orig. Karl Sobelsohn
born 1885, Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary
died 1939?
Russian communist politician.
He took part in the Russian Revolution of 1905 , then wrote for leftist newspapers in Poland and Germany (190614). After meeting Vladimir Lenin in 1915, he helped reorganize the German Communist Party in 1918. He returned to Russia in 1919 and rose to leadership in the Comintern but was ousted in 1924 for his support of Leon Trotsky . After recanting in 1929, he became a fervent Stalinist and editorial board member of Izvestiya (193136). Despite his conversion, he was arrested and tried in the purge trials and sentenced to 10 years in prison, where he died.