Yakov Gamarnik
Encyclopedia
Jankel Borysovych Pukhdykovych , better known as Jan Gamarnik or Yakov Gamarnik ( – 1937) was a Soviet politician of Jewish ethnicity.
in a Jewish
family as Jankel Borysovych Pukhdykovych. He attended the St Petersburg Psychoneurological Institute
and the Law School of Kiev University
. In 1917 he became the member and a secretary of the Kiev committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. From 1921 to 1923 Harmanyk was a chairman of the Kiev city council (see Mayor of Kiev
). During his administration Kiev was divided into five districts
. He went through many Communist Party positions, both civil and military, e.g. a First Secretary of the Belarus
ian Communist Party of Belorussia from December 1928 to October 1929.
He was instrumental in preparing the 10-year development plan for the Far-Eastern region of the USSR.
A fanatic Bolshevik, Gamarnik was a staunch supporter of Marshal Tukhachevsky's drive to make USSR a military superpower
. In 1937 Gamarnik was accused of participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy after the Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
; however, shortly before the trial he had actually been called upon by the Soviet government to be one of the judges for the accused. He insisted on Tukhachevsky's innocence and later killed himself before he could be punished for his actions. Only after this was he added to the list of conspirators. He was rehabilitated posthumously by the CC CPSU and Nikita Khrushchev
in 1955.
Biography
Gamarnik was born in ZhytomyrZhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
in a Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
family as Jankel Borysovych Pukhdykovych. He attended the St Petersburg Psychoneurological Institute
Saint Petersburg State Medical Academy
The St. Petersburg I. I. Mechnikov State Medical Academy is a public university located in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The SPSMA is one of the oldest and largest Russian Higher Medical Schools. Over its 100 years of history, the Academy remains a leading institution of Russia in medicine...
and the Law School of Kiev University
Kiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
. In 1917 he became the member and a secretary of the Kiev committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. From 1921 to 1923 Harmanyk was a chairman of the Kiev city council (see Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev
Mayor of Kiev is the elected mayor of the municipality of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, who is also normally automatically appointed as Head of the City's State Administration and Chair of the City Council....
). During his administration Kiev was divided into five districts
Subdivisions of Kiev
Subdivisions of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, include the formal administrative subdivision into raions and the more detailed informal subdivision into historical neighborhoods.-History of subdivision:...
. He went through many Communist Party positions, both civil and military, e.g. a First Secretary of the Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian Communist Party of Belorussia from December 1928 to October 1929.
He was instrumental in preparing the 10-year development plan for the Far-Eastern region of the USSR.
A fanatic Bolshevik, Gamarnik was a staunch supporter of Marshal Tukhachevsky's drive to make USSR a military superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
. In 1937 Gamarnik was accused of participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy after the Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
The Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization was a 1937 secret trial of the high command of the Red Army, orchestrated by Joseph Stalin as part of the Great Purge.-Defendants:...
; however, shortly before the trial he had actually been called upon by the Soviet government to be one of the judges for the accused. He insisted on Tukhachevsky's innocence and later killed himself before he could be punished for his actions. Only after this was he added to the list of conspirators. He was rehabilitated posthumously by the CC CPSU and Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
in 1955.
Sources
- Robert Conquest, The Great TerrorThe Great TerrorThe Great Terror is a book by British historian Robert Conquest, published in 1968. It gave rise to an alternate title of the period in Soviet history known as the Great Purge. The complete title of the book is The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties...
: A Reassessment, Oxford University Press, May 1990, hardcover, ISBN 0-19-505580-2 pp 201-202; - Several versions of Gamarnik biography
- Gamarnik in the Fleet, with photo
- Trotsky about gamarnik and others