Christian Rakovsky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
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Rakovsky c. 1920s
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| 1st Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR | |
| In office 16 January 1919 – 15 July 1923 |
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| Preceded by | Georgiy Pyatakov |
| Succeeded by | Vlas Chubar |
| Soviet Ambassador to France | |
| In office October 1925 – October 1927 |
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| Preceded by | Leonid Krasin |
| Succeeded by | Valerian Dovgalevsky |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Krastyo Georgiev Stanchev
13 August 1873 Gradets, Ottoman Empire (now Bulgaria) |
| Died | 11 September 1941 (aged 68) Oryol, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Nationality | Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian |
| Political party | Russian Communist Party (1917–1937) |
| Spouses | E. P. Ryabova (desc.) Alexandrina Alexandrescu (Ileana Pralea) |
| Education | University of Geneva |
| Profession | Physician, journalist |
| Signature |  |
Christian Georgiyevich Rakovsky (born August 13, 1873 – died September 11, 1941) was a famous Bulgarian-born revolutionary and politician. He was also a Soviet diplomat, a journalist, and a doctor. Rakovsky traveled a lot for his political work, living in the Balkans, France, and Imperial Russia. For some time, he was also a citizen of Romania.
He worked closely with Leon Trotsky throughout his life. Rakovsky was a key figure in the Second International, a group of socialist and labor parties. He was involved with socialist parties in Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia. Because of his activities, he was often expelled from different countries. During World War I, he helped start the Balkan Communist Federation and organized the Zimmerwald Conference to promote peace.
After being held in prison by Romanian authorities, he went to Russia. There, he joined the Bolshevik Party after the October Revolution. He later became a founding member of the Comintern, an international communist organization. Rakovsky served as the head of government in the Ukrainian SSR (Soviet Ukraine). He also took part in important international meetings like the Genoa Conference.
Later, he disagreed with Joseph Stalin and joined the Left Opposition. This led to him losing his powerful government positions. He was sent as a Soviet ambassador to London and Paris. In 1927, he was called back from France after supporting a platform that called for world revolution. Rakovsky was known for criticizing Stalin's rule as "bureaucratic." He was sent away from the main cities of the Soviet Union. Even though he later agreed to follow Stalin's leadership in 1934, he was still caught up in the Moscow Trials. He was imprisoned and executed by the NKVD (Soviet secret police) during World War II. In 1988, during the Glasnost period, his name was cleared, and he was officially recognized as innocent.
Contents
Christian Rakovsky: A Revolutionary Life
Who Was Christian Rakovsky?
Christian Rakovsky was born with the name Krastyo Georgiev Stanchev. He later changed it to Krastyo Rakovski. This was to honor his uncle, Georgi Sava Rakovski, a famous Bulgarian national hero. His name was spelled differently in various languages, like Cristian in Romanian and Khristian in Russian.
He sometimes used pen names like H. Insarov and Grigoriev for his articles. These were published in Russian newspapers.
Early Life and Education
Christian Rakovsky was born in 1873 in Gradets, a town that was part of the Ottoman Empire (now Bulgaria). His family was wealthy. His uncle, Georgi Sava Rakovski, was a revolutionary hero who fought for Bulgaria's freedom.
When he was five, Rakovsky saw the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). He said this made him admire Russia. In 1880, his parents moved to Romania. However, he finished his schooling in Bulgaria.
Becoming a Socialist
Rakovsky was expelled from school in Gabrovo twice for his political actions. This happened in 1887 and again in 1890. Around this time, he became a Marxist. He started working with socialist journalists. He even helped print books by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. He also published his own secret newspaper called Zerkalo.
Since he couldn't finish school in Bulgaria, Rakovsky went to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1890. He wanted to become a doctor. In Switzerland, he joined a socialist student group at the University of Geneva. He became close friends with Georgy Plekhanov, who founded Russian Marxism. Rakovsky wrote many articles and a book in Russian. He also worked with other important socialists like Rosa Luxemburg.
Traveling for Change
Rakovsky helped organize the Second Congress of Socialist Students in Geneva in 1893. He also helped start a Bulgarian-language magazine called Sotsial-Demokrat. He wrote for other Marxist publications too. He worked to spread socialist ideas in Bulgaria.
In 1893, Rakovsky studied medicine in Berlin. He wrote for the newspaper Vorwärts and became friends with Wilhelm Liebknecht. He also met Friedrich Engels at a socialist congress in Zürich. Six months later, he was arrested and expelled from Germany. This was because of his close ties with Russian revolutionaries. He finished his medical studies in France in 1897. His final paper was about the causes of crime.
Fighting for Workers' Rights in Romania
In 1904, Rakovsky moved to Romania. He had inherited land there. He became a busy journalist, doctor, and lawyer. He was the Balkans reporter for the French newspaper L'Humanité. He also helped restart România Muncitoare, a Romanian socialist newspaper. His work led to successful strikes, which caught the attention of officials.
Rakovsky became well-known in Romania after 1905. He organized protests to support the Battleship Potemkin revolt. This event made relations between Russia and Romania worse. He helped the Potemkin crew when their ship took refuge in Constanţa. He tried to convince them to sail to Batumi to help striking workers there.
Standing Up for Peasants
In 1907, a large peasant revolt broke out in Romania. Rakovsky strongly criticized the government's actions. He said the government had violently stopped the revolt after peasants started attacking landowners. Rakovsky believed that peasants were important for revolution in Eastern Europe. He wrote articles about the revolt for many socialist newspapers. He claimed that over 10,000 peasants were killed, much higher than the government's count of 421.
Facing Expulsion
Because he kept criticizing the government, Rakovsky was accused of causing trouble. He was expelled from Romania in late 1907. He was abroad at the time, at a socialist congress in Stuttgart. He tried to argue that he should be allowed to stay, but his appeal was rejected.
His expulsion caused protests from many leftist politicians. Socialists in Romania organized rallies to support him. He secretly returned to Romania in 1909 but was arrested. He was later expelled again. In 1911, he returned to Romania and gave himself up. He was expelled once more, this time to Istanbul. Eventually, a new Romanian government allowed him to return in 1912. This was after pressure from the French Prime Minister. He tried to run for Parliament several times but never won.
World War I and the Russian Revolution
Rakovsky helped found the Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSDR). He became its president. In 1913, he married Alexandrina Alexandrescu, a socialist activist and teacher.
Against the War
When World War I started, Rakovsky was a strong pacifist. He believed all European countries were responsible for the war. He supported Leon Trotsky's idea of "Peace without indemnities or annexations." This meant peace without winners taking land or money from the losers. He helped organize the Zimmerwald Conference in 1915. This was an international meeting of socialists who were against the war. At this meeting, he had some disagreements with Vladimir Lenin.
In 1916, Rakovsky was arrested again in Romania. He was accused of planning a rebellion. He said he was freed by a large general strike by workers. After Romania joined the war in August 1916, he was imprisoned. Authorities believed he was a German spy. He was held until May 1, 1917, when the Russian Army freed him. He then went to Odessa.
Joining the Bolsheviks
Rakovsky moved to Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in the spring of 1917. His anti-war work almost got him arrested again. He fled to Stockholm, Sweden, in August. There, he created propaganda to support the Russian revolutionaries. He joined the Bolsheviks in late 1917 or early 1918, after the October Revolution.
He wanted Lenin's help to set up a Bolshevik government in Romania. He was likely involved in ordering the arrest of Romania's representative in Petrograd. This was to get Romanian prisoners released. As Russia negotiated a peace treaty with Germany, Rakovsky ordered troops to march towards Romania. However, he had to retreat when German forces occupied Odessa.
Leading Soviet Ukraine
After the Soviet army advanced into Ukraine, Lenin appointed Rakovsky as the head of the provisional government in Ukraine. This happened on January 16, 1919. His government was later renamed the Soviet of the People's Commissars. Rakovsky believed that national issues were less important during a world revolution. He thought that Russian was the main language in Ukraine. However, he later changed his mind in the early 1920s.
Building a New Government
Rakovsky also served as Ukraine's Foreign Affairs leader. He helped defeat the White Army during the Russian Civil War. He believed Ukraine was a "laboratory of internationalism" and important for world revolution. He also helped bring other socialist groups into the Bolshevik party.
In March 1919, Rakovsky helped create the Comintern. He represented the Balkan Communist Federation there. He supported making the Ukrainian Communist Party part of the Russian Communist Party. In 1920, his leadership was challenged by those who wanted more Ukrainian independence. Lenin supported Rakovsky, and the Ukrainian Party was reorganized.
International Diplomat
After the war with Poland, Rakovsky's government worked on collectivization (combining small farms into large state-owned ones). He also pushed for more Ukrainian independence. He wanted Ukraine to have its own trade agreements with other European countries.
Rakovsky was still a Romanian citizen at this time. In 1921, he was sentenced to death in Romania for "crimes against the security of the Romanian state." This was done without him being present.
In 1922, he went to Berlin to talk with German officials. In March, he was part of the Soviet delegation at the Genoa Conference. He wanted to avoid any compromises with the Allied Powers. He helped renew contacts with Germany. He also attended the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 in November 1922.
As the Soviet Union was being formed, Rakovsky disagreed with the new central leadership. He believed the Soviet republics should have more self-determination (the right to govern themselves). He argued that too much central control was dangerous. He suggested creating a Soviet of Nationalities to represent the different republics.
Standing Up to Stalin
After Lenin became ill, Rakovsky joined Leon Trotsky's Left Opposition. He disagreed with Joseph Stalin. Rakovsky was removed from his Ukrainian position in July 1923. He was sent to London to negotiate official recognition of the Soviet government by Britain and France.
Ambassador to Other Countries
In 1924, Rakovsky negotiated with British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. They agreed on official recognition and a possible loan for the Soviet Union. However, a scandal involving a fake letter (the Zinoviev Letter) ended these talks. Rakovsky repeatedly said the letter was a fake.
He also started talks with France. France recognized the Soviet Union in October 1924. Rakovsky also tried to get British manufacturers to accept Soviet orders for goods.
Rakovsky served as the Soviet ambassador to France from 1925 to 1927. He delayed taking office because he wanted the French to play The Internationale (the Soviet national anthem) when he arrived. France refused, and he was greeted by bugles instead. He continued to try to improve relations with France.
He was eventually declared unwelcome in France and called back to the Soviet Union. This happened after he signed a document that supported revolutions in capitalist countries.
The Fight Against Bureaucracy
In December 1927, Rakovsky spoke at a Soviet Communist Party meeting. He was interrupted many times by his opponents. He continued to criticize Stalin's leadership, calling it "bureaucratic socialism." He tried to organize opposition groups in Ukraine. However, he was often heckled, and his supporters were attacked.
In November 1927, Rakovsky was removed from the Comintern and the Communist Party. He was sent away, first to Astrakhan, then to Saratov, and finally to Barnaul. He continued to write about Soviet "bureaucratism." He also corresponded with Trotsky, who had also been exiled.
The End of His Life
Rakovsky was one of the last important Trotskyists to give in to Stalin. He announced his submission to the Party in February 1934. This was partly because of Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany. Rakovsky was allowed to return to Moscow. He was given a high position in the Commissariat for Health. He also served as Soviet ambassador to Japan in 1935.
In autumn 1937, Rakovsky was arrested during the Great Purge. In March 1938, he was put on trial with many other old Bolsheviks. This was known as the Trial of the Twenty-One. He was accused of working with Trotsky to overthrow Stalin. He made a forced confession, admitting to all the charges. He was sentenced to twenty years of hard labor.
In 1941, Rakovsky was in Oryol Prison. After Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Stalin ordered his execution. Rakovsky was killed outside Oryol on September 11, 1941. He was killed along with many other political prisoners in the Medvedev Forest massacre.
His Legacy Lives On
Rakovsky's second wife, Alexandrina Alexandrescu, was also arrested. His adopted daughter, Elena Codreanu-Racovski, was sent to Siberia. She later wrote a memoir about her father.
In 1988, during Glasnost, the Soviet government cleared Rakovsky of all charges. This meant he was officially recognized as innocent. His works were allowed to be published, and a positive biography about him was written.
Images for kids
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Front page of Jos Despotizmul!.. ("Down with Despotism!!!"), a special issue of România Muncitoare, entirely dedicated to criticism of the Imperial Russian authorities (February 1905)
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From left: Rakovsky, Leon Trotsky, and Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea, during a meeting in Bucharest (1913 drawing)
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Advertising, Parliamentary elections, 1916
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Christian Rakovsky in Ukraine 1920
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Christian Rakovsky 1923, First Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Prime Minister) of the Ukrainian SSR.
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Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister UK and Christian Rakovsky, Head of the Soviet diplomatic delegation.
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On the front: Christian Rakovsky on the left, and Yevgeni Preobrazhensky in the middle and Grigori Sokolnikov on the right during Soviet UK negotiations in London. Mar 1924
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Rakovsky with Leonid Krasin and Charles Rappoport, Paris, 1924
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Five year anniversary of Krasnay Nov June 1926; sitting left to right: Georgy Chulkov, Vikenty Veresaev, Christian Rakovsky, Boris Pilnyak, Aleksandr Voronsky, Petr Oreshin, Karl Radek and Pavel Sakulin; standing left to right: Ivan Evdokimov, Vasily Lvov-Rogachevsky, Vyacheslav Polonsky, Fedor Gladkov, Mikhail Gerasimov, Abram Ėfros and Isaac Babel;
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Rakovsky on a pack of cigarettes, 1927, Kharkiv, U.S.S.R.
