Dr. Christian Georgievich Rakovsky (Кристиян Георгиевич Раковски; Кръстьо Раковски - Krastyo Rakovski in Bulgarian or, in Romanian spelling, Cristian Racovschi; August 13 (August 1, Old Style), 1873 - September 11, 1941) was a socialist revolutionary, a Bolshevik politician and a Soviet diplomat. Born in Kotel, Bulgaria (part of Eastern Rumelia after the Treaty of Berlin, 1878), Rakovsky's political work would take him throughout the Balkans and into France and Russia. August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ... The Julian calendar was introduced in 46 BC by Julius Caesar and took force in 45 BC (709 ab urbe condita). ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Revolution. ... Leaders of the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International, a painting by Malcolm McAllister on the Pathfinder Mural in New York City and on the cover of the book Lenin’s Final Fight published by Pathfinder. ... A politician is an individual involved in politics. ... Soviet redirects here. ... This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ... Flag of Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia was a province of the Ottoman Empire that achieved a semi-autonomous status under the 1878 Treaty of Berlin, which replaced the Treaty of San Stefano between Russia and the Ottomans a few months earlier. ... The Treaty of Berlin was the final Act of the Congress of Berlin (June 13-July 13, 1878), by which the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Turkey revised the Treaty of San Stefano signed on March 3 of the same year. ... ...

Revolutonary Beginnings

Rakovsky, a polyglot physician, was the son of wealthy Bulgarian parents. In 1887 and then again in 1890, he was expelled from high school for political activities. It was at that time (around 1889) that he became a Marxist. Since he couldn't continue his education in Bulgaria, in September 1890 Rakovsky went to Geneva to continue his studies and become a physician. The term multilingualism can refer to rather different phenomena. ... 1887 is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar). ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1889 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Geneva (French: Genève, German: Genf, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland, situated where Lake Geneva (known in French as Lac Léman) flows into the Rhône River. ...

While in Geneva, Rakovsky became close to Georgy Plekhanov, the founder of Russian Marxism, and his circle, eventually writing a number of articles and a book in Russian. His close relationship with Plekhanov led Rakovsky to a position between the Menshevik and Bolshevik factions of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party between 1903 and 1917. He also briefly worked with Rosa Luxembourg while in Geneva. In the fall of 1893, Rakovsky enrolled in a medical school in Berlin, where he wrote articles for Vorwärts and became close to Wilhelm Liebknecht. Six months later, he was expelled from the country for close contacts with the Russian revolutionaries there. He finished his education in 1894-1896 in Zurich, Nancy and Montpellier, where he wrote for La Jeunesse Socialiste and La Petite République and became close to Jules Guesde. He then went to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he hoped to settle down and engage in revolutionary activities, but he was soon expelled from the country and had to move back to Paris. He went back to St. Petersburg in 1900 and remained there until 1902, when he once again returned to Paris. G. V. Plekhanov Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (December 11, 1856 – May 30, 1918; Old Style: November 29, 1856 – May 17, 1918) was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. ... Marxism is the social theory and political practice based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. ... Leaders of the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International, a painting by Malcolm McAllister on the Pathfinder Mural in New York City and on the cover of the book Lenin’s Final Fight published by Pathfinder. ... The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, or RSDLP (Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́чая Па́ртия = РСДРП), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organisations into one party. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Rosa Luxemburg (March 5, 1870 or 1871 - January 15, 1919, in Polish language Róża Luksemburg) was a Polish and German Jewish Marxist politician, socialist philosopher, and revolutionary. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Vorwärts, central organ of the German Social-Democratic Party published daily in Berlin from 1891 to 1933 by decision of the partys Halle Congress, as the successor of Berliner Volksblatt, founded in 1884. ... Wilhelm Liebknecht Wilhelm Liebknecht (March 29, 1826 - August 7, 1900) was a German social democrat, one of the founders of the SPD and father of Karl Liebknecht and Theodor Liebknecht. ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Location within Switzerland   Zürich[?] (German pronunciation IPA: ; usually spelled Zurich in English) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... Nancy (pronounced in French) is a city and commune which is the préfecture (capital) of the Meurthe-et-Moselle département, in the Lorraine région of northeastern France. ... Location within France Montpellier (Occitan Montpelhièr) is a city in the south of France. ... Jules Basile Guesde (November 11, 1845 - July 28, 1922) was a French socialist politician. ... Saint Petersburg  listen (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of...

Although actively involved in many European countries' socialist movements, prior to 1917 Rakovsky's focus remained on the Balkans and especially on his native Bulgaria and Romania. He was a founding editor of the Geneva-based Bulgarian language magazine Sotsial-Demokrat and the Bulagrian Marxist publications Den, Rabotnik, and Drugar. In 1897 he published Russiya na Istok (Russia in the East), a book sharply critial of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire. Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

After completing his education as a physician, Rakovsky returned to Romania, where he was drafted and served as a doctor. Afterwards he continued working in the international socialist movement, which led to his expulsion, at different times, from Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, France and Tsarist Russia. Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь, Serbian цар) ▶(?); often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the Bulgarian Empire in 913-1396/1422 and 1908-1946, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to...

During World War I, Rakovsky sided with the left wing of the international social democracy. He was one of the founders of the Revolutionary Balkan Social Democratic Labour Federation (comprising the left leaning socialist parties of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece) and he became the first secretary of its Central Bureau. He was instrumental in the convening of the international socialist Zimmerwald Conference in September 1915. After Romania's entry into WWI on the side of the Entente in August 1916, Rakovsky was imprisoned until May 1, 1917, when he was freed by the Russian Army after the February Revolution of 1917. Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. ... September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Entente, meaning a diplomatic understanding, may refer to a number of agreements: The Entente Cordiale, 1904 between France and the United Kingdom. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia was the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. ...

1917 Revolution and the Russian Civil War

Rakovsky moved to Petrograd in the summer of 1917. He first joined the internationalist faction of the Mensheviks and then, in December 1917, the Bolsheviks. On March 9, 1918, Rakovsky signed a treaty with Romania regarding evacuating Russian troops from Bessarabia. In April-May 1918, Rakovsky negotiated with the Ukrainian governments of first Rada and then Skoropadsky. Saint Petersburg  listen (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Old map of Bessarabia Bessarabia or Bessarabiya (Basarabia in Romanian, Besarabya in Turkish) was the name by which the Imperial Russia designated the eastern part of the principality of Moldavia annexed by Russia in 1812. ... The Central Rada or Tsentralna Rada (Ukrainian: ) was a representative body formed in 1917 in Kyiv to govern the Ukrainian Peoples Republic—the Ukrainian autonomy and then independent state. ... Pavlo Skoropadsky Pavlo Skoropadsky (Ukrainian: Павло Скоропадський, also spelled Pavel Skoropadsky or Skoropadski, born: May 3, 1873, in Wiesbaden, Germany, died: April 26, 1945, Metten monastery clinic, Bavaria, Germany) was a Ukrainian politician. ...

After the collapse of the German Empire in November 1918 and subsequent Soviet offensive in Ukraine, Rakovsky became President of the pro-Bolshevik Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Workers and Peasants of the Ukraine and, in March 1919, Chairman of the Ukrainian Soviet government, Sovnarkom. He also simultaneously served as Soviet Ukraine's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and a member of the South West front's Revolutionary Military Council, contributing to the defeat of the White Army and Ukrainian nationalists during the Russian Civil War. He was also one of the founding members of the Communist International in March 1919. 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... White army may refer to: The military arm of the White movement, a loose coalition of anti-Bolshevik forces in the Russian Civil War The Saudi Arabian National Guard The National Guard of Kuwait This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... The Russian Civil War was fought between 1918 and 1922. ... The first edition of Communist International, journal of the Comintern published in Moscow and Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in May 1919. ...

Trotskyist Opposition and Exile

After Lenin's illness and incapacitation, Rakovsky joined Leon Trotsky's Left Opposition and came into conflict with Stalin. In July 1923, he was removed from his Ukrainian post sent to London to negotiate a formal recognition of the Soviet regime by the British and French government. From October 1925 and until October 1927 Rakovsky served as the Soviet ambassador to France, when he was expelled from the country for signing a Trotskyist platform deemed unfriendly by the French government. After the defeat of the opposition in November-December 1927, he was expelled from the Communist Party and exiled, first to Astrakhan and then to Barnaul. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... The Left Opposition was a faction within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1923-1927. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: Коммунисти́ческая Па́ртия Сове́тского Сою́за = КПСС) was the name used by the successors of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party from 1952 to 1991, but the wording Communist Party was present in the partys name since 1918 when the Bolsheviks became the All... Astrakhan coat of arms features the Khans crown and a sabre Astrakhan (А́страхань; Tatar: Ästerxan), a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. ... Barnaul sign near the Ob River Barnaul (Russian Барнау́л, pop. ...

Submission to Stalin and the Show Trial

Rakovsky spent 6 years in exile and was one of the last leading Trotskyists to break with Trotsky and surrender to Stalin. After Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany and under intense pressure from Stalin, Rakovsky formally "admitted his mistakes" in April 1934 and was allowed to return to Moscow. In the fall of 1934 he was appointed Soviet ambassador to Japan and in 1935 re-admitted to the Communist Party. ▶ (help· info) (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 and Führer (Leader) of Germany from 1934 to his death by suicide. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Rakovsky was arrested in 1937, during the Great Purge. He was put on trial in March 1938 with Nikolay Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, Genrikh Yagoda, Nikolai Krestinsky and other Old Bolsheviks on charges of conspiring with Trotsky to overthrow Stalin, the third Moscow Show Trial known as the Trial of the Twenty One. Unlike most of his co-defendants who were immediately executed, he was sentenced to twenty years of hard labour. After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, Rakovsky was shot on Stalin's orders outside Orel along with Olga Kameneva and Maria Spiridonova. The Soviet government cleared Rakovsky and his co-defendants of all charges during perestroika in 1988. 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Great Purge is the name given to campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s. ... -1... Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (Russian: Николай Иванович Бухарин), (October 9 (September 27 Old Style) 1888 - March 13, 1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and then a Soviet politician, and intellectual. ... Alexei Rykov Alexei Ivanovich Rykov (February 25 (February 13, Old Style), 1881 - March 15, 1938) was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. ... Genrikh Yagoda Genrikh Grigorevich Yagoda (Генрих Григорьевич Ягода) (1891, Nizhny Novgorod - March 15, 1938, Moscow) was the head of the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, from 1934 to 1936. ... Nikolai Nikolaevich Krestinsky (October 13, 1883 - March 15, 1938) was an original Bolshevik revolutionary, then one of five members of the Politburo, before finally being executed in the Great Purges. ... An Old Bolshevik (старый большевик) was a member of the Bolsheviks before the Russian Revolution. ... The term show trial serves most commonly to label a type of public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt of the accused: the actual trial has as its only goal to present the accusation and the verdict to the public as an impressive example and... The Trial of the Twenty One was the last of the Moscow Trials —Stalinist show trials of prominent Bolsheviks. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nazism. ... Orel or Oryol (Орёл) is a city in Russia, administrative center of the Oryol Oblast. ... Olga Davidovna Kameneva (1883 (?) - 1941) (nee Bronstein, sometimes translated as Olga Kamenev) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and an early Soviet functionary in the theater field. ... Maria Spiridonova (October 16, 1884, Tambov – September 11, 1941, Medvedevsky Forest near Oryol) was a figure in Russian revolutionary circles at the beginning of the 20th century. ... Poster showing Mikhail Gorbachev Perestroika â–¶ (help· info) (Перестро́йка) is the Russian word (which passed into English) for the economic reforms introduced in June 1987 by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Christian Rakovsky Internet Archive
• Trotsky's unfinished biography of Rakovsky (in Russian)