Jānis Kalnbērziņš (17 September 1893 – 4 February 1986) was a Latvian

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, ...

politician and statesman who was the first secretary of the

Communist Party of Latvia The Communist Party of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Komunistiskā partija, LKP) was a political party in Latvia. History Latvian Social-Democracy prior to 1919 The party was founded at a congress in June 1904. Initially the party was known as the Latvia ...

and the first de facto leader of the

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Latvian SSR), also known as Soviet Latvia or simply Latvia, was a federated republic within the Soviet Union, and formally one of its 16 (later 15) constituent republics. The Latvian Soviet Socialist Rep ...

Biography

Born in to a working-class family in Katlakalns Parish (now

Ķekava Municipality Ķekava Municipality ( lv, Ķekavas novads) is a municipality in Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Baloži town, Daugmale Parish and Ķekava Parish, the administrative centre being Ķekava. On 1 July 2021, ...

) in the

Governorate of Livonia The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia. Geography The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...

, Kalnbērziņš joined the

Bolshevik Party " Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

in April 1917. After the defeat of the

Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic The Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic ( lv, Latvijas Sociālistiskā Padomju Republika, LSPR) was a short-lived socialist republic formed during the Latvian War of Independence. It was proclaimed on 17 December 1918 with the political, economi ...

, he enlisted in the ranks of the Red Latvian Riflemen and fought against the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

forces during the

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 ...

in the Southern Front. From 1925 he was active in the underground Communist movement of Latvia but returned to the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

in 1928. He graduated from the

Communist University of the National Minorities of the West The Communist University of the National Minorities of the West (KUNMZ - ''Kommunistichesky Universitet Natsionalnykh Menshinstv Zapada''; КУНМЗ - Коммунистический университет национальных меньшин ...

in 1931 and from the

Institute of Red Professors An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

in 1933. Kalnbērziņš continued underground party work in Latvia. His wife was arrested in 1937 during the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

and his children were sent to an orphanage. He himself was arrested by Latvian authorities in 1939 and was sentenced to a long prison term. After the Soviet troops entered Latvia in 1940 he was released from custody and was appointed the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Latvia (CPL) from 1940 to 1949 and at the same time the secretary of the Riga Committee of the CPL. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a member of the Military Council of the North-Western Front. He was a member of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

from 1952 to 1971 and a candidate member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

of the CPSU from 1957 to 1962. He was a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

of 1-7th convocations, member of the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (russian: Президиум Верховного Совета, Prezidium Verkhovnogo Soveta) was a body of state power in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. Kalnbērziņš was retired in 1970 by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and received a personal pension. He died in 1986 aged 92 and was buried in the Rainis Cemetery in Riga.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalnberzins, Janis 1893 births 1986 deaths People from Ķekava Municipality People from Kreis Riga Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Old Bolsheviks Deputies of the People's Saeima Heads of the Communist Party of Latvia Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union candidate members Heads of state of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1947–1951 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1951–1955 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1955–1959 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1959–1963 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1963–1967 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1967–1971 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1971–1975 Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, 1975–1980 First convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Second convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Third convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fourth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Fifth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Sixth convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Seventh convocation members of the Soviet of the Union Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour