Background
MEKHLIS, Lev was born on January 13, 1889 in Odessa. Son of Jewish office-worker.
MEKHLIS, Lev was born on January 13, 1889 in Odessa. Son of Jewish office-worker.
Graduated from the Institute of Red Professors, 1930.
1911 drafted into Russian Army. 1914-1917 served with artillery units. From 1918 in Red Army.
1918-1920 brigade comissar, 46th Rifle Division, Right-Bank Shock Group, Southern Front. Wounded in fighting at Kakhovka. 1921-1922 exec work for People’s Commissariat of Workers and Peasants’ Inspection.
1922-1927 worked for Stalin’s secretariat. Played active part in campaign against Trotsky and Zinoviev opposition. From May 1930 chief ed, newspaper “Pravda”.
1937 also head, Press and Publication Department, Central Committee, All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). 30 December 1937-September 1940 USSR Deputy People’s Commissar of Defense and head, Main Polit Board, Red Army. Helped carry out purge of Red Army ranks.
Stalin’s representative with operational troops in battles at Lake Khasan (1938), Khalkhin Gol (1939) and in 1939-1940 Soviet-Finnish War. Often disorganized and disrupted operations by his interference in command decisions. September 1940—June 1941 USSR People’s Commissar of State Control.
Strongly advocated concentrating mobilized reserves in direct vicinity of Western borders, which later resulted in the German capture of most of them. With the start of the Soviet-German War again USSR Deputy People’s Commissar of Defense and head, Red Army Main Board. Supreme Commander in Chief’s Headquarters representative on various fronts.
His inspection tours often led to reprisals against military commanders. Late 1941 devised idea of “freezing the Germans out," involving the destruction and firing of all villages and forests near Moscow in the German troops path. May 1942, as Supreme Headquarters representative on the Crimean Front, seriously disrupted the work of the front’s command, thus contributing to the defeat of the Soviet forces at Krch’.
This debacle led to his demotion from army comissar, 1st class, to corps comissar and his dismissal from the posts of USSR Deputy Commissar of Defense and head, Red Army Main Board. 1942-1945 member, Military Council, Volkhov, Bryansk, Western, Baltic, 2nd Baltic, 2nd Belorussian and 4th Ukraine fronts. 1945-1927 October 1950 again People’s Commissar (Min) of State Control.
Relieved of this post for health reasons. 1934-1939 candidate member, 1939-1953 member, Central Committee, All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). 1938-1952 member, Org Bureau, Central Committee, All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).
Deputy, USSR Supreme Soviet of 1937 and 1946 convocations. Deputy, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Supreme Soviet of 1938 convocation.
Religions encourage war and violence to promote their religious goals.
The emphasis on peaceful coexistence doesn’t mean that the Soviet Union accepted a static world with clear lines. Socialism is inevitable and the "correlations of forces" were moving towards socialism.
Communist Party member from March 1918.