Anna Larina
Encyclopedia
Anna Larina was the wife of the Bolshevik leader Nikolai Bukharin
, and spent many years trying to rehabilitate her husband after he was executed in 1938. She was the author of a memoir entitled This I Cannot Forget.
Born in 1914, Anna Larina grew up amongst professional revolutionaries
who stood at the head of the new Soviet Union
. As a young girl, she came to know Bukharin, who was 26 years older than she was, and she constantly wrote girlish love notes to him. She married Bukharin in 1934 and had a son, Yuri. Anna was separated from her son when he was about one year old, then the NKVD
came and arrested her. In 1937, there were accusations against Bukharin for spying, attempting to dismember the Soviet Union, organising kulak
uprisings, plotting to murder Stalin and attempting mysterious acts towards Lenin in the past. Bukharin never understood why he was being slandered, but was mentally and psychologically prepared for death.
Before his imprisonment, he asked Anna to memorise his testament because he knew it would have been suppressed under Stalin's rule. His treatment in prison destroyed his personality and before his execution he was declaring his solidarity with Stalin. It has been said that his last letter to Stalin was still in Stalin's desk when Stalin died.
Anna was first sent into exile then arrested on September 5th and taken to Astrakhan
. Twenty years of her life were spent in prison, exile and labour camps. In a labour camp, she met her second husband. He was arrested numerous times because of his relationship with Anna. With her second husband she had two children, Michail and Nadia.
Nikolai Bukharin
Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin , was a Russian Marxist, Bolshevik revolutionary, and Soviet politician. He was a member of the Politburo and Central Committee , chairman of the Communist International , and the editor in chief of Pravda , the journal Bolshevik , Izvestia , and the Great Soviet...
, and spent many years trying to rehabilitate her husband after he was executed in 1938. She was the author of a memoir entitled This I Cannot Forget.
Born in 1914, Anna Larina grew up amongst professional revolutionaries
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
who stood at the head of the new Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. As a young girl, she came to know Bukharin, who was 26 years older than she was, and she constantly wrote girlish love notes to him. She married Bukharin in 1934 and had a son, Yuri. Anna was separated from her son when he was about one year old, then the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
came and arrested her. In 1937, there were accusations against Bukharin for spying, attempting to dismember the Soviet Union, organising kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
uprisings, plotting to murder Stalin and attempting mysterious acts towards Lenin in the past. Bukharin never understood why he was being slandered, but was mentally and psychologically prepared for death.
Before his imprisonment, he asked Anna to memorise his testament because he knew it would have been suppressed under Stalin's rule. His treatment in prison destroyed his personality and before his execution he was declaring his solidarity with Stalin. It has been said that his last letter to Stalin was still in Stalin's desk when Stalin died.
Anna was first sent into exile then arrested on September 5th and taken to Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
. Twenty years of her life were spent in prison, exile and labour camps. In a labour camp, she met her second husband. He was arrested numerous times because of his relationship with Anna. With her second husband she had two children, Michail and Nadia.