Janis Berzinš
Encyclopedia
Jānis Bērziņš also Ian Karlovich Berzin or Yan Karlovich Berzin (1889–1938), Latvia
n and Soviet
communist
military official and politician.
Latvian peasant family. He worked as a teacher and joined the Latvian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1902. Berzin was a participant in the Russian Revolution of 1905 and came to be a dedicated supporter of the Bolshevik
faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
(RSDLP), chosen as Secretary of the Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP in 1906. In Latvia following the failed 1905 uprising, Berzin was a leading organizer of the Bolshevik faction within the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party and led the fight against the Menshevik
dominated Central Committee of that organization.
In 1914, Berzin was elected Editor in Chief of Cīņa ("Struggle"), the official organ of the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party. He was a representative of that party to the Zimmerwald Conference
of 1915 and was a member of the vigorously antimilitarist and revolutionary Zimmerwald Left
minority group headed by Lenin at that gathering. In 1916, Berzin lived in the United States, where he participated in the socialist movement and wrote for its press. He returned home to Europe during the summer of 1917, following the revolution of March 1917
.
to Switzerland
, where he remained until the expulsion of Soviet embassy personnel after civil unrest in November 1918. Berzin was named as People's Commissar of Enlightenment (Minister of Education) in the short-lived Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic
of early 1919.
According to the Soviet defector and former GRU agent Victor Suvorov, Berzin was one of the principal organizers of Lenin's Red Terror
during the Russian Civil War
, initiating the hostages system. Suvorov also intimates that Berzin was recognized by his superiors for his work in suppressing Russian sailors involved in the Kronstadt rebellion
in March 1921.
Berzin briefly served as Secretary of the Communist International during 1919-1920, one of the chief functionaries involved in its day to day operations. He was taken from the Comintern apparatus to work in the "Registration Department" (Military Intelligence) of the Red Army's General Staff in December 1920. Berzin was named as Soviet Ambassador
to Finland
in 1921, and subsequently remained in the diplomatic service as a deputy plenipotentiary in London and as Soviet Ambassador to Austria
from 1925 to 1927. Berzin was at the same time deputy chief of Military Intelligence from December 27, 1921 through March 1924, at which time he was promoted to chief of that department. In 1929 Berzin was recalled to Moscow and removed from the diplomatic corps, ostensibly to be placed in charge of the Soviet government's central archives and made editor-in-chief of the historical magazine Krasnyi Arkhiv ("Red Archives"). Berzin continued his work as chief of the Red Army
's Fourth Bureau (military intelligence), the GRU
. Among his agents was Richard Sorge
.
Berzin seems to have been removed from his position as chief of military intelligence in the spring of 1935. From April 1935 through June 1936, Berzin served as deputy commander of the army in the Soviet Far East. During 1936 and 1937, he was chief military advisor to the Republican
forces in the Spanish Civil War
under the nom de guerre
Grishin. While stationed in Spain, he unsuccessfully attempted to rally the Basque Government
to defend Bilbao
rather than abandon it.
In June 1937, Berzin was recalled from Spain and reappointed as head of Military Intelligence. This second stint at the head of GRU came to an abrupt end with Berzin's arrest on May 13, 1938 during the Great Purge
. On 29 July 1938 he was shot in the cellars of the Lubyanka
headquarters in Moscow. Interestingly, it seems that Berzin's downfall came in connection with a secret police case having nothing to do with Berzin's work in the diplomatic service or military intelligence, but rather a so-called "Case of the espionage organization in the Central Archival Administration."
Berzin was posthumously rehabilitated following the death of Joseph Stalin
.
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n and Soviet
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....
communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
military official and politician.
Early years
The future Yan Berzin was born Pēteris Ķuzis on 13 November 1889 (n.s.) to a CourlandCourland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
Latvian peasant family. He worked as a teacher and joined the Latvian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1902. Berzin was a participant in the Russian Revolution of 1905 and came to be a dedicated supporter of 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 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), chosen as Secretary of the Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP in 1906. In Latvia following the failed 1905 uprising, Berzin was a leading organizer of the Bolshevik faction within the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party and led the fight against the Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
dominated Central Committee of that organization.
In 1914, Berzin was elected Editor in Chief of Cīņa ("Struggle"), the official organ of the Latvian Social Democratic Workers Party. He was a representative of that party to the Zimmerwald Conference
Zimmerwald Conference
The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. It was an international socialist conference, which saw the beginning of the end of the coalition between revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the Second International.-...
of 1915 and was a member of the vigorously antimilitarist and revolutionary Zimmerwald Left
Zimmerwald Left
The Zimmerwald Left was a revolutionary minority fraction at the Zimmerwald Peace Conference of 1915, headed by Lenin. The Left of the Zimmerwald Congress was made up of eight out of 38 people: Lenin, Zinoviev , Jānis K. Bērziņš , Karl Radek , Julian Borchardt , Fritz Platten , Zeth Höglund and...
minority group headed by Lenin at that gathering. In 1916, Berzin lived in the United States, where he participated in the socialist movement and wrote for its press. He returned home to Europe during the summer of 1917, following the revolution of March 1917
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...
.
1917 and after
Berzin was elected a member of the Central Committee of the RSDLP at its 6th Congress in 1917 and an alternate member at the 7th Congress in the following year. He was later named as Soviet Russia's ambassadorAmbassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where he remained until the expulsion of Soviet embassy personnel after civil unrest in November 1918. Berzin was named as People's Commissar of Enlightenment (Minister of Education) in the short-lived Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic
Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic
The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the Latvian War of Independence. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economic, and military backing of Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik government in the Russian SFSR...
of early 1919.
According to the Soviet defector and former GRU agent Victor Suvorov, Berzin was one of the principal organizers of Lenin's 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...
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...
, initiating the hostages system. Suvorov also intimates that Berzin was recognized by his superiors for his work in suppressing Russian sailors involved in the Kronstadt rebellion
Kronstadt rebellion
The Kronstadt rebellion was one of many major unsuccessful left-wing uprisings against the Bolsheviks in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War...
in March 1921.
Berzin briefly served as Secretary of the Communist International during 1919-1920, one of the chief functionaries involved in its day to day operations. He was taken from the Comintern apparatus to work in the "Registration Department" (Military Intelligence) of the Red Army's General Staff in December 1920. Berzin was named as Soviet Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
in 1921, and subsequently remained in the diplomatic service as a deputy plenipotentiary in London and as Soviet Ambassador to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
from 1925 to 1927. Berzin was at the same time deputy chief of Military Intelligence from December 27, 1921 through March 1924, at which time he was promoted to chief of that department. In 1929 Berzin was recalled to Moscow and removed from the diplomatic corps, ostensibly to be placed in charge of the Soviet government's central archives and made editor-in-chief of the historical magazine Krasnyi Arkhiv ("Red Archives"). Berzin continued his work as chief 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...
's Fourth Bureau (military intelligence), the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
. Among his agents was Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge was a German communist and spy who worked for the Soviet Union. He has gained great fame among espionage enthusiasts for his intelligence gathering during World War II. He worked as a journalist in both Germany and Japan, where he was imprisoned for spying and eventually hanged....
.
Berzin seems to have been removed from his position as chief of military intelligence in the spring of 1935. From April 1935 through June 1936, Berzin served as deputy commander of the army in the Soviet Far East. During 1936 and 1937, he was chief military advisor to the Republican
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
forces in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
under the nom de guerre
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Grishin. While stationed in Spain, he unsuccessfully attempted to rally the Basque Government
Basque Government
The Basque Government is the governing body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain. The head of this government is the lehendakari or Basque president that is appointed by the Basque Parliament every four years...
to defend Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
rather than abandon it.
In June 1937, Berzin was recalled from Spain and reappointed as head of Military Intelligence. This second stint at the head of GRU came to an abrupt end with Berzin's arrest on May 13, 1938 during 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...
. On 29 July 1938 he was shot in the cellars of the Lubyanka
Lubyanka (KGB)
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB and affiliated prison on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V...
headquarters in Moscow. Interestingly, it seems that Berzin's downfall came in connection with a secret police case having nothing to do with Berzin's work in the diplomatic service or military intelligence, but rather a so-called "Case of the espionage organization in the Central Archival Administration."
Berzin was posthumously rehabilitated following the death 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...
.
Additional reading
- Gorchakov, Ovidii Aleksandrovich, Ian Berzin — komandarm GRU. St. Petersburg: Izdatelʹskii dom "Neva", 2004.