Elena Stasova,
the daughter of a liberal lawyer, was born in 1873. Her father held
progressive political views and defended several revolutionaries in
court.
Stasova
taught at a workers' evening school in St. Petersburg. She also joined
the Social Democratic Labour Party and in
1900 became a full-time agent involved in distributing Iskra.
By 1912 Stasova was one of the leaders of the Bolsheviks
in St. Petersburg.
After the
February Revolution she served as secretary
to the Central Committee. Stasova continued to work for the government
after the October Revolution but the
deep sexism in the Communist Party meant that she never held high
office. Elena Stasova died in 1966.
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