Background
KRASIN, Leonid was born on July 15, 1870 in Kungur. Son of a minor official.
Diplomat engineer Revolutionary
KRASIN, Leonid was born on July 15, 1870 in Kungur. Son of a minor official.
Graduate tech high school in Tyumen’. 1887-1891 studied at St. Petersburg Technol Institute. 1900 graduate Khar’kov Technol Institute.
1887 entered St. Petersburg Technol Institute. Became acquainted with Marxist lit in student circles. Joined M. I. Brusnev’s Social-Democratic Group.
Propagated Marxism in St. Petersburg weavers’ circles along Obvodnyy Canal. 1891 expelled from the inst and exiled to Nizhniy Novgorod for helping organize an anti-government student- worker demonstration at the funeral of the writer N. V. Shchelgunov. 1892 re-arrested in connection with the closure of M. I. Brusnev’s circle and imprisoned in Taganka Prison.
1895 exiled to Irkutsk for three years. 1897 returned from exile and entered Khar’kov Technol Institute. 1900-1904 assistant director on construction of large electric power plant in Baku.
At the same time active in underground work. Helped turn electric power plant into underground base of the Baku Iskra Social-Democratic organisation. Fugitive Iskra members were hired at the plant, documents and illegal lit stored and passports forged, etc.
1903 helped re-establish the ccntr Party printing office, founded by Lado Ketskhoveli, which served Lenin’s Iskra. Used social, private and business contacts to arrange the tech side of transporting illegal lit and to canvas money for the Bolshevik underground. After the schism at the 2nd Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party Congress (1903), joined the Bolsheviks.
Late 1903 coopted member, Central Committee, Russian Social-Democratic Workers ’Party (Bolsheviks). After 2nd Congress, while Lenin was campaigning against the Mensheviks, Krasin took a reconciliatory stand toward the Mensheviks. With his consent Mensheviks were coopted to the Party Central Committee.
Later Krasin broke his ties with the Mensheviks. 1905 at 3rd Russian Social-Democratic Workers ’Party (Bolsheviks) Congress Krasin delivered the Central Committee report in which he condemned his reconciliatory errors. At 3i'd Party Congress elected member, Central Committee.
Active in preparing 1905-1907 rebellion. Displayed talent as organizer and conspirator in forming battle squads, in stealing and transporting military equipment and in outfitting Party printing offices. After 17 October 1905 helped found legal Bolshevik newspaper Novaya zhizn Party Central Committee representative in St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers’ Deputy.
1906 at 4th (Amalgamative) Party Congress led the campaign against the Mensheviks according to Lenin’s directions. Re-elected member, Central Committee. At 5th London Congress elected candidate member, Central Committee.
Member, Bolshevik Center. 1908 arrested in Finland. Went abroad after his release.
1908 for a while sided with Bogdanov’s Vperyod group. Then abandoned political activities and worked as an eng. With start of 1917 October Rcvol immediately sided with Bolsheviks.
1918 chairman, Special Commission to Supply the Red Army. Presidium member, Supreme Economic Council, and People’s Commissar of Means of Communication. 1918 participated in Brcst-Litovsk talks.
Helped draft August Supplementary Agreement with Germany, which was signed in Berlin. March 1921 signed Anglo-Soviet treaty. Soviet plenipotentiary in Britain.
Attended Genua and Hague conferences. Appointed People’s Commissar of Foreign Trade. At 12th Party Congress made various "right-wing opportunistic” proposals regarding for and domestic policies.
Objected to Lenin’s proposed reorganization of Ccntr Control Commission. Late 1924, while remaining a People’s Commissar, appointed Soviet plenipotentiary in Paris. 1926 again Soviet plenipotentiary in Britain.
At 13th and 14th Party Congresses elected member, Central Committee, All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). Public!: Dela davno minuvshikh dney. Vospominaniya (The Affairs of Bygone Days.
Memoirs) (3rd ed, 1934).
Religious books are outdated, because laws by nature have to change with the advance of societies and technology.
Communist Party of the Soviet Union is the guiding force of all socialist countries, and the nucleus of their political system.
Communist Party member from 1890.