Spiridon Merkulov

Spiridon Merkulov
Спиридон Меркулов
Merlukov in 1922
Chairman of the Provisional
Priamurye Government
In office
26 May 1921 – 23 July 1922
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Personal details
Born
Spiridon Dionisevich Merkulov

1870
Blagoveshchensk, Amur Oblast, Russian Empire
Died1957 (aged 87)
San Francisco, California, USA
Political partyWhite Movement
Alma materSaint Petersburg Imperial University

Spiridon Dionisevich Merkulov (Russian: Спиридон Дионисьевич Меркулов; 1870 – 1957), was a Russian politician who played a significant role in the Russian Civil War, particularly in the Far East. He briefly led the Provisional Priamurye Government from May 1921 to July 1922.

Born into a farming family in Amur, Merkulov pursued a law degree at Saint Petersburg Imperial University. He later worked for the Ministry of State Property before settling in Vladivostok, where he served as a legal adviser to the city government and held roles such as chief inspector at the Northern Insurance Company.[1]

On 26 May 1921, following a coup by White forces in Primorye, Merkulov was appointed chairman of the Provisional Priamurye Government,[2] overseeing modern-day Primorsky Krai and parts of Khabarovsk Krai.[3]

However, in the summer of 1922, his government was replaced by the Zemsky Sobor of the Amur region, led by General Mikhail Diterikhs, who imposed a military dictatorship. Merkulov was travelling to Japan and Canada in September.[4] In October 1922, the Red Army captured Vladivostok, and Merkulov unable to return to Russia.[1] He settled in San Francisco, USA, where he lived for the rest of his life. He passed away in 1957.[1]

  1. ^ a b c "Меркулов Спиридон Дионисьевич | М | | Белая гвардия". ruguard.ru. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  2. ^ Employés de l'Institut d'histoire, d'archéologie et d'ethnographie des peuples d'Extrême-Orient, branche extrême-orientale de l'Académie des sciences de Russie. "Приморье и Дальневосточная республика. Освобождение от интервентов и белых (Primorye and Far Eastern Republic. Liberation of the invaders and the Whites)" (in Russian). Institut géologique d'Extrême-Orient. Retrieved 2023-02-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Глава 2. Переворот 26 мая 1921 года во Владивостоке. Образование Временного Приамурского Правительства. Отношения между различными частями Белой армии. Образование Войск Временного Приамурского Правительства. Политика Правительства Меркуловых в 1921 году. (Chapter 2. The coup d'État of 26 May 1921 in Vladivostok. Formation of the Provisional government of Amur. Relations between the different parts of the White Army. Formation of the troops of the Provisional Government of Priamurye. Policies of the Merkoulov government in 1921.)" (in Russian). zem-rat.narod.ru. Retrieved 2023-11-24.
  4. ^ Саблин И. Дальневосточная республика: от идеи до ликвидации / Пер. с англ. А. Терещенко. — М.: Новое литературное обозрение, 2020. — С. 405.