Theodor Ivanovich Nette (, born 1895 or 1896 – died February 5, 1926,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

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 ...

train,

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 ...

) was a Soviet diplomatic courier of NKID, who died in a terrorist attack on the Soviet train while delivering diplomatic mail to Berlin.

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...

published a poem praising his death – "To Comrade Nette, the Man and the Ship" (1926) saying he wants to die like Nette.

Biography

Born in

(possible version). Son of the shoemaker. Learned German. Joined the Social Democratic Party when he was 17. After

World War I 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 ...

both him and his father were arrested. Imprisoned at Riga Central, later transported to Petrograd

Kresty Prison Kresty (, literally ''Crosses'') prison, officially Investigative Isolator No. 1 of the Administration of the Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments for the city of Saint Petersburg (Следственный изолятор № 1 УФ� ...

. Released in March 1917 and returned to Latvia. Official version says that he worked ''underground'' since August 1917 when German troops occupied Riga. Since the beginning of 1918 worked in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

as the secretary of the visa department of

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 ...

Narkomindel, later became a polit

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means ' commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and ...

of the second battalion of the 1st Red Latvian Riflemen regiment. After Soviet Latvia was declared in 1919 he was appointed as Chairman of the

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

revolutionary tribunal. Participated in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Southern Front. Since 1922 he became an official diplomatic courier of RSFSR Narkomindel. On February 5, 1926, Moscow – Riga train was assaulted between the

Ikšķile Ikšķile (, ; , or ; ; ) is a town in Ogre Municipality, in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It was the first capital of the Roman Catholic Bishopric of Livonia, known by the List of German exonyms for places in Latvia, German name of Uexküll, ...

and

Salaspils Salaspils (; ; ) (literally: "island castle") is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. It is the administrative centre of Salaspils Municipality. The town is situated on the northern bank of the Daugava river, 18 kilometers to the south-east ...

station. Armed men required the trainman to show courier's compartment and attacked the Soviet trade representative Pecherskiy. Nette and his partner Johann Mahmastal (1891–1942) took their guns but failed to close the door. Nette shot first and hits one attacker, but was instantly killed by a

headshot A head shot or headshot is a photographic portrait in which the focus is on the subject's face. The term is usually applied to professional profile images on social media, images used on online dating profiles, and promotional images of actors, ...

. Mahmastal was wounded in the abdomen and right arm. Two attackers were also wounded and retreated (they were later found dead), while at least one could escape. Mahmastal stayed in the coupe and guarded the diplomatic cargo until Riga, where USSR Plenipotentiary Officers arrived. Buried at Vagankovo.

Legacy

The attacks echoed wide around the USSR. * A year after the tragic events

Alexander Dovzhenko Alexander Petrovich Dovzhenko, also Oleksandr Petrovych Dovzhenko (, ; November 25, 1956), was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Ukrainian origin. He is often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, alongside Sergei ...

releases a film ''The Diplomatic Pouch'' (, 1927). * Nette was posthumously awarded with the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

together with his wounded colleague Iogann Mahmastal * The steamship ' was renamed in his honour (which in turn inspired the Mayakovsky's poem). Later his name was given to the two ships of the Soviet Northern Sea Steamship Line (

Sovtorgflot Sovtorgflot (, "Soviet Commercial Fleet") was a shipping company in the Soviet Union. It was established as a joint-stock company on July 18, 1924. It united ships which belonged to different '' narkomats'' and companies, including the ones with fo ...

) consequently –

gas-turbine A gas turbine or gas turbine engine is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the direction of flow: ...

ship of 1963 and the timber ship of 1990 ( Pavlin Vinogradov class was similar to the ''Iogann Mahmastal'' timber ship (currently
Northern Shipping Company
. Currently, no ship bears his name. * Nette's daughter, who was only 1-year old at time of father's death, was cared by State. * February 5 became an official remembrance day of fallen

diplomatic courier A diplomatic courier is an official who secures and transports diplomatic bags. Countries have utilized diplomatic couriers to handle important documents, artifacts and supplies between different countries since the 12th century. Following the ...

s. * Odessa Film released a film in 1977 named ''Red Dipcouriers'' based on the story of the attack on Nette and Mahmastal. * ''The man and the

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

hip'' became a strong

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

in Russia after use by

Eduard Uspensky Eduard Nikolayevich Uspensky (; 22 December 193714 August 2018) was a Soviet and Russian children's writer and poet, author of over 70 books, as well as a playwright, screenwriter and TV presenter. His works have been translated into 25 languages ...

's novel Winter in Prostokvashino and in subsequent animation film (in the form of '' Kruzenshtern, the man and the ship'', 1984). In general, the expression refers to someone with '

gravitas () was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment to the task ...

'.Russian Language Blog – Academicians, Pushkin, and the Steamship
February 17, 2011

References

External links

* (1927) * (1977) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nette, Theodor 1890s births 1926 deaths Year of birth uncertain Old Bolsheviks Latvian Riflemen Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic people Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Terrorist incidents on railway systems Terrorism victims Assassinated Soviet diplomats Inmates of Kresty Prison Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet people murdered abroad