He opposed October, vouched for Stalin, and was shot by him
May 1924, moments after Lenin's testament was read to the Central Committee. Zinoviev rose to defend Stalin: 'None of the things we feared have come to pass. Comrade Stalin has dispelled those fears.' The testament was buried; Stalin stayed.
One of Lenin's longest companions in exile and the first chairman of the Comintern, he became the face of international communism in its founding years. As chairman of the Petrograd (Leningrad) Soviet he commanded the party's northern stronghold, yet in October 1917 he publicly opposed the armed rising alongside Kamenev, clashing directly with Lenin. After Lenin's death in 1924 he formed the triumvirate with Stalin and Kamenev to block Trotsky, vowing that 'Comrade Stalin has dispelled the fears' and helping to suppress Lenin's testament. But Stalin soon cast him aside; in 1926 he joined his lifelong enemy Trotsky in the United Opposition, and after a cycle of defeats and recantations he was shot at the first Moscow show trial in 1936.
Career Timeline
- 1907–17Lenin’s closest companion of the exile years
- 1917.10With Kamenev, opposes the rising; the leak scandal
- 1919–26First chairman of the Comintern
- 1923–25The triumvirate against Trotsky
- 1926–27The United Opposition; expulsions and recantations
- 1936The first Moscow trial; shot
Related historical events
- 1917.02–07The February RevolutionLenin's companionHe returned on the sealed train and, after the July Days, went into hiding with Lenin at Razliv.
- 1917.10–1918.01The October RevolutionDissenting leaderWith Kamenev he publicly opposed the insurrection plan, but remained in the party leadership after the revolution.
- 1918–1922The Civil War and Foreign InterventionChairman of the Comintern and member of the Politburo
- 1921–1928The New Economic Policy (NEP)New Opposition leaderA member of the ruling triumvirate, from 1925 he led the New Opposition warning of the kulak danger.
- 1923–1927The Succession Struggle and the Left OppositionTriumvirate member; opened the Nov-Dec 1923 party debate in Pravda before turning against TrotskyTriumvirate member who opened the Pravda debate on Nov 7, 1923, but shifted to attacking 'Trotskyism' by Dec 15. Later formed the New Opposition; expelled 1927.
- 1937–1938The Great PurgeTargetAn Old Bolshevik leader sentenced to death at the first Moscow Trial in 1936.
The United Opposition, 1925–1927 — from Stalin's ally to Trotsky's comrade
After Lenin's death in 1924, Zinoviev formed the 'triumvirate' with Kamenev and Stalin to isolate Trotsky. Zinoviev played a leading role in the 1924 'Literary Discussion,' attacking Trotsky's 'Lessons of October.' He stood with those demanding Trotsky's expulsion from the party.
But victory was short-lived. Once Trotsky was neutralised, Stalin pivoted, allying with Bukharin and Rykov. At the XIV Party Congress in December 1925, Zinoviev, backed by the Leningrad delegation, raised the banner of the 'New Opposition,' demanding inner-party democracy. He was crushed. The following February, in a desperate bid to save his political life, he reached out to his lifelong enemy. Zinoviev and Trotsky exchanged friendly letters, and by summer the 'United Opposition' was formed.
Zinoviev was swiftly removed as chairman of the Leningrad Soviet and head of the Comintern, then expelled from the Politburo in July 1926. In October 1927 he was ejected from the Central Committee; on November 14 he was expelled from the party; on November 28 he was banished from the Society of Old Bolsheviks. Alongside Trotsky, he was now being crushed by the very machine he had helped build.
In early 1928 Zinoviev was exiled to Kaluga. By year's end he capitulated (a public letter to Stalin confessing his 'anti-party errors') and was readmitted to the party. The defeat of the United Opposition was the final gateway to Stalin's one-man dictatorship. Zinoviev's betrayal and humiliation were merely the prologue to the fate awaiting him eight years later.
The First Moscow Show Trial — the Comintern chairman in the dock
In August 1936, sixteen defendants stood in Moscow's Trade Union House. The biggest name was Grigory Zinoviev (Lenin's closest comrade, first chairman of the Comintern, once the face of the Soviet system) now charged as the ringleader of a 'Trotskyite-Zinovievite terrorist centre.'
Prosecutor Vyshinsky pinned the Kirov assassination on Zinoviev's alleged orders. Zinoviev already knew that personal loyalty alone would not save him. Neither letters to Stalin with Kamenev, nor confessions, nor swearing fealty to the party made any difference. What he symbolised was the problem: the Old Bolshevik, Lenin's era, every hesitation of October 1917.
By day two, every defendant had confessed 'guilt' and accepted the demand for the death penalty. In his final statement, Zinoviev declared: 'I curse my fascist, anti-Soviet activity… For the crime of betraying the socialist motherland, I deserve to be shot.'
Within days, all sixteen were executed. The chairman of the Comintern no longer existed.