a Turkish trench. The Turks fired on me, but the authorities saw me and rewarded me. And the second cross for jumping the burning bridge. That's all!"

When the war against the Ottoman Empire ended victoriously (although, due to the mediocrity of Russian diplomacy, this practically did not give the Russian Empire any geopolitical benefits), Keller was promoted to ensign for military distinctions by the Highest Decree. Soon he passed the exam at the Tver cavalry cadet school, which gave him the right to further production.

In 1879, Ensign Keller was appointed to the 6th Hussar (18th Dragoon) Klyastitsky Regiment of His Great German Highness Prince Ludwig of Hesse, famous for its military traditions. Here, the future general from the cavalry went from cornet (in this rank he was renamed from warrant officers during the transfer) to captain and squadron commander.

Even in this regiment, so famous in the army, where traditionally all the officers were excellent cavalrymen, Keller stood out for his special love for cavalry. This was one of the reasons (and not just family ties, as ill-wishers claimed) that the commander of the Vilna military district, the hero of the Crimean War, Adjutant General Count Eduard Totleben took in 1882 a young cavalry officer as his personal adjutant. However, Keller, who did not like him, did not perform adjutant duties for long, and the next year he returned to his native regiment again.

In 1889, the count brilliantly graduated from the department of squadron commanders of the Cavalry Officer School, which trained the best cavalry commanders for the army and guards and enjoyed the highest authority not only in Russia, but throughout Europe. Again, against the background of brilliant cavalrymen, he stands out for his devotion to equestrian science and understanding of the role of cavalry in modern warfare.

In 1894, Keller received the epaulettes of a lieutenant colonel for distinction in service and was assigned to the 24th Dragoon Lubensky His Imperial Highness Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria Regiment.

Seven years later, he was briefly transferred to the 23rd Voznesensky Dragoon Regiment, and on May 2, 1901, he was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the Crimean division. This was a particularly responsible assignment - the Crimean division guarded the royal residence in Livadia, had direct contact with members of the imperial family, and therefore the requirements for its commander were especially high in everything.

In 1903, Keller was assigned to the 11th Kharkiv Dragoon Regiment, and the following year he was already the commander of the 15th Alexandria Dragoon Regiment (from the day it was founded in 1783 until 1882, a hussar, then a dragoon and again from 1907 a hussar). It was a special military formation of the Russian Imperial Army, the chief of which was Empress Alexandra Feodorovna herself.

The regiment, famous for its incredible courage in many battles, has long had a reputation as a unit that fights to the end under any circumstances and performs the most difficult, completely impossible for others, tasks.

Unofficially, the name of the “black hussars” was permanently attached to the regiment (according to the color of the historical uniform, which consisted of a black mentic, a black dolman with a red collar and cuffs, and black chakchirs), as well as “hussars of death” and “immortals”.

As the “black hussar” Baron Karl Gustav Mannerheim wrote about his regiment, who later became widely known, “By tradition, the regiment may die, but not surrender. The military unit is stationed in Kalisz on the border with Prussia. It is a privilege that in case of war he will be the first to come into contact with the enemy.

The regimental song of the "Black Hussars" was very popular in numerous variations throughout Russia and, in fact, became a folk song. Let us quote these lines, which more than once inspired the desperately brave hussars to fight to the death:

Who did not know, did not see

cherished feats,

Who did not know, did not hear

About the immortal hussars!

Chorus:

March forward!

The trumpet is calling

black hussars,

March forward!

Our death awaits

Cast the spell!

Start, sing

Regimental song;

Pour, drink

Chara is circular!

Chorus:

Don't cry, don't grieve

My dear!

If they kill, forget -

Know this is fate.

Chorus:

Do not stand, but snore

Raven horses.

They don't rust, they burn

Sabers are crooked.

As a commander, Keller was remembered as extremely strict. But not the strictness necessary in the army, but the inability to be comfortable with the authorities, evoked negative emotions in some generals, which were later reflected in memoirs. An exact description of Keller as a commander was given in his memoirs by one of the most famous military commanders-cavalrymen of the period of the Civil War, Lieutenant General of the All-Russian Union of Youth Union Andrey Shkuro (for some time he was at the front subordinate to the count): “He was even with small people in circulation and in extremely polite and delicate; somewhat dry with senior bosses. With the authorities, if he considered himself hurt, he went positively to the knives. That's why the tops didn't like him. A tireless cavalryman who did a hundred miles a day, getting off his saddle only to change his exhausted horse, he was an example for everyone.

How worried Keller was about the position of a simple soldier, and resented the injustice towards him, the following words of Fyodor Arturovich testify best of all: Such orders were explained by the fact that the soldiers embarrass the public, they don’t know how to keep themselves at the festivities, just as they don’t know how to walk along crowded streets and are sometimes shown very dirtyly dressed. It would seem that it is time to change the view of the soldier, it is time to look at him as an adult, full-fledged person, responsible for his actions and for his behavior, and it is time to educate him in this direction, showing him complete trust, but at the same time tirelessly and strictly demanding from him a sober behavior, the preservation of military dignity and the ability to behave on the streets and in crowded places ... "

And in the training of soldiers, the commander of the "immortals" invariably upheld the principle that "soldiers must be taught what is necessary in war." And the count was absolutely sure of success: “The upbringing that I advocate will not immediately, of course, bring the desired results and give rise to many troubles and troubles at first, but two years will not pass, as the appearance of our lower rank, its self-consciousness and self-respect will change completely."

The revolutionary unrest that began in 1905 placed new heavy duties on the commander of the Alexandria regiment, in fulfilling which he constantly risked his life. Maintaining order in Kalush (including countering the terrorists who raised their heads) aroused the fierce hatred of the revolutionaries for Keller. It was all the more aggravated by the fact that the count, unlike some other military and civil officials, did not lose his head in unusual circumstances and firmly, without flirting with opponents political system(and historical statehood in general), did his duty.

Keller was sentenced to death by terrorists, and twice she walked right next to him very close. For the first time, an unknown terrorist threw a bomb at the count when he was riding with his wife in a carriage. Showing amazing composure, Keller intercepted the lethal projectile in flight, carefully placed it on the seat and personally rushed in pursuit of the criminal.

The second time, death approached the commander of the “immortals” even more, he literally looked into her face. Not without reason, shortly after the miraculous rescue, the count received a message from the terrorists containing a significant promise: "... for the first time we sent fools, soon we will send smarter people."

When Keller, accompanied by several officers, was returning from regimental exercises, a high-power bomb filled with striking elements was thrown at him. The count was seriously shell-shocked, and there were several dozen fragments in his leg.

After a long treatment in November 1906, Keller was appointed commander of the Life Guards Dragoon Regiment. The fact that the commander of the "black hussars" (and Keller proudly wore the regimental badge until the end of his life) was appointed to command one of the most famous guards cavalry regiments was a sign of special trust and goodwill on the part of the emperor.

As in any guards regiment, the Life Dragoons had a special atmosphere. For example, the former Life Dragoon De Witt, already in his declining years, wrote about her in the following way in the white émigré military-historical magazine Voyennaya Bl': “Our batmen and messengers had a special vocabulary: our boots, our suitcase, our horse, etc. d. When talking about some events, it’s only me and the master or us with Their High Nobility, but always and everywhere “we” without fail. It was touching and indicative of how close we really are in the regiment with our people, sharing together the sorrows and joys of camp life.

Colonel von Grimm, who led the life dragoon regiment in exile, later recalled what kind of commander Keller was: “Count Keller was a tireless and very strict regiment commander, we were more afraid of him than the “enemy”. He entered everything, was everywhere, suddenly, on maneuvers, appeared in the outposts, followed the reconnaissance and ordered to attack and catch enemy scouts "for real". God forbid, to get caught yourself and give the sent report. This is where the fights started. They fought back with anything, it got to the point that they pulled out checkers and somehow pulled someone flat on the back and wounded his horse. There were complaints about the Life Dragoons. Keller only smiled and in the end, forbade pulling out the checkers, but added:

But in captivity still do not dare to surrender.

Above, Keller's command of the life dragoons was highly appreciated (and each of the commanders of the guards regiments was watched very closely at court). In 1907, he became an aide-de-camp, and soon received the shoulder straps of a major general "with enrollment in the retinue of His Imperial Majesty."

Three years later, the count was appointed to command the 1st brigade of the Caucasian cavalry division, and in 1912 - the head of the 10th cavalry division stationed in the Kharkov province, commanding which he was promoted to lieutenant general.

Keller's division becomes one of the best in the Russian Imperial Army in terms of combat training, and under his command it goes to war in 1914, where, as part of the 3rd Army of Infantry General Nikolai Ruzsky, it takes part in the victorious Battle of Galicia.

On the Southwestern Front, in the very first battles, the division achieves resounding successes. The remarkable military historian of the white emigration, Anton Kersnovsky, in his classic History of the Russian Army, singled out the 10th Cavalry Division, which retained the fighting traditions established by Keller even after the change of chief: “The 10th Cavalry Division was lucky to find a leader in the person of Count Keller. She glorified her standards in the equestrian battle on August 8, 1914 at Yaroslavitsa, chopping up the 4th Austro-Hungarian division (squadrons and hundreds of all four regiments), at Przemysl and Yavorov with selfless attacks on infantry and artillery, at Rava Russkaya, where the Odessa lancers rescued the 9th infantry division, in the Carpathian foothills, in the Krakow campaign, transferred in the early spring of 1915 to the Bessarabian-Bukovina line, it, under the command of General Markov (remaining all the time in the III cavalry corps of Count Keller), distinguished itself at Khotyn, Balamutovka and Rzhaventsev , chopping up the 42 division of the Honved.

Note that during the battle at Yaroslavitsa (which became the last major cavalry battle in world history), when a critical situation developed, Keller personally rushed into battle, accompanied by only a few orderlies. His determination and courage so inspired the soldiers that the Austrians were crushed and suffered huge losses.

It is significant that the former senior adjutant of the headquarters of the 10th Cavalry Division, Captain Alexander Slivinsky, believed that the victory over the vastly superior enemy forces at Yaroslavitsa was achieved not only due to Keller's talent as a commander, but also due to his enormous moral authority among the troops. As he, already in exile, wrote in a special study published in Serbia in 1921 dedicated to this battle, “Equestrian battle of the 10th Cavalry Division of General Count Keller on August 8/21, 1914 near the village of Yaroslavice”: “Did the General Count Keller, under such circumstances, risk giving battle to a significantly superior enemy?

Most scientific researchers will answer this question in the negative. The vast majority of commanders, having fallen into a position similar to the one above, would prefer to evade combat, at least until reinforcements arrive.

But General Count Keller decided otherwise ... and, perhaps, he had his reasons.

These foundations must be sought in the psyche, which was based on the deep trust of the leader in his troops and on the no less strong faith of the troops in their commander.

It must be said that General Count Keller was a stern, sometimes too stern boss and commander, but at the same time an infinitely attentive and cordial father to his subordinates. There seemed to be no limit to the strictness of General Count Keller, but at the same time there were no limits to his concern for the troops entrusted to him. No one so strongly pursued the slightest omissions in the service, but no one knew how to approach the soldier's environment so simply, sincerely and kindly, to understand its needs and desires, as the count always managed to do.

The subordinates were afraid, but were devoted to him, loved and bowed before the powerful personality, iron will and tireless energy of their Chief. The troops trembled, but adored, selflessly believed in their commander and just as selflessly entrusted their lives to him.

General Count Keller possessed the ability, inherent only in outstanding military leaders, to electrify the troops, inspire and captivate the masses to the most desperate and dangerous undertakings, to brilliant deeds and to heavy sacrifices. . .

Of course, this living connection between the commander and the troops was not accidental. General Count Keller was the Chief of the 10th Cavalry Division for more than two years before the war, and it was a period of hard, unceasing work in combat training of units and education of personnel. General Count Keller not only perfectly knew all his officers, but also every soldier and Cossack. In our age of passion for technology and theoretical formulas, the well-known aphorism of Napoleon: “Victory depends on 3/4 of the spirit and 1/4 of matter”, sometimes it seemed that it was ready to fade or was taken on faith without proper insight into its meaning, without leaving besides, outside the military school. They got used to looking at military operations on a large or small scale as a mechanical phenomenon. The properties of the human soul were overlooked; It was forgotten that combat is first of all a human drama, in which the psyche reaches the greatest tension, where it powerfully struggles with the forms and formulas that bind and regulate it, breaking which, the spirit often defeats the mathematically precise calculations of matter.

For the brilliantly won battle at Yaroslavice, Keller was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. This was the first military award of the general in the World War, and until its end he will still be awarded the Order of St. George 3rd degree, the St. George weapon and the Order of St. Anna 1st degree with swords.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wrote with undisguised delight about Keller's actions during the Battle of Galicia: “Count Keller is doing something incredible. With his division, he had already crossed the Carpathians and, despite the fact that the Sovereign asked him to be more careful, he answered Him: "I'm going forward."

However, unfortunately, Ruzsky failed to take advantage of the results of Keller's victory and strategically build on the success achieved. As Kersnovsky correctly noted: "The victory at Yaroslavitsa ... inspired our cavalry, but, alas, all its capabilities were not used."

A vivid portrait of Keller at the front was left by the journalist of the most popular newspaper in the empire, Novoye Vremya, Kravchenko: “... during our first attack on Galicia and after, he caused a lot of trouble to the Austrian troops, and more than once caused them very sensitive losses. Severe in character, very demanding, at the same time he was distinguished by the unconditional talent of a commander and the special flair of a cavalryman. Courage, coupled with the ability to control oneself, quickly assess the situation, and notice the enemy's mistakes made him a formidable opponent. But, despite his character, he was loved in his own way by fellow officers and lower ranks, of which the latter called him simply "Count". Many glorious deeds of this war are connected with the name of Count Keller. Having somehow broken through the line of enemies, for a long time he was in charge of them in the rear with his amazing division, and all the efforts of the Austrians to catch him were in vain. Once he even captured the convoy of almost an entire corps, and suffered almost no losses. In the end, after a long chase, Count Keller's division was surrounded on all sides. There seemed to be no way out. But even here, the calmness, courage and talent of a cavalryman gave him the opportunity to divert the attention of the Austrians with a whole series of demonstrative attacks and then, breaking through where he was least expected, leave.

During the fighting in the Carpathians, Keller was wounded, but soon returned from the hospital to his division, not considering it possible to leave it for a long time.

It should be noted that the troops loved the count not only for outstanding personal courage. No matter how difficult the combat situation, he did everything possible to alleviate the situation of ordinary soldiers. For example, the former commander of the 10th Ingermanland Hussar Regiment, Colonel Vasily Cheslavsky, recalled what measures the division chief took to combat the cholera epidemic that broke out: “Count Keller himself went around all the patients twice a day, making sure that each patient had bottles with hot water and to rub those who have severe vomiting and writhing. Paying tribute to the count, he completely ignored the danger of getting infected - he approached the seriously ill and rubbed their hands himself, tried if the bottled water was hot, talked, consoled the sick that they had cholera in a mild form ... This greatly encouraged the sick soldiers morally.

He demanded the same care for the sick from the entire command staff of the division ...

One evening, the count called all the regimental commanders to a meeting. He was very excited and, as soon as we gathered, he immediately began to scold everyone for the insufficient care shown for the sick.

The commander of the cavalry artillery battalion got up and said:

What more can we do? Everything that depended on us and that you demanded, we fulfilled, and it is not in our power to stop cholera.

The count flew into a rage, jumped up from his chair, struck

"It always seemed to me disgusting and deserving of contempt when people for personal benefit, profit or personal security are ready to change their beliefs, and such people are the vast majority."
F. A. Keller

Few people manage to live life, remaining throughout its entire length by themselves. One of the few who succeeded was Count General of the Cavalry Fyodor Arturovich Keller, "the first checker of Russia", who received it personally from the hands of the Emperor himself. This title spoke of many things, because the "second checker of Russia" was General and Donskoy Ataman Kaledin, who, as they say, still in the cradle held it in his hands, instead of a toy. A holder of two soldier orders of St. George, who went from a volunteer to a full general, from the Russian-Turkish war to the end of the First World War, Count Keller honestly fulfilled his duty.

In the troubled days of February, only five senior officers saved the honor of the Russian officers. So the guards colonel Kutepov, being on vacation these days in St. Petersburg, almost alone, commanding the entire company of soldiers, almost restored order in the capital. And if the commander of the district, General Khabalov, had initiative and courage, like Kutepov, the February revolution would not have happened. If General Ruzsky, (one of the main culprits of the abdication of the tsar), General Ivanov, had not stopped General Ivanov by his order already on the way to Tsarskoe Selo, then the battalion of St. George Cavaliers under the command of Colonel Timanovskiy, nicknamed "iron" for his endurance, would have been able to prevent what happened and restore proper order . Major-General Baron A.G. Vineken, chief of staff of a separate cavalry corps in the absence of the commander of Adjutant General Khan Hussein Nakhichevansky, beat off a telegram signed by him against the royal abdication and reported this to the commander who returned later. He was alarmed and hurried to send a refutation. Baron Wieneken went into the next room and shot himself. Count Keller, commander of the Third Cavalry Corps, lined up his Cossacks, hussars and dragoons, to whom he read the text of his telegram: "The Third Cavalry Corps does not believe that You, Sovereign, voluntarily renounced the Throne. Order, Tsar, we will come and protect You." The telegram was intercepted by Ruzsky and Alekseev and it did not reach the tsar. The Provisional Government naturally did not want to have him in command, and he himself refused to take an oath to the Provisional Government and handed over the corps to General Krymov. (The same one who, a few months later, would shoot himself after the failure of the so-called "Kornilov rebellion" in August 1917). The last time the disgraced count will pass by his soldiers, the last time the orchestra will play the hymn "God Save the Tsar".

Here is an extract from Wikipedia, so as not to retell it in my own words:
“He was called to the Don, but he refused Denikin: “Each of your volunteers feels that it is possible to collect and unite the scattered people only to one specific place or person. You are silent about this person, who can only be a born, legitimate Sovereign. that you are going for the legitimate Sovereign, and all the best that remains in Russia, and all the people yearning for firm power, will follow you without hesitation.
In Kiev, the monarchists wanted to see Keller at the head of the Southern Army, created with the help of the German military. Keller also refused. “Here, part of the intelligentsia adheres to the allied orientation, the other, the majority, adherents of the German orientation, but both of them have forgotten about their Russian orientation.”
He also rejected the proposal of the right-wing Russian circles to lead the pro-German Astrakhan army.
In early November, he received an invitation from Hetman Skoropadsky to command his troops in Ukraine. On November 5, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops on the territory of Ukraine with the subordination of civil authorities to him. However, already on November 13, he was removed from his post and appointed assistant to the new commander-in-chief, Gen. Prince A.N. Dolgorukov.

At the end of November, monarchist officers arrived in Kiev from Pskov with a proposal to lead the Northern Army, which was created on the territory of the Pskov and Vitebsk provinces with the help of the German army and has a bright monarchical coloring - at the end of the formation, the ranks of the army were supposed to take an oath "to the legitimate Tsar and the Russian state" . The old charters and the old uniform were introduced in the regiments with the addition of a stripe - a white cross on the left sleeve. Patriarch Tikhon blessed Keller, sent him with Nikolai Anisimov a prosphora and the Sovereign Icon of the Mother of God. Keller accepted the offer, promising "in two months to raise the Imperial standard over the sacred Kremlin." In Kiev, under the new commander, the monarchist "Council of Defense of the North-Western Region" was formed, headed by Fyodor Bezak.
However, Keller did not have time to leave for Pskov - Simon Petliura's rebels approached Kiev. Keller took over the leadership of the city's defense, but due to the impossibility of resistance, he disbanded the armed detachments. The German military suggested that he take off his uniform and weapons and flee to Germany, but Keller did not want to part with either his shoulder straps or the award saber received from the emperor. He quite openly settled in the Mikhailovsky Monastery with two adjutants. When the Petliurists came to the monastery with a search, contrary to the persuasion of the monks, he himself, through the adjutant, announced himself to those who came. The patrol declared all three arrested.
On the night of December 8 (21), 1918, an order was received to transfer Keller and his companions to the Lukyanovsky prison. They were led along the walls of the St. Sophia Cathedral, past the monument to Bohdan Khmelnitsky, when a volley was fired at the arrested from the nearest square. The shooting was continued by the patrolmen, finishing off the wounded with shots and bayonets in the back.
The remains of Fyodor Arturovich Keller rest in the Intercession Monastery in Kiev.

I will add that Bulgakov in his novel "The White Guard" largely wrote off the image of Nai-Tours from Count Keller. Not outward resemblance, no, Keller was tall and stately, Nai-Tours in the novel is not tall, but their spiritual kinship is evident: knightly honor and dignity, courageous sacrifice and a sense of duty.

Courage has always been a hallmark of Russian officers, but it is one thing to die in battle, or be executed in public, and another to die alone. No wonder it is said that "in the world and death is red", it is more terrible to die alone. Therefore, the proud refusal of Count Keller to change into a soldier's uniform and hide, for me, is tantamount to the contemptuously proud gesture of Admiral Kolchak, who threw his dagger overboard into the sea, but did not give it into the hands of the sailors, because giving the dagger into their hands in that situation was tantamount to losing honor in their own eyes. Not everyone can do this, it is easier to obey the circumstances. After all, no one could blame either Count Keller for cowardice, if he then disappeared under a soldier's overcoat, or Admiral Kolchak, if he gave his dagger to the sailors.
Few people manage to live their lives to the end while remaining themselves. Count Keller succeeded.

P.S. Below are two poems dedicated to Count Keller.

When Kiev is golden-domed
Suddenly, a violent wave surged again,
Count Keller, hero of Russian glory,
I did not seek salvation in flight.

He turned down all offers
He did not take off his hat or epaulettes:
"I went to battle a hundred times
And I saw death,” he replied.

Well, could he take off the cross of victory,
What should always be on it,
Part with the reserved saber,
Given to him by the Tsar?

Killer gang brutalized
They broke into a peaceful monastery.
He went out to meet them boldly,
Epic Russian hero.

The bastards quieted down.
They were burned and tormented by a bright gaze,
They are ashamed and no longer happy
They carry out the sentence.

Accompanied by villains
The count left his last shelter.
With him - the noble Panteleev
And the faithful captain Ivanov.

Silent night reigned all around.
Covered in a white veil
Rising a horse over the abyss,
Khmelnitsky stood as if alive.

Clearly beloved homeland,
At the moment of rampant dark forces,
He is about the One - Indivisible
In opposition to them, he spoke.

Before this gang of prisoners,
Creation of the Orthodox Cross,
Count Keller rose to his gigantic height,
Giving life for the Tsar.

So as not to meet his eyes,
By chance, even in the night,
Cowardly killing everyone from behind,
Executioners fled from the bodies.

Morning flickered. The trail is bloody
Alel on snowy silver...
So the hero of Russian glory died
With the last thought of the King.

Pyotr Shabelsky-Bork
Paris, 1928

Dr. Vladimir Konstantinovich Nevyarovich

FAITHFUL

In blessed memory of Count Fyodor Arturovich Keller

Count Keller is confused
Count Keller is lost
They brought him a telegram to read.
Count Keller was faithful to the royal oath,
And here on the scales of his conscience and honor.

Count Keller is confused
Count Keller is lost
He is offered to change the King!
General Alekseev called from headquarters,
What demonic - insidious agility!

The king reigns no longer, as if he cannot
And asks only all the commanders of the fronts
To confirm this fact: “Sir, it is impossible
You to be the King, ”so that the answer was like this!

Count Keller is confused
Count Keller is lost
Bes whispers in his ear:
"Reject the king!"
Count Keller is faithful to the oath for life,
Where does such a seditious idea come from?!

The count sees before him
Tsar Nicholas
And pathetic people
The meanest army.
Vile intrigues Passionately desire
They sell the Tsar and Russia!

Insidious Enemies:
Judaism, Germanism,
Freemasonry that viciously weave intrigues.
What can I say, now the faithful on the fingers
You can count, Judas Christ is betrayed!

War. Voltage
The strength of the people
Oversized, but the enemy's pressure is already broken.
The Germans are tired, they will last six months,
No more, we just have to wait until then.

Victory is ours,
And with her trophies
Istanbul will return
At the feet of Christ
And the world will reign much sooner
Than if we change the Emperor.

And if you succumb to sedition and strife,
And the mob, stirred up, to lead a riot,
Madness, violence, executions will begin
And hatred will flourish among the people.

Brother will go against brother
And it will bleed
native Russia,
Great Russia.
And then the kingdom
Will break into pieces
And then ... and think
That's what I'm afraid of.
Destroy the tombs
Palaces and columns
Banish God,
And conscience, and honor.
The fall of the royal
Holy crown-
The beginning of perdition
There are motherlands.

Count Keller is confused
Count Keller is lost
But he gathered his will into an iron fist.
Count Keller is now absolutely sure
That he will fulfill his duty and just like that:

He takes paper
And black and white
Calm and firm
Outputs the answer:
"I serve the king's sacred cause,
To change, I will firmly answer: “No!”
King, just say
With a faithful army, we will soon
Let's break through to you, not sparing our stomach,
We will protect you, and pack traitors
We execute publicly in large squares.

Just say
Our beloved sovereign
We are ready to die for the King
With the power that captivated you, the Emperor
We will go to the fight, with the courage of grief!
Count Keller is calm,
Count Keller is sure
What is honest with God
Fatherland, King.
Was insidiously in the back
Count Keller shot dead
And sleep forever
Pray for him!

Fedor Arturovich Keller, Count (born October 12, 1857 in Kursk, killed December 8, 1918 in Kiev) - military leader of the Russian Imperial Army, cavalry general, "the first checker of Russia."
Nephew of the hero of the Russo-Japanese War, Count F. E. Keller.

KELLER FYODOR ARTUROVYCH(October 12, 1857, Kursk - December 21, 1918, Kiev). He graduated from the preparatory boarding school of the Nikolaev Cavalry School (1877), passed the officer exam at the Tver Cavalry Cadet School (1878), graduated from the Officer Cavalry School. In 1877 he entered the lower rank as a volunteer in the 1st Life Dragoon Moscow Regiment. He was promoted to officer for military distinction in 1878. For military distinction he was awarded the insignia of the Order of St. George of the 3rd and 4th degrees. He served in the 6th Hussars Klyastitsky (1880-1894), the 24th Lubensky Dragoons (1894-1901) and the 23rd Voznesensky Dragoon Regiments (1901). In 1882-1883 adjutant commander of the Kiev military district. In May 1901 he was promoted to colonel. In 1901-1903 commander of the Crimean division. In 1903-1904 he served in the 11th Kharkiv Dragoon Regiment. From February 1904 - commander of the 15th Alexandria Dragoon Regiment, from November 1906 - commander of the L.-Gds. Dragoon regiment, May 31, 1907 promoted to major general, from June 1910 - commander of the 1st brigade of the Caucasian cavalry division, from February 1912 - head of the 10th cavalry division, in May 1913 promoted to lieutenant general. Participated in great war, from April 1915 - commander of the 3rd cavalry corps, in 1916 he was promoted to general from the cavalry. He was awarded the golden St. George's weapon with diamonds, the Order of St. George 3rd and 4th degrees. Having learned about the abdication of Sovereign Nicholas II and assuming its violent nature, Keller sent a telegram to the Tsar: “The third cavalry corps does not believe that You, Sovereign, voluntarily abdicated. Command, King, we will come and protect You! (The telegram, of course, was not delivered to the Sovereign by his treacherous entourage.) When the text of the oath to the Provisional Government was received, Keller refused to swear in the corps: “I am a Christian, and I think it is a sin to change the oath!” monarchism" and left for Kharkov. Here, in the summer of 1918, General B.I. Kazanovich vainly urged Fyodor Arturovich to leave for the Don in the Volunteer Army - its democratic leaders and politicians were not to the liking of the faithful tsarist general. In his opinion, the Volunteer Army is obliged was to fight under the monarchist flag, because Bolshevik materialism could only be victoriously countered by its spiritualized antithesis - the Orthodox monarchy. Nevertheless, Keller accepted the invitation of General Denikin to independently form the Northern Group of Volunteer Forces in the region of Pskov and Vitebsk. While on his way to Pskov, he also received an offer from Hetman P.P. Skoropadsky to command his troops in Ukraine to ensure order in the defense from self-styled Petliurites. Count Keller did not have time to depart for the deployment site of the Northern Army. On the eve of the occupation of Kiev by the troops of S. Petlyura, he took over the leadership of the defense, but resistance turned out to be impossible. After the city was occupied by the Petliurists, as a Russian patriot-monarchist who did not break his convictions, Fyodor Arturovich was shot in the back on Sophia Square near the monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky. Being a German Lutheran by birth, Count F.A. Keller became a truly Russian Orthodox monarchist and in this he was a model for many Russians by blood. The commander of the life hussars and the palace commandant, Keller's friend V.N. Voeikov, in his memoirs, speaks of him as "a truly Russian, crystal clear person, imbued to the marrow of his bones with a sense of duty and love for the Motherland"