Yekaterina Peshkova | |
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Екатери́на Па́вловна Пешко́ва | |
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| Born | Yekaterina Pavlovna Volzhina (1876-07-26)26 July 1876 |
| Died | 26 March 1965(1965-03-26) (aged 88) Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Occupation(s) | Human rights activist and humanitarian |
Yekaterina Pavlovna Peshkova, néeVolzhina (Russian:Екатери́на Па́вловна Пешко́ва, née Во́лжина; 26 July 1876 – 26 March 1965) was aSoviethuman rights activist andhumanitarian, first wife ofMaxim Gorky.
She was born on 14 (26) July 1876 into a noble family in the city of Sumy. There are three known versions of her birth date. She graduated from high school inSamara in 1895. In 1895, she worked as a proofreader at the Samara Newspaper, where she met Alexey Peshkov (Gorky), who was published in the publication.[1]
On 30 August 1896 Peshkov and Yekaterinagot married. In 1897, Yekaterina gave birth to a son, Maxim, and in 1901, a daughter, Katya. In 1902-1903, the family lived inNizhny Novgorod (now the A. M. Gorky Museum-Apartment). She repeatedly visited and lived inYalta, working at the Yalta Alexandrovskaya Gymnasium. The couple separated by mutual consent. Five-year-old daughter Katya died of meningitis in the summer of 1906, when Gorky and Maria Andreyeva were in the United States, from where Alexei Maksimovich sent his abandoned wife in Nizhny a consoling letter with a request to take care of their remaining son.[2][3] However, they "maintained a special relationship throughout their lives," noted their granddaughter Marfa.[4] According to published data, the divorce was never officially formalized, which partly explains the fact that Gorky never entered into another registered marriage.[1]
In 1907-1914, she lived abroad with her son Maxim, mainly in Paris. She attended French courses for Russians at the Sorbonne and lectures on social sciences. She worked in the Circle for Assistance to Penal Servitude and Exile, organized by V. N. Figner.
Before theOctober Revolution she took an active part in the work of theCommittee for Assistance to Russian Political Prisoners (Комитет помощи русским политкаторжанам) under the leadership ofVera Figner. After 1914 she led theChildren's Commission at theSociety for Assistance to War Victims. After 1918 she was the major activist of theMoscow Committee of thePolitical Red Cross.
After 1922, she was chairwoman of the subsequent organization theAssistance to Political Prisoners (Pompolit,Помощь политическим заключенным, Помполит). She was honored by an order of the Polish Red Cross for her participation in the exchange ofprisoners of war after thePolish–Soviet War.
In 1927, she was instrumental in securing the commutation and release ofYosef Yitzchak Schneersohn after he was accused of counter-revolutionary activities, and sentenced to death.[5][6][7]
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