Moisey Markovich Goldstein (December 11, 1891 – June 20, 1918), known professionally as V. Volodarsky, was a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

and

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. He was assassinated in 1918.

Biography

Early years

V. Volodarsky was born to the family of a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

craftsman in

Ostropol Staryi Ostropil (), also known as Ostropil (), is a Village#Ukraine, selo on the Sluch River (Ukraine), Sluch River located in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast about 133 miles (222 km) WSW of Kyiv, Ukraine. It hosts the administratio ...

, in the

Volhynian Governorate Volhynia Governorate, also known as Volyn Governorate, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Southwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. It consisted of an area of and a population of 2,989,482 inhabitants. The governorate ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(present-day

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Revolutionary politics

In 1905, he became involved in revolutionary activity within the

General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia The General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia (), generally called The Bund (, cognate to , ) or the Jewish Labour Bund (), was a secular Jewish socialist party initially formed in the Russian Empire and active between 1897 and 1 ...

, but soon joined Spilka, the Ukrainian Social Democratic organisation which aligned itself with the

Menshevik The Mensheviks ('the Minority') were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with Vladimir Lenin's Bolshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903. Mensheviks held more moderate and reformist ...

faction of the

Russian Social Democratic Labor 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 ...

. He was briefly imprisoned in 1908 and then was politically active in

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

. Then in 1911 he was exiled by the government to

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 ...

, but was included in the general

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

of 1913. Continued persecution led him to emigrate to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, settling in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Here he became active in the International Trade Union of Tailors and the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

. During

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 ...

, Volodarsky sided with the internationalist Mensheviks and moved to the left. In 1916–1917, he was a contributor to the New York-based newspaper of the Russian Socialist Federation, ''

Novy Mir ''Novy Mir'' (, ) is a Russian-language monthly literary magazine. History ''Novy Mir'' has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet literary magazine ''Mir Bozhy'' ("God's World"), w ...

'' (New World), edited by

Nikolai Bukharin Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (; rus, Николай Иванович Бухарин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪdʑ bʊˈxarʲɪn; – 15 March 1938) was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and Marxist theorist. A prominent Bolshevik ...

Return to Russia

In May 1917, Volodarsky returned to Russia, joined the

Mezhraiontsy The Mezhraiontsy ( rus, межрайонцы, p=mʲɪʐrɐˈjɵnt͡sɨ), usually translated as the "Interdistrictites,"''Mezhraionka'' and ''Mezhraiontsy'' are derived from the Russian ''"mezh-"'' (meaning "inter-" or "between'") + ''"raion"'' (mea ...

group and was elected to the

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, ...

City

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

. Along with the rest of the ''mezhraiontsy'', he joined the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s at the 6th Party Congress in July–August 1917 and soon became one of their best known public speakers and agitators. He focused his activity in the

Petergof Petergof (), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, located ...

area, including the Putilov factory. In mid-October 1917, while the Bolsheviks were debating whether to try to overthrow the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

, Volodarsky sided with

Grigory Zinoviev Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev (born Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky; – 25 August 1936) was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. A prominent Old Bolsheviks, Old Bolshevik, Zinoviev was a close associate of Vladimir Lenin prior to ...

and

Lev Kamenev Lev Borisovich Kamenev. ( Rozenfeld; – 25 August 1936) was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. A prominent Old Bolsheviks, Old Bolshevik, Kamenev was a leading figure in the early Soviet government and served as a Deputy Premier ...

, who were against the insurrection.Leon Trotsky, ''The History of the Russian Revolution'', volume 3: ''The Triumph of the Soviets'', Chapter 42,
Lenin Summons to Insurrection
. At the Second Congress of Soviets during the

October Revolution of 1917 The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

, Volodarsky was elected to the

All-Russian Central Executive Committee The All-Russian Central Executive Committee () was (June – November 1917) a permanent body formed by the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (held from June 16 to July 7, 1917 in Petrograd), then became the ...

(VTsIK). He was appointed editor of the ''Red Gazette'' in Petrograd and chief of the Press Division of the of the Union of Northern Communes. This gave him broad censorship powers. His colleague

Anatoly Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (, born ''Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov''; – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Soviet People's Commissariat for Education, People's Commissar (minister) of Education, as well ...

wrote: : ''And he was ruthless. He was imbued not only with the full menace of the October Revolution, but with a foretaste of the outbursts of

Red terror The Red Terror () was a campaign of political repression and Mass killing, executions in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia which was carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police ...

which were to come after his death. There is no sense in concealing the fact that Volodarsky was a terrorist. He was profoundly convinced that if we were to falter in lashing out at the hydra of counter-revolution it would devour not only us but along with us the hopes that October had raised all over the world.'' He was against the

Brest-Litovsk Treaty The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...

, but remained silent on the topic in order to maintain party discipline.

Death

Volodarsky was assassinated on June 20, 1918, by Grigory Ivanovich Semyonov, a member of the Central Battle Unit of 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 Soviet Russia. The party members were known as Esers (). The SRs were ag ...

, during labour unrest at the Obukhov Works in

. He was buried at the

Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution The Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution () is a memorial on the Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg), Field of Mars in Saint Petersburg. It marks the burial places of some of those who died during the February Revolution, February and October ...

on St. Petersburg's

Field of Mars The term Field of Mars () goes back to antiquity, and designates an area, inside or near a city, used as a parade or exercise ground by the military. Notable examples of places which were used for these purposes include: * Campus Martius, an area i ...

Honors

In 1918, the town of

Poshekhonye Poshekhonye () is a town and the administrative center of Poshekhonsky District in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the Sogozha River, northwest of Yaroslavl, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: It was previously known a ...

was renamed Poshekhonye-Volodarsk (Пошехо́нье-Волода́рск). It reverted to its original name in 1992. The town Volodarsk was named after him in 1920. The sewing factory established at the seized Esders and Scheefhaals department store in 1919 was named in Goldstein's honor in 1922. Streets throughout the USSR were named in his honor; see a partial list in Russian Wikipedia. The

Volodarsky Bridge The Volodarsky Bridge () is a Moveable bridge, moveable bridge across the Neva River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The bridge connects Narodnaya and Ivanovskaya streets (Nevsky District, Nevsky district). It is named after V. Volodarsky, a revolu ...

, located near where he was killed, was named after him. The munitions works in

Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...

was briefly renamed for him (''Zavod Volodarskogo'' - "Volodarsky's Factory") from 1928 to 1941.

Notes

References

External links

Anatoly Lunacharsky on Volodarsky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volodarsky 1891 births 1918 deaths People from Khmelnytskyi Oblast People from Volhynian Governorate Ukrainian politicians of Jewish descent General Jewish Labour Bund politicians Mensheviks Mezhraiontsy Old Bolsheviks Jewish socialists Jewish Soviet politicians People murdered in Russia Assassinated Russian politicians Assassinated Jews Russian revolutionaries Ukrainian revolutionaries Burials on the Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg) Politicians assassinated in the 1910s