Pyotr Germogenovich Smidovich (russian: Пётр Гермогенович Смидович; 19 May 1874 – 16 April 1935), was a Russian revolutionary and

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 national ...

politician. Born in to a noble family of the Suchekomanty coat of arms, 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 po ...

in 1898 and worked as an agent for the party's newspaper, ''

Iskra ''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). History Due to political repression under Tsar Nic ...

''. During 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 mome ...

of 1917, he was a member of the Moscow

Military Revolutionary Committee The Military Revolutionary Committee (russian: Военно-революционный комитет, ) was the name for military organs created by the Bolsheviks under the soviets in preparation for the October Revolution (October 1917 – Marc ...

, a member of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the

Supreme Council of National Economy Supreme Board of the National Economy, Superior Board of the People's Economy, (Высший совет народного хозяйства, ВСНХ, ''Vysshiy sovet narodnogo khozyaystva'', VSNKh) was the superior state institution for managem ...

. From March 1918 to October 1918 Smidovich served as the chairman of the

Moscow Soviet The Mossoviet (Russian: Моссовет), an abbreviation of Moscow Soviet, (Московский Совет) was established following the February Revolution . Initially it was a parallel, shadow city administration of Moscow, Russia run by le ...

. From 1919 he was the chairman of the Moscow provincial economic council. In 1920 he took part in the Soviet delegation at the peace negotiations with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. In 1921 he took part in the liquidation of the

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 293 ...

and

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

rebellions. On December 30, 1922, he opened the I All-Union Congress of Soviets, was elected to its presidium. From 1922 he was a member of the Anti-Religious Commission under the Central Committee of the

All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),; abbreviated in Russian as or also known by #Name, various other names during its history, was the founding and ruling party of the Soviet Union. The CPSU was the One-party state, sole governing ...

and head of the Secretariat for Religious Affairs, since 1929 Chairman of the Standing Commission on Cults under the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Smidovich was the leader of the

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, a ...

organization

Komzet Komzet (russian: Комитет по земельному устройству еврейских трудящихся, ) was the ''Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land'' (some English sources use the word "working" instead of ...

, which was established in 1921 in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. The idea to found a

Jewish Autonomous Oblast The Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO; russian: Евре́йская автоно́мная о́бласть, (ЕАО); yi, ייִדישע אװטאָנאָמע געגנט, ; )In standard Yiddish: , ''Yidishe Oytonome Gegnt'' is a federal subject ...

in the

USSR 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 ...

with Yiddish as its

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

belonged to

Mikhail Kalinin Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (russian: link=no, Михаи́л Ива́нович Кали́нин ; 3 June 1946), known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych", was a Soviet politician and Old Bolshevik revolutionary. He served as head of s ...

and Smidovich. Pyotr Smidovich died in Moscow on April 16, 1935. The urn with his ashes was buried in

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical bui ...

near the

Kremlin Wall The Moscow Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognisable by the characteristic notches and its Kremlin towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156. The Kremlin w ...

. The

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

Smidovich Smidovich (russian: Смидович; yi, סמידאוויטש) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Smidovichsky District of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia. Population: History It is an early J ...

in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smidovich, Pyotr 1874 births 1935 deaths People from Rahachow People from Rogachyovsky Uyezd Chairpersons of the Executive Committee of Mossovet Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Jewish Autonomous Oblast Old Bolsheviks Russian revolutionaries Soviet politicians Mayors of Moscow Russian Constituent Assembly members

See also

References