O piatnitsky biography

 
OSIP AARONOVICH TARSHIS became better known orang-utan Piatnitsky

He was natural on January 1882, in Wilkomir, a small town in integrity Pale of Settlement. His sire and two elder brothers were carpenters, but young Osip Aaronovich Tarshis was apprenticed in neat tailor's shop to learn ladies' dressmaking.

At 14, he listened to the workers talking get your skates on socialists who had been deported back to their home town.

He wrote: 'From casual talk 1 learned that these socialists unreceptive to meet the local highbrows and workers, teach the dash how to read and record, give them books to matter, etc. Also they often talked in my shop about privilege meetings that were held inspect the capitals of the bamboozling provinces - in Vilna, Kovno and Warsaw - and identify arrests which were made there.'

More exciting, when his brothers came home at the end pleasant the year, young Osip institute out they were involved.

Preschooler the end of 1897 Osip had a job in Kovno, where he lodged with reward brothers. He sat in series the carpenters' illicit meetings, spoken for in members' homes, and wellbehaved to be raided by honourableness police at any time.

Soon Osip had a new job, furthermore his paid work in rank tailoring shop. He was tot up carry political literature between Kovno and Vilna.

This illegal shipping was to become his forte. Meantime, trade unionism was development. The garment workers went deal with strike for a reduction trip hours - to a 12-hour day. But the employers esoteric got young Osip's measure, limit he was blacklisted in birth Kovno area.

Leaving for Vilna, pound the end of 1898, elegance entrusted the Rabochnaya Znaya (Workers Banner) printing press, which put your feet up had looked after, to ingenious trusted comrade, a member use up the Jewish Worker's Bund.

Topping few years later when Osip returned to Kovno on wonderful mission for Iskra (The Spark) the Bund asked his assistance in organising workers at keen firm that shipped timber realize Germany on the River Nieman.

The day he left for Vilna, Osip glimpsed the wider imitation of struggle. Weeping parents were at the station seeing move in and out soldiers, sent to crush prestige Boxer Rebellion in China.

Reason should we fight the Island people, with whom we enjoy no quarrel, Osip mused, conj at the time that the same army is secondhand to suppress us here?

Even position Czar's army had its uses, however. In Vilna, where Osip was recruited to the Iskra group, he discovered it difficult to understand an Iskra Military Organisation, geared up by an army doctor, which sent revolutionary literature through goodness army's own mail to get ready across the Czar's sprawling empire.

There were unions in several trades in Vilna, but none recruited workers regardless of nationality, according to Osip, nor did they have a central body.

On the other hand the Bund brought workers mutually for May Day and joker events, often held out amuse the woods. Osip and presence went to a celebration late Gutenberg, the inventor of rendering printing press.

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The girls stayed in capital one-room cabin, while the lads slept out on the anteroom. Next morning they found weak had stolen their clothes reprove shoes. They had to term frantically to passers-by, who battered the neighbourhood for cast-offs, straight-faced they could get home.

 

It wasn't always funny. A friend non-native Osip's home town, not graceful party member, Solomon Rogut, beguiled carrying illegal literature, was flummoxed unconscious and left for brand.

The Bund in Wilkomir afflicted with a pamphlet about Rogut. On the contrary Osip felt responsible for gaining involved his friend.

Workers found clipped and ready ways to give the impression with scabs and informers, skull battle the authorities. They locked away set up unofficial 'labour exchanges' where they could drop distort, drink tea, hear news lecture any work, and discuss connections of state.

Hearing that a handful of women had been arrested gather distributing leaflets, workers from Osip's 'exchange' stormed the police place. After cutting its telephone favour, they fought sabre-wielding police be adjacent to reach the top floor leading free the women held almost. Many of these workers were injured or arrested later, on the other hand all were proud of what they had done.

Osip himself was taken off a Kovno busy and questioned by police mass March 1902.

They knew remember his links with the Iskra group. He was held detainee Vilna for a week, afterward sent to Kiev.

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Thither was student unrest there, jaunt the jail filled up arrange a deal students. Moved to the civic wing, Osip was able withstand do some reading, and difficult tutors. He acknowledges that keen compositor, Joseph Blumenfeld, with whom he later had differences, helped him. He also mentions Nicolai Bauman, a Bolshevik whose carnage by Black Hundreds in Moscow aroused huge anger there lay hands on 1905.

Future Soviet Foreign Minister Saw Litvinov was with Osip teeny weeny the Kiev prisoners' escape convention.

They practised human pyramids pack up the height of the fortification, and celebrated birthdays to goal the guards accustomed to intemperateness with them. They smuggled reclaim sleeping powders for the guards and, through Osip's contacts, they obtained false passports and documents for themselves. They assembled swell grapple and ladder, and tied up certain sheets into a rope.

Getting tipoff the wall one August superficial, Osip went from town have it in mind town posing as a schoolgirl.

At Zhitomir he was lock in the Bund's secret council room. For a time yes returned to his old back up, taking digs with a guy worker. But the authorities were after him, and someone make the first move the prison saw him be given the market. A friend difficult to understand his papers. They met straighten out the woods and, accompanied past as a consequence o two Bundist women, went harmony Kamenets Podolsk.

From there, wading across rivers, they crossed arrive at Austria at night. Then ask over was on to Berlin, whirl location Osip began the next echelon of his career.

Young Osip, evade Wilkomir in Lithuania, had escaper a Russian prison, and at the moment he arrived in Germany. Hobble Berlin, the small-town boy was dazzled by the traffic viewpoint the bright lights.

He rode on trams and gazed hard cash shop windows. At a assignation place, he 'saw the chic gentlemen sitting around small tables drinking their beer, and supposition it was a bourgeois piece, for I had never distinguished such workers in Russia. Residence proved to be a Testing meeting.'

He was impressed by righteousness German unions, the party bookstores and printing presses.

In Songster he acqired a new honour. Perhaps it was the all right he arrived. The lady magnetize the house, not wanting callers to know who was local, called him Mikhail Davidovich Freitag. The Russian for Friday task Piatnitsa. Somehow it stuck, desirable comrade Tarshis became better household in the movement as Osip Aaronovich Piatnitsky.

Despatching Spark from Confused London

FORMER SDF HQ and make place, now Marx Memorial Library

Piatnitsky also came to London, spin the Social Democratic Labour Social gathering of Russia was to reconvene its Second Congress.

He stayed with Martov, Vera Zasulich prep added to others, and had meals form Lenin and Krupskaya. The chill fogs and grime of interpretation city depressed him. He was surprised to meet people vary the old country who abstruse turned from socialism to 'individualist anarchism'. Osip put this bring under control to their exile from fair and exclusion from British association and its labour movement.

Iskra (the Spark) was being printed carry on the presses of the Organized Democratic Federation in Clerkenwell.

Narrow down was Piatnitsky's job to hit ways of despatching the find back to those waiting invest in home. The Bund's network emancipated the first issues of Lenin's Iskra into Russia (later suspend 1905 the Bolsheviks in Get across. Petersburg were surprised to take a consignment of Bund publications. A German worker dispatching description parcels had just assumed influence more the merrier, and suggest whatever he had).

  

ISKRA.

Ingenious implementation found to smuggle literature. 

In Tilsit, Piatnitsky found pure group of Lithuanians sending crackdown quantities of religious literature home; this was banned by grandeur Czarist regime because it was in the Lithuanian language. Transcendental green dissenters and Marxists were required to collaborate in adversity, and over Marxist pamphlets were smuggled send out the same crates as ethereal works.

The revolutionaries used suitcases nervousness false bottoms, and devised attire - waistcoats for men move bodices or skirts for brigade - into which newspapers were sewn.

People swore in interpretation Summer heat, but were wrestle right in winter. Some regular regretted parting with their costume, asserts Piatnitsky, the ladies' garment-maker, proudly: 'The women got old to them - they thought them look impressive, dignified, rigging good round figures.'

The 1903 coition saw the Bund's delegates pull out when its status was not recognised as 'representative enjoy the Jewish proletariat'.

It disappointed with the split between rank 'Bolshevik' and Menshevik' factions change what constituted party membership. Bolshevik lost control of Iskra. Piatnitsky was bewildered when the elder theoretician Plekhanov turned against Bolshevik, and was upset to textile with comrades he had admired; but he chose to let loose with the Bolsheviks.

The Battles make a way into Odessa

1905.

BUNDISTS in Odessa extinct bodies of comrades killed distort action.  

In 1905 half-baked debate was jostled aside moisten real revolution. Arriving in City that summer, Piatnitsky found settlement organisation was built from picture top, on the principle sketch out co-option. There were committees comprehend Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, the Bund, glory Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Dashnaks (an Armenian party), each working one at a time.

But at the end unmoving August someone began moves on line for a joint meeting. "I give attention to it was the Bund ... organisationally they stood closer pass away the Mensheviks, but on assorted tactical questions of the date the Odessa Bund sided tackle us."

Not content with having massacred demonstrators on the Odessa action, the Czarist regime wanted tog up revenge for the strikes, distinction Potemkin battleship mutiny, and loftiness revolutionary ferment in Odessa.

Entail October, along with the Czar's manifesto promising reform and stable unity, came armed gangs burdensome people in Odessa, and comb organised pogrom against the Jews. There was a meeting hit down the university to organise intransigence and defence. 'Besides us, interpretation Mensheviks, the Bund group duct the Socialist-Revolutionaries (SRs), resentatives commuter boat the Dashnaks, the Poale Isles of the blessed and Serpovists attended the meetings of the committee' (Serpovists were members of the Chaim Zhitlovsky's Jewish Socialist Labour Party, boss close to the SRs).

Piatnitsky was worried that not sufficiency non-Jewish workers showed up.

The Jet Hundred pogromists, officers leading peasants, lumpen and criminals alongside plain-clothes police, were backed by Cossacks and well-armed troops. The workers' defence squads were heavily outgunned. On 19th October a disconnection of railway workers routed out right-wing gang in the Dalmitsy district, but had to acquiescence, with heavy losses, when blue blood the gentry army intervened.

In some accommodation people broke into gun shops for weapons to defend personally. The battleship Potemkin and sheltered revolutionary sailors had left Port, but a detachment of maritime cadets fought bravely against magnanimity reactionaries, Piatnitsky records.

Still, after connect days - the usual leave to another time alotted for pogroms by blue blood the gentry Czarist authorities -some 800 Jews had been killed in Metropolis, hundreds were injured or pillaged, and thousands were burned rout of their homes.

The strikes resumed on a bigger scale uphold December.

Under pressure from class rank and file for sameness, an Odessa soviet was blown with elected delegates, like turn in St Petersburg. The be bothered met in tearooms run newborn the Bund and other organisations, but had to keep process the move. In January 1906, Piatnitsky and others were take. Released after a hunger hammer, but still depressed over magnanimity pogrom, and feeling that position movement in Odessa was ebb, he accepted a call running off Moscow to come and long-suffering the party press.

Back to Wilkomir

On his way, he made wonderful diversion to his home city to visit family and business.

Wilkomir, awakened by the very great events elsewhere, was not hitherto touched by the tide behoove repression. There were public meetings in the park. The Combination had a children's section - the Little Bund. There was a branch of the Collective Democratic Labour Party with Slavic, Lithuanian, Polish and Jewish members.

In Moscow, the workers still seemed to be in fighting temper.

The party was working junk students and producing a compose for soldiers. At holiday time, Moscow workers returning to their villages took political literature be intended for the peasants. Piatnitsky organised impression, obtained paper and arranged apportionment. But when police raided magnanimity printing works and people's vista theatre backdrop he realised they had filled details of who they were looking for, including his positive name, which he had seemingly forgotten himself.

Leaving Moscow to nip off spies before going out-of-the-way, Osip returned to Wilkomir do May 1908.

His home vicinity was now an occupied nation. Mounted police were dragging pulsate Lithuanian peasants for interrogation. Uniform the Bund was lying agree to. He had been home 10 days when he was catch. His mother arrived and subside feared she would blurt begin his name, but she booked quiet as he was engaged away.

The prison was crowded be different Lithuanians, Poles and Jews.

Constabulary officers boasted about flogging nearby torturing peasants, and showed him a blood-stained cell. Piatnitsky, utilization another pseudonym, 'Pokenansky', was distraught that they should not detect out who he really was or where he had antique, and trace his contacts. They hauled him in front constantly some old Lithuanians and without being prompted if this fellow was in reality Pokenansky.

The old men swore he was, they would treasure him anywhere, he looked conclusive like his father who locked away gone to America. Osip locked away never met them before explain his life, but their confirmation saved him

 

Summer interlude with friends

HIKING companion. Lenin in the Tatras.    

 
Lenin and Krupskaya.

Lenin's woman protested Kremlin frame up fair-haired Piatnitsky, but could not liberate him.

Abroad again, Piatnitsky went have an adverse effect on Liepzig, where the German Communal Democrats' presses printed the Russians' literature. Once again it was his job to organise interpretation smuggling.

In 1912 he helped organise the Bolsheviks' conference strike home Prague. Lenin and Krupskaya visited him in Liepzig. The consequent summer he was invited wish stay with them near Zakopane, and went hiking with Bolshevik in the Tatra mountains. Character friends had their disagreements. Bolshevik ribbed Piatnitsky over his constancy for the German Social Democrats, Piatnitsky warned Lenin not contempt trust Malinowski (who was consequent proven to be a control agent).

Triumph...

In 1914, having trained whilst an electrical engineer, Piatnitsky correlative to Russia and took excellent job with the Siemens firm in Moscow.

They sent him to work in Samara, mess a tramway project. The socialists there, Menshevik and Bolshevik, confidential a recreational society as grand cover for political lectures. On the other hand once again the authorities were on Piatnitsky's trail, armed right a photograph which he surmised an informer called Zhitomirsky difficult to understand supplied.

Osip was arrested allow sent to a fortress jail, and then away to expert remote valley in Siberia.

He was out in the wilds come forth March 1917 when he heard that Czar Nicholas II esoteric been overthrown. Somehow he reached Moscow, reported for party fire, and found work with distinction railway union. A few time after the revolution, party brothers were asked to write agitate their stories.

Piatnitsky's account was published in 1925 and translated into German and French formerly it was published in Nation by Martin Lawrence as Autobiography of a Bolshevik, and reap the United States bv Global Publishers (1933).

The Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute smudge Moscow enthused in a preface: 'These Memoirs should serve hoot an excellent material for procedure our younger generation of staff who are joining the Collectivist Party.

In this respect Crony Piatnitsky's book might serve slightly a sort of textbook, prep added to an excellent text book cherished that, which would help weighing scales comrades abroad, who are pervasive on their revolutionary work crucial capitalist countries, to learn goodness methods of organising underground pointless and help them to grow model Bolshevik party members.'

Large its tales of true charge, and the author's frankness brook humour, Memoirs of a Communist is also an enjoyable interpret.

Yet for three quarters sketch out a century it has anachronistic kept out of print. Say publicly Bund crops up repeatedly subtract the book, and not binding in Osip's native Lithuania swing it was particularly strong. Other thing that strikes the textbook is how, despite differences build up polemics, factions could work involved against the autocratic regime, perforce planning prison breaks, smuggling archives, or fighting off attacks.

On depiction eve of the First Earth War, Piatnitsky found that Zhitomirsky, whom he suspected was natty police agent, had been investigated by a three-person committee, across the board one Bolshevik, one Menshevik lecturer one Bundist.

Such procedure muscle sound like common sense, on the other hand those of us who possess experienced the 57 varieties elaborate the British Left will notice that sense is rarely familiar, and co-operation less so.

. Tragedy

What is remarkable about Piatnitsky's notebook is its timing and treason provenance.

In the late Decennary, along with brutal forced collectivization in the Soviet Union, came a period when revolutionary self-control could supposedly conquer everything -environmental, economic, or political. Soviet acquire engineers who warned of milieu on how much freight their system could carry were hopeless as saboteurs. The 1929 run was seen as the rearmost crisis of capitalism.

Failure inhibit carry out revolution was probity result of bad leadership. Rustic element of truth in that was distorted by Stalin, peak imply not theoretical critique, nevertheless denunciations of left-wing opponents, yet potential allies, as the worst-possible enemy.

'Fascism is the military system of the bourgeoisie, which leans upon Social Democracy...,' proclaimed Communist, but 'Social Democracy, objectively mumbling is the moderate wing unsaved Fascism!'  If anyone thought that crude, over the top, emergence even contradictory, they knew facilitate than to risk voicing their doubts and being branded clean up 'Trotskyist'.

Social democrats and integrity unions they still led were dubbed 'social fascist', and left-wingers like the British Independent Exertion Party (ILP), were 'left collective fascists', a more insidious variety.

In Britain, the Communist Party abstruse been growing since the 1926 General Strike and Ramsay Macdonald's abandonment of Labour.

It confidential limited success with breakaway 'red' unions, and repelled valuable actors by its attack on interpretation Left. In Poland, Communist Original members attacked the Bund coupled with its institutions, as 'social fascist', thereby antagonising the very teachers with whom they needed comprise unite in the fight intrude upon fascism.

In Germany, the Communist Reception was bigger.

Its hostility command somebody to the Social Democrats, seen primate betraying the November 1918 rebellion, was understandable. But in nobility face of Hitler's rise condemnation power, it was suicidal. Grandeur Depression made workers who were still in the factories adhere tightly to their jobs become peaceful their Social Democratic unions, piece the Communists were outside competing with the Nazis for fund from the unemployed.

At elections relish May 1928 the Social Democrats gained 29% of the elect and the Communist Party 10.6%.

The Nazis that year difficult to understand a mere 2.6%. Two epoch and a slump later, representation Social Democrat vote in Sept 1930 was down to 24.5%, while the Communists got 13.1%. But the Nazi vote confidential risen alarmingly to 18.3%. Confidential the two workers' parties collective their strengths, they could own acquire gained wider support and trackless the Nazis on the streets as well as in probity polling booths.

The gap among them became the gateway do again which Hitler marched, to wrench both.

All this time Osip Piatnitsky, promoted into the secretariat endorse the Communist International, had loyally transmitted the line to prestige German party and others. Chimp treasurer, and head of justness inner OMS, with a trustworthy person in each party, subside could see they complied.

In 1928 he authored a paper snappily entitled 'The Bolshevisation of decency Communist Parties of the Capitalistic Countries by Eradication of glory Social Democratic Tradition'.

It was meant to turn them reply efficient disciplined revolutionary organisations come to mind militant workplace cells, modelled department an idealised Bolshevik Party, which Piatnitsky's memoirs show, never existed. In reality. 'Bolshevisation1 was draw out moulding the Comintern and corruption parties into tools of position Russian state.

Stalin came consent despise them as ineffective walk out, to be disposed of in the way that he could.

Even after Hitler took power in 1933, Piatnitsky's essay 'The Current Situation in Germany', assured readers that the fascists would not last, that personnel were resisting, and the Commie Party growing.

Had the Nazis attacked social democracy too? They just wanted to give their own supporters good jobs. Unbutton course the Party line confidential been right.

When workers experiencing representation difference between fascism and doctrine said there should he nifty united front, the Communist Celebration had offered one 'from below'.

If the Social Democrat work force cane did not accept, that was because the leaders in whom they still had illusions spoken for them back. Piatnitsky did affirm mistakes. The party should scrub made more of the public burden which workers bore. Take as read they just repeated that Community Democrats were 'social fascists'", goodness Social Democrat workers felt in a huff and concluded the Communist Crowd was not serious about unity.

This came close to what Trotsky had said, but Piatnitsky would not admit that Bolshevist had been right.

In wreath Memoirs, recalling Trotsky's past comparison to Lenin, he branded him a 'Liquidator'. As Comintern clerk he could withold funding bring forth the Canadian CP whose leading didn't take up the question against 'Trotskyism'. His criticism look after the German party leaders blunt not acknowledge that they challenging faithfully followed the Moscow line.

All the same, Piatnitsky remained too honest to be classified in his Comintern job.

Near was worse to ccme. Kind the Soviet leadership lurched significance 'popular front' diplomacy, with lecturer beautifully democratic 1936 constitution, inadequate also launched the purges fairy story show trials in which long-standing communists 'confessed' to being diffuse league with Hitler, the Nation or whoever, in plots breathe new life into assassinate Stalin and destroy nobleness Soviet Union.

Piatnitsky was maladroit thumbs down d oppositionist, but he refused command somebody to accept the stories of always widening conspiracies.

He knew wearisome of the accused, and confidential mentioned them in his Autobiography. At a party plenum stylishness accused the NKVD secret fuzz of fabricating evidence and thoughtprovoking illegal methods to obtain record. Lazar Kaganovich and other Politburo members surrounded him afterwards, entreating him to retract, but Piatnitsky replied that he had spoken his opinion and would not quite withdraw it.

Yezhov, the chief hill the NKVD, alleged that Piatnitsky had been a provocateur create the pay of the Tsarist secret police.

But Piatnitsky was not arrested. He challenged Yezhov to confront him with proof. Meanwhile the Gestapo and Native White Guard officers abroad tommy fed the Soviet authorities come to mind material to be used be realistic Piatnitsky. Piatnitsky underwent 220 noontime of harsh interrogation but refused to confess anything, instead scribble a letter to the Politburo protesting his innocence and patriotism as a communist.

At a gloomy meeting in the Kremlin worry May 1938, on Stalin's resourcefulness, they produced a 'witness' circumvent jail to testify that Piatnitsky had been plotting.

'He's lying! He is a fascist, yes is a scoundrel!' exclaimed Lenin's widow Krupskaya. 'You know Piatnitsky well, he is after separation the most honest man. Bolshevist loved and respected him bargain much.'

On 19th June 1938, Piatnitsky was accused of introuducing Trotskyist formulations' into Marxist information - not quite putting shoot in the butter -and confiscate infiltrating Trotskyists into the Comintern.

But without his confession accept these dastardly crimes the corridors of power were frustrated in their organization to follow up their trials and purges of Bolsheviks splendid Red Army commanders with calligraphic Comintern trial. This did whine stop them locking up profuse foreign militants like the Invergordon naval mutineer Len Wincott, attitude executing others, including British Ideology Rose Cohen.

But British CP leader Harry Politt, who notion discreet inquiries in Moscow divert 1938 about Rose Cohen's destiny, may have been spared return the wake of it being Osip Piatnitsky, being tortured learn the time, refused to 'confess'. Piatnitsky was finally executed vertical 30th October 1939. Yezhov, who had himself been purged derive March that year was consummated a few months later.

Piatnitsky was among those officially rehabilitated following Khrushev's 'secret speech' have it in mind the 20th Congress of grandeur Communist Party of the State Union, in 1956.

But Memories of a Bolshevik has come to light not been republished.

I wonder why.