Mariya Markovna Shkolnik (previously transliterated as Marie Sukloff, ) (6 March 1882 - 9 April 1955) was a member of the Russian revolutionary movement that attempted to assassinate Alexei Khvostov and escaped exile in

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 ...

twice. Mariya was a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and assisted in the propaganda efforts of the party among peasant populations.

Life

Mariya Shkolnik was born to a poor,

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, peasant family in Borovoi-Mlin, a village in the

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

of 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 ...

(now in the Grodno Region of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

), not far from the town of

Smarhon' Smarhon, or Smorgon, is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Smarhon District. It was the site of Smarhon air base, now mostly abandoned. Smarhon is located from the capital, Minsk. As of 2025, it has a p ...

. Mariya started working at a young age and was not sent to school. Mariya remained illiterate till the age of 13. She did however learn to read from the daughter of a rabbi named Hannah who would often meet with peasant girls in Vilna to teach them progressive politics and economics. Strikes and demonstrations demanding the establishment of a ten-hour working day began in Vilna when Mariya was a teenager. Through an organizer from the Jewish Bund, Mariya joined the revolutionary movement. After organizing in

Ashmyany Ashmyany or Oshmyany is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus. It is located from Vilnius in Lithuania, and serves as the administrative center of Ashmyany District. The river Ashmyanka passes through the city. As of 2025, it has a population of 16 ...

, Mariya felt that her future as a revolutionary would be better in a city. Eventually, she convinced her father to send her to her uncle's apartment 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 ...

. In Odessa she worked in a candy factory and lived with others who shared her political ideology. In 1918 she returned from exile to

Soviet Russia 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 ...

. In 1927 she became a member 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 ...

Works

Mariya published her memoirs "Life of a Former Terrorist" in 1927 in which she talks about her life from early childhood to emigration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shkolnik, Mariya 1882 births 1955 deaths People from Grodno region People from Vilna Governorate Belarusian Jews Socialist Revolutionary Party politicians SR Combat Organization members Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Internal exiles from the Russian Empire Russian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Russia Women sentenced to death