Bicherakhov hailed from a
Cossack family of
Ossetian descent. He graduated from the
real school in
St. Petersburg and Alekseevsky military school in
Moscow. He served in the 1st Gorsko-Mozdok regiment of the
Terek Cossack Host (1911–1914) of the
1st Caucasus Cossack Division, which had its headquarters in the town of
Oltu,
Kars Oblast. In 1912, L. Bicherakhov had the rank of
sotnik. During
World War I, Bicherakhov served in 1915–1918 in the expeditionary corps of General
Nikolai Baratov in
Persia as the commander of the Terek Cossack detachment with the rank of army
starshina. He was awarded the
Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree. Since Dunsterville had no troops available for immediate deployment to prevent the advance of the Ottoman army, it was agreed to allow Bicherakhov to temporarily cooperate with the
Bolsheviks. On 1 July 1918, by agreement with the leaders of the
Baku Commune Bicherakhov arrived with a unit of 600
Cossacks to
Baku to fight against the
Islamic Army of the Caucasus under the command of Turkish general
Nuri Pasha Killigil and the armed forces of
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the
battle of Baku. However, battlefield failures forced Bicherakhov to withdraw with his men to
Petrovsk-Port. In October 1918, Bicherakhov declared allegiance to the
Provisional All-Russian Government, and was conferred the rank of major-general in the
White Army. == References ==