33 Facts About Grigory Zinoviev

Grigory Zinoviev served as chairman of the Communist International from 1919 to 1926.

Grigory Zinoviev returned to Russia after the February Revolution of 1917, and joined with Lev Kamenev in opposing Lenin's "April Theses" and later the armed seizure of power which became the October Revolution.

Grigory Zinoviev lost the trust of Lenin, who began relying on Leon Trotsky, but was nevertheless elected chairman of the Petrograd Soviet and the Comintern, and a full member of the Politburo in 1921.

Grigory Zinoviev was removed from the Politburo and Comintern in 1926, and was expelled from the party in 1927.

In 1934, Grigory Zinoviev was accused of complicity in the assassination of Sergei Kirov and was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Grigory Zinoviev was born in Yelizavetgrad, Russian Empire, to Jewish dairy farmers, who educated him at home.

Grigory Zinoviev's name at birth was Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Radomyslsky, and he was the oldest son born to Aron and Reizy Radomyslsky.

Grigory Zinoviev was known in early life under the name Hirsch Apfelbaum.

Grigory Zinoviev later adopted several designations, such as Shatski, Grigoriev, Grigori and Zinoviev, by the two last of which he is most frequently called.

Grigory Zinoviev studied philosophy, literature and history, and became interested in politics, joining the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1901.

Grigory Zinoviev was a member of its Bolshevik faction from the time of its creation in 1903.

Grigory Zinoviev was elected to the RSDLP's Central Committee in 1907 and sided with Lenin in 1908 when the Bolshevik faction split into Lenin's supporters and Alexander Bogdanov's followers.

Grigory Zinoviev left for Western Europe to support Lenin in matters of propaganda and party organization.

Grigory Zinoviev remained Lenin's constant aide-de-camp and representative in various socialist organizations until 1917.

Grigory Zinoviev spent the first three years of World War I in Switzerland.

Grigory Zinoviev soon returned to the fold and was elected to the Central Committee at the VII Party Congress on 8 March 1918.

Grigory Zinoviev was put in charge of the Petrograd city and regional government.

Grigory Zinoviev became a non-voting member of the ruling Politburo when it was created after the VIII Congress on 25 March 1919.

Grigory Zinoviev became the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Comintern when it was created in March 1919.

Grigory Zinoviev was responsible for Petrograd's defence during two periods of intense clashes with White forces in 1919.

In early 1921, when the Communist Party was split into several factions, and policy disagreements were threatening the unity of the Party, Grigory Zinoviev supported Lenin's faction.

Grigory Zinoviev delivered the Central Committee's reports to the XIIth and XIIIth Party Congresses in 1923 and 1924, respectively, something that Lenin had previously done.

Grigory Zinoviev was considered one of the Communist Party's leading theoreticians.

Grigory Zinoviev further demanded Trotsky's expulsion from the Communist Party, but Stalin refused to go along at that time and played the role of a mediator.

Grigory Zinoviev was re-elected to the Politburo, but his ally Kamenev was demoted from a full member to a non-voting member and Sokolnikov was dropped altogether, while Stalin had more of his allies elected to the Politburo.

Soon thereafter the office of the Comintern Chairman was abolished, and Grigory Zinoviev lost his last important post.

Grigory Zinoviev remained in opposition to Stalin throughout 1926 and 1927, resulting in his expulsion from the Central Committee in October 1927.

Grigory Zinoviev was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his supporters to various prison terms.

Accounts of Grigory Zinoviev's execution vary, with some having him beg and plead for his life, prompting the stoic Kamenev to tell Grigory Zinoviev to "quiet down and die with dignity".

Grigory Zinoviev allegedly struggled against the guards escorting him so fiercely that instead of taking him to the appointed execution room, he was simply dragged into a nearby cell and shot there.

Grigory Zinoviev's futile pleading was later re-enacted and mocked by Stalin's personal bodyguard, Karl Pauker.

Stalin was described to have "laughed immoderately on seeing an imitation of the old Bolshevik leader Grigori Grigory Zinoviev being dragged to his execution, making pleas for mercy with obscenities".

Grigory Zinoviev was the alleged author of the "Grigory Zinoviev Letter" which caused a sensation in the United Kingdom when published on 25 October 1924, four days before a general election.