Evgenia Bosh
Encyclopedia
Evgenia Bosh sometimes known as Evgenia Bogtdanovna Bosch or Evheniya Bohdanivna Bosch, was a Bolshevik
militant during the Russian Revolution
, a military leader during the Revolution, and the first modern woman leader of a national government, as the Minister of the Interior, Leader of the Secret Police, and at one point the Acting Leader of the provisional Soviet government of the Ukraine in 1917. Evgenia Bosh is sometimes considered the first Prime Minister of independent Ukraine, but is nearly forgotten today, as her memory was deliberately suppressed by the Stalinist regime because of her sympathy with the opposition.
and his Moldavian wife. Bosh's parents quarrelled often and her childhood was reportedly an unhappy one. She was educated at the Voznesensk women’s gymnasium. At age 17, her parents attempted to arrange her marriage to an older man, but she rebelled and married a bourgeois businessman named Petr Bosh. They had two children.
. Bosh was head of the Kiev Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Worker’s Party (RSDRP). After the revolution she became Secretary of Regional Committee of RSDRP(B). Bosh and Pyatakov led the Kiev committee until their arrest and exile to Siberia in 1912.
After escaping from their exile, Bosh and Piatakov made their way to Switzerland where an emigre group of revolutionaries was active. Bosh accepted Lenin’s invitation and attended the conference of Russian revolutionaries in Berne
in 1915. She was initially opposed to Lenin's desire to urge the proletariat towards revolution. Her newspaper Social Democratic Voice argued:
She was persuaded to support Lenin's direction for the Bolsheviks, and in 1917 she went to Russia, and became a popular agitator, motivating troops along the south-western border of Ukraine to support the Bolsheviks. In March she led an army unit in Kiev as the revolutionaries battled the Provisional Government that was installed in Russia after the fall of the Romanov
s. Bosh became Minister of the Interior when the Reds took control of the government in January 1918. As Soviet Ukraine's first Minister of the Interior and Head of the Secret Police, Evgenia Bosh was responsible for taking direct charge of the Soviet fight against the bourgeois business owners' and landlords’ counter-revolution.
with Germany, which gave control of territories in western Ukraine to Germany. Bosh resigned her government post in protest and left Russia for Ukraine to fight the German advance into Ukraine. She enlisted in the Antonov-Ovseenko Red Army with Pyatakov and her daughter Maria. She became ill with tuberculosis and heart disease, however, and after several months of recuperation, she left Ukraine for Russia, where she filled political and military administrative posts for the next few years as the civil war continued.
, and signed the Platform of the 46, the first official statement by the opposition to the Stalinist regime. She wrote a memoir, A Year of Struggle, published posthumously in 1925. Bosh fell out of favour with the Joseph Stalin
-Nikolai Bukharin
leadership. In 1924, she succumbed to despair after hearing that Trotsky had been forced to resign as leader of the Red Army
, as well as in pain from her heart condition and tuberculosis, and she died by suicide. Her suicide was met with an immediate, deliberate effort by the Soviet government to suppress official acknowledgement of her death by cancelling public funeral rites:
A large suspension bridge over the Dnieper in Kiev
was named in Bosh's honour when it was raised in 1925. The bridge was destroyed during World War II. The site of the Bosh bridge is now the location of the Metro Bridge.
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....
militant during the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution can refer to:* Russian Revolution , a series of strikes and uprisings against Nicholas II, resulting in the creation of State Duma.* Russian Revolution...
, a military leader during the Revolution, and the first modern woman leader of a national government, as the Minister of the Interior, Leader of the Secret Police, and at one point the Acting Leader of the provisional Soviet government of the Ukraine in 1917. Evgenia Bosh is sometimes considered the first Prime Minister of independent Ukraine, but is nearly forgotten today, as her memory was deliberately suppressed by the Stalinist regime because of her sympathy with the opposition.
Early life
Evgenia Bosh was born in Ukraine, with the name Gotlibovna Maysh, to an ethnic German immigrant from LuxembourgLuxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and his Moldavian wife. Bosh's parents quarrelled often and her childhood was reportedly an unhappy one. She was educated at the Voznesensk women’s gymnasium. At age 17, her parents attempted to arrange her marriage to an older man, but she rebelled and married a bourgeois businessman named Petr Bosh. They had two children.
Radical politics
Bosh had a growing interest in radical politics. She had limited involvement with the Social Democrats. She joined the Bolshevik faction in 1903. In the meantime, her older sister, Elena Rozmirovich, was a dedicated revolutionary. The Bosh house was searched by the police for illegal political literature in 1906. The police search was unsuccessful, but Bosh left her husband and fled to Kiev, where she joined the revolutionary underground. Much of the Kiev group was arrested and exiled in 1910, but Bosh remained in Kiev and found a lover and revolutionary partner in Georgy PyatakovGeorgy Pyatakov
Georgy Leonidovich Pyatakov was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader during the Russian Revolution, and member of the Left Opposition.Pyatakov was born August 6, 1890 in the settlement of the Mariinsky sugar factory which was owned by his father, an ethnic Russian, Leonid Timofeyevich Pyatakov.He...
. Bosh was head of the Kiev Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Worker’s Party (RSDRP). After the revolution she became Secretary of Regional Committee of RSDRP(B). Bosh and Pyatakov led the Kiev committee until their arrest and exile to Siberia in 1912.
After escaping from their exile, Bosh and Piatakov made their way to Switzerland where an emigre group of revolutionaries was active. Bosh accepted Lenin’s invitation and attended the conference of Russian revolutionaries in Berne
Berne
The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...
in 1915. She was initially opposed to Lenin's desire to urge the proletariat towards revolution. Her newspaper Social Democratic Voice argued:
Declaration of Soviet Ukraine
Bosh was instrumental in launching the First All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets (December 11–12, 1917, Kharkiv). At this Congress, the Ukrainian People’s Republic was proclaimed to be the Soviet Republic, and its membership in a federation with Soviet Russia was also declared. The Congress also denounced the Tsentralna Rada as well as its laws and instructions. The decrees of the Petrograd Council of People’s Commissars extended to Ukraine and an official alliance with the Russia Red Army was declared.She was persuaded to support Lenin's direction for the Bolsheviks, and in 1917 she went to Russia, and became a popular agitator, motivating troops along the south-western border of Ukraine to support the Bolsheviks. In March she led an army unit in Kiev as the revolutionaries battled the Provisional Government that was installed in Russia after the fall of the Romanov
Romanov
The House of Romanov was the second and last imperial dynasty to rule over Russia, reigning from 1613 until the February Revolution abolished the crown in 1917...
s. Bosh became Minister of the Interior when the Reds took control of the government in January 1918. As Soviet Ukraine's first Minister of the Interior and Head of the Secret Police, Evgenia Bosh was responsible for taking direct charge of the Soviet fight against the bourgeois business owners' and landlords’ counter-revolution.
Opposition to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
In March, Bosh was outraged when the Soviets signed the Treaty of Brest-LitovskTreaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
with Germany, which gave control of territories in western Ukraine to Germany. Bosh resigned her government post in protest and left Russia for Ukraine to fight the German advance into Ukraine. She enlisted in the Antonov-Ovseenko Red Army with Pyatakov and her daughter Maria. She became ill with tuberculosis and heart disease, however, and after several months of recuperation, she left Ukraine for Russia, where she filled political and military administrative posts for the next few years as the civil war continued.
Trotskyism, death and legacy
She was harshly critical of the bureaucratic group she saw controlling the Soviet government. She was a supporter of Leon TrotskyLeon 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....
, and signed the Platform of the 46, the first official statement by the opposition to the Stalinist regime. She wrote a memoir, A Year of Struggle, published posthumously in 1925. Bosh fell out of favour with the 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...
-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...
leadership. In 1924, she succumbed to despair after hearing that Trotsky had been forced to resign as leader of 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...
, as well as in pain from her heart condition and tuberculosis, and she died by suicide. Her suicide was met with an immediate, deliberate effort by the Soviet government to suppress official acknowledgement of her death by cancelling public funeral rites:
A large suspension bridge over the Dnieper in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
was named in Bosh's honour when it was raised in 1925. The bridge was destroyed during World War II. The site of the Bosh bridge is now the location of the Metro Bridge.
See also
- Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine
- Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
- Internationalism or Russification?Internationalism or Russification?Internationalism or Russification? is a book by Ukrainian writer and social activist Ivan Dziuba, written in September-December 1965.-History of writing:...