Semyon was born in
Ryazan to a family of a teacher. He joined the
Russian Army on 10 July 1906, and graduated from the Alexseevskoe Military School in 1908, and the Nikolaevskoie Military Academy in 1914. During World War I, Semyon was a
Captain and fought alongside the 6th Siberian Corps, and then became part of the operational staff management of the
Northern Front.
Service in the Red Army After the
Russian Revolution in April 1918, Pugachov volunteered to join the Red Army, and served in several Soviet military districts across the country. He served in the staff of the Ural Military District, performing special tasks assigned by his commanding officers, and soon after, became Chief of Staff of the district. At the start of 1919, Pugachov became Chief of Operations for the
2nd Army in the far east, and in September, became Chief of Staff for the Special Group of the
Southern Front. In October, he was assigned as Chief of Operations for the
Southeastern Front, and the
Caucasian Front in 1920, through to May 1921. His main task was to guide the development plan to expel and defeat the forces of the
White Army from the North Caucasus. In June, he was appointed as Chief of the
Separate Caucasus Army. From August 1923 to April 1924, Pugachov served as commander to the
Turkestan Front and helped combat the
Basmachi Movement. In May 1924, he commanded the
Red Banner Caucasian Army, and from 1925 to 1928, he served as replacement for the Chief of the
RKKA and aided in certain reforms done by
Mikhail Frunze from 1924-1925. He also took part in suppressing the
August Uprising in Georgia. From 1927 to 1928, he was a military advisor to the Geneva conference on arms reduction, and from 1928 to 1930, he was Chief of the Ukrainian and Central Asian military districts. In September 1932, he was appointed as Chief of the Military-Transport Academy of the RKKA. He joined the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1934, after being recommended by
Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze.
Awards •
Order of the Red Banner, • Order of the Red Banner of the
Khorezm People's Soviet Republic, • Order of the Red Star of the
Bukharan People's Soviet Republic, 1st Class. == Arrests and death ==