Yuriy Kotsiubynsky
Encyclopedia
Yuriy Kotsiubynsky (December 7, 1896—March 8, 1937) was a Bolshevik
politician
, activist, member of the Soviet government in Ukraine.
was born in Vinnytsia
, Podolia Governorate
. He studied in the Chernihiv
Gymnasium. In 1913 Yuriy joined Bolsheviks and in 1916 was mobilized to the Russian Imperial Army. Later he studied in school of praporshchik
s in Odessa
and serving in Petrograd. In the capital Kotsiubynsky was conducting an anti-war agitation among soldiers for which he was arrested on several occasions by the Provisional Government
. There he also became a member of a military organization at the Petrograd Committee of RSDLP(b
), a commissar of Semenovsky Guard Reserve Regiment, the Chief of Red Guard, and commandant of the Moscow-Narva region (Petrograd).
during the October Revolution
. Later he headed the Red Guard detachment of Moscow-Narva Distinct (Saint-Petersburg) against the foces of Kerensky
- Krasnov, being also the commandant of the mentioned district. In December 1917 became a deputy of People's Secretary of Military Affairs and later was acting as the Secretary. In January 1918 became the Chief of Staff of the Soviet Ukrainian People's Republic
and chairman of military collegiate, nominally heading the army of the Petrograd Red Guards and Baltic Sailors in the fight against the national forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic
occupying Kiev
in February 1918. In reality the army was led by Muraviov who was subordinated to Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko.
In March 1918 Kotsiubynsky was elected to the Central Executive Committee
(a.k.a. Tsikuka) and also was appointed as the People's Secretary of Internal Affairs. In July 1918 Kotsyubysnky joined the All Ukrainian Central Military revkom. Since November 1918 became a member of the reinstated Ukrainian Bolshevik
government, the Provisional Workers-Peasant government of Ukraine. During 1919-1920 Kotsiubynsky headed several regional party offices in Chernihiv
and Poltava
. From April to November 1919 he was a chairman of the Chernigov Governorate
executive committee (governor). Since 1920 he held diplomatic missions to Austria
and Poland
until 1930. In 1922-23 he was an auditor of Marxist courses at the Socialist Academy. In 1930 Kotsiubynsky became the deputy of head of Derzhplan; however in September 1933 he obtain the chair of Derzhplan and became the deputy of the chairman of the Ukrainian sovnarkom (Vice Prime Minister). During these last several years Yuriy was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee.
to six years of exile in Almaty
. In March 1935 he was excluded from the Party. In October 1936 Kotsiubynsky was arrested again while being in exile and transferred to Kiev
. There together with Vasyl Poraiko, Holubenko, Tytar, Tyrchuk, Volodymyr Lohinov, and Pleskachevsky he was charged in the organization by the directive of Georgy Pyatakov
and the leadership in activities of the Trotskist organization in Ukraine (Ukrainian Trotskyite Opposition).
On March 8, 1937 he was convicted by the Collegiate of the Soviet Supreme Court to the execution by fire-squad which took place later the same day. In December 1955 he was rehabilitated.
There exist the Letter without envelope to Kotsiubynsky from Serhiy Okhrymenko
in which the Ukrainian scientist blames him in bloody crimes against his own people.
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....
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, activist, member of the Soviet government in Ukraine.
Until the Revolution
Yuriy like his father Mykhailo KotsiubynskyMykhailo Kotsiubynsky
Mykhailo Mykhailovych Kotsiubynsky , was a Ukrainian author whose writings described typical Ukrainian life at the start of the 20th century...
was born in Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia is a city located on the banks of the Southern Bug, in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast.-Names:...
, Podolia Governorate
Podolia Governorate
The Podolia Governorate or Government of Podolia, set up after the Second Partition of Poland, comprised a governorate of the Russian Empire from 1793 to 1917, of the Ukrainian People's Republic from 1917 to 1921, and of the Ukrainian SSR from 1921 to 1925.-Location:The Podolian Governorate...
. He studied in the Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
Gymnasium. In 1913 Yuriy joined Bolsheviks and in 1916 was mobilized to the Russian Imperial Army. Later he studied in school of praporshchik
Praporshchik
Praporshchik is a rank in the Russian military.-Imperial Russia:Praporshchik was originally a name of a junior commissioned officer rank in the military of the Russian Empire equivalent to ensign...
s in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
and serving in Petrograd. In the capital Kotsiubynsky was conducting an anti-war agitation among soldiers for which he was arrested on several occasions by the Provisional Government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
. There he also became a member of a military organization at the Petrograd Committee of RSDLP(b
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....
), a commissar of Semenovsky Guard Reserve Regiment, the Chief of Red Guard, and commandant of the Moscow-Narva region (Petrograd).
After the Revolution
With his future brother-in-law Vitaly Primakov Kotsiubynsky took active participation in storming of the Winter PalaceWinter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
during the 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...
. Later he headed the Red Guard detachment of Moscow-Narva Distinct (Saint-Petersburg) against the foces of Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
- Krasnov, being also the commandant of the mentioned district. In December 1917 became a deputy of People's Secretary of Military Affairs and later was acting as the Secretary. In January 1918 became the Chief of Staff of the Soviet Ukrainian People's Republic
Chief of the General Staff (Ukraine)
The Chief of the General Staff is the chief of staff of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He is appointed by the President of Ukraine. If the Minister of Ukraine is a civilian the Chief of the General Staff becomes the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces...
and chairman of military collegiate, nominally heading the army of the Petrograd Red Guards and Baltic Sailors in the fight against the national forces of the Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...
occupying 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....
in February 1918. In reality the army was led by Muraviov who was subordinated to Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko.
In March 1918 Kotsiubynsky was elected to the Central Executive Committee
Central Executive Committee of Ukraine
Central Executive Committee of Ukraine was a representative body of the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets. It was the supreme legislative, administrative, executive controlling state power of the Soviet Ukraine between the sessions of the Congress of Soviets that acted between 1917 until 1938...
(a.k.a. Tsikuka) and also was appointed as the People's Secretary of Internal Affairs. In July 1918 Kotsyubysnky joined the All Ukrainian Central Military revkom. Since November 1918 became a member of the reinstated Ukrainian 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....
government, the Provisional Workers-Peasant government of Ukraine. During 1919-1920 Kotsiubynsky headed several regional party offices in Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv or Chernigov is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast , as well as of the surrounding Chernihivskyi Raion within the oblast...
and Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
. From April to November 1919 he was a chairman of the Chernigov Governorate
Chernigov Governorate
The Chernigov Governorate , also known as the Government of Chernigov, was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate with an administrative centre of Chernigov...
executive committee (governor). Since 1920 he held diplomatic missions to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
until 1930. In 1922-23 he was an auditor of Marxist courses at the Socialist Academy. In 1930 Kotsiubynsky became the deputy of head of Derzhplan; however in September 1933 he obtain the chair of Derzhplan and became the deputy of the chairman of the Ukrainian sovnarkom (Vice Prime Minister). During these last several years Yuriy was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee.
Arrest
In November 1934 Kotsiubynsky was fired from his job losing his membership in the Central Committee. In February 1935 he was arrested while being charged in the anti-Soviet activities and convicted by the decision of the Special Board of NKVDNKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
to six years of exile in Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
. In March 1935 he was excluded from the Party. In October 1936 Kotsiubynsky was arrested again while being in exile and transferred to 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....
. There together with Vasyl Poraiko, Holubenko, Tytar, Tyrchuk, Volodymyr Lohinov, and Pleskachevsky he was charged in the organization by the directive of Georgy Pyatakov
Georgy 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...
and the leadership in activities of the Trotskist organization in Ukraine (Ukrainian Trotskyite Opposition).
On March 8, 1937 he was convicted by the Collegiate of the Soviet Supreme Court to the execution by fire-squad which took place later the same day. In December 1955 he was rehabilitated.
There exist the Letter without envelope to Kotsiubynsky from Serhiy Okhrymenko
Serhiy Yefremov
Serhiy Yefremov was a Ukrainian literary journalist, historian, critic, political activist, statesman, and academician. He was a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Science and Shevchenko Scientific Society in Lviv...
in which the Ukrainian scientist blames him in bloody crimes against his own people.