Maria Spiridonova
Encyclopedia
Maria Alexandrovna Spiridonova ' onMouseout='HidePop("9924")' href="/topics/Tambov">Tambov
– September 11, 1941, Medvedevsky Forest near Oryol
) was a figure in Russia
n revolution
ary circles at the beginning of the 20th century.
during her training to become a nurse.
In January, 1906, Spiridonova assassinated Police Inspector General G.N. Luzhenovsky who had ordered the brutal police suppression of a peasant uprising during Russian Revolution of 1905
. She shot General Luzhenovsky in the face with a revolver at the provincial railway station of Borisoglebsk
. Following the assassination, and after her arrest, she was subjected to horrendous physical and sexual abuse at the hands of soldiers. Some of the outrages committed against her included being dragged face down on cobbled steps, stripped and whipped, having cigarettes stubbed out on her breasts and further beating.
Sections of Russian society aired their indignation at her cruel treatment, and with the help of admiring popular support, she was spared the death sentence
and instead was sent to prison in exile
.
She was convicted for the assassination and exile
d to Siberia
. She was kept in the Maltzevskaya prison, where was severely caned with birches (розги) on bare as disciplinary corporal punishment, fully undressed corporal punishment was not usual for political prisoners at that time. Following the February Revolution
of 1917 Spiridinova was released from custody in an amnesty and had her followers use dynamite to destroy the prison she had been kept in - the Chuti prison. This was something she wanted to have repeated upon the Peter and Paul Fortress
in Petrograd, but her wishes for this came to no avail.
Spiridonova later became the de facto leader of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party in 1917. The LSR opposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
and broke with the Bolsheviks over this issue, as well as being critical in regard to Bolshevik views on the future of peasant ownership and use of land in the rural areas. They organized an unsuccessful insurrection against the Bolsheviks in July 1918, the insurrectionists failing in their fighting against pro-Bolshevik soldiers of the Red Latvian Riflemen, and were contained in the Kitai-gorod
district of Moscow. After that, Spiridonova was arrested twice and imprisoned for a length of time. According to Emma Goldman
, the anarchist
, who secretly met Spiridonova in July 1920, she was also tortured by being taken out at night and informed that she was to be shot on a spot - a favored method of the Cheka
at that time. Louise Bryant
, the feminist writer and wife of John Reed
, met her as well.
During Stalin's purges
, she was arrested with twelve other Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
, in Ufa
, where they had been living in exile. Accused of plotting a peasant uprising, she was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison by a Military Collegium
on March 8, 1937. After a hunger strike she was held in isolation at Orel prison.
Along with over 150 other political prisoners (among them Christian Rakovsky
and Olga Kameneva
), Maria Spiridonova was executed outside Oryol
on September 11, 1941, shortly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union
. This execution was one of the many NKVD massacres of prisoners
committed in 1941.
Tambov
Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
– September 11, 1941, Medvedevsky Forest near Oryol
Oryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
) was a figure in 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...
n revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
ary circles at the beginning of the 20th century.
Biography
She joined the Socialist-Revolutionary PartySocialist-Revolutionary Party
thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries...
during her training to become a nurse.
In January, 1906, Spiridonova assassinated Police Inspector General G.N. Luzhenovsky who had ordered the brutal police suppression of a peasant uprising during Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
. She shot General Luzhenovsky in the face with a revolver at the provincial railway station of Borisoglebsk
Borisoglebsk
Borisoglebsk is a town in Voronezh Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vorona River near its confluence with the Khopyor.Population: 65,000 . It is host to Borisoglebsk air base.Borisoglebsk was founded in mid-17th century...
. Following the assassination, and after her arrest, she was subjected to horrendous physical and sexual abuse at the hands of soldiers. Some of the outrages committed against her included being dragged face down on cobbled steps, stripped and whipped, having cigarettes stubbed out on her breasts and further beating.
Sections of Russian society aired their indignation at her cruel treatment, and with the help of admiring popular support, she was spared the death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
and instead was sent to prison in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
.
She was convicted for the assassination and exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
d to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. She was kept in the Maltzevskaya prison, where was severely caned with birches (розги) on bare as disciplinary corporal punishment, fully undressed corporal punishment was not usual for political prisoners at that time. Following the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
of 1917 Spiridinova was released from custody in an amnesty and had her followers use dynamite to destroy the prison she had been kept in - the Chuti prison. This was something she wanted to have repeated upon the Peter and Paul Fortress
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.-History:...
in Petrograd, but her wishes for this came to no avail.
Spiridonova later became the de facto leader of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party in 1917. The LSR opposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty 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,...
and broke with the Bolsheviks over this issue, as well as being critical in regard to Bolshevik views on the future of peasant ownership and use of land in the rural areas. They organized an unsuccessful insurrection against the Bolsheviks in July 1918, the insurrectionists failing in their fighting against pro-Bolshevik soldiers of the Red Latvian Riflemen, and were contained in the Kitai-gorod
Kitai-gorod
Kitay-gorod , earlier also known as Great Posad , is a business district within Moscow, Russia, encircled by mostly-reconstructed medieval walls. It is separated from the Moscow Kremlin by Red Square. It does not constitute a district , as there are no resident voters, thus, municipal elections...
district of Moscow. After that, Spiridonova was arrested twice and imprisoned for a length of time. According to Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
, the anarchist
Libertarian socialism
Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that promote a non-hierarchical, non-bureaucratic, stateless society without private property in the means of production...
, who secretly met Spiridonova in July 1920, she was also tortured by being taken out at night and informed that she was to be shot on a spot - a favored method of the Cheka
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
at that time. Louise Bryant
Louise Bryant
Louise Bryant was an American journalist and writer. She was best known for her Marxist and anarchist beliefs and her essays on radical political and feminist themes. Bryant published articles in several radical left journals during her life, including Alexander Berkman's The Blast...
, the feminist writer and wife of John Reed
John Silas Reed
John Silas "Jack" Reed was an American journalist, poet, and communist activist, best remembered for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days that Shook the World...
, met her as well.
During 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...
, she was arrested with twelve other Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
In 1917, Russia the Socialist-Revolutionary Party split between those who supported the Provisional Government, established after the February Revolution, and those who supported the Bolsheviks who favoured a communist insurrection....
, in Ufa
Ufa
-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...
, where they had been living in exile. Accused of plotting a peasant uprising, she was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison by a Military Collegium
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR was created in 1924 to the Supreme Court of the USSR as a court for the higher military and political personnel of Red Army and Fleet...
on March 8, 1937. After a hunger strike she was held in isolation at Orel prison.
Along with over 150 other political prisoners (among them Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky
Christian Rakovsky was a Bulgarian socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and Soviet diplomat; he was also noted as a journalist, physician, and essayist...
and Olga Kameneva
Olga Kameneva
Olga Davidovna Kameneva was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. She was the sister of Leon Trotsky and the first wife of Lev Kamenev.-Childhood and Revolutionary Career :...
), Maria Spiridonova was executed outside Oryol
Oryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
on September 11, 1941, shortly after the German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. This execution was one of the many NKVD massacres of prisoners
NKVD massacres of prisoners
The NKVD prisoner massacres were a series of mass executions committed by the Soviet NKVD against prisoners in Eastern Europe, primarily Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic states, Bessarabia and other parts of the Soviet Union from which the Red Army was withdrawing after the German invasion in 1941...
committed in 1941.
External links
- Maria Spiridonova
- My Disillusionment in Russia. Maria Spiridonova by Emma GoldmanEmma GoldmanEmma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....