Krestinsky

Nikolai Nikolaevich Krestinsky (Николай Николаевич Крестинский) (October 13, 1883 - March 15, 1938) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet politician. According to Vyacheslav Molotov (see Chuev, Felix (ed), Molotov Remembers: Inside Kremlin Politics, 1993, Dee Ivan Inc), Krestinsky's family had converted from Judaism to Eastern Orthodoxy. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ... Revolutionary, when used as a noun, is a person who either advocates or actively engages in some kind of revolution. ... Soviet redirects here. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... For other uses, see Molotov (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Eastern Orthodox Church (including Bulgarian...

Biography

Rise to the Top

Krestinsky joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1903 and sided with its Bolshevik faction. After the February Revolution, which overthrew monarchy in Russia, he proved to be a capable organizer and was elected to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik party on August 3, 1917 (Old Style). He was made a member of the first Soviet Orgburo on January 16, 1919 and the first Politburo on March 25, 1919. He was also made a member of the Central Committee Secretariat on November 29, 1919 and served as the party's senior secretary for the next 1.5 years. The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, or RSDLP (Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́ча&#1103... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Central Committee, abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, Tseka, was the highest body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). ... is the 215th day of the year (216th in leap years) in the Gregorian 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 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... // Existence of Orgburo The Orgburo existed from 1919 to 1952, until the 19th Congress, when the Orgburo was abolished and its functions were transferred to the enlarged Secretariat. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Politburo (in Russian: Политбюро), known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Secretariat of the CPSU Central Committee was a key body within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the central administration of the party as opposed to drafting government policy which was usually handled by the Politburo. ... November 29 is the 333rd day of the year (334th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fall from Power

In late 1920-early 1921, after the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War, Krestinsky supported Leon Trotsky's faction in an increasingly bitter dispute over the direction of the country. After Vladimir Lenin's victory at the Xth Party Congress in March 1921, Krestinsky lost his Politburo, Orgburo and Secretariat posts and became Soviet ambassador to Germany. The post was an important and sensitive one because of Soviet Russia's crucial and delicate relationship with Germany at the time, but not nearly as important as his previous posts. 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Combatants Red Army Latvian Reds Finnish Reds White Army Czech Legion Allied intervention UK France United States Japan Italy  Canada  Greece  Romania  Serbia New states Poland Finland  Latvia  Estonia  Lithuania Ukrainian Peoples Republic Green Army (Cossacks) Black Army (Anarchists) Blue Army (Peasants) Commanders Trotsky Mikhail Tukhachevsky Kamenev Budyonny Frunze...   (Russian: Лeв Давидович Трóцкий, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij, Trockij and Trotzky) (November 7 [O.S. October 26] 1879 – August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein (), was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. ... Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Russian: , IPA: , better known by the alias   () (April 22, 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, a communist politician, the main leader of the October Revolution, the first head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic, until 1922 (or Bolshevist Russia), and the primary theorist of Leninism... An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ...

Krestinsky supported Trotsky and the Left Opposition in 1923 -early 1927, but distanced himself from Trotsky later in 1927. He completely broke with the opposition in April 1928. The Left Opposition was a faction within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1923-1927. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Early may refer to: The word early Early County, Georgia Early, Texas Early, Iowa This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Show Trial

Krestinsky continued working as a diplomat until 1937 when he was arrested during the Great Purges. He was put on trial (as part of the Trial of the Twenty One) on March 12, 1938. While almost all other defendants admitted their guilt during the Moscow Show Trials, Krestinsky at first denied everything, but reversed himself the following day: The Great Purge is the name given to campaigns of repression in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s which included a purge of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... The Trial of the Twenty One was the last of the Moscow Trials —Stalinist show trials of prominent Bolsheviks. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year (72nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Moscow Trials were a series of trials of political opponents of Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge. ...

On March 12th, he said to the presiding judge, Vasili Ulrikh: Vasili Vasilievich Ulrikh (July 13, 1889 – May 7, 1951) was the presiding judge at all the major show trials of the Great Purges in the Soviet Union, as well as many lesser trials, including a large number of secret trials that lasted only fifteen minutes or less. ...

I do not recognize that I am guilty. I am not a Trotskyite.

I was never a member of the "right-winger and Trotskyite bloc",

which I did not know to exist. Nor have I committed a single one of

the crimes imputed to me, personally; and in particular I am not guilty

of having maintained relations with the German Secret Service.

The following day, he made a total reversal on his position:

Yesterday, under the influence of a momentary keen feeling of false shame,

evoked by the atmosphere of the dock and the painful impression created by

the public reading of the indictment, which was aggravated by my poor health,

I could not bring myself to tell the truth, I could not bring myself to say that I

was guilty. And instead of saying, "Yes, I am guilty," I almost mechanically answered,

"No, I am not guilty."

It was hard to believe that Krestinsky's change of heart was due to anything other than coercion, physical or otherwise. The episode was one of Joseph Stalin's few failures during the well orchestrated show trials of the late 1930s. Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[2] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from...

Krestinsky was sentenced to death and executed in March 1938. He was partially exonerated during Khruschev's partial destalinization and was cleared of all charges during perestroika. Nikita Khrushchev in 1962 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (Russian: Ники́та Серге́евич Хрущёв) (nih-KEE-tah khroo-SHCHYOFF) (April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union... De-Stalinization and the Khrushchev era For further details, see Nikita Khrushchev After Stalin had died in March 1953, he was succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Georgi Malenkov as Premier of the Soviet Union. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...