Ivan Mezhlauk

Ivan Ivanovich Mezhlauk (Russian: Иван Иванович Межлаук; born September 30, 1891 in Kharkov, † April 26, 1938 ) was a Soviet politician and the first Secretary of the Turkmen SSR.

Biography

Mezhlauk came from a noble family, who came originally from Livonia. The father was a teacher and Latvian descent, his mother was of German origin. His brother was Valeri Mezhlauk (1893-1938), who also was politically active and 1934-1937 Chairman of the Planning Commission, Gosplan later.

Mezhlauk began in 1912 to study at the Faculty of Philology and History at the University of Kharkov, in 1916, he joined the faculty of law. In 1918 he became member of the Communist Party in whose hierarchy he rose rapidly. In 1919, he finally joined the Red Army. From 1921 to 1923 he headed a metal factory Combine in Jenakijewo in Donetsk. From 1923 to 1924 he was responsible in the organization of the cotton industry in Soviet Central Asia. From 1924 to 1926 he was Secretary General of the newly established finally Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. His successor was Schajmardan Ibragimov. From 1926 to 1930 he was in the Central Committee of the CPSU active, then the Regional Committee of Tambov. Subsequently, he was until 1937 a member of the Council of People's Commissars.

In the wake of Stalin's Great Purge initiated by his brother, who was chairman of Gosplan, and arrested his wife on December 1, 1937 to the day he himself later. Both were accused of contacts with the German government to have had and sentenced to death and shot in April 1938, like thousands of other communists of the first hour. 1956 both brothers were rehabilitated.