Education
studied at Moscow Land Survey Institute, Kursk Land Survey College and Zurich University;
studied at Moscow Land Survey Institute, Kursk Land Survey College and Zurich University;
1889 expelled from Moscow Land Survey Institute for revol activity and exiled from Moscow. From 1892 in Moscow Marxist groups. 1896-1905 as an emigre in Switzerland worked with the Liberation of Labor group.
Then worked for Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party. 1903 joined Bolshevik faction after 2nd Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party Congress. 1903-1905 headed Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party Central Committee group in Zurich, helped to organize Ccntr Party Archives and found newspaper Vperyod.
1905 helped to prepare 3rd Russian Social-Democratic Workers’ Party Congress. Returned to St. Petersburg and took part in 1905-1907 Revol. Worked for newspapers Novaya zhizn' and Nasha mysl" and helped to found Bolshevik newspapers Volna, Vperyod and Ekho 1908-1918 director, legal Bolshevik publ house "Life and Knowledge”.
1910-1911 worked for the newspaper Zvezda and from 1912 for Pravda after 1917 February Revol member, Ed Board, Izvestiya Petrogradskogo soveta and temporary ed, Bolshevik newspaper Rabochiy i soldat October 1917-October 1920 business mang. Council of People’s Commissar. 1920-1936 chief ed, cooperative publ house ’’Life and Knowledge".
1933-1939 org and director, State Lit Museum, Moscow. 1945-1955 director, Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism USSR Academy of Sciences. Specialist in history of Russian revol movement, history of religion and atheism, ethnography and lit.