Imperial Russia Levan Muradbekov -- Naval Chartmaker

[Chuck In Oregon]

That's Levan Oganesovich Muradbekov you see there in the first photo. On the back of the photo is a note to his sweetheart, written from Port Arthur in 1904. He's obviously quite smitten with her.

The badge is probably his ship's badge, probably a custom piece for the ship's officers. I don't know for sure, but I think so. It's an eight-rivet piece, solid silver with a solid gold letter and crossed silver anchors over a blue enamel cross, or more accurately an X. The badge is in perfect condition, no damage to either metal or enamel and with only a normal patina.

There are no proof or maker's marks. One might speculate that it was made in a local Port Arthur jeweler's shop. Sailors need something to do while they're in port and shopping is on that list. He has scratched his initials at 10:00 on the reverse.

According to his descendants, Levan was a naval mapmaker or chartmaker. They weren't exactly sure except that it was something like that.

Edited December 15, 2005 by Chuck In Oregon

[Chuck In Oregon]

The second photo, the one of the gun crew, came with this group but I can't explain it or tie it in with Levan. We might speculate that it is on board his ship, or one of them, but there is no way to know for sure.

Levan continued his naval career on past the revolution and became a naval officer, rank unknown, in the Soviet Fleet. That is his hat badge you see here.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Levan continued his naval service through the Great Patriotic War. However, nothing lasts forever, not even the careers of loyal naval officers who served in at least three wars -- Russo-Japanese, The Great War and The Great Patriotic War. Shortly after the war, during the purges of former Tsarist officers, Levan was arrested and executed as an enemy of the state, based on his service as an officer in the Imperial Fleet.

NB: Corrected in Post #8.

Levan was rehabilitated in 1958. What that meant in practical terms, as best I understand it, was that his family regained whatever party privileges they might have been entitled to and they were no longer barred from whatever social services might have been available. They could work, receive health care, buy food and so forth.

The late-era pension reforms provided a pension for the survivors of rehabilitated executed persons. Of course, you needed a document to prove that was what you were. No, there was no end to the insults. That meant that many Soviet families needed to apply for duplicates of their ancestor's long-lost rehabilitation certificate.

That's what this last item is. It's a 1986 duplicate of Levan's rehabilitation certicate, issued by the Tbilisi Red Banner Caucasus Military Region, and it entitled his family to their meager pension.

One more story of a lost soul.

Chuck

Edited February 27, 2006 by Chuck In Oregon

[David Gregory]

Chuck,

This is another excellent thread which shows just how much can be gleaned from a few items and documents.

While the anonymous "big picture" can be learned from any number of sources, I really appreciate these personal snapshots of history that are otherwise lost when they discarded or split up and sold piecemeal.

Keep up the good work!

David

[NavyFCO]

On the photo of the ship, it might just be me, but those look more like torpedo tubes than a deck gun. From the size of the ship, it looks like it could be a WW1 vintage frigate or destroyer with center mounted torpedo tubes. Just a thought...

Also, it looks like his hat badge is silver, which would make me guess that the story of him being a chartmaker or something related to the technical aspects of navigation might be correct.

When I lived in Russia the last time, the father of the family that I lived with was born in a prison in Siberia for exiled White officers. The desk in the room that I had was a BEAUTIFUL (and maybe 200+ pound) hand-carved desk that the grandfather (the White officer) had taken with him into exile! He had a very nice photo of the grandfather in his White uniform and he also had both his and his father's "rehabilitation" documents from the 50s and in fact he carried one of the small booklets that entitled him to free transport, etc. because of his "rehabilitated" status. Interestingly, to this family it wasn't all that big of a deal - they had done very well during the Soviet times and lived in an apartment in downtown Moscow that was about 2000 square feet in size (four bedrooms, a large foyer, a "servants room" and a large kitchen!) In fact, they were able to capitalize pretty well from it; there were apparently pretty decent benefits that came from their status. Interesting how it worked out for different people...

Anyway, fascinating group Chuck! Thanks for posting it!

Dave

[Chuck In Oregon]

Hello Dave

Yes, they do kind of look like torpedo tubes, now that you mention it. That wouldn't have occurred to me, though, without you mentioning it. They just looked like weird barrels of some sort to me. I defer to your naval knowledge and I appreciate you sharing it. I don't think that I knew about center-mounted torpedo tubes, either.

Yes, the hat badge is silver. I'm told that might have been for an officer specialist or senior technician/warrant officer equivalent. Is that correct? His family was pretty convinced that he wasn't a combat officer but that he definitely was an officer of some sort, and they specifically mentioned chartmaker.

I like your story about the family you lived with in Russia. I wonder how the father managed to survive and even thrive. I mean, it stands to reason that they didn't liquidate all of them, but I know that at least in Georgia, they sure as heck tried. Your friend's family was an unusual exception. Was there a story behind that?

David, I like groups with family histories that go with them. I only have a very few, but I'll share what I have and pass along the stories to the extent I know them. I hope to see others do the same.

Chuck

[Guest Rick Research]

Muradbekov doesn't show up in the Lure WW2 admirals list, so I wonder whether he was murdered before the war rather than afterwards. With his seniority, in the navy before 1904, I'd have expected him to make admiral during the war as scores of ancient and decrepit former Tsarist officers did--including at least one who was an admiral in WW1!

Too bad the callously generic form letter (so much for "sorry he was wrongly killed"!!!!) of posthumous clearance didn't specify when and where he was murdered or what his position had been.

In my limited sampling of researched groups, and from the routine Soviet military personnel paperwork that can be seen in researched groups threads, simple membership in the "old army" was accepted as a given. Shrug, "everybody did it."Service with the Whites was another matter. And those most likely to have been purged/murdered after 1936 were members of the Communist Party-- a number of the Admirals NON-lethally purged in the 1937-38 slaughter apparently got by BECAUSE they were "without Party."

If Muradbekov made it into the Red navy as a "specialist" (Bolshevik designation for Tsarist technicians and former officers) than he would not have served with the Whites or he'd never have been let in-- they'd have shot him in the early '20s.

Now you know why the Research Bug keeps me up nights, wondering about all these fragments of life stories!

[Chuck In Oregon]

Muradbekov doesn't show up in the Lure WW2 admirals list, so I wonder whether he was murdered before the war rather than afterwards. With his seniority, in the navy before 1904, I'd have expected him to make admiral during the war as scores of ancient and decrepit former Tsarist officers did--including at least one who was an admiral in WW1!

Too bad the callously generic form letter (so much for "sorry he was wrongly killed"!!!!) of posthumous clearance didn't specify when and where he was murdered or what his position had been.

In my limited sampling of researched groups, and from the routine Soviet military personnel paperwork that can be seen in researched groups threads, simple membership in the "old army" was accepted as a given. Shrug, "everybody did it."Service with the Whites was another matter. And those most likely to have been purged/murdered after 1936 were members of the Communist Party-- a number of the Admirals NON-lethally purged in the 1937-38 slaughter apparently got by BECAUSE they were "without Party."

If Muradbekov made it into the Red navy as a "specialist" (Bolshevik designation for Tsarist technicians and former officers) than he would not have served with the Whites or he'd never have been let in-- they'd have shot him in the early '20s.

Now you know why the Research Bug keeps me up nights, wondering about all these fragments of life stories!

* * * * *

Rick, you're a very clever guy. I started working on Schedule C for my 2005 1040 and I came across my original notes regarding this purchase. According to my notes, Muradbekov was arrested in 1937 and executed in 1938. So I retract all of my comments about his GPW/post-GPW service and I apologize.

I also have a rough translation of his 1904 note from Port Arthur:

"To Mlle. Shadinova, Shushanik, from Levan Ivanovich Muradbekov, City of Port Arthur, April 5, 1904, From War Theater"

My notes also state he was a "Chief Hydrographical Officer". I had to look it up, but one definition of that is naval chartmaker. Also, I noted that his hat badge was a "Technical Troops - Officer's Cockade 1935-1950".

I just wanted to correct the record since the chance presented itself.

Chuck