Grigory Zinoviev

Soviet communist

Grigory Yevseyevich Zinoviev (born Hirsch Apfelbaum, 23 September [O.S. 11 September] 1883 – 25 August 1936), known also under the name Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky (Russian: ?????-?????? ???????? ????????????), was a Soviet revolutionary and politician.

He was an Old Bolshevik and a close associate of Vladimir Lenin.During the 1920s, Zinoviev was one of the most influential figures in the Soviet leadership and the chairman of the Communist International.

Born in Ukraine to a Jewish family, Zinoviev began revolutionary activities by joining the underground Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) in 1901.

In 1903 the RSDLP split between the Menshevik faction led by Julius Martov and the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin.Zinoviev joined Lenin's faction and in doing so he became one of the original Bolsheviks.

As a Bolshevik, Zinoviev engaged in revolutionary activities both in Russia and abroad and became known for his fierce loyalty to Lenin.

In 1917 the Bolsheviks seized power following the October Revolution and established their own government, the RSFSR.Bolshevik seizure of power ultimately led to a civil war within Russia.

Communist parties across Europe, galvanized by WWI and the October Revolution attempted to seize power in their respective countries.Demands for supplies and aid goaded Lenin into creating the Communist International in 1919, to distribute aid to these fledgling communist movements.

The Communist International lead by Zinoviev, both aided existing communist parties and attempted to create new ones.His efforts to mobilize communist revolution abroad ended in failure as communist movements abroad failed to seize power.

Zinoviev's leading role in these efforts vilified him in the international eye.His reputation as a subversive led to a political scandal in the United Kingdom.

Prior to the 1924 Parliamentary election, Zinoviev allegedly authored a letter that claimed the Soviet Union was using the Labour Party to erode British democracy and initiate a communist revolution in the UK.

Labour politicians at the time claimed the letter was a forgery, a claim historians would later confirm to be true.

Nevertheless, 1924 saw the Conservative Party secure one of the largest electoral successes in the twentieth century.During Lenin's final illness in 1923–24, Zinoviev allied with fellow Old Bolsheviks Lev Kamenev and Joseph Stalin against Leon Trotsky.

The men created a successful triumvirate which denied Trotsky the ability to succeed Lenin and began his downfall.Stalin with the help of Kamenev and Zinoviev removed Trotsky as war minister in 1925, and would be forced into exile in 1929.

Trotsky's defeat marked the end of the coalition between Stalin and Zinoviev.By the mid 1920s, Stalin and Zinoviev entered a feud and Zinoviev was expelled from the party in 1925.

The two men then reconciled and Zinoviev was reinstated in the party.The tumultuous relationship between Stalin and Zinoviev would continue throughout the 1920s and Zinoviev would be expelled from the party three times (in 1927, 1932 and 1934).

Zinoviev's ideological disagreements and a troubled relationship with Stalin led him to form a partnership with Leon Trotsky and Lev Kamenev.

Following the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934, a Soviet investigation concluded that Zinoviev was involved in the assassination and plotted to overthrow Stalin.

Zinoviev was arrested and put on trial in 1936 as a chief defendant in the trial of the Trotskyite-Zinovievite Terrorist Center, more commonly called the Trial of the Sixteen.

He was tried alongside Lev Kamenev; both were found guilty and sentenced to death.On August 25, 1936 Grigory Zinoviev was executed by the NKVD.

The Trial of the Sixteen marked an important turning point in Soviet history as it signaled the beginning of the Great Purge.