Isidor Emmanuilovich Gukovsky (; 25 May 1871 – 16 August 1921) was a Russian

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 ...

who was a People's Commissar of Finance of the

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 ...

following 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 ...

. Isidor was the son of a merchant, who became a chemist's assistant. In 1898, he started participating in the ''Group of Workers Revolutionaries''. He a later became a member of 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

RSDLP 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 imprisoned for inciting the Izhorskiye workers to strike. In 1904 he went to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, and used the name Theodor Izmaylovich for his political work. By 1906 he was secretary of the newspaper '' New Life''. He then went to Odessa before travelling abroad. In 1907, he returned to Russia, was arrested, again brought to trial but acquitted (1908). He settled in Moscow. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

he became a

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, ...

and was appointed finance minister where he advocated for a plan similar to the

New Economic Policy The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...

, then plenipotentiary representative of Russia in Estonia. He was accused of bribery and corruption during his position as Finance Commissar but died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in Estonia before his trial could take place.

References

Biography
1871 births 1921 deaths Deaths from pneumonia in the Soviet Union Bolsheviks Mensheviks Russian Jews Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Revolutionaries of the Russian Revolution of 1905 Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Estonia Revolutionaries of the Russian Revolution Trade Representative of the Soviet Union {{Soviet-bio-stub