Feliksas Baltušis-Žemaitis

Feliksas Baltušis-Žemaitis
Major General F. Baltušis-Žemaitis
Nickname(s)	Žemaitis
Allegiance	Russian Empire Soviet Union
Years of service	1915–1954
Rank	Major General
Commands held	Lithuanian Army 16th Lithuanian Rifle Division
Battles/wars	World War I Russian Civil War Hamburg Uprising World War II
Awards	2 Orders of the Red Star 2 Orders of Lenin Various medals
Other work	Military lecturer

Feliksas Baltušis-Žemaitis (Russian: Балтушис-Жемайтис Феликс Рафаилович, November 30, 1897 in Apydimai, near Telšiai – June 1, 1957 in Moscow) was a Soviet Lithuanian Red Army major general and lecturer/docent at the Frunze Military Academy in 1935–1940. Baltušis-Žemaitis briefly commanded the Lithuanian Army in 1940 during Lithuania's incorporation into the Soviet Union. He earned his Candidate of Military Sciences academic degree in 1940. He was also a senior lecturer at the USSR General Staff Academy during 1940–1941 and 1943–1945, and served as the chief of USSR Supreme Command Courses 1945–1947.

He was one of the Lithuanian officers of the army of the Russian Empire (Vytautas Putna, Ieronim Uborevich, Viktoras Penkaitis) who would later go on to serve in the Red Army. He participated in World War I, the Russian Civil War, the Hamburg Uprising, and World War II.

He was the only Lithuanian to have taught in the prestigious Frunze Military Academy and General Staff Academy (roughly equivalent to the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas or the British Army's Staff College, Camberley).

Timeline

• 1940: Commander in Chief of the Lithuanian Army
• 1942–1943: Commanding Officer of the 16th Lithuanian Rifle Division

Awards

• 2 Orders of the Red Star
• 2 Orders of Lenin
• Different medals

In 1975 a statue of Baltušis-Žemaitis was built in Šiauliai, Lithuania. After Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, this statue was taken down from its prominent position. It currently stands in the exposition of Soviet sculpture garden in Grūtas Park.

References

• Personal record of Major General Baltushis-Zhemaitis F.R., Central Archive of Ministry of Defence, Podolsk, Moscow reg.
• Zhemaitis O.F., “History of family in the documents, The journal “Military History Archive” of № 3,4,5., Moscow, 2007
• Stock No.328 (Baltušis-Žemaitis), Library of Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius
• http://www.generals.dk/general/Baltushis-Zhemaitis/Feliks_Rafailovich/Soviet_Union.html