Grigory Ivanovich Semyonov (; 29 November 1891 – 8 October 1937) was a former

Socialist Revolutionary Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolut ...

(SR) who converted to

Bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...

while imprisoned by them and went on to testify against his erstwhile comrades in the

1922 Moscow Trial of Socialist Revolutionaries Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

Biography

Semyonov was a private in the 12th Army. following 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 ...

in 1917, he was elected to the army committee by his regiment and joined the Socialist Revolutionary Party. After the Bolshevik seizure of power and resultant

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 ...

, Semyonov was a member of the SR Military Commission. However he was concerned that the leadership was ineffectual and advocated – and organised – a

terrorist cell A clandestine cell system is a method for organizing a group of people, such as resistance fighters, spies, mercenaries, organized crime members, or terrorists, to make it harder for police, military or other hostile groups to catch them. In ...

, the Central Battle Unit, to combat the Bolsheviks. He was responsible for the murder of V. Volodarsky on 20 June 1918. However following his arrest by the

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

in the autumn of 1918, he reversed his political alignment and helped provide information which enabled the subsequent

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

of the SR leadership.

References

1891 births 1937 deaths Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians Soviet assassins People from Tartu People of the Spanish Civil War (Republican faction) {{USSR-politician-stub