Kazimierz Cichowski
Encyclopedia
Kazimierz Cichowski (1887 - 29 October 1937) was a Polish-Soviet communist activist and politician.
Cichowski joined the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania
in 1907. During the Russian Revolution, he joined the Bolshevik
party and from November 1917 he was the deputy Commissar for Polish affairs of the Central Executive Committee of the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (LitBel), where he soon advanced to more prominent positions (Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets
). After the end of the Polish-Soviet War
in 1921, which saw the dissolution of LitBel, he became a member of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine
, operating in the Second Polish Republic
. In 1923-1925, Cichowski was imprisoned by the Polish authorities; after release, he joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland
, becoming a member of its Secretariat and the Political Bureau. In September 1932, he went to the USSR where he began working in the Comintern
(ECCI). Around January-July 1937, he was in Spain
where he was head of the Cadres Department of the International Brigades
headquarters. In August 1937, Cichowski was recalled to Moscow, arrested in October during the Great Purge
, convicted and shot.
Cichowski joined the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania
Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania
The Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania was a Marxist political party founded in 1893. Its original name was the "Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland" and it eventually became part of the Communist Workers Party of Poland...
in 1907. During the Russian Revolution, he joined the 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....
party and from November 1917 he was the deputy Commissar for Polish affairs of the Central Executive Committee of the Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (LitBel), where he soon advanced to more prominent positions (Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets
Congress of Soviets
The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and several other Soviet republics from 1917–36 and again from 1989-91. After the creation of the Soviet Union, the Congress of Soviets of the Soviet Union functioned as its legislative branch...
). After the end of the Polish-Soviet War
Polish-Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine and the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic—four states in post–World War I Europe...
in 1921, which saw the dissolution of LitBel, he became a member of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine
Communist Party of Western Ukraine
Communist Party of Western Ukraine was a political party in eastern interbellum Poland. Until 1923 it was known as the Communist Party of Eastern Galicia.Young Communist League of Western Ukraine was the youth league of the party....
, operating in the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
. In 1923-1925, Cichowski was imprisoned by the Polish authorities; after release, he joined the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland
Communist Party of Poland
The Communist Party of Poland is a historical communist party in Poland. It was a result of the fusion of Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania and the Polish Socialist Party-Left in the Communist Workers Party of Poland .-1918-1921:The KPRP was founded on 16 December 1918 as...
, becoming a member of its Secretariat and the Political Bureau. In September 1932, he went to the USSR where he began working in the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
(ECCI). Around January-July 1937, he was in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
where he was head of the Cadres Department of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
headquarters. In August 1937, Cichowski was recalled to Moscow, arrested in October during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, convicted and shot.