Biography
Early years
Nikolay Grigoryevich Markin was born on May 9 (Old Style) in the settlement of Russky Syromas, Gorodishchensky Uyezd, now the village of Markino in the Sosnoborksy District of Penza Region, into — depending on the source — either a peasant family or a family of weavers who worked at a factory in Penza Governorate before later relocating to Vladikavkaz.
Markin's childhood was spent in difficult material circumstances. Having received almost no education, he was forced to work as an errand boy at a stationery shop, which weighed heavily on him.
As a result, he began reading illegal literature, and in 1909 was arrested for attempting to set fire to his employer's shop. In prison, Markin grew close to political prisoners, and upon his release threw himself into books of social and political content.
Military conscription
In 1914, Markin was conscripted into the Baltic Fleet, where he rose to the rank of non-commissioned officer in the training mine unit in Kronstadt. In 1916, he joined the RKP(b).
After the February Revolution, he served as a member of the Petrograd Soviet representing the sailors of the Baltic Fleet, and took part in the October Revolution. He fought in the front ranks and subsequently worked on the investigative commission of the Petrograd Soviet.
He then worked in the Petrograd Soviet after it went over to the Bolsheviks, and took an active part in organizing the evening newspaper Rabochy i Soldat ("Worker and Soldier").
He was a delegate to the 1st Congress of Soviets and one of the organizers of the 1st Congress of Baltic Sailors; he also served as a delegate from the Baltic Fleet to the second All-Russian Central Executive Committee. He then moved on as an assistant to Trotsky at the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, where he set about bringing order to the chaos and confusion that reigned there in the early days. He was appointed secretary, and later inspector, of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs.
On Lenin's instructions, he published 7 volumes of the Collection of Secret Documents from the Archives of the Former Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In early June 1918, Markin was sent to Nizhny Novgorod with the task of establishing the Volga Military Flotilla. He was subsequently appointed commissar of the newly formed flotilla. In September 1918, Markin led the operation to land an assault force and capture Kazan.
On October 1, 1918, while conducting reconnaissance on the Kama River near Pyanyy Bor aboard the gunboat Vanya, he fell into an artillery ambush set by White Czech forces. In an unequal battle against shore batteries, the vessel was sunk; Markin himself covered his crewmates with machine-gun fire until the very end and perished together with the ship.
Interesting facts
- One of the Volga riverboats bore the name "In Memory of Comrade Markin".
- The large square in front of the River Station in Nizhny Novgorod is named after Markin.
- The village of Russky Syromas was renamed Markino in 1960.