Grigory Ivanovich Semyonov (1891–19??) was a former

Socialist Revolutionary 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 ...

(SR) who converted to Bolshevism while imprisoned by them and went on to testify against his erstwhile comrades in the

1922 Moscow Trial of Socialist Revolutionaries The Trial of the Socialist Revolutionaries was an internationally publicized political trial in Soviet Russia, which brought twelve prominent members of the anti-Bolshevik Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (PSR) before the bar. The trial, which ...

. Semyonov was a private in the 12th Army. following 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 ...

in 1917, he was elected to the army committee by his regiment and joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party. After the Bolshevik seizure of power and resultant

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, Semynov was a member of the SR Military Commission. However he was concerned that the leadership was ineffectual and advocated – and organised – a

terrorist cell A clandestine cell system is a method for organizing a group of people (such as resistance fighters, sleeper agents, mobsters, or terrorists) such that such people can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization (such as l ...

, the Central Battle Unit, to combat the Bolsheviks. He was responsible for the murder of

V. Volodarsky V. Volodarsky (russian: В. Володарский; December 11, 1891 – June 20, 1918) (born: Moisey Markovich Goldstein) was a Marxist revolutionary and Soviet politician. He was assassinated in 1918. Biography Early years V. Volodarsky ...

on 20 June 1918. However following his arrest by the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...

in the autumn of 1918, he reversed his political alignment and helped provide information which enabled the subsequent

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...

of the SR leadership.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semyonov, Grigory Ivanovich 1891 births Year of death missing Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians Soviet assassins