David Petrovsky (born David Lipetz, also known as Max Goldfarb, Bennett, Humboldt, Brown; September 24, 1886 — September 10, 1937) was a

Ukrainian Jewish The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the modern territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Important Jewish religious and cultural move ...

revolutionary politician, economist, journalist, general of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, 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 ...

statesman. He was an active member of the

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

in 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 ...

and the Jewish Socialist Federation in 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 ...

. In 1912 he received a Ph.D. in economics from the Free University of Brussels where he studied under

Emile Vandervelde Emile Vandervelde (25 January 1866 – 27 December 1938) was a Belgium, Belgian socialist politician. Nicknamed "the boss" (''le patron''), Vandervelde was a leading figure in the Belgian Labour Party (POB–BWP) and in international socialism. C ...

. He moved to New York in 1913 where served as the editor of the '' Jewish Daily Forward'' newspaper in New York until 1917, when he returned to Ukraine to run for the

Russian Constituent Assembly The All Russian Constituent Assembly () was a constituent assembly convened in Russia after the February Revolution of 1917. It met for 13 hours, from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m., , whereupon it was dissolved by the Bolshevik-led All-Russian Central Ex ...

. He was elected a member of the

Central Council of Ukraine The Central Rada of Ukraine, also called the Central Council (), was the All-Ukrainian council that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputies as well as few members of political, public, cultural and professional organizations o ...

and its Central Executive Committee (Mala Rada), where he voted for the separation of Ukraine from Russia. He also served as a mayor of Berdichev, a city with the largest Jewish population in the Russian Empire and Ukraine. As a mayor, he managed to prevent planned large Jewish pogroms in the city between 1917-1919. Petrovsky joined the Red Army in 1919 and eventually became a General of the

where he was responsible for all military education in the

Soviet Union 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 ...

. General Petrovsky led the Directorate of Military Education in the Red Army from 1919 to 1924 and co-founded the Governmental Committee for the Fight against Antisemitism in Russia and the Soviet Union. Petrovsky was a member of the Presidium of the Executive Committee of the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

from 1924 to 1929 where he was responsible for the formation of communist parties in Great Britain and France. From 1929 to 1937 Petrovsky served as a member of the Presidium of the

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

in the Soviet Union. From 1929 to 1937 he headed the General Directorate of Higher and Secondary Technical Education in the Soviet Union where he was responsible for the creation of several hundred universities and technical schools across the Soviet Union that prepared engineers and technical personnel in the accelerated push for the industrialization of the Soviet Union. Petrovsky was arrested and executed during Stalin’s

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 ...

in 1937 in Moscow. He was posthumously rehabilitated in the Soviet Union in 1958 as a victim of political repression. Throughout his life, Petrovsky (Lipetz) used the following names: Goldfarb, Bennett, Humboldt, and Brown. Each of these names corresponds to a specific period of his life and work.

Biography

Early life

David Lipetz was born in 1886 in

Berdychiv Berdychiv (, ) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Berdychiv Raion within the oblast. It is south of the administrative center of the oblast, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximat ...

in a family of a wealthy textile merchant Efraim Lipetz. He studied in a Jewish school and at home with private tutors where he finished the Russian classical gymnasium course. He was the chairman of the literary and theatrical society of

. He soon became interested in revolutionary activities, and in 1902 he joined 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 Jewish secularism, secular Jewish Socialism, socialist party initially formed in the Russian Empire ...

(Bund). In 1903 he moved to Paris and enrolled in the Russian Higher School of Social Sciences, where he became acquainted with many of the famous revolutionaries:

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

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 ...

. At the beginning of the

1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...

, he returned to Russia. He worked among workers of Dvinsk, Bialystok, and Gomel, and was one of the leaders of the strike at Libava-Romny railroad. At the 7th Congress of the Bund, where he first used the pseudonym Max Goldfarb, he was elected a candidate for the Central Committee. At the end of 1906, he was arrested by police and spent three months in prison. After that he left Russia - first to England where he participated at the London

5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 5th (London) Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held in London between May 13 and June 1, 1907. The 5th Congress had the largest attendance of the Congresses of the unified RSDLP.Thatcher, Ian D. Trotsky'. Routledge Hist ...

, and then to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, where in 1912 he graduated from the Free University of Brussels with a Ph.D. in Economic Sciences (his supervisor was

- the future

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

). Along with his studies, he lectured (as a member of the Bund) in the cities of

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Back in Russia, he was actively engaged in party work. At the end of 1912, he was arrested in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

and sentenced to exile to Siberia which was then replaced by exile from Russia.

Work in the US

By agreement between the Central Committee of the Bund and the Jewish Socialist Federation (JSF) of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...

, in 1913 David Lipetz came to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to conduct work among the Jewish workers and to raise funds for the Bund. In America Lipetz worked and published as Max Goldfarb, and under this name he was elected to the Central Committee of the JSF. He was sent on a national speaking tour under the auspices of the JSF in early 1914. During the tour he addressed more than 15,000 in about 40 engagements according to the report of JSF Secretary Jacob Salutsky. In addition to his role as a functionary of the JSF, Goldfarb worked as labor editor of Abraham Cahan's Yiddish-language daily, '' Forverts'' (The Forward).Theodore Draper, ''American Communism and Soviet Russia.'' New York: Viking Press, 1957; p. 168 In the summer 1917 after the bourgeois-democratic

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 ...

in Russia, he returned to Russia with a passport in the name of David Lipetz, on the way he stopped in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

at the International Socialist Congress.

A member of the
Central Council of Ukraine The Central Rada of Ukraine, also called the Central Council (), was the All-Ukrainian council that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputies as well as few members of political, public, cultural and professional organizations o ...
and the last mayor of Berdichev

Upon arrival, David Lipetz was actively involved in the political life of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

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 ...

: ran for

election in 1917, wrote political articles in Bund magazines. He was elected the member of the

, was the member of its Central Executive Committee (Mala Rada). He was elected the mayor of the city and chairman of the Jewish community of Berdichev - the city with the largest share of Jewish population in

and the

. In January 1919, David Lipetz survived the pogrom committed by haidamaks from the , which was passing through Berdichev. As mayor of the city at that time he also managed to prevent a planned multi-day pogrom in Berdichev that saved thousands of lives. He was bitterly disappointed in the policy of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

Government, that encouraged Jewish pogroms. Together with Sore Fox and A. Litvak, David Lipetz headed the Social Democratic Bund in Ukraine (Bund SD) after the split of the Bund in Ukraine in 1918 into communists (Kombund) and social democrats (Bund SD).

Heading the military education in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the
Soviet Union 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 ...

In April 1919, David Lipetz moved to

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, where he met with M.V. Frunze.Joshua Meyers, “A Portrait of Transition: From the Bund to Bolshevism in the Russian Revolution,” Jewish Social Studies n.s. 24, no. 2 (Winter 2019): 107–134. Copyright © 2019 The Trustees of Indiana University. doi: 10.2979/jewisocistud.24.2.09. David Lipetz started working in the

. He organized the struggle against antisemitism and lectured in the Red Army. At the end of 1919 David Lipetz joined the

Bolsheviks 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, ...

. He was one of the founders and a member of the Governmental Committee for the Fight against Antisemitism in Russia and the Soviet Union. The committee included S. Dimanstein, Abram Kheifets, M. Gorky and other well-known leaders of the revolutionary movement. At the same time David Lipetz entered into a polemic with V. Lenin about the policy of the Bolsheviks regarding the participation of the Jewish population of Ukraine in the work of the state authorities. From the book of David Petrovsky "Military education in the years of the revolution (1917-1924)": "I was appointed the head of Speakers bureau in the General Directorate of military education (GUVUZ) in fall of 1919. Since the end of 1919 I'm starting to come into contact with the general operational activity of the military educational institutions, first as the head of the political department of GUVUZ (1919 - early 1920), and then as the chief of the General Directorate of military education, from March 1920 to April 1924." David Lipetz became David Petrovsky, or just General Petrovsky. He was responsible for all Soviet military education from 1920 till 1924. Military education in the

was destroyed by the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. He had a difficult task of rebuilding it during ongoing civil war and unrest, and preparing a young generation in military academies, colleges, and training centers. Some of Petrovsky's ideas were met with resistance, including his idea for the establishment of Soviet military schools for boys. The time for them came only twenty years later, when the

Suvorov Military School The Suvorov Military Schools () are a type of boarding school in the former Soviet Union and in modern Russia and Belarus for boys of 10–17. Education in these schools focuses on military related subjects. The schools are named after Alexander ...

s and the Nakhimov Naval Schools were first opened. His point of view on the problems of a single military doctrine caused a sharp controversy between him and

Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist. Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...

. Yet in 1924

expresses gratitude to him for "the fruitful work done over the matter of raising the military power of the

Work in the
Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

In 1924, David Petrovsky was sent to work in the

as a Communist International representative in the communist parties of Great Britain, France, and the United States. Petrovsky came to England under the name of Bennett, and everyone - even the British Communists and his future wife

Rose Cohen Rose Cohen (; 20 May 1894 – 28 November 1937) was an English feminist, suffragist, and founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920. She worked for Communist International (Comintern) from 1920 to 1929. Between 1931 and 1 ...

considered him American - a Yankee from the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

. He managed to avoid the British police for five years - a remarkable feat, which no subsequent Comintern representative ever equaled. His influence on the British Communist Party was huge.

Francis Beckett Francis Beckett (born 12 May 1945) is an English author, journalist, biographer, playwright and contemporary historian. He has written biographies of Aneurin Bevan, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. He has also written ...

:
Rose between thorns
', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', United Kingdom, June 24, 2004 Western intelligence agencies didn't manage to declassify him. In France, he was known as Humboldt, and he had passports in other names as well. He led the Anglo-American Secretariat and controlled the communist movements in Great Britain, Ireland, the US, India, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Korea and Dutch Indonesia. He was concerned about the situation of black people in the US and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In 1928, Petrovsky was elected and served as a member of the presidium of the

Executive Committee of the Communist International The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI (Russian acronym ИККИ - for ), was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body. The ECCI, established by the Fo ...

. "God Goldfarb" - called him old friends in the US

Heading the higher and secondary technical education in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the
Soviet Union 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 ...

In 1929 D.Petrovsky was transferred to the

- a member of the Presidium and the Chief of the General Directorate of Higher and Secondary Technical Education (GLAVVTUZ). His experience in organizing and managing military education (1920-1924) after the revolution in 1917 in Russia was very useful. One of his new tasks was to prepare 435,000 engineers and technicians in 5 years (1930-1935) during the

industrialization period, while their number in 1929 was 66,000. His old party comrades didn't believe that he would succeed with higher and secondary technical education in the

, because as a former Bundist, he wouldn't dare to hire former

Mensheviks 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 ...

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 ...

members, the former right-wing and the Trotskyists (see:

Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

), as he could safely hire and appoint only those who knew how to vote according to party lines but not necessarily work. But he once again proved them wrong. One of the strategies he used in the early 1930s was opening smaller branch institutes on the basis of large multi-faculty educational institutions. For example, on the basis of the Moscow Mining Academy - Moscow Mining Institute (

Moscow State Mining University Moscow State Mining University () is a Russian institute of higher education that prepares mining engineers. In 2014, the university merged with the National University of Science and Technology MISiS and became a part of it as the Moscow Minin ...

): Geological Prospecting Institute (

Russian State Geological Prospecting University Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State University for Geological Prospecting (, МГРИ), or the Russian State University for Geological Prospecting is named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze and previously known as the Moscow Geological Prospecting Institu ...

), Moscow Oil Institute (

Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas The Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas () is a public university in Moscow, Russia. The university was founded in 1930 and is named after the geologist Ivan Gubkin. The university is colloquially known as Kerosinka (), meaning 'keros ...

), Institute of Steel ( National University of Science and Technology MISiS), Institute of Nonferrous Metals and Gold. On the basis of

Bauman Moscow State Technical University The Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU; ), sometimes colloquially referred as the ''Bauman School'' or ''Baumanka'' (), is a public technical university (Institute of technology, polytechnic) located in Moscow, Russia. Bauman Univ ...

Moscow Aviation Institute Moscow Aviation Institute () is an engineering research university in Moscow, Russia. It is designated a National Research University. Since its inception the institute has been spearheading advances in aerospace technology both within Russia a ...

Moscow Power Engineering Institute National Research University "Moscow Power Engineering Institute" (MPEI; ) is a public university based in Moscow, Russia. It offers training in the fields of Power Engineering, Electric Engineering, Radio Engineering, Electronics, Information ...

, Moscow University of Civil Engineering, and other institutions in the

. From 1930 to 1940, the number of higher and secondary technical colleges and institutions in the

grew by 4 times and exceeded 150.

A failed escape

David Petrovsky was aware of the danger emerging in the Soviet Union following the murder of

Sergei Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (born Kostrikov; 27 March 1886 – 1 December 1934) was a Russian and Soviet politician and Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary. Kirov was an early revolutionary in the Russian Empire and a member of the Bolshevik faction ...

in 1934, the assassination functioned as the catalyst for the

. In the summer of 1936, his London-born wife

went to London but was not permitted to make the trip with her son Alyosha, so he stayed behind. Her sister Nellie thought that Rose was "unhappy, and had it not been for Alyosha might not have returned". At that time David Petrovsky planned a business trip to America and got permission to travel abroad from his supervisor

Sergo Ordzhonikidze Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, ; (born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze; 18 February 1937) was an Old Bolshevik and a Soviet statesman. Born and raised in Georgia, in the Russian Empire, Ordzhonikidze joined the Bolsheviks at an e ...

- the head of the

and the head of the

People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry The People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry (Narkomtiazhprom; ) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. which operated the electric power system in the Soviet Union was subordinated to the commissariat. Brief overview The Peop ...

of the

. Sergo Ordzhonikidze, who knew

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 ...

closely, more than anyone else, saw what was happening in the country. Anticipating his fate, he wanted to save D. Petrovsky from the Stalin's terror and understood that he most likely would not return from a business trip. It seems that David and Rosa hoped to use their travels as an opportunity to leave almost simultaneously from the country and be saved. However, they had failed to acquire an exit visa for their son, and unwilling to leave without him, they remained in the Soviet Union.

Arrest and execution

In February 1937, Sergo Ordzhonikidze died. In March 1937, David Petrovsky was arrested (as the head of the General Directorate of higher and secondary technical education in the

of the

), and was accused for "counterrevolutionary" activity, and shot on September 10, 1937. In August 1937, his London-born wife

, a former Comintern courier, was arrested as an alleged British spy, and on November 28, 1937, she was also shot (rehabilitated in the

in 1956).

was the head of the foreign department and the editor in the "Moscow Daily News" (

The Moscow News ''The Moscow News'', which began publication in 1930, was Russia's oldest English-language newspaper. Many of its feature articles used to be translated from the Russian language '' Moskovskiye Novosti.'' History Soviet Union In 1930 ''The M ...

) newspaper. Their seven-year-old son Alexey Petrovsky (Alyosha) was placed in an orphanage with the label "son of the enemies of the people."

Political rehabilitation and family

After the

20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union () was held during the period 14–25 February 1956. It is known especially for First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev's " Secret Speech", which denounced the personality cult and dictator ...

(1956), Petrovsky's only son filed an appeal to review his case, and on January 25, 1958, the Military Collegium of the

Supreme Court invalidated the September 10, 1937 ruling against Petrovsky. All charges were dropped and the case was dismissed for lack of corpus delicti. Petrovsky was posthumously rehabilitated as a victim of political repression. He married

(1894-1937) a British

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

, a founder member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

. David Petrovsky and

had a son – Alexey Petrovsky (Alyosha). Alexey spent three years living in the orphanage after his parents' execution in 1937. In 1940 he was adopted from the orphanage by David Petrovsky's cousin Rebecca Belkina, a doctor, and a major of armed forces medical service during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She succeeded in getting permission for Alyosha's adoption when she lived with her family in a political exile in

Tobolsk Tobolsk (, ) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1587, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and was the historic capita ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

under the Article 58 of the Soviet Penal Code. Alexey spent the rest of his childhood living in

with her and her family. Afterward, many years later, Alexey D. Petrovsky (1929–2010)

: ''

's British victims'', United Kingdom, 2004, p.184 earned a Ph.D. in Engineering, Ph.D. in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, and became an Academician of the

Russian Academy of Natural Sciences The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Russian language, Russian: Российская академия естественных наук) is a Russian non-governmental organization founded on August 31 1990 in Moscow in the former Soviet Uni ...

. Their grandson, Michael A. Petrovsky,

: ''

’s British victims'',

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, 2004, p.184 holds a Ph.D. in Physics and Mathematics.

Proceedings

David Petrovsky is the author of many publications, including more than ten monographs. The most significant works: * ''Military education in the years of the revolution (1917-1924)'', M. 1924. * ''The revolution and the counterrevolution in Ukraine'', M. 1920. * ''Capitalism and socialism (from

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

)'', M. 1920 - the book is stored in the memorial office-library of

in the

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

. * ''The class struggle in postwar England'', M. 1928.

Memory

Honorary cadet of the Moscow Higher Military Command School of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrovsky, David 1886 births 1937 deaths People from Berdychiv People from Berdichevsky Uyezd Bundists Jews from the Russian Empire Members of the Socialist Party of America Great Purge victims from Russia Jews executed by the Soviet Union Russian people of Jewish descent