![Teodor Nette](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Teodor_Nette.jpg)
Theodor Ivanovich Nette (russian: link=no, Теодор Иванович Нетте, born 1895 or 1896 – died February 5, 1926,
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 ...
-
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
train,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
) was a Soviet diplomatic courier of
NKID, who died in a terrorist attack on the Soviet train while delivering diplomatic mail to Berlin.
Vladimir Mayakovsky published a poem praising his death – "To Comrade Nette, the Man and the Ship" (1926) saying he wants to die like Nette.
Biography
Born in
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
(possible version). Son of the shoemaker. Learned German. Joined the Social Democratic Party when he was 17. After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke he and his father was arrested. Imprisoned at Riga Central, later transported to Petrograd
Kresty Prison. Released in March 1917 and returned to Latvia. Official version says that he worked ''underground'' since August 1917 when German troops occupied Riga.
Since the beginning of 1918 worked 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 ...
as the secretary of the visa departament of
RSFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
Narkomindel, later became a polit
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 ...
of the second battalion of the 1st
Red Latvian Riflemen regiment. After
Soviet Latvia was declared in 1919 he was appointed as Chairman of the
Jelgava revolutionary tribunal. Participated in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
Southern Front. Since 1922 he became an official diplomatic courier of RSFSR Narkomindel.
On February 5, 1926 Moscow – Riga train was assaulted between the
Ikšķile
Ikšķile (; german: Uexküll; liv, Ikškilā; et, Üksküla; also known as ''Üxküll'') is a town in Latvia, in Ogre Municipality. It was the first capital of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Livonia, known by the German name of Üxküll ...
and
Salaspils
Salaspils (; german: Kircholm; sv, Kirkholm) is a town in Latvia, the administrative centre of Salaspils Municipality. The town is situated on the northern bank of the Daugava river, 18 kilometers to the south-east of the city of Riga.
Histo ...
station. Armed men required the trainman to show courier's compartment and attacked the Soviet trade representative Pecherskiy. Nette and his partner Johann Mahmastal (1891—1942) took their guns but failed to close the door. Nette shot first and hits one attacker, but was instantly killed by a
headshot
A head shot or headshot is a modern (usually digital) portrait in which the focus is on the person. The term is applied usually for professional profile images on social media, images used on online dating profiles, the 'about us page' of a cor ...
. Mahmastal was wounded in the abdomen and right arm. Two attackers were also wounded and retreated (they were later found dead), while at least one could escape. Mahmastal stayed in the coupe and guarded the diplomatic cargo until Riga, where USSR Plenipotentiary Officers arrived.
Buried at
Vagankovo.
Legacy
The attacks echoed wide around the USSR.
* A year after the tragic events
Alexander Dovzhenko releases a film ''The Diplomatic Pouch'' (russian: link=no, Сумка дипкурьера, 1927).
* Nette was posthumously awarded with 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 th ...
together with his wounded colleague
Iogann Mahmastal
* The steamship ' was renamed in his honour (which in turn inspired the Mayakovsky's poem). Later his name was given to the two ships of the Soviet Northern Sea Steamship Line (
Sovtorgflot Sovtorgflot (russian: "Совторгфлот", Советский торговый флот, "Soviet Commercial Fleet") was a shipping company in the Soviet Union. It was established as a joint-stock company on July 18, 1924. It united ships which ...
) consequently –
gas-turbine ship of 1963 and the timber ship of 1990 (
Pavlin Vinogradov Pavlin may refer to:
*Kim Daniela Pavlin (born 1992), Croatian swimmer
*Luka Pavlin (born 1988), Slovenian footballer
*Miran Pavlin
*Žiga Pavlin
* Pavlin Demski
* Pavlin Dhembi
* Pavlin Ivanov (basketball)
* Pavlin Todorov
See also
*
*Paulin (dis ...
class was similar to the ''Iogann Mahmastal'' timber ship (currently
Northern Shipping Company. Currently, no ship bears his name.
* Nette's daughter, who was only 1-year old at time of father's death, was cared by State.
* February 5 became an official remembrance day of fallen
diplomatic courier
A diplomatic courier is an official who transports diplomatic bags as sanctioned under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Couriers are granted diplomatic immunity and are thereby protected by the receiving state from arrest and ...
s.
*
Odessa Film released a film in 1977 named ''Red Dipcouriers'' based on the story of the attack on Nette and Mahmastal.
* ''The man and the
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...
hip'' became a strong
cliché
A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...
in Russia after use by
Eduard Uspensky's novel
Winter in Prostokvashino and in subsequent animation film (in the form of ''
Kruzenshtern, the man and the ship'', 1984). In general, the expression refers to someone with '
gravitas'.
Russian Language Blog – Academicians, Pushkin, and the Steamship
February 17, 2011
References
External links
* (1927)
* (1977)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nette, Theodor
1890s births
1926 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Old Bolsheviks
Latvian Riflemen
Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic people
Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War
Terrorist incidents on railway systems
Terrorism victims
Assassinated Soviet diplomats
Inmates of Kresty Prison
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Soviet people murdered abroad