Yukhym Hryhorovych Medvediev ( uk, Юхим Григорович Медведєв, russian: Ефим Григорьевич Медведев, Yefim Grigoryevich Medvedev; 1 April 1886 – 7 June 1938) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

politician and the first elected chairman of the

parliament in Ukraine. Medvediev was a member of various Communist parties, but in early 1930s quit his political life and committed himself to a civilian life. In January 1938 he was arrested by the State Security police and later that year shot on the grounds of being an anti-Soviet terrorist. In 1957 Medvedev was rehabilitated posthumously.

Biography

Medvediev was born in Bakhmut city of

Yekaterinoslav Governorate The Yekaterinoslav Governorate (russian: Екатеринославская губерния, Yekaterinoslavskaya guberniya; uk, Катеринославська губернія, translit=Katerynoslavska huberniia) or Government of Yekaterinos ...

(Now in Donetsk Oblast,

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...

) in a family of

ethnicity. After finishing the Bakhmut Technological College he worked as an electrical technician at factories of Bakhmut and

Yekaterinoslav Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

. In 1904 Medvediev enrolled into the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), but in 1917 he became a member of the

Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party The Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party ( uk, Украї́нська соціа́л-демократи́чна робітни́ча па́ртія, ''Ukrayínsʹka sotsiál-demokratýchna robitnýcha pártiya''), also known as Esdeky and SDP ...

. The same year he initiated the organization of the Kharkiv Ukrainian left social-democrats which cooperated with the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. In December 1917 Medvediev became one of the organizers of the '' 1st All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets of Peasants', Workers', and Soldiers' Deputies'' in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee ( uk, italic=yes, Всеукраїнський центральний виконавчий комітет) was a representative body of the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets. It was the supreme legislative ...

, the chairman of which Medvediev was elected on December 24, 1917. The committee supported the Bolsheviks' intentions on the liquidation of the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

. In January–February 1918 he headed the Soviet Ukrainian delegation to the Brest's negotiations. Medvediev was dismissed as the chairman of TsVK in March 1918 and with withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Ukraine moved to

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 ...

. There he was a member of the Bureau of Ukrainian left social-democrats in exile. After the Russian aggression on Ukraine in August 1919 Medvediev joined

Borotbists The Borotbists (Fighters) (1918–1920) was a left-nationalist political party in Ukraine. It is not be associated with its Russian affiliated counterparts - the Ukrainian Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (Borbysts) and the Ukrainian Commu ...

, however already in July 1920 the party has self-liquidated at its 4th Party Congress and most of its members joined the ranks of the

Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine ( uk, Комуністична Партія України ''Komunistychna Partiya Ukrayiny'', КПУ, ''KPU''; russian: Коммунистическая партия Украины) was the founding and ruling ...

. At the start of 1930s Medevediev has fully quit the political life and lived in the capital city of Kharkiv where he worked at numerous locations. On 27 January 1938 he was arrested for alleged membership of a military-terrorist organization and anti-Soviet activity. He was sentenced to death on 11 May and shot on 7 June 1938. Posthumously rehabilitated on 22 November 1957.

References

Bibliography

Fedorovsky, Yu. ''Our countryman - the first Soviet president''. "Bratia-slavyane" #16. May 2010.

External links

Handbook of history of UkraineHandbook on history of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medvediev, Yukhym 1886 births 1938 deaths People from Bakhmut People from Bakhmutsky Uyezd Mensheviks Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party politicians Borotbists Bolsheviks Communist Party of Ukraine (Soviet Union) politicians Chairmen of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee Great Purge victims from Ukraine Soviet rehabilitations