Grigory Petrovsky
Encyclopedia
Grigory Ivanovich Petrovsky (February 4, 1878 - January 9, 1958) was one of the most prominent Russian revolutionaries of Ukrainian
origin, who was the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR
from December 30, 1922, to January 12, 1938.
on February 4 (Old Style - January 22), 1878, in family of a craftsman (some sources claim - son of tailor and laundry lady). He had two siblings. At three little Grigory lost his dad. After finishing two classes of school at the Kharkiv Spiritual Seminary in 1889, Petrovsky being 11 years old left education for a job in the city (locomotive depot). In 1893 at age of 15 he arrived to Yekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk
) where he found a job at the Bryansk Metallurgical Factory (today - Petrovsky Factory) and in 1895 joined the revolutionary movement. In 1897 Petrovsky enrolled in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
(RSDRP) and joined the "Union in the fight for the liberation of the worker's class" as well as the Yekaterinslav committee of RSDRP
. At this period of time he actively participated in the political agitation for the Bolsheviks from Mykolaiv
to Mariupol
, from Donets basin
to Kharkiv
, for which he was arrested in 1900 and 1903.
During the Russian Revolution of 1905 Petrovsky became one of the organizers and leaders of the Dnipropetrovsk City Council of Worker's Deputies and the local Battle Strike Committee. However, he soon was forced to flee and for a brief period of time emigrated to Germany
. In 1907 he returned to Mariupol
where he worked as a turning
specialist and continued his revolutionary activity at the factory "Russian Providence" (today - part of Ilyich Steel & Iron Works). In 1912 Petrovsky was elected a deputy to the Russian 4th State Duma
as a representative of workers of the Yekaterinoslav Governorate
for Bolshevik
faction. During this time he also was a chief editor of the Pravda
. In January 1913 Petrovsky was included into the Central Committee of RSDRP
. It is known that in the Duma he spoke on 32 occasions, while the text of his 21st speech was prepared personally by Vladimir Lenin
. In his speeches Petrovsky was addressing the issues related to improving working conditions and life of miners and workers of Donets basin
. With the start of the World War I
in November 1914 he was arrested along with all the six Bolshevik members of the parliament (Stalin, Sverdlov
, Kamenev, and others) and in February 1915 was sentenced to a lifetime exile in Turukhansky Krai (today - the northern part of Krasnoyarsk Krai
).
After the Bolshevik seizure of power Petrovsky was appointed People's Commissar for the Interior Affairs between November 30, 1917 and March 1, 1919. In this post he overwatched the activities of the Cheka
and was one of the advocates of the Red Terror
, he wrote in his order "A huge number of hostages has to be taken to the bourgeoisie, in cases of resistance these hostages have to be shot in masses(...)No hesitation in the application of the terror" He was a member of the Russian delegation during signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
in 1917.
On December 30, 1922, he became the represent of Ukraine SSR in the USSR Central Executive Committee after signing the decree for the creation of the Soviet Union
. According to the BBC
, "Petrovksy saw himself as an internationalist, and rejected Ukrainian nationalism
". He was co-chairman of the USSR Central Executive Committee until January 12, 1938, when he was elected deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
He was not purged during the Great Terror
but he was shocked and saddened by the executions of close friends as Kossior
, Vlas Chubar
and Sukhomlin. Soon after the USSR celebrated his sixteenth birthday he was interrogated by Joseph Stalin
who said to Petrovsky "We shoot people like you but you will be spared" and then excluded from the Communist Party
and deprived of his datchas and apartments. After a year without a job he was made, in 1940, the Director of the Revolution Museum of the USSR in Moscow
and never returned to politics again. During the second world war
, after the death of his son Leonid, he asked to Stalin in a letter to release his son Peter who was imprisoned but he was subsequently shot. Petrovsky died in 1958.
Petrovsk body is interred near the Kremlin wall
in Moscow
(the capital of Russia
).
(originally named Yekaterinoslav) was named after Petrovsky in 1926. Some Ukrainians
think the city should have been renamed after Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
A statue of Petrovsky in Kiev
(the capital of Ukraine
) was demolished late November 2009, just days before the annual Ukrainian commemorating of the victims of the Holodomor
. President of Ukraine
Viktor Yushchenko
had issued a decree ordering the removal of monuments to Soviet leaders, "in memory of the victims of the Holodomor". Local historians think Petrovsky and the Ukrainian Soviet Communist leader, Lazar Kaganovich
, were the main executors of Stalin's policies in Ukraine. Other historians, like Vasyl Marochko, a member of an official commission that investigated the Holodomor, say that when Petrovsky realised the extent of the famine, he pleaded twice with Stalin to provide Ukrainians with more food but this request went unheeded.
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
origin, who was the Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
from December 30, 1922, to January 12, 1938.
Biography
Petrovsky was born in a village of Pechenihy near KharkivKharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
on February 4 (Old Style - January 22), 1878, in family of a craftsman (some sources claim - son of tailor and laundry lady). He had two siblings. At three little Grigory lost his dad. After finishing two classes of school at the Kharkiv Spiritual Seminary in 1889, Petrovsky being 11 years old left education for a job in the city (locomotive depot). In 1893 at age of 15 he arrived to Yekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
) where he found a job at the Bryansk Metallurgical Factory (today - Petrovsky Factory) and in 1895 joined the revolutionary movement. In 1897 Petrovsky enrolled in 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...
(RSDRP) and joined the "Union in the fight for the liberation of the worker's class" as well as the Yekaterinslav committee of RSDRP
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...
. At this period of time he actively participated in the political agitation for the Bolsheviks from Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...
to Mariupol
Mariupol
Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...
, from Donets basin
Donets Basin
Donbas or Donbass , full rarely-used name Donets Basin , is a historical, economic and cultural region of eastern Ukraine. Originally a coal mining area, it has become a heavily industrialised territory suffering from urban decay and industrial pollution.-Geography:Donbas covers three...
to Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, for which he was arrested in 1900 and 1903.
During the Russian Revolution of 1905 Petrovsky became one of the organizers and leaders of the Dnipropetrovsk City Council of Worker's Deputies and the local Battle Strike Committee. However, he soon was forced to flee and for a brief period of time emigrated to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In 1907 he returned to Mariupol
Mariupol
Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...
where he worked as a turning
Turning
Turning is the process whereby a single point cutting tool is parallel to the surface. It can be done manually, in a traditional form of lathe, which frequently requires continuous supervision by the operator, or by using a computer controlled and automated lathe which does not. This type of...
specialist and continued his revolutionary activity at the factory "Russian Providence" (today - part of Ilyich Steel & Iron Works). In 1912 Petrovsky was elected a deputy to the Russian 4th State Duma
State Duma of the Russian Empire
The State Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire, which met in the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg. It was convened four times between 1906 and the collapse of the Empire in 1917.-History:...
as a representative of workers of the Yekaterinoslav Governorate
Yekaterinoslav Governorate
The Yekaterinoslav Governorate or Government of Yekaterinoslav was a governorate in the Russian Empire. Its capital was the city of Yekaterinoslav .-Administrative divisions:...
for 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. During this time he also was a chief editor of the 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....
. In January 1913 Petrovsky was included into the Central Committee of RSDRP
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
. It is known that in the Duma he spoke on 32 occasions, while the text of his 21st speech was prepared personally by Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
. In his speeches Petrovsky was addressing the issues related to improving working conditions and life of miners and workers of Donets basin
Donets Basin
Donbas or Donbass , full rarely-used name Donets Basin , is a historical, economic and cultural region of eastern Ukraine. Originally a coal mining area, it has become a heavily industrialised territory suffering from urban decay and industrial pollution.-Geography:Donbas covers three...
. With the start of the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in November 1914 he was arrested along with all the six Bolshevik members of the parliament (Stalin, Sverdlov
Yakov Sverdlov
Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov ; known under pseudonyms "Andrei", "Mikhalych", "Max", "Smirnov", "Permyakov" — 16 March 1919) was a Bolshevik party leader and an official of the Russian Soviet Republic.-Early life:...
, Kamenev, and others) and in February 1915 was sentenced to a lifetime exile in Turukhansky Krai (today - the northern part of Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
).
After the Bolshevik seizure of power Petrovsky was appointed People's Commissar for the Interior Affairs between November 30, 1917 and March 1, 1919. In this post he overwatched the activities of the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
and was one of the advocates of the Red Terror
Red Terror
The Red Terror in Soviet Russia was the campaign of mass arrests and executions conducted by the Bolshevik government. In Soviet historiography, the Red Terror is described as having been officially announced on September 2, 1918 by Yakov Sverdlov and ended about October 1918...
, he wrote in his order "A huge number of hostages has to be taken to the bourgeoisie, in cases of resistance these hostages have to be shot in masses(...)No hesitation in the application of the terror" He was a member of the Russian delegation during signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
in 1917.
On December 30, 1922, he became the represent of Ukraine SSR in the USSR Central Executive Committee after signing the decree for the creation of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. According to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, "Petrovksy saw himself as an internationalist, and rejected Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the Ukrainian version of nationalism.Although the current Ukrainian state emerged fairly recently, some historians, such as Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Orest Subtelny and Paul Magosci have cited the medieval state of Kievan Rus' as an early precedents of specifically...
". He was co-chairman of the USSR Central Executive Committee until January 12, 1938, when he was elected deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
He was not purged during the Great Terror
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...
but he was shocked and saddened by the executions of close friends as Kossior
Stanislav Kosior
Stanislav Vikentyevich Kosior, sometimes spelled Kossior was one of three Kosior brothers, Polish-born Soviet politicians. He was General Secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party, deputy prime minister of the USSR, and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union...
, Vlas Chubar
Vlas Chubar
Vlas Yakovlevich Chubar was a Ukrainian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician.-Early career:Chubar was born in Fedorovka, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire . He became a Marxist revolutionary early in life and joined the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labor...
and Sukhomlin. Soon after the USSR celebrated his sixteenth birthday he was interrogated by 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...
who said to Petrovsky "We shoot people like you but you will be spared" and then excluded from the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
and deprived of his datchas and apartments. After a year without a job he was made, in 1940, the Director of the Revolution Museum of the USSR in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and never returned to politics again. During the second world war
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, after the death of his son Leonid, he asked to Stalin in a letter to release his son Peter who was imprisoned but he was subsequently shot. Petrovsky died in 1958.
Petrovsk body is interred near the Kremlin wall
Kremlin Wall
The Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognizable by the characteristic notches and its Kremlin towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156.-History:...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(the capital of 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...
).
Legacy
The city DnipropetrovskDnipropetrovsk
Dnipropetrovsk or Dnepropetrovsk formerly Yekaterinoslav is Ukraine's third largest city with one million inhabitants. It is located southeast of Ukraine's capital Kiev on the Dnieper River, in the south-central region of the country...
(originally named Yekaterinoslav) was named after Petrovsky in 1926. Some Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
think the city should have been renamed after Ukraine gained independence in 1991.
A statue of Petrovsky in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
(the capital of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) was demolished late November 2009, just days before the annual Ukrainian commemorating of the victims of the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
. President of Ukraine
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
had issued a decree ordering the removal of monuments to Soviet leaders, "in memory of the victims of the Holodomor". Local historians think Petrovsky and the Ukrainian Soviet Communist leader, Lazar Kaganovich
Lazar Kaganovich
Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich was a Soviet politician and administrator and one of the main associates of Joseph Stalin.-Early life:Kaganovich was born in 1893 to Jewish parents in the village of Kabany, Radomyshl uyezd, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire...
, were the main executors of Stalin's policies in Ukraine. Other historians, like Vasyl Marochko, a member of an official commission that investigated the Holodomor, say that when Petrovsky realised the extent of the famine, he pleaded twice with Stalin to provide Ukrainians with more food but this request went unheeded.