Yemelyan Yaroslavsky
Encyclopedia
Yemelyan Mikhailovich Yaroslavsky was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, communist party organizer and activist, journalist, and historian (he was official historian of the party for a time). He was an atheist and anti-religious activist; among his most important journalistic propaganda
activities, he was editor or the atheist satirical journal Bezbozhnik
("The Godless" or "The Atheist"). He led the League of the Militant Godless, and also headed the Anti-Religious Committee of the Central Committee
.
famity as Minei Israilevich Gubelman in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai on March 3, 1878. He entered the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party in 1898 and organized communist cells on the Trans-Baikal (Zabaikalsky) Railroad). In 1901, he was a correspondent for the revolutionary newspaper "Iskra
," and the following year became a member of the Party's Chita Committee. In 1903 he became a member of the St. Petersburg Committee of the Communist Party and became one of the leaders of the Military Wing of the party, siding with the Social Democrats' Bolshevik
faction during the intraparty split.
Yaroslavsky took part in the 1905 Revolution and his wife, the revolutionary Olga Mikhailovna Genkina (1882–1905) was killed by a member of the Black Hundreds during the conflict. Yaroslavsky led communist activity in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinoslav, and Tampere
(now in Finland) during the revolution and edited the paper "Kazarma". He was arrested in 1907 and sentenced to hard labor in the Gorny Zerentu Prison in the Nerchinsk
region and later exiled to Eastern Siberia.
On September 15, 1921, Yaroslavsky was the prosecutor at the trial in Novonikolaevsk, now Novosibirsk
, of the counter-revolutionary warlord
Roman von Ungern-Sternberg.
With the outbreak of the German-Soviet War, the state reduced its anti-religious activities somewhat as the Russian Orthodox Church was seen as an institution that could be of use in rallying the population to defend the nation. The journals "Bezbozhnik" and "Antireligioznik" ceased publication and the League of the Militant Godless fell into obscurity (The official reason was the lack of newsprint, now needed for the war effort.
Yaroslavsky died on December 4, 1943 in Moscow. His remains were cremated and the urn with his ashes was interred to the left side of the Senate Tower in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
behind Lenin's Mausoleum
.
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
activities, he was editor or the atheist satirical journal Bezbozhnik
Bezbozhnik
Bezbozhnik was a monthly anti-religious and atheistic satirical magazine, published in the Soviet Union between 1922 and 1941 by the Society of the Godless. Between 1923 and 1931, there was also a daily newspaper called Bezbozhnik u Stanka...
("The Godless" or "The Atheist"). He led the League of the Militant Godless, and also headed the Anti-Religious Committee of the Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
.
Biography
Yaroslavsky was born into a JewishJews
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...
famity as Minei Israilevich Gubelman in Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai on March 3, 1878. He entered the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party in 1898 and organized communist cells on the Trans-Baikal (Zabaikalsky) Railroad). In 1901, he was a correspondent for the revolutionary newspaper "Iskra
Iskra
Iskra was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Initially, it was managed by Vladimir Lenin, moving as he moved. The first edition was published in Stuttgart on December 1, 1900. Other editions were...
," and the following year became a member of the Party's Chita Committee. In 1903 he became a member of the St. Petersburg Committee of the Communist Party and became one of the leaders of the Military Wing of the party, siding with the Social Democrats' 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....
faction during the intraparty split.
Yaroslavsky took part in the 1905 Revolution and his wife, the revolutionary Olga Mikhailovna Genkina (1882–1905) was killed by a member of the Black Hundreds during the conflict. Yaroslavsky led communist activity in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinoslav, and Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
(now in Finland) during the revolution and edited the paper "Kazarma". He was arrested in 1907 and sentenced to hard labor in the Gorny Zerentu Prison in the Nerchinsk
Nerchinsk
Nerchinsk is a town and the administrative center of Nerchinsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located east of Lake Baikal, east of Chita, and about west of the Chinese border on the left bank of the Nercha River, above its confluence with the Shilka River, which flows into the Amur...
region and later exiled to Eastern Siberia.
On September 15, 1921, Yaroslavsky was the prosecutor at the trial in Novonikolaevsk, now Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
, of the counter-revolutionary warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
Roman von Ungern-Sternberg.
With the outbreak of the German-Soviet War, the state reduced its anti-religious activities somewhat as the Russian Orthodox Church was seen as an institution that could be of use in rallying the population to defend the nation. The journals "Bezbozhnik" and "Antireligioznik" ceased publication and the League of the Militant Godless fell into obscurity (The official reason was the lack of newsprint, now needed for the war effort.
Yaroslavsky died on December 4, 1943 in Moscow. His remains were cremated and the urn with his ashes was interred to the left side of the Senate Tower in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik victims of the October Revolution were buried in mass graves on Red Square. It is centered on both sides of Lenin's Mausoleum, initially built in wood in 1924 and rebuilt in granite in 1929–1930...
behind Lenin's Mausoleum
Lenin's Mausoleum
Lenin's Mausoleum also known as Lenin's Tomb, situated in Red Square in the center of Moscow, is the mausoleum that serves as the current resting place of Vladimir Lenin. His embalmed body has been on public display there since shortly after his death in 1924...
.