Avel Enukidze
Encyclopedia
Avel Safronovich Enukidze - А́вель Сафронович Енуки́дзе - ( – October 30, 1937), a prominent "Old Bolshevik
" and, at one point, a member of the Soviet Central Committee
in Moscow
. In 1932, along with Mikhail Kalinin
, Vyacheslav Molotov
he co-signed the infamous "Law of Spikelets
".
Enukidze had written a book on the history of a famous Bolshevik
printing press in the Caucasus
which had bombarded Russia with Vladimir Lenin
's commandments during the Czarist period. Soon he was accused of having deliberately diminished Joseph Stalin
's contributions to the printing press and the Bolshevik movement in Baku. In fact, Stalin had little to do with these things; it was Enukidze himself who had played the major role. But revolutionary contributions were important to a Bolshevik's prestige, and Stalin did not like Enukidze outshining him. In July 1935, after suggesting to Stalin that he give up power, Enukidze was called to account before a Central Committee Plenum in Moscow, expelled from the Party immediately, and two years later, arrested, tried, and shot. According to J. Arch Getty
, Nikolai Yezhov
had called for his expulsion, but Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov
were reluctant. However, at Yezhov's insistence, he was expelled.
Enukidze was rehabilitated as a victim of Stalin's purges
.
Old Bolshevik
Old Bolshevik , also Old Bolshevik Guard or Old Party Guard, was an unofficial designation for those who were members of the Bolshevik party before the Russian Revolution of 1917, many of whom were either tried and executed by the NKVD during Stalin era purges or died under suspicious...
" and, at one point, a member of the Soviet Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In 1932, along with Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
, Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
he co-signed the infamous "Law of Spikelets
Law of Spikelets
Law of Spikelets or Law of Three Spikelets was a common name of the Soviet law to protect state property of kolkhozes. The common name came into use because the law was used to prosecute not only property thieves but also anyone who collected as little as a handful of grain or "spikelets" left...
".
Enukidze had written a book on the history of a famous Bolshevik
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....
printing press in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
which had bombarded Russia with Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
's commandments during the Czarist period. Soon he was accused of having deliberately diminished Joseph 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...
's contributions to the printing press and the Bolshevik movement in Baku. In fact, Stalin had little to do with these things; it was Enukidze himself who had played the major role. But revolutionary contributions were important to a Bolshevik's prestige, and Stalin did not like Enukidze outshining him. In July 1935, after suggesting to Stalin that he give up power, Enukidze was called to account before a Central Committee Plenum in Moscow, expelled from the Party immediately, and two years later, arrested, tried, and shot. According to J. Arch Getty
J. Arch Getty
John Archibald Getty, III is an American historian and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is noted for his research on Russian and Soviet history, especially the period under Joseph Stalin and the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.-Life and career:Getty was...
, Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov or Ezhov was a senior figure in the NKVD under Joseph Stalin during the period of the Great Purge. His reign is sometimes known as the "Yezhovshchina" , "the Yezhov era", a term that began to be used during the de-Stalinization campaign of the 1950s...
had called for his expulsion, but Stalin and Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
were reluctant. However, at Yezhov's insistence, he was expelled.
Enukidze was rehabilitated as a victim of Stalin's purges
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
.
See also
- Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic
External links
- The Life of Lavrentii Beria
- Leon Trotsky, Behind the Kremlin Walls