Alexander Kutepov was born into the family of a
personal nobleman, Konstantin Mikhailovich Timofeev, and his wife, Olga Andreevna, in
Cherepovets,
Novgorod Governorate. In 1890, Konstantin died. In 1892, Olga Andreevna married
hereditary nobleman Pavel Aleksandrovich Kutepov, an official for peasant affairs of the
Foresters' Corps; after the
Stolypin reform, he became chairman of the Land Survey Commission. On 9 March 1893, by a ruling from the Novgorod District Court, children born by Olga Andreevna in her first marriage (including Alexander) were legally adopted by her second husband, Pavel. Alexander Kutepov was educated at the Arkhangelsk gymnasium (graduated from 7th grade). In 1902 he entered the
Junker Infantry School in
St. Petersburg, from which he graduated in the 1st category. A year later, the younger clerk-junker Kutepov had been noticed at the parade by the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, who appointed him right away to sergeant-major, bypassing the rank of senior caravan-junker.
Participation in the Russo-Japanese War As a young
infantry officer, he fought in the
Russo-Japanese War, where he was severely wounded in action and decorated for valor. On 9 August 1904 he was promoted to lieutenant of the 85th Vyborg Infantry Regiment, one of the oldest formations within the Russian Army. Upon arrival at the regiment, Kutepov asked for the appointment to the survey corps — the group that was entrusted with the most dangerous missions. Soon he led a night-time raid on a Japanese outpost in which Russian scouts captured rich trophies, including machine guns and rifles. The
Order of St. George was awarded to the head of the survey corps, who had not participated in the raid. When the details of the operation became known after the war, efforts were made to ensure that Kutepov also received the order. Kutepov was ultimately awarded the
order of the German Crown with swords and on the ribbon of the
Iron Cross through the intervention of
German emperor Wilhelm, after whom the Regiment was named. Alexander Pavlovich was returning from
Manchuria to the capital separately from his regiment after being appointed to a special team sent to Russia to train new recruits. Here Kutepov first encountered a revolution: en route to
Saint Petersburg, they stopped in a community where the local revolutionaries had declared a republic, the administration was confused, and he had to break through, taking full responsibility for the echelon and arresting the strike committee of the railway station. Upon arrival in Saint Petersburg, on a presentation to the emperor, Kutepov received from the Tsar's hands the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree with swords and bow for his front-line services.
Officer of the Preobrazhensky Regiment In 1906, he was transferred to the
Preobrazhensky Regiment, an elite guards
regiment. Beginning as a lieutenant in 1907, he became a captain in 1911, serving as an assistant to the head of the training team, head of the machine-gun team, head of the survey team, commander of the 15th Company, and head of the training team. With the beginning of mobilization, the training team was disbanded, and Kutepov accepted the 4th company of the Preobrazhensky Life-Guard Regiment, with which he went to the front in the
First World War. He was wounded in a battle near Vladislavov on 20 August 1914. In 1915 he was promoted to
captain with seniority from 19 July 1915. He was awarded the
Order of St. George, 4th degree:
"For the fact that on July 27, 1915, in the battle near the village of Petrilov, when the Germans, after intensifying the preparation of heavy guns with artillery fire, captured the trenches of one of the companies, he, being in private support, not being able to receive instructions on the terms of the battle, on his own initiative, he went over to the counter-attack and, despite significant losses, knocked out the enemy from their position and restored his position, and although he was badly wounded, he continued to lead the battle until the evening." As a result of this counterattack, the German offensive was delayed for several hours. After the 4th company, he commanded a company of
His Majesty and the 2nd battalion. Granted by
George's Arms :
"Because being in the rank of captain in the battle on September 7, 1916 near the Svinukh forest, commanding the 2nd battalion and having advanced under hurricane fire from the right flank of the division over its left combat area, from the battle captured enemy trenches north of the Svinukh forest, restrained them by repulsing a series of fierce counter-attacks by the Germans, filling a dangerous breakthrough between the Life Guards Izmailovsky and Semenovsky regiments, thereby contributing to the successful outcome of the entire battle." During the course of the war, he rose from
company, to
battalion to commander of the Preobrazhensky Regiment when he was promoted to colonel on 25 November 1916 with seniority from 26 September 1916. As such, he became the last commander of this historic regiment. In December 1916, Colonel Kutepov was elected by the general meeting of officers of the regiment to the court of honor and to his administrative team. 1 April 1917, already in the context of the ongoing "democratization" of the army, was re-elected to the court of honor. He was awarded the
Order of Saint Anna of the 4th degree with the inscription
"For Courage" and the
St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree with swords .
The February Revolution During the
February Revolution, Colonel Kutepov, who was on short leave in
Petrograd, turned out to be the only senior officer who tried to organize effective resistance to the rebels by leading, on behalf of the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General
S.S. Khabalov, a combined detachment aimed at suppressing the revolution. However, his detachment was not supported by other military units located in Petrograd, and part of the officers sent to his disposal showed no desire to fight for the monarchy. In this situation, Kutepov's detachment could not have a serious impact on the development of events and was forced to stop resistance. After the victory of the revolution, he returned to the front as the commander of the Preobrazhensky Life-Guard Regiment, which was one of the few units of the army that retained combat effectiveness in conditions of active anti-war agitation. He was recommended for the award of the Order of St. George of the 3rd degree for distinctive service in the battles near the village of Mshany during the Tarnopol breakthrough, on 7 July 1917, but did not receive it because of the recommendation did not reach the government in the post-revolutionary chaos. According to his fellow officer V. Deutrich: :
"Kutepov’s name has become an eyesore. It means fidelity to duty, calm determination, intense sacrificial impulse, cold, sometimes cruel will and ... clean hands — and all this is brought and given to the service of the Motherland". == Russian Civil War ==