 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Moisei Uritsky" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Moisei Uritsky | |
|---|---|
| Моисей Урицкий | |
 Portrait byMoisey Nappelbaum [ru], 1918 | |
| Chief ofCheka ofPetrograd city | |
| In office March 10, 1918 – August 30, 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Gleb Bokii |
| People's Commissar of the North Commune | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1873-01-02)January 2, 1873 |
| Died | August 30, 1918(1918-08-30) (aged 45) |
| Political party | RSDLP (1898–1903) Mensheviks (1903–1917) RCP (1917–1918) |
| Alma mater | St. Vladimir Imperial University of Kiev (1897) |
| Occupation | Chekist,political activist, andpolitician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Moisei Solomonovich Uritsky (Ukrainian:Мойсей Соломонович Урицький;Russian:Моисей Соломонович Урицкий; 2 January [O.S. 14 January] 1873 – 30 August 1918), also known by his pen-nameBoretsky (Russian:Борецкий) was aBolshevikrevolutionary leader inRussia. After theOctober Revolution, he was the head of the PetrogradCheka from January 1918 until his death on 30 August 1918. Uritsky was assassinated byLeonid Kannegisser, a military cadet, who was executed shortly afterwards.
Uritsky was born in the city ofCherkasy, then part of theKiev Governorate, to aJewish Litvak family. His father, a merchant, died when Moisei was little and his mother raised her son by herself. He attended theBila Tserkva Gymnasium, supporting himself through teaching and became an activesocial democrat.[1]
Moisei Uritsky studied law at theSt. Vladimir Imperial University of Kiev. During his studies he joined theRussian Social Democratic Labour Party and organized an underground network for importing and distributing political literature. In 1897, he was arrested and exiled for running an illegalmimeograph press. Becoming involved in the revolutionary movement, he participated in the revolutionary JewishBund. In 1903, he became aMenshevik. His activities in St Petersburg during the1905 Revolution earned him a second term of exile. Along withAlexander Parvus, he was active in dispatching revolutionary agents to infiltrate theImperial security apparatus.
In 1914, he emigrated to France and contributed to the Party newspaperOur Word edited byLeon Trotsky. Back in Russia after theFebruary Revolution of 1917, Uritsky became a member of theMezhraiontsy group. A few months before theOctober Revolution, he joined theBolsheviks and was elected to their Central Committee in July 1917. Uritsky played a leading role in the Bolsheviks' armed take-over in October as a member of thePetrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, and was later made head of thePetrogradCheka secret police in January 1918. In this position, Uritsky coordinated the pursuit and prosecution of members of the nobility, military officers, rival socialists, ranking Russian Orthodox Church clerics, and anyone who opposed the Bolsheviks.
Because Uritsky was against Lenin'sTreaty of Brest-Litovsk, he resigned his post in 1918, likeBukharin,Bubnov,Piatakov,Dzerzhinsky andSmirnov. On March 4, 1918, the Petrograd committee published the first number of the journalKommunist, the public organ of the "left communist" opposition, as directed byRadek and Uritsky. TheExtraordinary Seventh Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), which was held between March 6 and 8, 1918, rejected theTheses on the Present Situation that was submitted as a resolution by the "Left Communists". The "Left Communists" Lomov and Uritsky, who were elected to the Central Committee, stated at the Congress that they would not work in the Central Committee, and did not begin work there for several months in spite of insistent demands from the Central Committee.
On May 25, 1918, with the Revolt of theCzechoslovak Legion, theRussian Civil War began and Uritsky resumed his position on the Central Committee. An opponent of thedeath penalty, he nevertheless signed execution warrants approved by his Committee.[2]
Leonid Kannegisser, a youngmilitary cadet of theImperial Russian Army, assassinated Uritsky on August 30 [O.S. August 17] 1918, outside the Petrograd Cheka headquarters in retaliation for the execution of his friend and other officers.[3][4] Following this event, along with the assassination attempt onLenin bySocialist RevolutionaryFanny Kaplan on August 30, the Bolsheviks began a wave of persecution known as theRed Terror.Palace Square in Petrograd was known as Uritsky Square from 1918 to 1944. There are still many streets named after him in Russia.
Uritsky was buried with honours on theField of Mars inPetrograd on 2 September 1918.[2]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
