Yekaterina Pavlovna Peshkova, née Volzhina (russian: Екатерина Павловна Пешкова, née Волжина; 26 July 1887 – 26 March 1965) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

, first wife of

Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...

Life

Before the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

she took an active part in the work of the ''Committee for Assistance to Russian Political Prisoners'' (Комитет помощи русским политкаторжанам) under the leadership of

Vera Figner Vera Nikolayevna Figner Filippova (Russian: Ве́ра Никола́евна Фи́гнер Фили́ппова; 7 July ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 25 June1852 – 25 June 1942) was a prominent Russian revolutionary political activis ...

. After 1914 she led the ''Children's Commission'' at the ''Society for Assistance to War Victims''. After 1918 she was the major activist of the ''Moscow Committee of the

Political Red Cross Political Red Cross was the name borne by several organizations that provided aid to political prisoners in the Russian Empire and later in Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union. The first organization using this name was founded in St. Petersburg i ...

''. After 1922, she was chairwoman of the subsequent organisation the ''Assistance to Political Prisoners'' (Pompolit, ''Помощь политическим заключенным'', Помполит). She was honoured by an order of the Polish Red Cross for her participation in the exchange of

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

after the Polish-Soviet War. In 1927, she was instrumental in securing the commutation and release of

Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn Yosef Yitzchak (Joseph Isaac) Schneersohn ( yi, יוסף יצחק שניאורסאהן; 21 June 1880 – 28 January 1950) was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. He is also known a ...

after he was accused of counter-revolutionary activities, and sentenced to death.

References

External links

* Yaroslav Leontiev
''Dear Ekaterina Pavlovna
'
History of Political Red Cross
* ''The Murder of Maxim Gorky. A Secret Execution'' by Arkady Vaksberg. (Enigma Books: New York, 2007. .) 1887 births 1965 deaths People from Sumy People from Sumskoy Uyezd Russian nobility Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians Russian humanitarians Women humanitarians Soviet dissidents Maxim Gorky {{Russia-bio-stub