Sofia Sigizmundovna Dzerzhinskaya (born Muszkat; pl, Zofia Dzierżyńska—Muszkat; russian: Софья Сигизмундовна Дзержинская—Мушкат; 4 December 1882 – 27 February 1968) was a leading
Polish Social Democrat and later
Communist politician. During WWII, she was director of the Polish language
Tadeusz Kościuszko
Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...
radio station, broadcasting the communist message into
occupied Poland
' ( Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 Octobe ...
.
From September 1918 through February 1919, Sofia was a member of the Soviet diplomatic mission in
Bern. From 1920, she lived in 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, ...
, in Moscow where she worked as a teacher. In 1922, Sofia worked in the School of
Rosa Luxemburg in Moscow, later, 1923–24 at the
. After that, she worked in the Polish Bureau of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From 1939 to 1943, Sofia worked at the Executive Committee of
Comintern. In 1969, her memoirs "Lata wielkich bojów: wspomnienia" were published in Poland by Książka i Wiedza publishing house. She died in
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 millio ...
in 1968 and was buried at
Novodevichy Cemetery.
Personal life
She was born in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland, to a Jewish family.
She married
Felix Dzerzhinsky on 10 November 1910 in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
at the St. Nicholas Church. On 23 June 1911, in
Pawiak prison
Pawiak () was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Congress Poland.
During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia.
During the World War II German occupation ...
, she gave birth to their only son and child Janek (Jan).
See also
*
Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee
Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee ( pl, Tymczasowy Komitet Rewolucyjny Polski, Polrewkom; russian: Польревком) (July–August 1920) was a revolutionary committee created under the patronage of Soviet Russia with the goal to e ...
References
Sources
*Robert Blobaum: ''Feliks Dzierzynsky and the SDKPiL: A study of the origins of Polish Communism'' (1984).
1882 births
1968 deaths
19th-century Polish Jews
20th-century Polish politicians
People from Warsaw Governorate
Politicians from Warsaw
Chopin University of Music alumni
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Banner of Work
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania politicians
Bolsheviks
Jewish socialists
Polish communists
Polish emigrants to the Soviet Union
Polish revolutionaries
Soviet women diplomats
{{Poland-politician-stub
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery