Ivan Nikitich Smirnov
Encyclopedia
Ivan Nikitich Smirnov (1881 - August 25, 1936) was a Communist Party
activist.
In 1899, Smirnov joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
and became a Bolshevik
. He led his party activity in Moscow
, Saint Petersburg
, Vyshniy Volochok, Rostov
, Kharkov, and Tomsk
. Smirnov was subject to repeated arrests. In 1916, he was called up for the military service
in a reserve regiment in Tomsk, where Smirnov conducted revolutionary
activity. In 1917, he became a member of the executive committee of the Tomsk Soviet. In August of the same year, Smirnov was one of the organizers and upkeepers of the Bolshevist publishing house "Volna" (Wave) in Moscow. He was a deputy of the Constituent Assembly
. During the Russian Civil War
, Smirnov was a member of the Revolutionary Military Council
of the Eastern Front
(August, 1918 - April, 1919), and the 5th Army (April, 1919 - May, 1920).
In 1920-1923, Smirnov was a member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). At the same time, he chaired the Siberian Revolutionary Committee
and was a member of the Siberian bureau of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Smirnov is known to have had close ties with the Cheka
and administered massacres of the rebellious peasants in Tyumen
and Altay Mountains
. He was the one to organize the capture of General
Roman Ungern. In 1921-1922, Smirnov was a secretary of the Petrograd Committee and Northwestern Bureau of the Executive Committee of the Russian Communist Party (bolsheviks). He was the closest associate of Grigory Zinoviev
. Smirnov took part in mass executions and deportations from Petersburg of representatives of the "exploiter class".
In April-September 1922 and May-July 1923, Smirnov was a member of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the National Economy
(ВСНХ) of the RSFSR (between September 1922 and May 1923 - its deputy chairman). In July 1923, Smirnov was appointed People's Commissar for Soviet Postal Services and Telegraph.
In 1923, Smirnov became a proactive member of the Trotskyist opposition. In October 1923 and then in 1927, Smirnov signed the oppositionary
"Declaration of 46
" and "Declaration of the Eighty-three", which later would seriously affect his position in the party ranks and his life. After Lenin's death, Smirnov publicly insisted on deposition of Joseph Stalin
from the post of the secretary general. On November 11, 1927, Smirnov was removed from his People's Commissar post. A month later, he was expelled from the Communist Party by the decision of the 15th Congress. On December 31, 1927, Smirnov was sentenced to three years of exile by the decision of the Special meeting of the OGPU Board.
In October 1929, Smirnov "broke with Trotskyism
" and was reinstalled in the Communist Party in May 1930. In 1929-1932, he headed the Saratovkombainstroy trust (Combine
assembly in Saratov
). In 1932, Smirnov was appointed head of the Department of Erection of New Buildings at the People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry of the USSR. On January 14, 1933, Smirnov was arrested and once again expelled from the party ranks a month later.
On April 14, 1933, he was sentenced to five years of labor camp
s. Still incarcerated, Smirnov was brought to trial
as a defendant
in the "United Anti-Soviet Trotskyite-Zinovievite Centre" case and sentenced to death on August 24, 1936. He was executed the next day. Smirnov was rehabilitated in 1988.
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...
activist.
In 1899, Smirnov 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...
and became a 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....
. He led his party activity 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...
, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Vyshniy Volochok, Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
, Kharkov, and Tomsk
Tomsk
Tomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
. Smirnov was subject to repeated arrests. In 1916, he was called up for the military service
Military service
Military service, in its simplest sense, is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft . Some nations require a specific amount of military service from every citizen...
in a reserve regiment in Tomsk, where Smirnov conducted revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
activity. In 1917, he became a member of the executive committee of the Tomsk Soviet. In August of the same year, Smirnov was one of the organizers and upkeepers of the Bolshevist publishing house "Volna" (Wave) in Moscow. He was a deputy of the Constituent Assembly
Russian Constituent Assembly
The All Russian Constituent Assembly was a constitutional body convened in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. It is generally reckoned as the first democratically elected legislative body of any kind in Russian history. It met for 13 hours, from 4 p.m...
. 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...
, Smirnov was a member of the Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council
Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic or Revvoyensoviet (Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet; Реввоенсовет, Revvoyensovyet; also...
of the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
(August, 1918 - April, 1919), and the 5th Army (April, 1919 - May, 1920).
In 1920-1923, Smirnov was a member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). At the same time, he chaired the Siberian Revolutionary Committee
Siberian Revolutionary Committee
The Siberian Revolutionary Committee was an extraordinary organ of the Soviet power in Siberia created during the Russian Civil War under the circumstances preventing the formal creation of constitutional organs of government. Established on August 27, 1919, it functioned from September 1919...
and was a member of the Siberian bureau of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Smirnov is known to have had close ties with 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 administered massacres of the rebellious peasants in Tyumen
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...
and Altay Mountains
Altay Mountains
The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the original locus of the speakers of Turkic as well as other members of the proposed...
. He was the one to organize the capture of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Roman Ungern. In 1921-1922, Smirnov was a secretary of the Petrograd Committee and Northwestern Bureau of the Executive Committee of the Russian Communist Party (bolsheviks). He was the closest associate of Grigory Zinoviev
Grigory Zinoviev
Grigory Yevseevich Zinoviev , born Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky Apfelbaum , was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet Communist politician...
. Smirnov took part in mass executions and deportations from Petersburg of representatives of the "exploiter class".
In April-September 1922 and May-July 1923, Smirnov was a member of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the National Economy
Supreme Soviet of the National Economy
Supreme Soviet of the National Economy, Superior Soviet of the People's Economy, Vesenkha was the superior state institution for management of the economy of the RSFSR and later of the Soviet Union...
(ВСНХ) of the RSFSR (between September 1922 and May 1923 - its deputy chairman). In July 1923, Smirnov was appointed People's Commissar for Soviet Postal Services and Telegraph.
In 1923, Smirnov became a proactive member of the Trotskyist opposition. In October 1923 and then in 1927, Smirnov signed the oppositionary
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
"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...
" and "Declaration of the Eighty-three", which later would seriously affect his position in the party ranks and his life. After Lenin's death, Smirnov publicly insisted on deposition of 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...
from the post of the secretary general. On November 11, 1927, Smirnov was removed from his People's Commissar post. A month later, he was expelled from the Communist Party by the decision of the 15th Congress. On December 31, 1927, Smirnov was sentenced to three years of exile by the decision of the Special meeting of the OGPU Board.
In October 1929, Smirnov "broke with Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
" and was reinstalled in the Communist Party in May 1930. In 1929-1932, he headed the Saratovkombainstroy trust (Combine
Combine harvester
The combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine that harvests grain crops. The name derives from the fact that it combines three separate operations, reaping, threshing, and winnowing, into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn ,...
assembly in Saratov
Saratov
-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...
). In 1932, Smirnov was appointed head of the Department of Erection of New Buildings at the People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry of the USSR. On January 14, 1933, Smirnov was arrested and once again expelled from the party ranks a month later.
On April 14, 1933, he was sentenced to five years of labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
s. Still incarcerated, Smirnov was brought to trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
as a defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
in the "United Anti-Soviet Trotskyite-Zinovievite Centre" case and sentenced to death on August 24, 1936. He was executed the next day. Smirnov was rehabilitated in 1988.