Mishka Yaponchik
Mishka Yaponchik | |
|---|---|
photo of Yaponchik, date unknown | |
| Birth name | Moisei Wolfovich Vinnitsky |
| Born | 30 October 1891 |
| Died | 29 July 1919 (aged 27) |
| Allegiance | Ukrainian SSR |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Service years | 1904–1918 |
| Units |
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| Commands | 54th Soviet Revolutionary Regiment |
| Conflict | Russian Civil War |
Mishka Yaponchik (born Moisei Wolfovich Vinnitsky; 30 October 1891 – 29 July 1919) was an Odesa gangster and Soviet anarchist and military leader in the Southern Front of the Russian Civil War until his opaque death.
After receiving an Amnesty by the Russian Provisional Government in 1917, Yaponchik started a gang which came to control much of Odesa. Immediately following the Odesa's occupation in 1918 by the Entente forces, he came into contact with the Bolshevik underground, notably Leonid Utyosov who vouched for his character, which later allowed him to join the Red Army and form his own unit in 1919.
Many aspects of his life are unclear up to the present day, especially his death, with some suggestions he disappeared after trying to return to Odesa after his units allegedly mutinied and one where he was executed by the Cheka.
Memory of Yaponchik has remained alive for many decades even after his disappearance, resulting in his likeness being used in literature, most notably the character Benya Krik in Odessa Tales and a 2011 TV series depicting his life, The Life and Adventures of Mishka Yaponchik.