Izrail Moiseyevich Leplevsky (Russian: Израиль Моисеевич Леплевский; 1894 – July 28, 1938) was a Soviet security officer. He was part of the Intelligence Service and Secret police apparatus in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, then People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR from June 14, 1937 to January 25, 1938. His brother Gregory Leplevsky also worked in senior positions in the Soviet Union, including as Prosecutor of the USSR.[1]

Izrail Leplevsky
Izrail Lepelevsky
People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR
In office
14 June 1937 – 25 January 1938
Preceded byVsevolod Balitsky
Succeeded byAlexander Uspensky
People's Commissar of International Affairs of the Byelorussian SSR
In office
10 December 1934 – 28 November 1936
Preceded byLeonid Zakovsky
Succeeded byGeorgy Molchanov
Personal details
Born1894 (1894)
Brest-Litovsk, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire
DiedJuly 28, 1938(1938-07-28) (aged 43–44)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Cause of deathExecution
Political partyRussian Communist Party (1917–1938)
Signature

Early years

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Born into a Jewish family in Brest-Litovsk, Grodno Governorate, Leplevsky received a home education and worked afterwards in a hat shop, and in a pharmacy warehouse. In 1914 he was enrolled as a conscript in the Russian army and served on the Turkish front from October 1914 till June 1917.

Political career

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In March 1917, Leplevsky became active in the Bolshevik party in Tbilisi. From June 1917 he was a member of the military organization of the RSDLP (Bolshevik) in Yekaterinoslav. Afterwards, he made a career in the Soviet secret service, the GPU, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, culminating in his appointment as People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR from June 14, 1937 to January 25, 1938. During this period he was in charge of mass repressions in Ukraine.[citation needed] In particular, he was the major instigator of Vesna Case, a massive former officers and generals of the Russian Imperial Army during 1930-1931.[2]

He was arrested on April 26, 1938, and on 28 July he was shot according to a sentence passed by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR.[3]

Political offices
Preceded by People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of Belarus
1934–1936
Succeeded by
Preceded by People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
1937–1938
Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ "Leplevski, Israel Moiseevich. Biography (Russian)". www.hrono.ru. Retrieved 2020-12-22.
  2. ^ АЛЕКСАНДР ЗДАНОВИЧ, ЧЕКИСТ ИЗ ОБЩЕПИТА, Независимое военное обозрение
  3. ^ "Leplevsky Israel Moiseevich // Who led the NKVD: 1934-1941. Reference book / N. V. Petrov, K. V. Skorkin; edited by N. G. Okhotin and A. B. Roginsky. - Electronic version of the publication. - M., 1999".