Leonid Kannegisser
Leonid Kannegisser | |
|---|---|
 Leonid Kannegisser possing with his cadet uniform | |
| Born | 1896 Mikhailov, Russian Empire |
| Died | 1918 Petrograd, Russian SFSR |
| Allegiance | Imperial Russian Army |
| Service | Artillery |
| Years of service | 1913-1918 |
| Rank | Junker |
Leonid Akimovic Kannegisser (also spelled Kanngießer, in Russian: Леони́д Иоаки́мович Каннегисер) (born March 1896, in Mikhailov, Russian Empire – October 1918, in Petrograd, Russian SFSR) was a Russian poet and military cadet known for killing Moisei Uritsky, chief of Cheka in Petrograd, on August 17, 1918 [1]
Life and career
Kannegisser was born in Mikhailov, Russian Empire, in a aristocratic family of Jewish origin. His father was a mechanical engineer director who stood at the head of Russia's largest shipyards at Nikolaev. His mother was a doctor.
He graduated from a private school and studied economics at the Petrograd Polytechnic Institute. He was a member of Popular Socialist Party. In 1913 Kannegisser became a military cadet in the Mikhailov Artillery School of the Imperial Russian Army. During the Bolshevik armed insurrection on the night from 25 to 26 October 1917 (Old Style Julian Calendar) along with several other cadets Kannegiser defended the Provisional Government at the Winter Palace.
Uritsky assassination
On August 30, 1918 morning Uritsky was fatally shot in the head in the building of People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs by Kannegiser. After killing Uritsky, he tried to escape on a bicycle. He rode quickly to the Winter Palace square, but was caught and arrested. He was tortured[2] and executed shortly afterwards in Petrograd. After the arrest, the Bolsheviks authorities also arrested several members of his family and friends[3]. His parents emigrated from Russia and sought refuge in Warsaw where they died.
Motivation
Kannegiser was part of a clandestine anti-Bolshevik group led by his cousin Maximilian Filonenko. Filonenko had close links with Boris Savinkov who gave the order to assassinate Uritsky. After an Army officer lover (Kannegiser was homosexual[4]) was executed with a group of people by Bolsheviks he decided to take revenge by killing Uritsky who signed executions orders. Mark Aldanov, who knew Kannegiser, wrote that the Uritsky's assassination was motivated to restore the "good name of the Russians Jews" (Uritsky was born to a Jewish family).
Uritsky's assassination, along with the attempted murder to Vladimir Lenin by Fanny Kaplan that happened on the same day, sparked the beginning of the "Red Terror" campaign by the Bolsheviks.
Poetry
Kannegiser was a poet and friend of Sergei Yesenin. He hosted in his house many literary meetings, where Marina Tsvetaeva, Osip Mandelshtam and others presented their poetry [5]. His poems were posthumously published by his father in 1928.
References
- ^ Vitaliy Shentalinsky, "Crime without punishment", Progress-Pleyada, Moscow, 2007, ISBN 978-5-93006-033-1 (Russian: Виталий Шенталинский, "Преступление без наказания"), Chapter 2, Poet-terrorist. Link to text in Russian Journal
- ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/No+Time+for+Poets.-a077712160
- ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/No+Time+for+Poets.-a077712160
- ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/No+Time+for+Poets.-a077712160
- ^ Shentalinsky, page 115.