Nikolai Krestinsky
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Nikolayevich Krestinsky was a Russian Bolshevik
revolutionary
and Soviet
politician
.
, in what is now Mahilyow Voblast
of Belarus
. According to Russian archivist A. B. Roginsky, Krestinsky was of ethnic Russian origin. Other sources suggest ethnic Ukrainian origins, while according to Felix Chuev, Vyacheslav Molotov
maintained that Krestinsky's family had converted from Judaism
to Eastern Orthodoxy
.
faction. After the February Revolution
, which overthrew monarchy in Russia, he proved to be a capable organizer and was elected to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik party on August 3, 1917 (Old Style
). He was made a member of the first Soviet Orgburo
on January 16, 1919 and the first Politburo on March 25, 1919. He was also made a member of the Central Committee Secretariat
on November 29, 1919 and served as the party's Responsible Secretary for the next 1.5 years.
, Krestinsky supported Leon Trotsky
's faction in an increasingly bitter dispute over the direction of the country. After Vladimir Lenin
's victory at the X Party Congress in March 1921, Krestinsky lost his Politburo, Orgburo and Secretariat posts and became Soviet ambassador to Germany
. The post was an important and sensitive one because of Soviet Russia's crucial and delicate relationship with Germany at the time, but not nearly as important as his previous posts.
Krestinsky supported Trotsky and the Left Opposition
in 1923-early 1927, but distanced himself from Trotsky later in 1927. He completely broke with the opposition in April 1928.
) on March 12, 1938. While almost all other defendants admitted their guilt during the Moscow Show Trials
, Krestinsky at first denied everything, but reversed himself the following day:
On March 12, he said to the presiding judge, Vasili Ulrikh
:
The following day, he made a total reversal on his position:
Such a reversion was a rare episode in the show trials of the late 1930s. Krestinsky was sentenced to death and executed in March 1938. He was partially exonerated during Nikita Khrushchev
's partial destalinization and was cleared of all charges during perestroika
.
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....
revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Origins
Krestinsky was born in the town of MogilevMogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, in what is now Mahilyow Voblast
Mahilyow Voblast
Mahilyow Voblasts or Mogilyov Oblast is a province of Belarus with its administrative center being Mogilyov ....
of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. According to Russian archivist A. B. Roginsky, Krestinsky was of ethnic Russian origin. Other sources suggest ethnic Ukrainian origins, while according to Felix Chuev, 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...
maintained that Krestinsky's family had converted from Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
to Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Rise to the top
Krestinsky joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903 and sided with its 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. After 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...
, which overthrew monarchy in Russia, he proved to be a capable organizer and was elected to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik party on August 3, 1917 (Old Style
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
). He was made a member of the first Soviet Orgburo
Orgburo
The Orgburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union existed from 1919–52, until the 19th Congress, when the Orgburo was abolished and its functions were transferred to the enlarged Secretariat....
on January 16, 1919 and the first Politburo on March 25, 1919. He was also made a member of the Central Committee Secretariat
Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee
The Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee was a key body within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the central administration of the party as opposed to drafting government policy which was usually handled by the Politburo...
on November 29, 1919 and served as the party's Responsible Secretary for the next 1.5 years.
Fall from power
In late 1920-early 1921, after the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil WarRussian 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...
, Krestinsky supported Leon 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....
's faction in an increasingly bitter dispute over the direction of the country. After 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 victory at the X Party Congress in March 1921, Krestinsky lost his Politburo, Orgburo and Secretariat posts and became Soviet ambassador to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The post was an important and sensitive one because of Soviet Russia's crucial and delicate relationship with Germany at the time, but not nearly as important as his previous posts.
Krestinsky supported Trotsky and the Left Opposition
Left Opposition
The Left Opposition was a faction within the Bolshevik Party from 1923 to 1927, headed de facto by Leon Trotsky. The Left Opposition formed as part of the power struggle within the party leadership that began with the Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin's illness and intensified with his death in January...
in 1923-early 1927, but distanced himself from Trotsky later in 1927. He completely broke with the opposition in April 1928.
The show trial
Krestinsky continued working as a diplomat until 1937 when he was arrested during the Great Purges. He was put on trial (as part of the Trial of the Twenty OneTrial of the Twenty One
The Trial of the Twenty-One was the last of the Moscow Trials, show trials of prominent Bolsheviks, including the Old Bolsheviks. The Trial of the Twenty-One took place in Moscow in March 1938, towards the end of Stalin's Great Purge.-The Trial:...
) on March 12, 1938. While almost all other defendants admitted their guilt during the Moscow Show Trials
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...
, Krestinsky at first denied everything, but reversed himself the following day:
On March 12, he said to the presiding judge, Vasili Ulrikh
Vasili Ulrikh
Vasiliy Vasilievich Ulrikh was a senior judge of the Soviet Union during most of the regime of Joseph Stalin. In this capacity, Ulrikh served as the presiding judge at many of the major show trials of the Great Purges in the Soviet Union.-Early life:Vasili Ulrikh was born in Riga, Latvia, then a...
:
I do not recognize that I am guilty. I am not a Trotskyite.
I was never a member of the "right-winger and Trotskyite bloc",
which I did not know to exist. Nor have I committed a single one of
the crimes imputed to me, personally; and in particular I am not guilty
of having maintained relations with the German Secret Service.
The following day, he made a total reversal on his position:
Yesterday, under the influence of a momentary keen feeling of false shame,
evoked by the atmosphere of the dock and the painful impression created by
the public reading of the indictment, which was aggravated by my poor health,
I could not bring myself to tell the truth, I could not bring myself to say that I
was guilty. And instead of saying, "Yes, I am guilty," I almost mechanically answered,
"No, I am not guilty."
Such a reversion was a rare episode in the show trials of the late 1930s. Krestinsky was sentenced to death and executed in March 1938. He was partially exonerated during Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
's partial destalinization and was cleared of all charges during perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
.