Yu Xiusong (Chinese:俞秀松) (1899 – February 21, 1939) was an early member of theChinese Communist Party. He was born inZhuji,Zhejiang. He started attending the Zhejiang First Normal School (currentlyHangzhou High School) in 1916. TheMay 4 movement of 1919 led him to be a student activist. In 1920, he founded theCommunist Youth League of China and became its first leader. In 1922, he supported theConstitutional Protection Movement ofSun Yat-sen. As a result of theFirst United Front in 1924, Yu was given a position in his home province by theKuomintang.
In October 1925, Yu went to theSoviet Union to study atMoscow Sun Yat-sen University, where he became acquainted withWang Ming. In 1933, he was in the Soviet Far East. He arrived inXinjiang in the summer of 1935 and headed the secretariat ofPeople's Anti-imperialist Association. He was married to the sister of local warlordSheng Shicai. At the instigation ofKang Sheng, Wang hadDeng Fa arrest Yu on charges ofTrotskyism sometime between December 10 and 27, 1937. In May or June 1938, Yu was extradited back to the Soviet Union. He was sentenced to death and executed inMoscow. Yu's death marked the final break between Wang andZhang Guotao. In 1962, after theSino-Soviet split, Yu was posthumously proclaimed a revolutionary martyr.
The story of the marriage of Yu Xiusong and Sheng Shitong, the younger sister of the ruler of Xinjiang,Sheng Shicai, is well known. Their romantic relationship encountered resistance from Sheng’s family, especially her brother, who doubted the wisdom of the union.Garegin Apresov, the Soviet consul in Urumqi, played a key role in overcoming these obstacles.[1] Realizing that the marriage could strengthen relations between the USSR and Sheng Shicai, Apresov personally intervened to convince Sheng Shicai to agree to the wedding. In 1936, a lavish ceremony was held, attended by high-ranking officials, including representatives of the Soviet side. Through Apresov, Stalin presented the newlyweds with a box of clothes as a gift. However, in 1937, Yu Xiusong was arrested and sent to the USSR, where he was later executed. Sheng Shitong, left alone, devoted her life to finding the truth about her husband’s fate and restoring his good name. After many years of efforts, in 1996, already at an advanced age, she achieved his rehabilitation - the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation officially restored Yu Xiusong's reputation, recognizing his complete innocence.[1][2]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)| Preceded by Office created | First Secretary of the Communist Youth League of China 1920–1922 | Succeeded by |
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