Andrei Bubnov
Encyclopedia
Andrei Sergeyevich Bubnov (Russian: Андрей Сергеевич Бубнов) (March 23, 1883 – January 12, 1940) was a Bolshevik
revolutionary leader in Russia
, and member of the Left Opposition
.
, Ivanovo Oblast
, Russia) on 23 March 1883 into a local merchant's family. He studied at the Moscow Agricultural Institute and while a student joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
(RSDLP) in 1903. He was a supporter the Bolshevik
faction of the party and over the next years would be arrested by the czarist government a total of thirteen times.
In 1909 Bubnov was made an agent of the Central Committee
in Moscow but the following year he was back in prison. On his release he was sent to organize workers in Nizhny Novgorod
. He also contributed to Pravda
.
On the outbreak of the First World War Bubnov became involved in the anti-war movement. He was arrested in October, 1916, and exiled to Siberia
.
Bubnov returned to Moscow after the February Revolution
. He joined the Moscow Soviet and was elected as one of the seven members of the Politburo
. As a member of the Military Revolutionary Committee
he helped organize the October Revolution
.
During the Russian Civil War
Bubnov joined the Red Army
and fought on the Ukrainian Front
. After the war he joined the Moscow Party Committee, and became a member of the Left Opposition
.
Andrei Bubnov signed the Declaration of 46
in October 1923, but in January, 1924, he switched to supporting Joseph Stalin
and was rewarded by being appointed as Head of Political Control of the Red Army
. Elected to Central Committee, he replaced Lunacharsky as People's Commissar for Education.
As Commissar for Education he ended the period of progressive, experimental educational practices and switched the emphasis to training in practical industrial skills.
He was expelled from the Party Central Committee in November 1937, arrested and perished in the Great Purge
. Bubnov was posthumously rehabilitated in 1958. His close relatives were still searching for him in various psycho-hospitals in 1970s.
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
revolutionary leader in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and member of the Left Opposition
Left Opposition
The Left Opposition was a faction within the Bolshevik Party from 1923 to 1927, headed de facto by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin's illness and intensified with his death in January...
.
Biography
Andrei Bubnov was born in Ivanovo-Voznesensk (now IvanovoIvanovo
Ivanovo is a city and the administrative center of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia. Population: Ivanovo has traditionally been called the textile capital of Russia. Since most textile workers are women, it has also been known as the "City of Brides"...
, Ivanovo Oblast
Ivanovo Oblast
Ivanovo Oblast is a federal subject of Russia .Its three largest cities are Ivanovo , Kineshma, and Shuya.The principal center of tourism is Plyos. The Volga River flows through the northern part of the oblast....
, Russia) on 23 March 1883 into a local merchant's family. He studied at the Moscow Agricultural Institute and while a student joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
(RSDLP) in 1903. He was a supporter the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
faction of the party and over the next years would be arrested by the czarist government a total of thirteen times.
In 1909 Bubnov was made an agent of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
in Moscow but the following year he was back in prison. On his release he was sent to organize workers in Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
. He also contributed to Pravda
Pravda
Pravda was a leading newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party between 1912 and 1991....
.
On the outbreak of the First World War Bubnov became involved in the anti-war movement. He was arrested in October, 1916, and exiled to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
.
Bubnov returned to Moscow after the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
. He joined the Moscow Soviet and was elected as one of the seven members of the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
. As a member of the Military Revolutionary Committee
Military Revolutionary Committee
The Military Revolutionary Committee also known as the Milrevcom was the name for military organs under the soviets during the period of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War. The most notable ones were those of the Petrograd Soviet, the Moscow Soviet, and at Stavka.These committees were...
he helped organize the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
.
During the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
Bubnov joined the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and fought on the Ukrainian Front
Ukrainian Front
Ukrainian Front may refer to several Soviet fronts of the Second World War:* Ukrainian Front formed during the Polish September Campaign*1st Ukrainian Front, renamed from Voronezh Front on October 20, 1943....
. After the war he joined the Moscow Party Committee, and became a member of the Left Opposition
Left Opposition
The Left Opposition was a faction within the Bolshevik Party from 1923 to 1927, headed de facto by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin's illness and intensified with his death in January...
.
Andrei Bubnov signed the Declaration of 46
The Declaration of 46
The Declaration of 46 was a secret letter sent by a group of 46 leading Soviet communists to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party on 15 October 1923...
in October 1923, but in January, 1924, he switched to supporting Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and was rewarded by being appointed as Head of Political Control of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. Elected to Central Committee, he replaced Lunacharsky as People's Commissar for Education.
As Commissar for Education he ended the period of progressive, experimental educational practices and switched the emphasis to training in practical industrial skills.
He was expelled from the Party Central Committee in November 1937, arrested and perished in the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
. Bubnov was posthumously rehabilitated in 1958. His close relatives were still searching for him in various psycho-hospitals in 1970s.