Vyacheslav Ivanovich Zof (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Вячеслав Иванович Зоф) (6 January 1890 – 20 June 1937) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

military figure and

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

descent.

Biography

Zof joined the

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

movement in 1910. Three years later he became a member of 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 pol ...

(RSDLP). During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Zof worked as a fitter at an arms factory in

Sestroretsk Sestroretsk (russian: Сестроре́цк; fi, Siestarjoki; sv, Systerbäck) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Sestra River ...

, where he was in charge of the

Bolshevist The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

underground. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and some ...

in 1917, Zof led the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

' organization in Sestroretsk and was a deputy of the

Petrograd Soviet The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies (russian: Петроградский совет рабочих и солдатских депутатов, ''Petrogradskiy soviet rabochikh i soldatskikh deputatov'') was a city council of P ...

. In July 1917, he prepared fake identity papers for

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

and organized his move from Petrograd to

Razliv Razliv railway station ''(russian: Ста́нция Разли́в)'' is a railway station located near to Lake Razliv which is in the territory of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was built by the Joint-stock company of the Primorskaya St.-Peterbur ...

at the request of the RSDLP

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

. Zof would then establish contact between Lenin and the Central Committee. In 1918–1919, he was appointed brigade and division

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 E ...

and supplies manager for the 3rd Army of the Eastern Front. In 1919–1920, Zof was a member of the

Revolutionary Military Council The Revolutionary Military Council (russian: Революционный Военный Совет, Revolyutsionny Voyenny Sovyet, Revolutionary Military Council), sometimes called the Revolutionary War Council Brian PearceIntroductionto Fyodor ...

of the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

and a member of the Petrograd defense committee. In 1921–1924, he held a post of a commissar at the office of the commander-in-chief of the

naval forces A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

of the Republic. Between December 1924 and 1926, Zof was the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the naval forces and member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. In 1927–1929, he headed the

Sovtorgflot Sovtorgflot (russian: "Совторгфлот", Советский торговый флот, "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 whic ...

(Soviet Commercial Fleet) office. In 1930–1931, Zof was a deputy People's Commissar of

Railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

Transportation. In 1931, he was appointed first deputy People's Commissar of Water Transportation. Later Zof fell into disgrace and was appointed director of the "Kompresor" factory in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In 1937, he was arrested and sentenced to death by the

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union ( Russian: Военная коллегия Верховного суда СССР, ''Voennaya kollegiya Verkhovnogo suda SSSR'') was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Sovi ...

on June 19 on accounts of being involved in an "anti-Soviet terrorist organisation". Zof was executed the next day. He was posthumously rehabilitated in 1956.

Awards

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zof, Vyacheslav Ivanovich 1890 births 1937 deaths People from Dubno People from Volhynian Governorate Old Bolsheviks Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Soviet politicians Soviet Navy officers People of the Russian Revolution Soviet military personnel of the Russian Civil War Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Great Purge victims from Ukraine Soviet rehabilitations People from the Russian Empire of Czech descent Ukrainian people of Czech descent Soviet people of Czech descent