# General Pyotr Krasnov — Ten Days That Shook the World character guide

> General Pyotr Krasnov in Ten Days That Shook the World by John Reed.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Krasnov, General Krasnov

**First appearance:** 0011-i-background

## Snapshot

Cossack general who leads Kerensky's desperate march on Petrograd, the last armed attempt to crush the Bolshevik insurrection before it can take root.

## Who they are

Krasnov commands the troops Kerensky sends against the city, a gamble that the Cossacks will fight for a government they barely respect. His advance creates the central military tension of the book's middle chapters, as the Bolsheviks rally workers and soldiers to defend Petrograd. His failure seals the Provisional Government's fate, but the question of whether his Cossacks will fight at all exposes the fragility of counter-revolutionary forces.

## In the story

### [IX: Victory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/ix-victory)

Surrenders to Dybenko at Gatchina and later testifies about Kerensky's flight.

### [Appendix to Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/appendix-to-chapter-viii)

Appointed commander-in-chief of the Petrograd District; arrested Bolshevik propagandists but later released them.

### [Kerensky's Advance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/1-kerensky-s-advance)

Appointed commander-in-chief of the Petrograd District; threatens to shoot Bolshevik prisoners but later releases them.

### [Appendix to Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/appendix-to-chapter-ix)

Krasnov commands the government cavalry and proposes an armistice with the Bolsheviks, but his forces are ultimately demoralized and retreat.

### [Events of the 13th in Petrograd](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/2-events-of-the-13th-in-petrograd)

Target of proposed arrest by the delegates sent to the front.

### [3: Truce. Krasnov’s Answer to the Committee for Salvation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/chapters/3-truce-krasnov-s-answer-to-the-committee-for-salvation)

Issues the armistice terms as Supreme Commander of the Government forces.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/characters/krasnov
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/ten_days_that_shook_the_world_se/characters