Stanislav Adamovich Messing (Russian: Станислав Адамович Мессинг) (1890,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

, Russian Tsar Empire - September 2, 1937,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, USSR) was a Soviet national party leader and a leader of the Soviet state security and intelligence bodies. He was a member of the Central Control Commission of the CPSU(b) from 1930 to 1934.

Early life

Stanislav Messing was born into a Jewish family, the child of a

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...

and a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; ...

( accoucheuse). Due to financial difficulties, he only finished four classes in grammar school, after which he studied to become a locksmith. He eventually began working in a

printing house In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. Printers can include: *Newspaper printers, often owned by newspaper publishers * Magazine printers, usually independ ...

Career

In 1908, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Poland, where he met

Felix Dzerzhinsky Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky ( pl, Feliks Dzierżyński ; russian: Фе́ликс Эдму́ндович Дзержи́нский; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed "Iron Felix", was a Bolshevik revolutionary and official, born into Poland, Polish n ...

and

Józef Unszlicht Józef Unszlicht or Iosif Stanislavovich Unshlikht (russian: Ио́сиф Станисла́вович У́ншлихт; nicknames "Jurowski", "Leon") (31 December 1879 – 29 July 1938) was a Polish and Russian revolutionary activist, a Soviet go ...

, who had given him patronage after the Great Revolution of 1917. He was arrested several times and imprisoned in the

Warsaw Fortress Warsaw Fortress ( pl, Twierdza Warszawa, russian: Варшавская крепость) was a system of fortifications built in Warsaw, Poland during the 19th century when the city was part of the Russian Empire. The fortress belonged to a cha ...

. In the same year, he was sentenced to administrative deportation to Belgium, where he earned his livelihood as an unskilled laborer. In 1911, Messing returned to his homeland and continued to participate in the activities of the Social Democratic Party of Poland. He was arrested again and then released. In 1913, he was drafted into the army and served in Turkestan as a common soldier of the 17th Turkestan Regiment, which had been based at the Caucasian Front since 1914. In 1917, he was elected a member of the regimental soldiers' committee.

Petrograd and Moscow

In the spring of 1917, during the

Russian revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, Messing was in Moscow and participated in street unrest. Immediately after the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

he was appointed secretary of the Sokolniki Executive Committee and chairman of the

Sokolniki District Sokolniki District (russian: райо́н Соко́льники) is a district of the Eastern Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow located in the north-east corner of the city. Population: Etymology Sokolniki derives its name from ...

Cheka. Beginning in December 1918, Messing was the head of the secret operations department of the

Cheek The cheeks ( la, buccae) constitute the area of the face below the eyes and between the nose and the left or right ear. "Buccal" means relating to the cheek. In humans, the region is innervated by the buccal nerve. The area between the insi ...

. In July 1920, he was approved a member of the VChK Council. On January 3, 1921, he was appointed chairman of the

Cheka. and in November of that year become chairman of Leningrad, then still called

Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Petrograd

In November 1921,

, who directed the

Red Terror The Red Terror (russian: Красный террор, krasnyj terror) in Soviet Russia was a campaign of political repression and executions carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police. It started i ...

during post-revolution Russia,Harry Denny, New York Times July 1936 appointed Messing as chairman of the

Cheka. He held this rank from November 3, 1921, to February 6, 1922. Petrograd was a capital of Russia until 1922; in 1922, Moscow became the capital again.

Moscow

In 1929, implicated in Bukharin-Kamenev affair and the poor health conditions of Mezhinsky, Trilisser lost out against Messing and Messing was appointed as second deputy chairman of OGPU.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messing, Stanislav 1890 births 1937 deaths Politicians from Warsaw Politicians from Warsaw Governorate Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania politicians Polish communists Jews from the Russian Empire Soviet Jews Soviet people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish socialists Old Bolsheviks Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Executive Committee of the Communist International Cheka NKVD officers Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Jews executed by the Soviet Union Great Purge victims from Poland Soviet rehabilitations