Georgy (Yury) Leonidovich Pyatakov (russian: Гео́ргий Леони́дович Пятако́в; 6 August 1890 – 30 January 1937) was a

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of 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 ...

and a key

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

politician during and after the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Biography

Pre-revolution

Pyatakov (party pseudonyms: Kievsky, Lyalin, Petro, Yaponets) was born 6 August 1890 in the town of Horodyshche in the

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, now modern-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, to the large factory owning the Mariinsky or . His father, Leonid Timofeyevich Pyatakov (1847-1915), was a nobleman and chief engineer and director of the factory as well as co-owner of Musatov, Pyatakov, Sirotin, and Co. Pyatakov first became politically active as an anarchist in secondary school. He studied at the Faculty of Economics of St Petersburg University, until he was expelled in 1910. While studying at the school, he participated in a 1905-7 revolutionary movement in Kyiv. After his expulsion, he joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1910. Two years later, he joined the

Bolshevik 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 ...

faction and was arrested the same year. From April 1912, he was arrested several times, and spent a year and a half

exiled ''Exiled'' () is a 2006 Hong Kong action drama film produced and directed by Johnnie To, and starring Anthony Wong, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung, Josie Ho, Roy Cheung and Lam Suet, with special appearances by Richie Jen and Simon Yam. The action ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, 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 ...

with his partner,

Yevgenia Bosch Yevgenia Bogdanovna; russian: Го́тлибовна) Bosch; russian: Евге́ния Богда́новна Бош; german: Jewgenija Bogdanowna Bosch (née Meisch ; – 5 January 1925) was a Ukrainian Bolshevik revolutionary, politician, ...

, in the village of

Usolye Usolye (russian: Усо́лье) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. The name is an archaic Russian term for a salt-producing locality. ;Urban localities * Usolye, Usolsky District, Perm Krai, a town in Usolsky District of Per ...

, Irkutsk. In October 1914, he escaped from exile through Japan and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to Switzerland, where they joined the

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...

revolutionary community. From 1915, together with

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 1 ...

, he edited the journal ''Kommunist''. Disagreements arose between Lenin and Pyatakov over the right of

national self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

, where Pyatakov advocated for the abolition of nations. Disagreements with Lenin led to Pyatakov resigning from the editorial office of the Kommunist magazine and leaving for Stockholm. Lenin wrote to

Inessa Armand Inessa Fyodorovna Armand (born Elisabeth-Inès Stéphane d'Herbenville; 8 May 1874 – 24 September 1920) was a French-Russian communist politician, member of the Bolsheviks and a feminist who spent most of her life in Russia. Armand, being ...

about Pyatakov and Bosch. In 1916, Pyatokov was expelled from Sweden and moved to

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

(then called

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

) with Bosch. Pyatakov and Bosch remained together until she committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot in January 1925, after hearing that

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

had been forced to resign as leader of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

, as well as in pain from her heart condition and tuberculosis.

Revolution and Civil War

After the February Revolution, Pyatakov returned to Russia from Norway where he was arrested at the border for his false passport, escorted to Petrograd, then to

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

. He lived in

from March 1917, becoming a member, then in April, chairman, of the Kyiv Committee of the

RSDLP The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP; in , ''Rossiyskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya rabochaya partiya (RSDRP)''), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic Party, was a Socialism , s ...

. He was elected a of the on 5 August 1917. He was repeatedly elected a member of the Central Committee but opposed the Ukrainian nationalists and stood for transfer of power to the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. Pyatakov also headed the Kyiv Military Revolutionary Committee, declared that the party had to end the idea of self-identification of every nation, and stood for anti-

chauvinistic Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

international principles. In 1918, Pyatakov was a leader of a group of Left Communists in

. He was one of the initiators of

Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine ( uk, Комуністична Партія України ''Komunistychna Partiya Ukrayiny'', КПУ, ''KPU''; russian: Коммунистическая партия Украины) was the founding and ruling ...

. At the First Congress of CP(b)U in Moscow, Pyatakov was elected as Central Committee Secretary and headed the opposition to the

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Rebellion in August 1918. From October 1918 to mid-January 1919, he was a head of the Provisional Worker’s and Peasant’s Government formed by Bolsheviks for the fight with the Directory, taking part in the formation of the

. In March 1919, while attending the 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party, he unsuccessfully opposed Lenin's position on

. His opinion on some points of the theory and tactics of the revolutionary struggle contradicted that of the party's Central Committee. He was one of

's fiercest opponents on the national problem regarding both the course to be followed towards the socialist revolution and the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...

, the Bolsheviks' peace settlement with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He collaborated with Nikolai Bukharin to co-author the chapter on "The Economic Categories of Capitalism in the Transition Period" in ''The Economics of the Transformation Period'', published in 1920. From 1 January to 16 February 1920, he led the Registration Directorate, the military intelligence arm of the

that went on to become

GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...

Post-Civil War

Pyatakov was placed in charge of the management of

Donbass The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

coal mining industry in 1921 and became a deputy head of the

Gosplan The State Planning Committee, commonly known as Gosplan ( rus, Госплан, , ɡosˈpɫan), was the agency responsible for central economic planning in the Soviet Union. Established in 1921 and remaining in existence until the dissolution of ...

(State Planning Committee) of the RSFSR in 1922 and deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the

Soviet Union 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, ...

. The likeness of Pyatakov's

Left Communist Left communism, or the communist left, is a position held by the left wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices espoused by Marxist–Leninists and social democrats. Left communists assert positions which they rega ...

views and

’s ideas led to his participation in practically all opposition trends that were designated as "

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

". He was expelled from the party for belonging to the "Trotskyite-Zinovievite" bloc but was reinstated in 1928 after he renounced

Trotskyism Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

, and became Deputy Head of Heavy Industries. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of the Soviet State Bank in 1929 and held the position for a year.

Arrest and execution

In the summer of 1936, Pyatakov was appointed as a witness by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

at the First Moscow Trial of Kamenev and Zinoviev. However, two weeks before the trial, he was again accused of anti-party and anti-Soviet activity and in early September 1936, he was withdrawn from the Central Committee and expelled from the party. On 12 September 1936, he was arrested in his service car at the in

Nizhny Tagil Nizhny Tagil ( rus, Нижний Тагил, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil) is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located east of the boundary between Asia and Europe. Population: History The prehistory of Nizhny Tagil dates back to the mid- ...

. At his trial, he was accused of conspiring with Trotsky in connection with the case of the so-called Parallel anti-Soviet Party Centre to overthrow the Soviet government. Pyatakov was accused of joining a conspiracy with the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

to seize power in the Soviet Union, in return promising to reward

with large tracts of Soviet territory, including Ukraine. The prosecution ( Yezhov and Yagoda) presented evidence that he had secretly met with Trotsky in

for those purposes. Stalin was unsure of these claims and undecided on Pyatakov, but on 30 January 1937, he was sentenced to death, and executed on 1 February. Pyatakov was posthumously rehabilitated and reinstated in the party on 13 June 1988 by the decision of the

Council of People's Commissars The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...

of the

Central Committee of the CPSU The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee directe ...

under Mikhail Gorbachev.

References

External links

Biography

Mentioning of Leonid Pyatakov

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyatakov, Georgy 1890 births 1937 deaths People from Horodyshche People from Cherkassky Uyezd Russians in Ukraine Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Old Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Left communists Left Opposition Party leaders of the Soviet Union Chairmen of the Board of Gosbank Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) politicians First Secretaries of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) Chairpersons of the Council of Ministers of Ukraine People of the Russian Revolution Russian revolutionaries Russian Revolution in Ukraine GRU officers Cheka Saint Petersburg State University alumni Russian exiles to Siberia Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Japan Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Sweden Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Norway Soviet expatriates in France Trial of the Seventeen Great Purge victims from Russia Executed Russian people Russian people executed by the Soviet Union Soviet rehabilitations