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Fanny Efimovna Kaplan (russian: Фа́нни Ефи́мовна Капла́н, links=no; real name Feiga Haimovna Roytblat, ; February 10, 1890 – September 3, 1918) was a
Ukrainian Jewish The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...
woman, Socialist-Revolutionary, and early
Soviet dissident Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union in the period from the mid-1960s until ...
. She was arrested for the attempted assassination of
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
and was executed by the
Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
in 1918. As a member of the
Socialist Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
, Kaplan viewed Lenin as a "traitor to the revolution" when the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
enacted
one-party rule A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
and banned her party. On August 30, 1918, she approached Lenin, who was leaving a Moscow factory, and fired three shots, which badly injured him. Interrogated by the Cheka, she refused to name any accomplices and was executed. The Kaplan attempt and the
Moisei Uritsky Moisei Solomonovich Uritsky ( ua, Мойсей Соломонович Урицький; russian: Моисей Соломонович Урицкий; – 30 August 1918) was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader in Russia. After the October Revol ...
assassination was used by the government of
Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
for the reinstatement of the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, which had been abolished by the
Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...
in March 1917.


Early life

Relatively little is known for certain about Kaplan's background. She was born into a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family. Her father was a teacher, and she had seven siblings. There has been confusion about her full name.
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 ...
(in her memoirs, ''At Women's
Katorga Katorga ( rus, ка́торга, p=ˈkatərɡə; from medieval and modern Greek: ''katergon, κάτεργον'', "galley") was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisoner ...
''), stated that Kaplan's original name was Feiga Khaimovna Roytblat-Kaplan (Фейга Хаимовна Ройтблат-Каплан). However, other sources have stated that her original
family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
was Roytman (Ройтман), corresponding to the common
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
and
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
surname Reutemann (). She was also sometimes known by the
given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
Dora. Kaplan was home educated and soon left home to work as a milliner in
Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrative ...
. She became a political revolutionary at an early age and joined a
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
group, the
Socialist Revolutionaries The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...
(SRs). In 1906, when she was 16 years old, Kaplan was arrested in Kyiv over her involvement in a
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
bomb plot but was captured after a bomb she and her romantic partner were working on accidentally exploded. She was committed for life to the
katorga Katorga ( rus, ка́торга, p=ˈkatərɡə; from medieval and modern Greek: ''katergon, κάτεργον'', "galley") was a system of penal labor in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union (see Katorga labor in the Soviet Union). Prisoner ...
, a hard labour prison camp. She served in the Maltsev and Akatuy prisons of
Nerchinsk katorga Nerchinsk katorga (Russian: Нерчинская каторга, Nerchinskaya katorga) was a ''katorga'' system of the Russian Empire in the area of the , which embraced a large part of eastern Transbaikalia (today's Chita Oblast), near the border ...
,
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, where she lost her sight, which was partially restored later. She was released on March 3, 1917, after the
February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
overthrew the imperial government. As a result of her imprisonment, Kaplan suffered from continuous headaches and periods of blindness. Kaplan became disillusioned with Lenin sometime around 1917, as a result of conflict between the SRs and the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
. The Bolsheviks had strong support in the
soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...
, but in elections to a competing body, the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
, the Bolsheviks failed to win a majority in the November 1917 elections, and a Socialist Revolutionary was elected president in January 1918. The Bolsheviks, supporting soviets, ordered for the Constituent Assembly to be dissolved. By August 1918 conflicts between the Bolsheviks and their political opponents had led to the banning of most other influential parties, most recently the
Left Socialist Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revol ...
(Left SRs), who had been the Bolsheviks' main coalition partner for some time but then organised the
Left SR uprising The Left SR uprising, or Left SR revolt, was an uprising against the Bolsheviks by the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party. The uprising started on 6 July 1918 and was claimed to be intended to restart the war against Germany.Boniece, Sally A. li ...
in July because of their opposition to the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace, separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russian SFSR, Russia and the Central Powers (German Empire, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of ...
. Kaplan decided to assassinate Lenin because she considered him "a traitor to the Revolution".


Assassination attempt

On August 30, 1918, Lenin spoke at the Hammer and Sickle, an arms factory in southern
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. As Lenin left the building and before he had entered his car, Kaplan called out to him. When Lenin turned towards her, she fired three shots with a Browning pistol. One bullet passed through Lenin's coat, and the other two struck him. One passed through his neck, punctured part of his left lung, and stopped near his right collarbone; the other lodged in his left shoulder. Lenin was taken back to his living quarters at the
Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
. He feared that other plotters might be planning to kill him and refused to leave the security of the Kremlin to seek medical attention. Doctors were brought in to treat him but could not remove the bullets outside a hospital. Despite the severity of his injuries, Lenin survived, but his health never fully recovered from the attack. It is believed the shooting contributed to the strokes that incapacitated and eventually killed him in 1924.


Execution

There are contradictory stories of her capture. According to the testimony of Deputy Commissar S. N. Batulin, he was within 20 steps of Lenin when he heard three shots and saw Lenin face down on the ground. Afterwards, he identified a woman who he felt looked suspicious and detained her. That turned out to be Kaplan. However, the factory commissar N. I. Ivanov claimed to have arrested her after she had been identified by several children, who had followed her down the street. During interrogation by the
Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
, she made the following statement: When it became clear that Kaplan would not implicate any accomplices, she was executed in
Alexander Garden Alexander Gardens (russian: Александровский сад) was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow, Russia. The park comprises three separate gardens, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for between ...
. The order was carried out by the commander of the Kremlin, the former Baltic sailor P. D. Malkov and a group of Latvian Bolsheviks on September 3, 1918 with a bullet to the back of the head. Her corpse was bundled into a barrel and set alight. The order came from
Yakov Sverdlov Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov (russian: Яков Михайлович Свердлов; 3 June Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._22_May.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S ...
, who only six weeks earlier had ordered the execution of the tsar and his family. Because there were no remains, rumours of her survival in Siberian labor camps persisted for years.


Guilt

Grigory Semyonov, a military commander in the SR who later
turned state's evidence A criminal turns state's evidence by admitting guilt and testifying as a witness for the state against their associate(s) or accomplice(s), often in exchange for leniency in sentencing or immunity from prosecution.Howard Abadinsky, ''Organized C ...
against the group, testified in 1922 that Kaplan had been a member of his organization and that he regarded her as the "best person to carry out the attack on Lenin". Some historians such as
Dmitri Volkogonov Dmitri Antonovich Volkogonov (russian: Дми́трий Анто́нович Волкого́нов; 22 March 1928 – 6 December 1995) was a Soviet and Russian historian and colonel general who was head of the Soviet military's psychological warf ...
,
Arkady Vaksberg Arkady Iosifovich Vaksberg (Russian:Аркадий Иосифович Ваксберг) (11 November 1927 – 8 May 2011) was a Soviet and Russian lawyer, investigative journalist, writer on historical subjects, film maker and playwright. Biogr ...
and
Donald Rayfield Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Josep ...
have questioned the actual role of Kaplan in the assassination attempt. Volkogonov suggested that "it is more likely" that Kaplan was actually not the culprit and described her assassination attempt as "another of the many mystifications of Bolshevik history". Vaksberg stated that Lidia Konopleva, another SR, was the culprit and believed that it would be all too comforting that Lenin narrowly avoided being assassinated by a woman whose personality is so far from the stereotype of a national hero. In particular, it had been suggested that she was working on behalf of others and, after her arrest, assumed sole responsibility. The main arguments put forth in that and other versions is that she was nearly blind, and none of the witnesses actually saw her fire the gun. Another argument points to the contradiction between the official Soviet account and official documents, particularly a radiogram by
Yakov Peters Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov. Notable people People ...
that mentions the arrest of several suspects, instead of only one. Furthermore, the bullet removed from Lenin's neck after his death was found to have been fired from a weapon other than the one that Kaplan had. Semion Lyandres went so far as to argue that Kaplan was not even a SR.


Legacy

Despite her refusal to name accomplices, the official announcement of the assassination attempt had Sverdlov blame the Right SRs although it denied any involvement.
Moisei Uritsky Moisei Solomonovich Uritsky ( ua, Мойсей Соломонович Урицький; russian: Моисей Соломонович Урицкий; – 30 August 1918) was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader in Russia. After the October Revol ...
, the
People's Commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...
for Internal Affairs in the Northern Region and the head of the Cheka in
Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, had been assassinated nearly two weeks prior to the attack on Lenin. The Cheka did not find any evidence linking both events, but their occurrence so soon after each other appeared significant in the context of the intensifying civil war. The Bolsheviks' reaction was an abrupt escalation in the persecution of their opponents. An official decree announcing the
Red Terror The Red Terror (russian: Красный террор, krasnyj terror) in Soviet Russia was a campaign of political repression and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police. It started in lat ...
was issued only hours after the Kaplan shooting and called for an all-out struggle against enemies of the revolution. In the next few months, about 800 Right SRs and other political opponents of Bolsheviks were executed. During the first year, the scope of the
Red Terror The Red Terror (russian: Красный террор, krasnyj terror) in Soviet Russia was a campaign of political repression and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police. It started in lat ...
expanded significantly.


In fiction

In the 1939 Soviet film "
Lenin in 1918 ''Lenin in 1918'' (russian: Ленин в 1918 году, ''Lenin v 1918 godu'') is a Soviet biographical drama film released in 1939. It gives the background of the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The film was directed by Mikhai ...
" directed by Mikhail Romm,
Natalia Efron Natalia may refer to: People * Natalia (given name), list of people with this name * Natalia (Belgian singer) (born 1980) * Natalia (Greek singer) (born 1983) * Natalia (Spanish singer) (born 1982) Music and film * ''Natalia'' (film), a 198 ...
portrayed Kaplan. In the 1934 Hollywood film "
British Agent ''British Agent'' is a 1934 American romantic espionage film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Leslie Howard and Kay Francis. It is based on ''Memoirs of a British Agent'', the 1932 autobiography of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who worked for th ...
" directed by
Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...
, Corinne Williams and Zozia Tanina portray Kaplan. In the German (FRG) TV series "Bürgerkrieg in Rußland" (1967),
Peggy Parnas Peggy may refer to: People * Peggy (given name), people with the given name or nickname Arts and entertainment * Peggy (musical), ''Peggy'' (musical), a 1911 musical comedy by Stuart and Bovill * Peggy (album), ''Peggy'' (album), a 1977 Pegg ...
portrays Franja Kaplan. In the 1983 British TV series ''
Reilly, Ace of Spies ''Reilly, Ace of Spies'' is a 1983 British television programme dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born adventurer who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the United Kingdom and the British Empire. Among his exploits, ...
'', Sara Clee portrays Kaplan. The life of Fanny Kaplan has also been portrayed in a Ukrainian film ''My Grandmother Fanny Kaplan'' (2016) directed by
Olena Demyanenko Olena Viktorivna Demyanenko (born May 8, 1966 in Lviv) is a Ukrainian film director, film producer, and screenwriter. She is a member of the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Film Academy (since 2017) and the Europea ...
. Kaplan has been the subject of or character in several plays including (''Fanny Kaplan'' by
Venedikt Yerofeyev Venedikt Vasilyevich Yerofeyev, also Benedict Erofeev or Erofeyev (russian: Венеди́кт Васи́льевич Ерофе́ев; 24 October 1938 in Niva-3 settlement, suburb of Kandalaksha – 11 May 1990 in Moscow) was a Russian writer a ...
; ''Kill me, o my beloved!'' by Elena Isaeva; ''The Bolsheviks'' by Mikhail Shatrov) and books (''
Europe Central ''Europe Central'' (2005) is a novel by William T. Vollmann that won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.
'' by
William T. Vollmann William Tanner Vollmann (born July 28, 1959) is an American novelist, journalist, war correspondent, short story writer, and essayist. He won the 2005 National Book Award for Fiction with the novel ''Europe Central''.
).


See also

*
Leonid Kannegisser Leonid Joakimovich Kannegisser (russian: Леони́д Иоаки́мович (Аки́мович) Кáннегисер, Leonid Ioakimovich (Akimovich) Kannegiser; March 1896 – October 1918) was a Russian Empire poet and military cadet, k ...
*
Fritz Platten Fritz Platten (8 July 1883 – 22 April 1942) was a Swiss communist politician and one of the founders of the Communist International. Early life Platten was born in the village of Tablat, now part of St. Gallen, on 8 July 1883, to and Old Cathol ...


References






Further reading

*Yuri Felshtinsky, ''Lenin and His Comrades'' (New York: Enigma Books, 2010), .


External links

*



a
J-Grit: The Internet Index of Tough Jews

The location in Moscow where Fanny Kaplan shot Lenin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplan, Fanya 1890 births 1918 deaths 1918 crimes in Europe People from Volhynian Governorate Jews from the Russian Empire Ukrainian Jews Jews executed by the Soviet Union Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians Executed Soviet women Failed assassins People executed for attempted murder Victims of Red Terror in Soviet Russia Vladimir Lenin Soviet assassins Socialists from the Russian Empire Jewish socialists Executed Soviet people People executed by the Soviet Union by firearm 20th-century women Female revolutionaries