Episode 1326
Sergo Ordzhonikidze
Mon, 2020-Dec-21 01:17 UTC
Length - 3:23
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Monday, 21 December 2020 is Sergo Ordzhonikidze.
Sergo Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze, born Grigol Konstantines dze Orjonikidze (24 October [O. S. 12 October] 1886 – 18 February 1937), was a Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet politician.
Born and raised in Georgia, Ordzhonikidze joined the Bolsheviks at a young age and quickly rose within the ranks to become an important figure within the group. Arrested and imprisoned several times by the Russian police, he was in Siberian exile when the February Revolution began in 1917. Returning from exile, Ordzhonikidze took part in the October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power. During the subsequent Civil War he played an active role as the leading Bolshevik in the Caucasus, overseeing the invasions of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. He backed their union into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR), which helped form the Soviet Union in 1922, and served as the First Secretary of the TSFSR until 1926.
Promoted to lead the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate (Rabkrin), Ordzhonikidze moved to Moscow and joined the inner circle of top Bolsheviks. Tasked with overseeing Soviet economic production, Ordzhonikidze led a massive overhaul of Rabkrin and its associated bodies, noting inefficiencies within the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy (Vesenkha). In 1930 he was transferred to lead Vesenkha, which was re-formed as the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry (NKTP) in 1932. While there, Ordzhonikidze oversaw the implementation of the five-year plans for economic development and helped create the Stakhanovite movement of model Soviet workers. At the same time he was named to the Politburo, the leading political body in the Soviet Union.
Ordzhonikidze was reluctant to take part in the campaigns against so-called wreckers and saboteurs that began in the early 1930s, which caused friction between Joseph Stalin and himself. Realizing the need to have experienced people in their fields, Ordzhonikidze refused to purge older workers or disassociate himself from individuals deemed anti-Bolshevik. According to some theories, his relationship with Stalin deteriorated, and on the eve of a 1937 meeting where he was expected to denounce workers, Ordzhonikidze shot himself at his home, though this has been contested. He was posthumously honoured as a leading Bolshevik, and several towns and cities throughout the Soviet Union were named after him.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:17 UTC on Monday, 21 December 2020.
For the full current version of the article, see Sergo Ordzhonikidze on Wikipedia.
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This has been Justin Standard. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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