Roman Malinovsky is a revolutionary whose name is closely associated with the activities of the Bolshevik Party in 1905-1914. The career growth of this functionary was rapid and not always explainable. Later it turned out that he was given all kinds of support from the tsarist security department, in the service of which he was tacitly employed. The exposed traitor was convicted by the Supreme Tribunal under the Central Committee of the RSDLP and shot in 1918.
Malinovsky's name was removed from all party documents. And he himself, leading a double life, hid some events, giving two, or even three options for their development. Therefore, it is difficult to trace his path through the remaining documentary fragments and rare memoirs of fellow revolutionaries. That is why there are so many fictions around this name, which still arouses the interest of compatriots.
Criminal Youth
Very little is known about Roman Vatslavovich's childhood. He was born in 1876 in a suburb of Warsaw. Whethera peasant son, or a descendant of an impoverished noble family, he, along with his brothers and sisters, remained an orphan. In this case, his origin is not so important, it should simply be noted that he acquired the ability to survive, adapt and cunning from childhood.
Not wanting to earn money for food by honest work in the shop where his older sister arranged for him, the boy preferred to be homeless, beg and steal. In the archives of the Police Department, documents about the “arrivals” and the arrest of Roman Malinovsky have been preserved. A year and a half in the Pawiak prison in Warsaw, in the company of mature criminals, taught him a lot, but the application of this experience had to be postponed: the young man was sent to a children's correctional institution after prison. There he mastered the professions of a locksmith and a tinsmith, which were useful to him in the future.
Guard Corporal
In 1901, Malinovsky Roman Vatslavovich was called up for military service. Historians are still putting forward a variety of versions about how a conscript with a criminal past got into the soldiers of the elite Life Guards of the Izmailovsky regiment stationed in St. Petersburg. Two options seem to be the most realistic. First: acquaintance in criminal circles helped the young man straighten out new documents, and he was able to start life from scratch. And external data, growth, become, bearing, appearance allowed him to pass the selection among the recruits. The second, undocumented, version admits that already in those years he was associated with the police Department, which contributed to the introduction of an informer into the soldier'senvironment of the elite troops.
Gifted by nature as a leader, able to inspire confidence in others, he did not want to remain an inconspicuous soldier in the army. For conflicts with officers, he was sent to serve from St. Petersburg to Krasnoe Selo, and in 1905, for "disturbing the soldiers" in the barracks, he was offered a choice: a "political" case or sent to the front. Having chosen the second, Malinovsky did not lose, he was promoted to corporal, and he went to the Far East. But on the way he was overtaken by the joyful news of the end of the Russo-Japanese War, and the newly minted corporal was demobilized.
The beginning of a political career
From that moment on, the biography of Roman Malinovsky could go on a path far from any adventures and adventurous events that he periodically arranged in his life. After retiring, he stayed in St. Petersburg, married the maid of his company commander and entered the Langezipen metallurgical plant.
An active and energetic man, he quickly became an activist in the labor movement. An experienced man who had gone through a difficult soldier's service, sparing no effort and time for social work - this was Malinovsky in the eyes of the factory workers. Although he really was like that, hiding only some details of his life.
In 1906, he joined the RSDLP, was elected secretary first of the district, and then of the central St. Petersburg board of the metalworkers' trade union, the largest trade union in the country. In preparation for the next All-Russian Congress in 1909year Roman Malinovsky was arrested. He was released from prison with a ban on living in the capital, and in 1910 he moved with his wife and two sons to Moscow, where he continued his revolutionary activities.
Party colleagues strengthened their confidence in the devotion of a comrade-in-arms to their common cause and, preparing for the next Plenum of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, outlined Malinovsky's candidacy - to the Central Committee. But on May 13, 1910, a large group of Moscow Social Democrats was arrested. Provocateur Malinovsky has already been released from prison.
Recruiting an agent
Police provocations have happened before, the Social Democrats are used to them. These were the methods of work of the Police Department. But recruiting secret informants among frontline workers was new and unexpected.
During the interrogation in the Moscow security department, it quickly became clear to experienced specialists that Malinovsky was not a convinced revolutionary, ready to give his life for the cause of the party. An ambitious adventurer, striving to make a career breakthrough in any field, was the best suited for a new role. The interrogation protocols of 1918 record the words of Roman Malinovsky that he calmly reacted to the offer of cooperation and did not feel remorse. He was more concerned with the question of whether the agent "Tailor" will be able to cope with the "double role".
In the service of the secret police
In four years, they received 88 reports, according to which many party members were arrested, including Viktor Nogin, who worked directly with the provocateur, andMalinovsky's best friend is Vasily Sher. Roman Vatslavovich performed this “work” conscientiously and recklessly. Thanks to people like him, the security department knew everything about the underground life of members of the RSDLP, about printing houses, communication channels, the distribution of illegal literature, about addresses of appearances and plans.
The cost of Malinovsky grew every year, deed or report. The initial payment for his "services" was estimated at 50 rubles, soon it began to be 250, and after moving to St. Petersburg - up to 700 rubles. The fact that, having moved from Moscow to the capital, the provocateur continued to "earn additionally" in the Moscow police department, transferring some information there for a fee, clearly characterizes his human qualities.
When, having assessed Malinovsky's abilities and intellect, it was decided to introduce him to the top of the party, the provocateur easily agreed to this.
Introducing Lenin
The leadership of the Police Department, having learned about the preparation of the conference in Prague, did everything possible to introduce their informants into the membership. For various reasons, two Moscow deputies could not go there, and Malinovsky took the place of one of them. The conference had already begun, and there was fierce debate about the next form of struggle with the authorities. The Mensheviks proposed to leave the underground and continue their actions within the limits allowed by law. The Bolsheviks voted for the illegal workers' party. A split was brewing.
Malinovsky, whose name and authority were known outside of Moscow, previously supported the opinion of the Mensheviks. But given the taskto infiltrate the leadership of the Bolshevik party, he "reconsidered" his point of view, which won the favor of Lenin and his associates. Being a talented orator, Malinovsky furiously attacked the position of the Mensheviks. By the end of the conference no one doubted that they had before them a worthy candidate for the Central Committee. They voted for him almost unanimously (12 votes out of 14), in addition, his candidacy was nominated for elections to the IV State Duma.
Secret Police Agent
The Moscow security department, which did not expect such success, began to facilitate in every possible way the passage of its secret agent into the corridors of power from the Bolshevik Party. He was hastily placed at the Ferman factory, which was located on the territory of the province, since employees of Moscow enterprises were not allowed on the lists from the workers' curia. The police arrested an assistant mechanic who was trying to fire Malinovsky. The criminal cases of previous years with the participation of a homeless child were removed from the archive. Of course, the voters were not aware of such preparation of the "clean" name of the candidate.
Roman Vatslavovich in 1912 was successfully elected to the IV State Duma, his candidacy was supported by all factions of the Social Democratic Party. Malinovsky and his family moved to St. Petersburg, where the director of the police department, S. P. Beletsky, became his curator. He has a new pseudonym - X.
Out of 442 deputies of the Duma of the Social Democrats, there were only 14 people. Everyone was in sight. Speeches by Malinovsky, who knows how to make himself listen unfriendlytuned audience, were especially highly valued by party comrades. He was entrusted to announce the first party program. The main policeman of the city helped the revolutionary to choose the topics of speeches that caused the greatest resonance in society.
Malinovsky continued to be active in revolutionary activities, was the main orator of the Bolsheviks in the Duma, spoke to the workers, did not lose ties with the trade unions. He often traveled abroad, where he met with V. I. Lenin, N. K. Krupskaya, Nikolai Bukharin and other comrades.
Urgent departure from the country
So the double life of the provocateur would have continued if the head of the police department had not changed. The new comrade of the Minister of the Interior, VF Dzhunkovsky, was a categorical opponent of the presence of police informants in the State Duma. He believed that this reduced the prestige of the monarchy. The collection of information during the meetings began to occur with the use of listening devices.
We had to get rid of Malinovsky in the Duma. He was given a generous reward and demanded to leave the government with subsequent emigration. Upon learning of the deputy's announcement of withdrawal, party comrades were indignant at the violation of discipline and his irresponsibility. The question arose of being expelled from the party. However, just in case, a serious investigation was conducted into his past, areas of work, and documents drawn up. The commission came to the conclusion: Malinovsky is not a provocateur.
ReturnMalinovsky
The world war began, and Roman Vatslovovich, who left for Warsaw, was drafted into the army. He is captured and spent four years in a POW camp in Germany. There he conducted educational activities and revolutionary propaganda, lectured. Party comrades, as best they could, provided him with moral and material assistance. Parcels with food, warm clothes were sent to him, letters were written. Malinovsky's correspondence with Lenin, Zinoviev and Krupskaya has been preserved.
The truth about his double life was revealed when the archives of the Police Department were opened. This happened after the February Revolution. But even then, the comrades could not believe it to the end.
Malinovsky returned to Russia in 1918 after the conclusion of the Brest Peace. He came to Smolny and declared that he had come to surrender to justice. He was arrested. He probably counted on forgiveness or hoped that his services to the party were more significant than his provocative activities. After pleading guilty, he signed his own death warrant.
No one understood the nuances of the situation, did not appreciate the complex and confusing moments. Only one court session was held. In 1918, a revolutionary, adventurer, provocateur was shot.
