Jaan Anvelt (also known by the pseudonyms Eessaare Aadu, Jaan Holm, Jaan Hulmu, Kaarel Maatamees, Onkel Kaak; in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

or ; 18 April 1884 – 11 December 1937), was an

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

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, ...

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 writer. He served the

Russian SFSR 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 ...

, was a leader of the

Communist Party of Estonia The Communist Party of Estonia (, abbreviated EKP; in Russian: Коммунистическая партия Эстонии) was a regional branch of the CPSU, Soviet communist party (CPSU) which in 1920–1940 operated illegally in Estonia an ...

, the first

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of the Soviet Executive Committee of Estonia, and the

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of the

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of the

Commune of the Working People of Estonia The Estonian Workers' Commune (, initially '; , or ETK, also Estonian Labour Commune and Commune of the Working People of Estonia) was a government claiming the Bolshevik-occupied parts of Republic of Estonia as its territories during the E ...

(

...

: ''Eesti Töörahva Kommuun''). Imprisoned during

Joseph 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 ...

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, he died from the injuries sustained during a beating by Aleksandr Langfang while in

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

custody.

Early life

Anvelt was born to a peasant family in Oorgu, Võisiku Parish (now

Viljandi Parish Viljandi Parish () is a rural Municipalities of Estonia, municipality of Viljandi County, Estonia. It is located around the town of Viljandi, but does not include it. Viljandi Parish was established by merging four municipalities: Paistu Parish, ...

Kreis Fellin Viljandi County (; , ) was a historic county in the Governorate of Livonia, and in the Republic of Estonia dissolved during the administrative territorial reform of the Estonian SSR in 1949. It was situated in the northern part of the governora ...

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. He studied to become a schoolteacher, beginning in Dorpat (now

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), and then in

St. Petersburg 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, ...

, where he joined the

Russian Social Democratic Labour 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 ...

faction. He was employed as a schoolteacher from 1905 to 1907, concurrently being involved in revolutionary activity. From 1907 to 1912, Anvelt studied part-time as a student of jurisprudence at

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

October Revolution

On November 5, 1917 (by the current

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– October 23 by the

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still in use 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 ...

at the time),

leader Jaan Anvelt led his

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

revolutionaries 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 ...

to the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, the capital of

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, and took

political power In political science, power is the ability to influence or direct the actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another, but may also be exerted thro ...

Post-Revolution

After the defeat of the revolutionaries in the

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, Anvelt went underground, remaining active as a revolutionary, emerging as one of the leaders of the 1924 Estonian coup d'état attempt. In 1925, Anvelt arrived in the USSR, in 1926–29 working as a political commissar of the

Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy () – is a higher military educational institution for training and retraining of engineers for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The academy trains specialists – engineers, research engineers in the fol ...

. From 1929 to 1935 he worked in top positions of the civilian air fleet's main administration. During the period from 1935 to 1937 Anvelt served as a member and an executive secretary of a department within 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 ...

. Anvelt was arrested in 1937. Interrogated in custody, he died from the injuries inflicted by the interrogator Aleksandr Langfang on 11 December 1937, and was denounced as an

enemy of the people The terms enemy of the people and enemy of the nation are designations for the political opponents and the social class, social-class opponents of the Power (social and political), power group within a larger social unit, who, thus identified, ...

afterwards. In 1956, during the thaw of

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

distanced himself from, Anvelt was rehabilitated. In 1957, Aleksandr Langfang was arrested for human rights abuses. In 1958, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for torture and falsifying evidence. Langfang served his entire sentence, and was released from prison in 1973.

Personal life

Jaan Anvelt was married to Social Democratic politician Alma Ostra from 1909 to 1910. In 1912 he had married a Russian woman, J. Vassiljeva in St. Petersburg. His third wife was Alise Stein-Anvelt, with whom he had two children, a daughter Kima and son Jaan. His grandson Andres Anvelt became the Estonian

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

for the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

in 2016.

Bibliography

*Räästaalused (Eessaare Aadu. –

: Mõte, 1916) *Alasti (Eessaare Aadu. – Tallinn : Mõte, 1917) *Kes on sotsialdemokraadid-enamlased? (K. Maatamees. - allinn: VSDTP Eestimaa Komitee, 1917) *Kes on sotsialdemokraadid-enamlased? (K. Maatamees. - 2. ed. - Tallinn : VSDTP Eestimaa Komitee, 1917) *Maa rahwa kätte (K. Maatamees. – Tallinn : Mõte, 1917) *Maa rahwa kätte (K. Maatamees. – 2. ed. – Tallinn : Mõte, 1917) *Metsa serwal (Eessaare Aadu. –

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, ...

: 1919) *Töörahwa wõimuwalitsuse kindlustamisest (Jaan Anwelt. – Peterburis : Kom.partei Eesti Keskk. Wenemaa büroo, 1919 – Töörahva kirjandus; nr. 15) *Maha kommunistid! Elagu sotsiaaldemokraadid! : töörahwa sõpradest ja waenlastest. - Tallinn : J. Linzmann, 1924. – Töörahva raamatukogu; nr. 1 *1905. aasta Eestis : Kirjeldused. Mälestused. Dokumendid (EKP KK ajalookomisjon; H. Pöögelmann">Hans Pöögelmann">H. Pöögelmann –

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

: Külvaja, 1926) *Sotsialistlise ühiskonna ehitamine Nõukogude Liidus : (Ü.K.(e)P. konwerentsi puhul) (J. Anwelt ja O. Rästas. – Moskwas : Nõukogude Sotsialistliste Vabariikide Liidu Rahvaste Keskkirjastus, 1927) *"Meie lahkuminekud", ehk, EKP "wastasrinna" ajaloolised unenäod (J. Anwelt. – Leeningraad : Külvaja, 1928) *Lenini partei ja trotskistid (Jaan Anwelt. – Leningrad : Külvaja, 1929) *Parempoolne kallak Üleliidulises Kommunistlises (enamlaste) Parteis (J. Anwelt. – Leningrad : Külvaja, 1929) *Jutustusi (Eessaare Aadu; E. Sõgel; illustrated by A. Kütt; epilogue: E. Päll">Eduard Päll">E. Päll – Tallinn : Eesti Riiklik Kirjastus, 1957) *Oktoobrirevolutsioon Eestis (Jaan Anvelt. – Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1967) *Valitud jutustusi (Eessaare Aadu. – Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1971) *Valitud teosed. 1. olume. 1905 - 1917 (Jaan Anvelt; EKP Keskkomitee Partei Ajaloo Instituut, NLKP Marksismi-Leninismi Instituudi Filiaal; ompiled by Karl Tammistu – Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1982) *Valitud teosed. 2., 1917–1921 (Jaan Anvelt; EKP Keskkomitee Partei Ajaloo Instituut, NLKP Marksismi-Leninismi Instituudi Filiaal; oimetuse kolleegium: Karl Tammistu (compiler).. etc. - Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1983) *Linnupriid (Eessaare Aadu. – Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1984) *Valitud teosed. 3., 1921 – 1925 (Jaan Anvelt; ompiled by K. Tammistu EKP Keskkomitee Partei Ajaloo Instituut, NLKP Marksismi-Leninismi Instituudi Filiaal. - Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1986) *Valitud teosed. 4. olume.1925-1928 (Jaan Anvelt; EKP Keskkomitee Partei Ajaloo Instituut, NLKP Marksismi-Leninismi Instituudi Filiaal; ompiled by K. Tammistu - Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1987)

Books about Jaan Anvelt

*Fred Peterson, Jaan Anwelt : terroristide juht. nr. 1 (

: Argus, 1925) *Richard Majak, Jaan Anvelt : lu ja tegevus: abiks lektorile (Tallinn : Eesti NSV ühing "Teadus", 1964. - Eesti NSV ühing "Teadus"; 1964, nr. 28) *Mälestusi ja dokumente J. Anveldist (EKP Keskkomitee Partei Ajaloo Instituut – NLKP Keskkomitee Marksismi-Leninismi Instituudi filiaal; ompilator R. Majak – Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1965) * Holger Pukk, Kirjad Liisale ( llustrated by Illimar Paul">Illimar_Paul.html" ;"title="llustrated by Illimar Paul">llustrated by Illimar Paul – Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1983) * Alise Stein-Anvelt, Valguses ja varjus : unustamatuid inimesi ja sündmusi : V. Kingissepast ja J. Anveldist">älestusi Viktor Kingissepp">V. Kingissepast ja J. Anveldist(Tallinn : Eesti Raamat, 1988. - )

References

External links

*Another biography (in Estonian

1 December 1924Riigikukutamise kurb grimass (Estonian)Jaan Anvelt at Estonian Writers' Online Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anvelt, Jaan 1884 births 1937 deaths People from Viljandi Parish People from Kreis Fellin Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Old Bolsheviks Communist Party of Estonia politicians Russian Constituent Assembly members Members of the Estonian Provincial Assembly Commune of the Working People of Estonia Leaders of political parties in Estonia Comintern people Estonian non-fiction writers 20th-century non-fiction writers Great Purge victims from Estonia Estonian people who died in prison custody Deaths by beating in Europe Soviet rehabilitations Saint Petersburg State University alumni