Vladimir Kazimirovich Vol'skii (; 23 June 1877 – 4 October 1937) was a Russian revolutionary with a

Narodnik The Narodniks were members of a movement of the Russian Empire intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, Narodnism or ,; , similar to the ...

orientation.

Biography

Vladimir Vol'skii was born in

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

, fathered by Kazimir Kazimirovich Volsky (3 September 1843 - 1913) an attorney in the Tambov District Court. He graduated from school in 1894, and went on to study at the Physics and Mathematics Department of

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, but in 1902 he was expelled to Vyatka and emigrated. Vol'skii joined the

Socialist Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia. The party memb ...

(PSR) in 1903. Vladimir secretly returned to Russia and joined the SR Central Committee in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. He embraced the terrorist methods of the PSR, personally involving himself in a plot to assassinate the governor of

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

in 1904. In 1905, he briefly became the lover of

Maria Spiridonova Maria Alexandrovna Spiridonova (; 16 October 1884 – 11 September 1941) was a Narodnik-inspired Russian revolutionary. In 1906, as a novice member of a local combat group of the Tambov Socialists-Revolutionaries (SRs), she assassinated a securi ...

, the future leader of

Left Socialist-Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries-Internationalists () was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revolution. In 1917, the Socialist Revolutionary Party split between those who supported the Russian Pro ...

.Sally A. Boniece
"The Spiridonova Case, 1906: Terror, Myth and Martyrdom,"
in Anthony Anemone (ed.), ''Just Assassins: The Culture of Terrorism in Russia.'' Northwestern University Press, 2010; pp. 127–151. Soon after, he was arrested in Tambov and once again sent to the Vyatka province. In 1908, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and sent to the

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

province. In 1911, he moved to Moscow, where he engaged in the creation of Social Revolutionary militant groups. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he was expelled to Kashin and

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

. At the time of 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 ...

of 1917, Vol'skii was in

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

, where he soon became a leading member of the local party. Together with his brother, he was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

as the representative of

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was known as Kalinin Oblast (). Population: Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much o ...

. Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, he became active in the Socialist Revolutionary resistance to the Bolsheviks and became chairman of the

Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly The Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly () was an anti-Bolshevik government that operated in Samara, Russia, during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1922. It formed on June 8, 1918, after the Czechoslovak Legion had occupied the cit ...

who established themselves in

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

. The Bolsheviks declared him a counter-revolutionary, subject to immediate arrest. He went underground and the SR Central Committee sent him to the

Volga region The Volga region, known as the ( , ; rus, Поволжье, r=Povolžje, p=pɐˈvoɫʐje; ), is a historical region in Russia that encompasses the drainage basin of the Volga River, the longest river in Europe, in central and southern European ...

and to the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

to attend the State Meeting in Ufa and organize an uprising against the Bolsheviks. After

Alexander Kolchak Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia in 1918, Kolchak headed a mili ...

's coup on 18 November 1918, Vol'skii issued an appeal "To all the peoples of Russia," in which he announced the election of a Committee, responsible for the Congress of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly. Vol'skii instructed this committee to eliminate the Kolchak conspiracy. He was arrested in Yekaterinburg by some of Kolchak's

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

officers, but fled with the help of the Czechoslovakians, and joined the anti-Kolchak underground movement. After the Red Army captured Ufa in June 1919, the remaining members of the SR Central Committee of the Volga —the so-called Ufa delegation – began negotiations with the Ufa revolutionary committee about joint action against Kolchak. The SR Central Committee reacted negatively to the idea of negotiations and labelled the actions of the Ufa delegation as a betrayal of the party. Nevertheless, the Ufa delegation did not abandon its position and formed the "People's group". Members of the People's group insisted on a complete rejection of the armed struggle against the Bolsheviks. At the end of October, the SR Central Committee decided to dissolve the People's group, and its leaders received a final warning with the threat of expulsion from the party. However, the group refused to comply with the decision on its dissolution and stated that it was leaving the party, leaving the right to appeal to the nearest party congress, taking the name – the Minority Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (MPSR). The speeches by the MPSR at the Seventh and Eighth All-Russian Congresses of Soviets spoke about the need to bring democracy to the Soviet government, review the functions of the

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

, review the provisions of the Constitution of the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(introduce provisions on

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

, the right to

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

for workers, the right to

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

freedom of assembly Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of individuals to peaceably assemble and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their ideas. The right to free ...

, guarantees against extrajudicial reprisals against workers and the provision of freedom of action to those social movements and political parties that do not fight against the Soviet regime). During the

Kronstadt rebellion The Kronstadt rebellion () was a 1921 insurrection of Soviet sailors, Marines, naval infantry, and civilians against the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik government in the Russian port city of Kronstadt. Located on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland, ...

in March 1921, the MPSR created the "Political Center", allegedly, to serve the function of the future government – this included two members of the MPSR Central Bureau, including Vol'skii. Other members of the Central Bank proposed to expel Vol'skii from the MPSR and conduct a party investigation in the case of the Political Center. In March 1922, the

GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed for digital image processing and to accelerate computer graphics, being present either as a discrete video card or embedded on motherboards, mobile phones, personal ...

exposed the Political Center and other material from the state's investigation of the party, seized during a year of searches and arrests. Vol'skii was arrested by the

, spent three years in the

Pertominsk Pertominsk () is a rural locality (a settlement) and the administrative center of Pertominskoye Rural Settlement of Primorsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The population was 252 as of 2010. There are 12 streets. Pertominsk concentration ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

, and was later sent to prison – first to Solovki, then to

Semey Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...

. He was again arrested in February 1937, during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. On 22 September 1937

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, Molotov and Zhdanov signed the "List of Persons Subject to the Court of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR" (

Kazakh SSR The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Located in northern Centr ...

). Vol'skii was shot for belonging to an "anti-Soviet terrorist organization." Volski'i was rehabilitated in 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volsky, Vladimir 1877 births 1937 deaths People from Tambov People from Tambovsky Uyezd Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians Russian Constituent Assembly members Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly Russian revolutionaries Revolutionaries from the Russian Empire Great Purge victims from Russia Soviet rehabilitations