Klavdiya Ivanovna Nikolayeva (; 13 June 1893 – 28 December 1944) was a Russian revolutionary, trade unionist,

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 ...

Old Bolshevik The Old Bolsheviks (), also called the Old Bolshevik Guard or Old Party Guard, were members of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Many Old Bolsheviks became leading politi ...

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 ...

politician. She was the second woman elected to the Bolshevik Secretariat ( 13th term), serving as a Candidate Member.

Early life

The daughter of a Saint Petersburg

labourer A laborer ( or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor typed within the construction industry. There is a generic factory laborer which is defined separately as a factory worker. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in which ...

and a

laundress A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant, who helps with handling wa ...

, Nikolayeva worked as a

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

from an early age. After finishing

elementary education Primary education is the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle schools, de ...

she worked in a printing house, where her

activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

began. She wrote for the journal ''

Rabotnitsa ''Rabotnitsa'' (; ) is a women's journal, published in the Soviet Union and Russia and one of the oldest Russian magazines for women and families. Founded in 1914, and first published on Women's Day, it is the first socialist women's journal, an ...

'' (''Working Woman''). She was arrested for the first time in 1908, at the age of 15, being arrested three more times by

tsarist Tsarist autocracy (), also called Tsarism, was an autocracy, a form of absolute monarchy in the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. In it, the Tsar possessed in principle authority and ...

authorities and exiled twice.Зенькович Николай,
НИКОЛАЕВА Клавдия Ивановна
in ''Самые закрытые люди. От Ленина до Горбачева: Энциклопедия биографий'' (2002)

Pre-revolution Bolshevik activism

She became a member of 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 ...

(RSDLP) in 1909, and was 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, ...

, while also engaging in work within the printing union. While exiled in the village of Kazatchinskoe, in the

Yeniseysky District Yeniseysky District () is an administrativeLaw #10-4765 and municipalLaw #13-3140 district (raion), one of the forty-three in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the west of the krai and borders with Turukhansky and Evenkiysky Districts i ...

, she was appointed head of the local RSDLP committee.Е.А. Борисенко and А.С. Черепанов,
К.И. Николаева
in Проект «Имена 17-го года» (2017)

Revolutionary and politician

After 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 ...

, she returned to Petrograd (Saint Petersburg) and became editor of ''Rabotnitsa'', 'which played crucial role in organizing women and rallying them to Bolshevik Party'.Nikolaeva, Klavdiia (1893–1944)
in ''Dictionary of Women Worldwide'' (Thomson Gale, 2007) She participated in 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 ...

. From 1918 she headed the women's section of the Petrograd branch of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

(CPSU), as well as its department of agitation and

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

. She chaired the First Conference of Working Women. In 1924 she became head of the

Zhenotdel The Zhenotdel (, ), the women's department of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), was the section of the Russian Communist party devoted to women's affairs in the 1920s. It gave women in the Russian Revolut ...

(the women's department of the

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the Central committee, highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Congresses. Elected by the ...

), after

Alexandra Kollontai Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai (; , ; – 9 March 1952) was a Russian revolutionary, politician, diplomat and Marxist theoretician. Serving as the People's Commissar for Welfare in Vladimir Lenin's government in 1917–1918, she was a highl ...

and

Sofia Smidovich Sofia Nikolaevna Smidovich (; 24 February 1872 – 24 November 1934) was a Bolshevik revolutionary, feminist and the leader of the Zhenotdel from 1922 to 1924. Early life Smidovich was born on 24 February 1872 ( N.S. 8 March) to a middle-class ...

.K. A. Залесский,
Николаева Клавдия Ивановна
in ''Известия ЦК КПСС'', 7 (306) июнь (1990) She was close to the United Opposition and

Grigory Zinoviev Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev (born Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky; – 25 August 1936) was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. A prominent Old Bolsheviks, Old Bolshevik, Zinoviev was a close associate of Vladimir Lenin prior to ...

, whom she openly supported at the

15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) The 15th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was held during 2–19 December 1927 in Moscow. It was attended by 898 delegates with a casting vote and 771 with a consultative vote. The congress ended an inner-party struggle, as ...

. With Zinoviev's failure against

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 ...

, she lost her job in the Zhenotdel, but maintained activity within the party. In 1928 she headed the department of agitation and propaganda of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

Committee. From 1930 to 1933, she was a member of the Organisational Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee, heading the department of agitation and mass campaigns.Николаева Клавдия Ивановна
in ''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

'' (1979)
also available in English
Following this, she became deputy secretary of the regional committees of the

West Siberian Krai West Siberian Krai (, Zapadno-Sibirsky Krai) was an early krai of the Russian SFSR, created after the split of the Siberian Krai in 1930. By the 1937 All-Union Census, it had population of 6,433,527. Krai's center was the Novosibirsk city. Hist ...

Party (1933) and

Ivanovo Oblast Ivanovo Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It had a population of 927,828 as of the Russian Census (2021), 2021 Russian Census. Its three largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, cities are Ivanovo (the administrat ...

. From 1936 she was secretary of the Central Trade Union Council. She was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1925 and, from 1934, a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union; Member of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

from 1937 to 1944; and member of the Supreme Soviet's

Praesidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some countries' political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. The term is also sometimes used for the ...

from 1938 to 1944.

The Second World War

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 organized the preparation of nurses and health personnel, the

evacuation Evacuation or Evacuate may refer to: * Casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), patient evacuation in combat situations * Casualty movement, the procedure for moving a casualty from its initial location to an ambulance * Emergency evacuation, removal of pers ...

of children, sponsorship of

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 ...

units Unit may refer to: General measurement * Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law **International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system **English units, histo ...

by professional unions, and

paramedic A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained in the medical model, whose main role has historically been to respond to emergency calls for medical help outside of a hospital. Paramedics work as part of the emergency medical services (EMS), ...

al institutions. While returning to

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

from a political visit to the United Kingdom her convoy was bombed by the Germans and Nikolayeva helped rescue the wounded. She died on 28 December 1944. During her life she was awarded the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

along with other medals. The urn containing her ashes is kept in the

Kremlin Wall Necropolis The Kremlin Wall Necropolis is the former national cemetery of the Soviet Union, located in Red Square in Moscow beside the Moscow Kremlin Wall, Kremlin Wall. Burials there began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolsheviks who died during the Mosc ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

in Moscow. Klavdiya Nikolaeva Plaque

Works

In addition to her articles in ''The Worker'', Klavdiya Nikolayeva wrote two books on the role of women in the construction and defence of the Soviet Union: * ''The Communist Party and the action among women'' (1925) * ''The Great Patriotic War and the Soviet Woman'' (1941)

References