Arkady Rosengolts
Encyclopedia
Arkady Pavlovich Rosengolts (1889–1938), sometimes spelled 'Rosengoltz' or 'Rosenholz', was a Bolshevik
politician, a Soviet Commissar of Foreign Trade and a defendant at the Moscow Trial of the Twenty-One in 1938.
faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (RSDRP) in 1905, the year of the first, abortive Russian Revolution. He worked as an insurance agent and carried out work for the Bolshevik party in Vitebsk, Kiev, Ekaterinoslav and Moscow. Rosengolts played an active role in the Revolution of 1917. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council, the Moscow Military-Revolutionary Committee and the All-Russian Military-Revolutionary Committee. He was a leading officer in the Red Army
and, during the Russian Civil War
, worked closely with L.D. Trotsky
. After the Civil War, Rosengolts worked successively for the Commissariats of Transportation and Finance and the Directorate of the Red Army Air Force. He served as ambassador to Britain from 1925 to 1927 and oversaw Soviet espionage in Britain. He became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
in 1927 and held various high posts in the party and the Soviet government. In 1930 he was appointed People's Commissar of Foreign Trade. On June 14, 1937, Rosengolts was dismissed from that post. On October 7, 1937, he was arrested. He was one of the defendants of the third Moscow Trial
, along with Nikolai Bukharin
, Alexey Rykov and other prominent Soviet officials. The accused faced a long list of capital charges, including plotting to assassinate Lenin and Stalin
, espionage and sabotage. Like most of his co-defendants, Rosengolts confessed. He was convicted, sentenced to death and shot on March 15, 1938 in Moscow. He was rehabilitated in 1988.
On the Trial of the 21:
See also:
For a Russian source, see:
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
politician, a Soviet Commissar of Foreign Trade and a defendant at the Moscow Trial of the Twenty-One in 1938.
Life
A.P. Rosengolts was born in Vitebsk on November 4, 1889. He was the son of a merchant. He joined the BolshevikBolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (RSDRP) in 1905, the year of the first, abortive Russian Revolution. He worked as an insurance agent and carried out work for the Bolshevik party in Vitebsk, Kiev, Ekaterinoslav and Moscow. Rosengolts played an active role in the Revolution of 1917. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council, the Moscow Military-Revolutionary Committee and the All-Russian Military-Revolutionary Committee. He was a leading officer in the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and, during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, worked closely with L.D. Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
. After the Civil War, Rosengolts worked successively for the Commissariats of Transportation and Finance and the Directorate of the Red Army Air Force. He served as ambassador to Britain from 1925 to 1927 and oversaw Soviet espionage in Britain. He became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in 1927 and held various high posts in the party and the Soviet government. In 1930 he was appointed People's Commissar of Foreign Trade. On June 14, 1937, Rosengolts was dismissed from that post. On October 7, 1937, he was arrested. He was one of the defendants of the third Moscow Trial
Moscow Trials
The Moscow Trials were a series of show trials conducted in the Soviet Union and orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge of the 1930s. The victims included most of the surviving Old Bolsheviks, as well as the leadership of the Soviet secret police...
, along with Nikolai Bukharin
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...
, Alexey Rykov and other prominent Soviet officials. The accused faced a long list of capital charges, including plotting to assassinate Lenin and Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, espionage and sabotage. Like most of his co-defendants, Rosengolts confessed. He was convicted, sentenced to death and shot on March 15, 1938 in Moscow. He was rehabilitated in 1988.
Sources
On the Moscow Trials generally, see:- Khruschev, Nikita, 'Speech to the Twentieth Communist Party Congress' (1956).
- Orlov, Alexander, The Secret History of Stalin's Crimes. Random House, 1953.
On the Trial of the 21:
- Report Of Court Proceedings In The Case Of The Anti-Soviet "Bloc Of Rights And Trotskyites". Heard Before The Military Collegium Of The Supreme Court Of The U.S.S.R., Moscow, March 2–13, 1938. In Re: N.I. Bukharin, A.I. Rykov, G.G. Yagoda et al. Verbatim Report. People's Commissariat of Justice of the U.S.S.R., Moscow, 1938.
See also:
- 'The Great Conspiracy.' Marxist Internet Archive. Online at: http://marxism.halkcephesi.net/Great%20Conspiracy/GC-AK-MS-chapter20.htm.
For a Russian source, see:
- http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/bio_r/rozengolc_ap.php.