November 17 1884 years
Alexander Novoselov, a school teacher and writer who, on the wave of the revolution, became the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Siberian Provisional Government, was born in the Semipalatinsk province.
At his father's insistence, he attended the cadet corps. Not wanting to commit himself to military service, he refused to take the final exams and returned to his native village. He spent two years self-educating himself, earning a teaching diploma as an external student.
From 1905 to 1917, he taught in elementary school, a college, and a boarding school. He became interested in literature and local history, studying the history of the Old Believers. At 19, he published his first short story, "Katka," about the tragic fate of a 16-year-old girl who came to the city to earn money.
He made scientific expeditions to Altai and Kazakhstan, where he was interested in “dying antiquity”: the archives of schismatics and local folklore.
A unique land! Life tore a piece of old Rus' from its origins and cast it behind a stone wall at the foot of snow-capped peaks. And behind this wall, the old ways held on until their last days. But the waves of modern culture overcame the barrier. Altai Rus' is dying, degenerating, and we must hasten to study it comprehensively.
He became known as the "Siberian Leo Tolstoy." His prose was distinguished by a deep understanding of the lives of the local peasantry and Cossacks and a sympathetic view of the fates of ordinary people.
After the February Revolution, he became involved in politics, joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party, and in December became a member of the Provisional Siberian Government, which did not recognize the authority of the victorious Bolsheviks. A month later, he accepted the post of Minister of Internal Affairs.
In September 1918, Novoselov was arrested by order of the commander of the Omsk garrison. He was accused of failing to resist the Bolsheviks. He was shot by two guards on the way to prison.
One of the men suddenly stopped, took a step back, and fired at the other man, who continued walking. He sat down and immediately sank to the ground. The shooter grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into a ravine near the road. Two more shots were then heard in the ravine (testimony of witness Gerasim Chepanov).
