- Semyon Dimanstein
Semyon Dimanstein( _ru. Шимон (Семен Маркович) Диманштейн (1886(uncertain)- August 1938) was a Soviet state activist, publisher, theorist of national issue in the
USSR , one of the founders of the Soviet Oriental studies. He was considered to be a representative of SovietJew s.Dimanstein was born in Sebezh,
Pskov oblast in a Jewish family of a trader. He studied in aChabad yeshiva where eighteen-year Semyon ordained his rabbinate. He suffered ofpoverty andhomelessness .Pre-Revolution Socialist activities
In 1904 Dimanstein became a member of the
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party inVilno , where his major objective was to dispute withJewish Socialist Party , Bund andZionism parties. After the range of the government repression in 1908, he was sentenced to life settlement in theIrkutsk region. Dimanstein escaped and left theRussian Empire forFrance until the March Revolution 1917.Party career
At that time Russia was at war and Dimanstein was a propagandist of a peace treaty. He was one of the editors of "Trench Truth" ("Окопной правды"). Dimanstein played a significant role during the
Bolshevik October Revolution in 1917. He was appointed a head ofYevsektsiya in January, 1918.In 1920 Dimanstein was sent to
Bukhara People's Soviet Republic where he established Soviet institutions and supported creation of local elite. In 1922-1924 Dimanstein worked inAgitation Department of Ukraine.In 1924 he returned to
Moscow where Dimanstein headed different propaganda departments which the objectives were to spread Sovietideology among non-Russian peoples. Dimanstein was an editor of "New East" and "Revolution and Nationality". He was a steady supporter of Stalin's policies. His last appointment was a head of the Central Committee ofOZET .Semyon Dimanstein advocated the establishment of the
Jewish Autonomous Oblast theRussian Far East . In 1930 he was against the collectivization of Jewish settlements in Jewish national districts of SouthernUkraine and NorthernCrimea . In 1935 Dimanstein was an editor of apropaganda book "Yidn in FSSR" (Jews in the Soviet Union). From October 1936, Dimanstein was one of the editors of "Forpost", a newspaper in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast's capital city ofBirobidzhan .Death
On
21 February ,1938 Dimanstein was arrested. He received adeath sentence on20 August , 1938 and was executed. He was rehabilitated on13 August ,1955 , two years after the death of Stalin. He was also editor of the Yiddish language newspaper "Der Emes".ee also
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Jews and Judaism in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast External links
* [http://www.eleven.co.il/article/11433 The Jewish Encyclopedia on the Internet in Russian]
* [http://www.ihst.ru/projects/sohist/repress/kom/1938/dimanshtein.htm List of repressed Soviet politicians in Russian]
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