Ladislav Kopriva
Encyclopedia
Ladislav Kopřiva was a Czechoslovak
communist
during the era of Gottwald
, after the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
took control of the country during a 1948 coup. His position was Minister of National Security, and he was largely responsible for a series of purge
s of party members, such as Czech Vice Premier Rudolf Slánský
, stating that "Our Czechoslovak traitors . .. can be compared with Russia
's Trotsky ... Our conspiracies are not extraordinary, but only further evidence that our country is subject to the same laws of socialistic development as the Soviet Union
."
Kopřiva soon fell out of favor; he was "voluntarily" relieved in late January 1952, to be replaced by Karol Bacílek, who would initiate yet more purges.
Like many high communist officials out of favor, he was soon the scapegoat of many a mistake; in April 1963 he was expelled from the party because of his role in the purges after the findings of the Kolder Report, which partly rehabilitated many of those purged.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
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...
during the era of Gottwald
Klement Gottwald
Klement Gottwald was a Czechoslovakian Communist politician, longtime leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , prime minister and president of Czechoslovakia.-Early life:...
, after the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, in Czech and in Slovak: Komunistická strana Československa was a Communist and Marxist-Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992....
took control of the country during a 1948 coup. His position was Minister of National Security, and he was largely responsible for a series of purge
Purge
In history, religion, and political science, a purge is the removal of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, from another organization, or from society as a whole. Purges can be peaceful or violent; many will end with the imprisonment or exile of those purged,...
s of party members, such as Czech Vice Premier Rudolf Slánský
Rudolf Slánský
Rudolf Slánský was a Czech Communist politician. Holding the post of the party's General Secretary after World War II, he was one of the leading creators and organizers of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia...
, stating that "Our Czechoslovak traitors . .. can be compared with 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...
's Trotsky ... Our conspiracies are not extraordinary, but only further evidence that our country is subject to the same laws of socialistic development as 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....
."
Kopřiva soon fell out of favor; he was "voluntarily" relieved in late January 1952, to be replaced by Karol Bacílek, who would initiate yet more purges.
Like many high communist officials out of favor, he was soon the scapegoat of many a mistake; in April 1963 he was expelled from the party because of his role in the purges after the findings of the Kolder Report, which partly rehabilitated many of those purged.