Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky

Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky was a Polish and Russian revolutionary figure, a Soviet state and party leader. He was born into a noble family at the Dzerzhinovo estate, received his primary education at the Vilnius gymnasium, but did not graduate from it.

 

In his youth he joined the Social Democratic movement, becoming a member of the “Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania” party. He took an active part in the Revolution of 1905–1907, was a delegate to the RSDLP congress and became a member of its Central Committee. For his revolutionary activities Dzerzhinsky spent 11 years in prisons and in exile.

 

During the October Revolution Dzerzhinsky was a member of the Military Revolutionary Committee. He led the seizure of important facilities in Petrograd. From 1917 to 1922 he headed the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (Cheka). Later Dzerzhinsky headed the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the USSR, making significant efforts to combat child homelessness. He also oversaw the creation of a network of children's institutions. Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky died of a heart attack in 1926 and was buried in Moscow at the Kremlin Wall.