Semyon Izrailevich Zapadny (real name Semyon Kesselman; russian: Семён Израилевич Западный (Кессельман), 1899 – 1938) was a Chekist, state security commissar of 3rd degree (general level rank), member of the NKVD special troikas, a chief of the Kiev Okruha GPU (KGB) in 1925-1928 and Khabarovsk Oblast in 1934–37. He was born in Odessa, Russian Empire, as Semyon Kesselman. In 1914 Zapadny graduated from the Jewish treasury school in Odessa. In July 1917 Zapadny joined the Odessa

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

(Bolshevized paramilitary formations) and later around 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 mome ...

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 ...

.Semyon Zapadny (Западный (Кессельман) Семён Израилевич)

Handbook on History of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union 1898–1991 A handbook is a type of reference work, or other collection of instructions, that is intended to provide ready reference. The term originally applied to a small or portable book containing information useful for its owner, but the ''Oxford Engl ...

. Zapadny participated in the Odessa Bolshevik uprising in December 1917. With the ongoing Soviet–Ukrainian War, he joined the Workers'-Peasants' Red Army. After signing of 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 ...

and occupation of Ukraine by the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

, in April 1918 to August 1919 he was one of leaders of the Odessa underground Bolsheviks committee on intelligence and counterintelligence (Odessa Cheka was headed by Boris Severny uzefovich. Sometime in 1919 Zapadny officially joined Cheka, becoming member of the Odessa Governorate Cheka collegium. He remained among the high-ranking Cheka and GPU officers in Ukraine until 1930. In 1919 he was one of the main chekists in Ukraine during the events of

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. During the advance of the Armed Forces of South Russia, Zapadny served as a military intelligence officer in the 12th Army of the Southern Front. In 1921 for a short period Zapadny was acting chief of Cheka in

Volhynian Governorate Volhynian Governorate or Volyn Governorate (russian: Волы́нская губе́рния, translit=Volynskaja gubernija, uk, Волинська губернія, translit=Volynska huberniia) was an administrative-territorial unit initially ...

(Zhytomyr) and in 1922-24 headed Cheka in the capital

Kharkiv Governorate Kharkiv Governorate ( uk, Харківська губернія, translit=Kharkivska huberniia) was a governorate of Ukraine from 1918 to 1925. The region was re-established in 1918 as the Kharkov Governorate plus southern regions of Kursk Gover ...

. In 1925-28 he was a chief of GPU in Kiev Okruha. Zapadny is also considered as one of founders of FC Dynamo Kyiv in 1927–28. In 1930 he was transferred to

Far Eastern Krai Far Eastern Krai (Russian: Дальневосточный край) or Far Eastern Territory was a krai of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic of the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1938. Its capital was Khabarovsk. It was the largest admin ...

of the

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

where Zapadny continued his career as a Soviet security officer. In 1934-37 he was a chief of NKVD in Khabarovsk Oblast and a deputy chief of NKVD of Far Eastern Krai. On 25 November 1935 he was promoted to the rank of state security commissar of 3rd degree. On 14 February 1935 Zapadny was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of t ...

. On August 8, 1937 he was arrested and executed on February 5, 1938. In 1980 Zapadny was rehabilitated by the Supreme Court presidium of the Soviet Union. Zapadny had three siblings (two brothers, one sister) who also were agents of KGB. His brother Arnold Arkadievich Arnoldov (1893-1938) was awarded a rank of senior major of state security and was a recipient of two St. George Crosses 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. ...

.Arnold Arkadievich Arnoldov (АРНОЛЬДОВ Арнольд Аркадьевич)
centrasia.org

References

External links

at hrono.ru
Semyon Zapadny
at alexanderyakovlev.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Zapadny, Semyon 1899 births 1938 deaths Odesa Jews Military personnel from Odesa Red Guards (Russia) Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Soviet people of the Ukrainian–Soviet War Cheka officers NKVD troika Commissars 3rd Class of State Security Great Purge victims from Ukraine Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner

Further reading

References

External links