Moisei Uritsky

Moisei Uritsky, the son of Jewish parents, was born in the Ukraine, Russia, in 1873. He studied law at Kiev University and graduated in 1897. As a student he joined the Social Democratic Party.

At the Second Congress of the Social Democratic Party in London in 1903, there was a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, two of the party's main leaders. Lenin argued for a small party of professional revolutionaries with a large fringe of non-party sympathizers and supporters. Martov disagreed believing it was better to have a large party of activists. Martov won the vote 28-23 but Lenin was unwilling to accept the result and formed a faction known as the Bolsheviks. Those who remained loyal to Martov became known as Mensheviks.

Uritsky, like George Plekhanov, Pavel Axelrod, Leon Trotsky, Lev Deich, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, Irakli Tsereteli, Andrei Vyshinsky, Noi Zhordania and Fedor Dan supported Julius Martov.

After the February Revolution, Uritsky and Leon Trotsky both left the Mensheviks and joined the Bolsheviks. He took part in the October Revolution and agreed with the suppression of the Constituent Assembly.

In March, 1918, Uritsky he joined the Communist Secret Police (Cheka) and was appointed Commissar for Internal Affairs in the Northern Region. He was assassinated by a young student on 30th August, 1918. His death resulted in what became known as the Red Terror.