Voldemar Khristianovich Aussem (russian: Вольдемар (Владимир) Христианович Ауссем; , in

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fe ...

– 1936), was a Russian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

and revolutionary,

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

official and

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, ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

. From 1899 he studied at the

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

Institute of Technology until his arrest in 1901, the same year in which he joined the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party 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 socialist pol ...

, after which he was sentenced to administrative exile to Oryol. From 19141917 he served in the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �В Sukhoputnyye voyska V, also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Gro ...

, and after 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 moment ...

he served in various capacities of the communist hierarchy in

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 ...

. On 30 November 1918 he became Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian Soviet Army, from 19191920 he was in the

Revolutionary Military Council The Revolutionary Military Council (russian: Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet, Revolutionary Military Council), sometimes called the Revolutionary War CouncilBrian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor Ra ...

. In 1921 he was posted to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

as the Plenipotentiary Representative of the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

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 ...

, until 16 July 1923 when the representation was switched to the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, which saw him staying in Germany as Adviser to the

Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...

of the USSR. On 21 May 1924 he was posted to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

as Plenipotentiary Representative of the Soviet Union in Austria, and stayed in the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n capital until 10 December 1924. After the completion of his

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

in Austria, he returned to the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

and became Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy in that

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

, until 1926 when he became the Trade Representative of the USSR in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. In December 1927 he was expelled from the

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

, and at some stage became Scientific Secretary of the

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

Regional Planning Commission until May 1929, when he was arrested, and sentenced in 1930 to 3 years exile in the

Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (russian: Казахская Автономная Социалистическая Советская Республика; kk, Qazaq Aptonom Sotsijalistik Sovettik Respublikasь), abbreviated as K ...

. He was released in 1932, and became chief of the Chemical division of the Orlyov Sanitary Biological Institute, until his arrest again on 15 January 1933, whereby he was sentenced to another 3 years of exile in

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

. He was released in 1936. Aussem disappeared some time in 1937 while some sources claim he was shot. He was rehabilitated in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aussem, Voldemar Khristianovich 1879 births Year of death unknown People from Oryol People from Orlovsky Uyezd (Oryol Governorate) People from the Russian Empire of German descent Russian people of German descent Soviet people of German descent Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Old Bolsheviks Expelled members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Austria Ambassadors of Ukraine to Germany GRU officers Ukrainian revolutionaries Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute alumni Technical University of Braunschweig alumni Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet prisoners and detainees Soviet rehabilitations