Mikhail Tomsky
1880 – 1936 Russian Soviet trade union leader
The trade union chief of the Right Opposition who killed himself to escape the purge.
- Religion
- Russian Orthodox background; a militant atheist.
- Affiliations
- Bolshevik Party; head of the Soviet trade unions; a leader of the Right Opposition.
Tomsky led the Soviet trade unions and, with Bukharin and Rykov, formed the Right Opposition against Stalin's harsh policies. Broken politically, he saw the purges closing in on him. He shot himself in 1936 rather than face arrest and trial.
Connections
- rival of Joseph Stalin — Killed himself as Stalin's terror closed in.
- ally of Nikolai Bukharin — Fellow leader of the Right Opposition.