Cecilia Bobrovskaya
Encyclopedia
Cecilia Samoylovna Bobrovskaya ' onMouseout='HidePop("9794")' href="/topics/NEE">née
Zelikson [Зеликсон]; , Velizh
6 July 1960, Moscow
) was an early Bolshevik
activist, revolutionary, and memoirist. She played a notable role in various local organizations of the Bolshevik Partyconsequently facing repeated persecution by the authorities of the Russian Empire
. Bobrovskaya is best known for her memoirs, Twenty Years in Underground Russia: Memoirs of a Rank-and-File Bolshevik (1934).
ic and philosophic researches," and his wife, a significantly younger woman of illiterate peasant stock, in Velizh
, a provincial Russian town in the Vitebsk Guberniya (now Smolensk Oblast
, Russia
).
Bobrovskaya stepped into the Russian socialist
current as a student in Warsaw
in the 1890s. She entered into the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
(RSDLP) in 1898, and siding with its Bolshevik faction following the intra-party division into the Bolshevik and Menshevik
camps in 1903. She met her husband, Vladimir Bobrovsky
, during their mutual involvement in political work against the czarist regime.
Bobrovskaya was first arrested in Kharkov in 1900. After a period in Switzerland
in 1902, she returned to Russia
, choosing Tver
as a center of activity following an arrest in St. Petersburg. She first met with Lenin
, then based in the Swiss city of Geneva
, in 1902, during her work as an agent of the Iskra
, the party newspaper Lenin had founded in 1900, and, together with her husband Vladimir, followed the party’s work to the Caucasus
. In 1905, she was arrested by the police while on her way to the party’s conference in Moscow. Arrested in Moscow again after an illegal party gathering outside the city in June 1908, Bobrovskaya spent two years in internal exile
in Vologda
, being spared, according to her later recollection of the episode, from the harsher sentence of four years of internal exile in eastern Siberia on account of her poor state of health.
Bobrovskaya was involved in the Serpukhov
and Moscow party committees during 1917, and participated in the 1917 October Revolution
. From March 1919 to May 1920, Bobrovskaya led the military affairs council of the Bolshevik Party's Moscow branch.
She worked for the Comintern
between 1918 and 1940, and was a member of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism
under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
, the party's central theoretical and research institute, in later years.
Bobrovskaya wrote down a number of personal accounts of the revolution and remembrances of such figures as Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya, and others: her best known work, the memoir Twenty Years in Underground Russia: Memoirs of a Rank-and-File Bolshevik, documenting in first person
her role in the revolutionary movement from 1894 to 1914, was published in Moscow in 1934 and is cited as a primary source on the preWorld War I
period by both Soviet and Western
historians.
.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Zelikson [Зеликсон]; , Velizh
Velizh
Velizh is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, situated on the bank of the Western Dvina, from Smolensk. Population:...
6 July 1960, 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...
) was an early 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....
activist, revolutionary, and memoirist. She played a notable role in various local organizations of the Bolshevik Partyconsequently facing repeated persecution by the authorities of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. Bobrovskaya is best known for her memoirs, Twenty Years in Underground Russia: Memoirs of a Rank-and-File Bolshevik (1934).
Biography
Bobrovskaya, née Cecilia Samoylovna Zelikson, was born into the family of Samuil Zelikson, an observant Jewish bookkeeper whom she described as preoccupied with his "TalmudTalmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic and philosophic researches," and his wife, a significantly younger woman of illiterate peasant stock, in Velizh
Velizh
Velizh is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, situated on the bank of the Western Dvina, from Smolensk. Population:...
, a provincial Russian town in the Vitebsk Guberniya (now Smolensk Oblast
Smolensk Oblast
Smolensk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its area is . Population: -Geography:The administrative center of Smolensk Oblast is the city of Smolensk. Other ancient towns include Vyazma and Dorogobuzh....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
).
Bobrovskaya stepped into the Russian socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
current as a student in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in the 1890s. She entered into the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
(RSDLP) in 1898, and siding with its Bolshevik faction following the intra-party division into the Bolshevik and Menshevik
Menshevik
The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1904 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party. The dispute originated at the Second Congress of that party, ostensibly over minor issues...
camps in 1903. She met her husband, Vladimir Bobrovsky
Vladimir Bobrovsky
Vladimir Semyonovich Bobrovsky was a Russian revolutionary Marxist active in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and the Russian Bolshevik Party....
, during their mutual involvement in political work against the czarist regime.
Bobrovskaya was first arrested in Kharkov in 1900. After a period in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 1902, she returned to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, choosing Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
as a center of activity following an arrest in St. Petersburg. She first met with 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...
, then based in the Swiss city of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, in 1902, during her work as an agent of the Iskra
Iskra
Iskra was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Initially, it was managed by Vladimir Lenin, moving as he moved. The first edition was published in Stuttgart on December 1, 1900. Other editions were...
, the party newspaper Lenin had founded in 1900, and, together with her husband Vladimir, followed the party’s work to 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...
. In 1905, she was arrested by the police while on her way to the party’s conference in Moscow. Arrested in Moscow again after an illegal party gathering outside the city in June 1908, Bobrovskaya spent two years in internal exile
Internal Exile
Internal Exile was Fish's second solo album after leaving Marillion in 1988. The album, released 28 October 1991, was inspired by the singer's past, his own personal problems and his troubled experiences with his previous record label EMI.The album's music reflects Fish's indulgence in the vast...
in Vologda
Vologda
Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...
, being spared, according to her later recollection of the episode, from the harsher sentence of four years of internal exile in eastern Siberia on account of her poor state of health.
Bobrovskaya was involved in the Serpukhov
Serpukhov
Serpukhov is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, which is situated at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara Rivers. It is located south from Moscow on the Moscow—Simferopol highway. The Moscow—Tula railway passes through the town. Population: -History:...
and Moscow party committees during 1917, and participated in the 1917 October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. From March 1919 to May 1920, Bobrovskaya led the military affairs council of the Bolshevik Party's Moscow branch.
She worked for the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
between 1918 and 1940, and was a member of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism
Institute of Marxism-Leninism
Institute of Marxism-Leninism was an association formed amongst radical elements within the Communist Party of India in West Bengal. It was founded on April 22, 1964. Leading figures were Sushital Roy Chowdhury, Asit Sen and Saroj Dutta .The Institute ran a small study centre and a library...
under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
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 ...
, the party's central theoretical and research institute, in later years.
Bobrovskaya wrote down a number of personal accounts of the revolution and remembrances of such figures as Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya, and others: her best known work, the memoir Twenty Years in Underground Russia: Memoirs of a Rank-and-File Bolshevik, documenting in first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
her role in the revolutionary movement from 1894 to 1914, was published in Moscow in 1934 and is cited as a primary source on the preWorld War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
period by both Soviet and Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
historians.
External links
Bobrovskaya, Cecilia. Twenty Years in Underground Russia: Memoirs of a Rank-and-File Bolshevik. Transcription and markup by Sally Ryan, Marxists Internet ArchiveMarxists Internet Archive
Marxists Internet Archive is a volunteer based non-profit organization that maintains a multi-lingual Internet archive of Marxist writers and other similar authors...
.