The Tragedy of Russia at Drouot

The name of Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak is not well-known, at least in France, but he was a front-line player in Russian history during the collapse of tsarism. On 21 November, his descendants will be selling his archives at Drouot, aided by the experts Ivan and Alisa Anastasia Birr, with Vincent Sarrou as auctioneer. None of these documents and mementoes (which include the family silver and a box of imperial navy gilt buttons) have gone to auction before. Born into a family of officers, a sub-lieutenant at the age of 19, and awarded St George's Cross by Nicholas II (proposed for €4,000 to €7,000), he became a member of the naval staff at 31, a few months before attaining the rank of rear admiral, and subsequently became the youngest vice-admiral in Russian history. In 1900, he joined Eduard von Toll's polar expedition to the New Siberian archipelago, which contributed to the opening of a new sea route half a century…