Arvīds Pelše (, Arvid Yanovich Pelshe; – 29 May 1983) was a Latvian

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

functionary An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of the ...

, and historian.

Career

Pelše was born into a peasant family, in Mazie farm near Zālīte, Iecava in Bauska district,

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

to Johan Pelše and his wife Lisa. He was baptized in the village church on 14 March of the same year. As a worker in Riga, Pelše joined the Social-Democratic Party (Bolsheviks) of the Latvian Region in 1915. In 1916, he met

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

.Who's Who in ''Russia Since 1900'', Martin McCauley Between 1914 and 1918, Pelše worked in the workshops of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

, as a milling machine operator at the steam-engine making plant in

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

, as a punching worker in Petrograd and a loader in the port of

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

. On behalf of the local committees he had joined the revolutionary propaganda. He was a delegate of the sixth congress of the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...

of the Arkhangelsk party organization. He participated in the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

in 1917 and was a member of the famous Petrograd Soviet. He was actively involved in the preparation and conducting of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

in 1917. In 1918, he joined the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

. In 1918, he was sent by Lenin to Latvia to prosecute the revolution there. In 1919, he was attached to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and later became a manager in the Construction Ministry of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic. After the defeat of the Soviet Latvian government, he returned to Russia in 1919. He was a lecturer and political commissar in the Red Army from 1919 to 1929. In 1931, he graduated from the history department of the Moscow Institute of the Red Professoriat, and between 1931 and 1933, he was a graduate student in the institute. At the same time, he was an instructor at the Institute of Party History at the Central School of

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

between 1929 and 1932. Between 1933 and 1937, he was first deputy of the Commissariat of State Farms ( Sovkhozes). Between 1937 and 1940, he taught

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

in the Moscow Higher Educational Institute. In June 1940, he played a leading role in the process of admitting of Latvia into the USSR. From March 1941 to 1959, he served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia for propaganda and agitation. During the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

in 1941-1945, he worked to prepare the party and the Soviet cadres to transform

into a communist state. In 1958, he traveled to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

to attend the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of Denmark. July 1959 to November 1959 marked the purge of all nascent nationalism from the Communist Party of Latvia—about 2,000 of the party leadership and activists were stripped of their posts and privileges. The Soviets elevated Pelše to First Secretary, replacing the purged Kalnbērziņš on 25 November 1959. In January 1960, Pelše promptly denounced his former (purged) associates for deviating from "the right path in carrying out Leninist nationality policy". From that point forward, the First Secretaries of the Latvian SSR were servile party functionaries, as first embodied by Pelše, whom Latvians regarded as symbols of submissiveness to the Soviets. Pelše was appointed as member of the Central Committee in 1961. That same year, after Yuri Gagarin returned from his space mission, Pelše proposed changing the name of the Latvian capital Rīga but the Soviet central authorities saw this as extreme. In 1963, Pelše headed a commission nicknamed the "Pelše Commission", which investigated the assassination of

Sergei Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (born Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and a member of the Bolshevik faction ...

. The commission finished its work in 1967. Pelše served as First Secretary of the Latvian SSR until 15 April 1966. At the 23rd Party Congress in 1966, Pelše addressed his colleagues as follows: :"We will never permit anyone to interfere in our internal affairs but will conduct a determined struggle against any imperialist interference in the affairs of other countries and peoples." On 7 November 1975, Pelše gave a speech in the ceremony commemorating the 58th anniversary of the October Revolution. In his address, Pelše confirmed continuing Soviet support for "fighters for freedom" and "the patriots in Angola." He was rewarded for his faithful service, being selected by the 23rd Party Congress for full membership to the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

of the CPSU, a position he held until his death in May 1983. Pelše was also Chairman of the Party Control Committee, which oversaw the discipline of party members, from 1966 to 1983.

Death and legacy

200px, Pelše's grave at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis Pelše's health was failing in his last years. When he did not attend the funeral of

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

in November 1982, rumors spread he had died, but a few days later, on 23 November, he appeared in a session of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

. Another absence which was noticed by the media was in the ceremony marking the centennial of the death of Karl Marx, on 31 March 1983, one month before he died. He suffered from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

, as well as

atelectasis Atelectasis is the partial collapse or closure of a lung resulting in reduced or absence in gas exchange. It is usually unilateral, affecting part or all of one lung. It is a condition where the Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli are deflated down to l ...

, which aggravated his lungs, and worsening cardiopulmonary failure. He died of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

at 5:55 on 29 May 1983.Medical assessment that appeared in Soviet newspapers on 31 May 1983 Pelše was honoured with a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

; his remains lay in state at the House of Trade Unions. On 2 June, his ashes were carried by an armoured vehicle to Red Square, with all the Politburo members standing at the top of Lenin's Mausoleum. After lavish eulogies were read by Soviet leader

Yuri Andropov Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov ( – 9 February 1984) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the List of Chairmen of t ...

and Politburo member Viktor Grishin, his ashes were laid to rest in the

Kremlin Wall Necropolis The Kremlin Wall Necropolis is the former national cemetery of the Soviet Union, located in Red Square in Moscow beside the Moscow Kremlin Wall, Kremlin Wall. Burials there began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolsheviks who died during the Mosc ...

. Pelše wrote some works on the history of the CPSU, on the history of the revolutionary movement in

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...

nationalists, the socialist and communist construction in the country. He was twice awarded with Hero of the Socialist Labor (1969, 1979), 6

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

, the

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

and other medals. The Rīga Polytechnic Institute was named for Pelše after he died. Pelše was married three times. He had two children from the first marriage: a daughter, Beruta (died), and son, Arvik (died during World War II). One son from the second marriage, Tai, (was born in 1930) - a pensioner, and did not support any contacts with his father after the 3rd marriage. The third wife of Pelše was Lidiya, the ex-wife of Stalin's secretary Alexander Poskrebyshev. From 1966 until his death, he lived at 15 Spiridonovka Street. A commemorative plaque was placed in the front of the building.

Career

Death and legacy

References

Further reading