Frunze, Mikhail Vasilyevich

(1885–1925) was a Bolshevik leader just prior to and during the Russian Revolution of 1917. He was a Red Army commander in the Russian Civil War and is best known for defeating Baron Wrangel in Crimea. Frunze died of chloroform poisoning during surgery in 1925. It has been speculated that Stalin, or some other potential rivals, ordered his death, but there is no hard evidence to support this. In 1926, the city of Bishkek was renamed Frunze in his honour. It reverted to its former name in 1991.