Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (1877–1926).
The faithful knight of the revolution — that was the affectionate name the working people of the Soviet Union gave to F.E. Dzerzhinsky, the ardent fighter for communism, the faithful pupil and comrade-in-arms of Lenin.
Biography
Dzerzhinsky was born on 30 August (11 September) 1877 into a Polish petty-noble family in Vilna Governorate. While still in the 7th grade, the young man joined a social-democratic self-education circle, where he encountered Marxist literature. This was a turning point in his life. "Together with a handful of my peers, I took an oath (in 1894) to fight evil to my last breath," F.E. Dzerzhinsky wrote later. He was seventeen years old at the time. He carried that youthful dream sacred through his entire life — undeterred by prisons, exile, or hard labor.
In 1895 Dzerzhinsky joined the Vilna organization of Lithuanian Social Democracy, aligning himself with its left, revolutionary wing. He was an active agitator and organizer of strikes, printing and distributing leaflets. At eighteen, Dzerzhinsky was a professional revolutionary.
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...I came to hate wealth because I had come to love people, because I see and feel with every fiber of my soul that today... men worship the golden calf, which has turned human souls into brutish ones... and has driven love from people's hearts... Remember that in the souls of men like me there is a holy spark... which grants happiness even at the stake. F.E. Dzerzhinsky. Excerpt from his diary
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On 17 July 1897 Dzerzhinsky was arrested and imprisoned in Kovno Prison; in 1898 he was exiled for three years to Vyatka Governorate, from which on 28 August 1899 he escaped by boat down the Kama River. Dzerzhinsky made his way to Warsaw, where he helped create a Marxist party of the Polish proletariat — the Social Democracy of Poland and Lithuania. In 1900 Dzerzhinsky was arrested again, and in 1902 was sent in a prison convoy to distant Siberia for five years. He soon managed to flee from exile abroad. There he encountered the newspaper Iskra and Lenin's pamphlet What Is to Be Done?, and threw himself into the struggle to build a revolutionary Marxist party.
At the Fourth (Unity) Congress of the RSDLP in Stockholm in 1906, F.E. Dzerzhinsky met Lenin in person for the first time. At this congress, the Social Democracy of Poland and Lithuania merged into the RSDLP, and Dzerzhinsky was elected a member of the RSDLP Central Committee. But his period of activity at liberty was short-lived this time — in December 1906 he was arrested again.
After a new escape from exile at the end of 1909, Dzerzhinsky, already gravely ill, left the country clandestinely. He spent several years abroad, never ceasing his revolutionary activity for a moment. In 1912 came a new arrest — followed once more by long years of imprisonment and hard labor: Warsaw Prison, Oryol Central Prison, Butyrka Prison.
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...Life would not be worth living if humanity were not illuminated by the star of socialism, the star of the future. For the "self" cannot live if it does not encompass all the rest of the world and of humanity. Such is this "self"... F.E. Dzerzhinsky. Excerpt from his diary
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The February Revolution of 1917 freed Dzerzhinsky from Butyrka Prison. He immediately threw himself into the work of the Moscow party organization. The Moscow Bolsheviks sent him as their delegate to the April Party Conference. Dzerzhinsky took an active part in the work of the Sixth Congress of the RSDLP(b), which directed the Bolshevik party toward preparing an armed uprising and fighting for the victory of the socialist revolution.
On 16 October 1917, at an enlarged session of the Party Central Committee, Dzerzhinsky was elected to the Military-Revolutionary Center of the Central Committee for the direction of the uprising. He became one of the organizers and immediate leaders of the October armed uprising. From the Second Congress of Soviets onward, Felix Edmundovich was a member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets.
The overthrown exploiting classes launched a fierce struggle against Soviet Power. They organized anti-Soviet revolts, conspiracies, and official sabotage, and deliberately wrecked factories and plants. The revolution found itself facing a grave danger. On 7 (20) December 1917, the Council of People's Commissars, on V.I. Lenin's initiative, resolved to establish under the Sovnarkom the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Speculation, and Sabotage. F.E. Dzerzhinsky was appointed its chairman. The Cheka, led by Dzerzhinsky, uncovered and destroyed many counter-revolutionary organizations, among them the major conspiracy of British intelligence agent Lockhart — which was in essence a conspiracy of all the intelligence services of the imperialist states.
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With all my soul I strive for a world in which there is no injustice, no crime, no drunkenness, no debauchery, no excess, no extravagant luxury, no brothels where people sell their bodies or their souls or both; no oppression, no fratricidal wars, no national enmity... I would like to embrace all of humanity with my love, to warm it and cleanse it of the filth of modern life... F.E. Dzerzhinsky. Excerpt from his diary
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For outstanding service in the fight against counter-revolution, F.E. Dzerzhinsky was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 5 January 1920.
Throughout his entire life Dzerzhinsky carried a love for the working people. He had a deep affection for children. It was therefore no accident that when, in January 1921, on V.I. Lenin's initiative, a special commission for combating child homelessness was created under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Dzerzhinsky was appointed its chairman. Under Felix Edmundovich's leadership, hundreds of children's homes and labor communes were established.
The harsh years of the civil war came to an end. The Soviet country set about restoring the national economy. The Party and the Soviet people waged a titanic struggle to overcome economic ruin, hunger, and cold, and to carry out Lenin's plan for socialist construction. The party sent its best sons to the decisive sectors of economic development. On 14 April 1921, on V.I. Lenin's and the Central Committee's proposal, Dzerzhinsky was appointed People's Commissar of Transport. With all his energy and characteristic passion, Felix Edmundovich set about restoring the transport system.
In 1921 a tremendous natural disaster — famine — struck some 20 provinces and regions with a population of more than 25 million people. Carrying out the directives of the party and government, Dzerzhinsky conducted extensive work to mobilize the country's food resources and deliver grain to the stricken regions.
On 2 February 1924, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR confirmed F.E. Dzerzhinsky as Chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy (VSNKh). In this post, Dzerzhinsky fought with his characteristic enormous energy for the socialist transformation of the country.
On 20 July 1926, Felix Edmundovich delivered a passionate speech at the Joint Plenum of the Central Committee and Central Control Commission of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in defense of Leninist party unity. Three hours after his speech, Dzerzhinsky died suddenly of heart failure.
Stalin and Gorky on Dzerzhinsky
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After Frunze — Dzerzhinsky. The old Leninist guard has lost yet another of its finest leaders and fighters. The Party has suffered yet another irreplaceable loss. Standing now at the open coffin and recalling the entire path traveled by Comrade Dzerzhinsky — the prisons, the hard labor, the exile, the Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, the restoration of the shattered transport system, the building of young socialist industry — one wishes to sum up this turbulent life in a single word: BURNING.
The October Revolution placed him in a heavy post — the post of head of the Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution. The bourgeoisie knew no more hated name than that of Dzerzhinsky, who repelled the blows of the enemies of the proletarian revolution with an iron hand. "The terror of the bourgeoisie" — that was what Comrade Felix Dzerzhinsky was called at the time. After the onset of the "peaceful period," Comrade Dzerzhinsky continued his furious work. Comrade Dzerzhinsky burns as he puts the disordered transport system back in order, and then, as chairman of the Supreme Council of the National Economy, burns at the work of building our industry. Knowing no rest, shrinking from no menial task, boldly fighting difficulties and overcoming them, giving all his strength and all his energy to the cause entrusted to him by the party — he burned himself out at his work in the name of the interests of the proletariat, in the name of the victory of communism. Farewell, hero of October. Farewell, faithful son of the party! Farewell, builder of the unity and strength of our party!Stalin, 22 July 1926
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I first saw him in 1909–1910, and even then he immediately made an unforgettable impression on me of purity and firmness of soul. In 1918–1921 I came to know him fairly well, spoke with him several times on a very delicate subject, and often burdened him with various requests; thanks to his sensitivity and sense of justice much good was accomplished, and he made me both love and respect him |
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Memory of Dzerzhinsky in Nizhny Novgorod Region
One of the cities of the region is named in honor of Dzerzhinsky, and streets are named after him in many Towns of Nizhny Novgorod Region. Monuments to him have been erected in several cities.