Alexei Rykov
Premier of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1930 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Alexei Ivanovich Rykov[lower-alpha 1] (25 February 1881 – 15 March 1938) was a Russian Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician and statesman, most prominent as premier of Russia and the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1929 and 1924 to 1930 respectively.[2] He was one of the accused in Joseph Stalin's show trials during the Great Purge.
Alexei Rykov | |
|---|---|
Алексей Рыков | |
(c).jpg) Rykov in 1924 | |
| 2nd Premier of the Soviet Union | |
| In office 2 February 1924 – 19 December 1930 | |
| Preceded by | Vladimir Lenin |
| Succeeded by | Vyacheslav Molotov |
| Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian SFSR | |
| In office 2 February 1924 – 18 May 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Vladimir Lenin |
| Succeeded by | Sergei Syrtsov |
| Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense | |
| In office 19 January 1926 – 19 December 1930 | |
| Preceded by | Lev Kamenev |
| Succeeded by | Vyacheslav Molotov |
| People's Commissar for Posts and Telegraphs | |
| In office 30 May 1931 – 26 September 1936 | |
| Premier | Vyacheslav Molotov |
| Preceded by | Nikolai Antipov |
| Succeeded by | Genrikh Yagoda |
| Full member of the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th Politburo | |
| In office 3 April 1922 – 21 December 1930 | |
| Member of the 10th, 11th, 12th Orgburo | |
| In office 16 March 1921 – 2 June 1924 | |
| Full member of the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th Central Committee | |
| In office 5 April 1920 – 10 February 1934 | |
| Candidate member of the 17th Central Committee | |
| In office 10 February 1934 – 12 October 1937 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alexei Ivanovich Rykov (1881-02-25)25 February 1881 Saratov, Saratov Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 15 March 1938(1938-03-15) (aged 57) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Nationality | Russian (1881–1938) Soviet (1922–1938) |
| Political party | RSDLP (1898–1903) RSDLP (Bolsheviks) (1903–1918) Russian Communist Party (1918–1937) |
| Children | Natalia Alekseevna Rykova (1917–2010)[1] |
| Signature |  |
Rykov joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1898, and after it split into Bolshevik and Menshevik factions in 1903, he joined the Bolsheviks, which were led by Vladimir Lenin. He played an active part in the 1905 Russian Revolution.[2] Months prior to the October Revolution of 1917, he became a member of the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets and was elected to the Bolshevik Party Central Committee in July–August of the same year, during the Sixth Congress of the Bolshevik Party.[2] Rykov, a moderate, often came into political conflict with Lenin and more radical Bolsheviks but proved influential when the October Revolution finally overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and as such served many roles in the new government, starting October–November (Old Style) as People's Commissar for Internal Affairs on the first roster of the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), which was chaired by Lenin.[2]
During the Russian Civil War (1918–1923), Rykov oversaw the implementation of the "War Communism" economic policy, and helped oversee the distribution of food to the Red Army and the Red Navy.
After Lenin was incapacitated by his third stroke in March 1923 Rykov, along with Lev Kamenev, was elected by the Sovnarkom to serve as deputy chairman to Lenin. While both Rykov and Kamenev were Lenin's deputies, Kamenev was the acting premier of the Soviet Union.
Lenin died from a fourth stroke in January 1924, and in February, Rykov was chosen by the Council of People's Commissars as premier of both the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and of the Soviet Union, which he served as until May 1929 and December 1930, respectively.[2] In December 1930 he was removed from the Politburo.[2]
From 1931 to 1937, Rykov served as People's Commissar of Communications on the council he formerly chaired. In February 1937 at a meeting of the Central Committee, he was arrested with Nikolai Bukharin.[2] In March 1938, both were found guilty of treason and executed.[2]