Vasily Gurko

Vasily Iosifovich Gurko (1864, Tsarskoye Selo – 1937) served for a brief period as a Chief-of-Staff of the Imperial Russian Army before being forced out of the country in exile following the October Revolution of 1917.

Biography
Son of the Iosif Gurko. Brother of the Vladimir Gurko.

With the outbreak of the war in 1914 Gurko was appointed to command of the 1st Cavalry Division under Paul von Rennenkampf, which he led in East Prussia and at November 1914's Battle of Lodz before receiving an appointment as Chief of Staff to Mikhail Alexeev. Appointed to the head of VI Corps, attached to Second Army, Gurko led the Russian counterattack in the January 1915 at the Battle of Bolimov.

Honours and awards

 * Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd class (1894); 2nd class with swords (1905); 1st class (1908)
 * Order of St. Anna, 3rd class (1896); 2nd class with swords (1905)
 * Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class (1901); 3rd class (1905)
 * Gold Sword for Bravery (1905)
 * Order of St. George, 4th class (1914); 3rd class (1915)

Writings

 * War and revolution in Russia, 1914-1917, Macmillan, 1919.