- Solomon Mogilevsky
Solomon Grigorevich Mogilevsky ( _ru. Соломон Григорьевич Могилевский; 1885,
Pavlograd -March 22 ,1925 ) headed theSoviet foreign intelligence service, the "INO" of the GPU, from 1921 until May 1922, when he was sent to head the GPU in theSouth Caucasus region where had been involved in the suppression of the 1924August Uprising in theGeorgian SSR . He died in a plane crash nearTiflis (Tbilisi) in unclear circumstances.Biography
Mogilevsky was born to
Jewish parents in Pavlograd. In 1903 he joined theRSDRP , and in 1904 Mogilevsky was arrested. In 1906 he leftRussia forSwitzerland where Mogilevsky metVladimir Lenin who recommended him to be admitted into Bolshevik section of the party. At the outbreak of theWorld War I he returned to Russia and was a soldier on the front. Mogilevsky participated in the 1917October Revolution . During the Russian Civil War he was appointed to various positions in the GPU. Since May 1922 Mogilevsky headed the Caucausian GPU and was responsible for intelligence in Iran and Turkey. He participated in stifling the August Uprising in Georgian SSR. Mogilevsky was decorated with theOrder of the Red Banner in 1924 for his outstanding activities in the suppression of the uprisingDeath
Mogilevsky died in a plane crash in 1925 headed to
Sukhumi conference. The plane blew up in mid-air not far from Tiflis. The cause of the crash was never determined, despite the fact that three separate commissions later investigated the incident.There has always been a strong suspicion that a young Georgian airman who was piloting the plane crashed deliberately, killing himself, Mogilevsky and two other high-ranking officials. [Lang, David Marshall (1962). "A Modern History of Georgia", p. 243.
London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson.] Another version linkedJoseph Stalin andLavrentiy Beria with Mogilevsky’s death. Some alleged Beria arranged the catastrophe on Stalin’s behalf. Others suspected Beria had his own motives for doing so and wanted to get rid of Mogilevsky in order to secure a succession to his post. [Knight, Amy W. (1993), "Beria: Stalin's First Lieutenant", p. 35.Princeton University Press ,Princeton, New Jersey , ISBN 0691010935.]References
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