Yan Gamarnik

Yan Gamarnik Ян Гамарник
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia
In office 4 December 1928 – 3 January 1930
Preceded by	Vilgelm Knorinsh
Succeeded by	Konstantin Gey
First Secretary of the Kiev Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Bolsheviks)
In office 25 April 1921 – July 1923
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Hryhoriy Hrynko
Head of the Political Directorate of the Red Workers' and Peasants' Army
In office 1 October 1929 – 31 May 1937
President	Kliment Voroshilov
Preceded by	Andrei Bubnov
Succeeded by	Pyotr Smirnov
Full member of the 15th, 16th Orgburo
In office 17 November 1929 – 10 February 1934
Personal details
Born	Jakov Tzudikovich Gamarnik June 14 [O.S. June 2] 1894 Zhytomyr, Volhynian Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	May 31, 1937(1937-05-31) (aged 42) Moscow, Soviet Union
Nationality	Soviet
Political party	AUCP(B) (1916–) CPU(B) (1918–)
Children	Viktoria Kochneva
Alma mater	St Petersburg Psychoneurological Institute
Awards	Order of the Red Banner (1928) Order of Lenin (1933)
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	Army
Years of service	1919-1937
Rank	Army Commissar of 1st rank
Unit	58th Rifle Division
Commands	Army Political Administration (1929-37)

Yan Gamarnik (birth name Jakov Tzudikovich Gamarnik (Russian: Яков Цудикович Гамарник), sometimes known as Yakov Gamarnik (Russian: Яков Гамарник) (June 14 [O.S. June 2] 1894 — May 31, 1937) was a Soviet military commander and politician of Jewish ethnicity.

Biography

Gamarnik speaking to sailors on parade, 1933

Gamarnik was born in Zhytomyr in a Jewish family as Jakov Tzudikovich Gamarnik. He attended the St Petersburg Psychoneurological Institute and the Law School of Kiev University. In 1917 he became a member and the secretary of the Kiev committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From 1921 to 1923 Gamarnik was a chairman of the Kiev city council (see Mayor of Kiev). During his administration Kiev was divided into five districts. He went through many Communist Party positions, both civil and military, e.g. a First Secretary of the Belarusian Communist Party of Belorussia from December 1928 to October 1929.

He was instrumental in preparing the 10-year development plan for the Far-Eastern region of the USSR.

An idealist, Gamarnik was a staunch supporter of Marshal Tukhachevsky's drive to make USSR a military superpower. In 1937 Gamarnik was accused of participating in an anti-Soviet conspiracy after the Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization; however, shortly before the trial he had actually been called upon by the Soviet government to be one of the judges for the accused. He insisted on Tukhachevsky's innocence and later committed suicide before he could be punished for his actions. Only after this was he added to the list of conspirators. He was rehabilitated posthumously by the CC CPSU and Nikita Khrushchev in 1955.

Honours and awards

• Order of Lenin (22 February 1933)
• Order of the Red Banner (20 February 1928)
• The town Suchan was named Gamarnik in his honour (1932-1937)

Sources

• Robert Conquest, The Great Terror: A Reassessment, Oxford University Press, May 1990, hardcover, ISBN 0-19-505580-2 pp 201–202;
• Several versions of Gamarnik biography
• Gamarnik in the Fleet, with photo
• Trotsky about Gamarnik and others
• Profile at Handbook on history of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union 1898 – 1991