Leon Pozemsky is the first leader of the Komsomol members of the Pskov province. The "forever young" hero died at 22 in battles with the White Guards. It has been 100 years since his execution in 2019.
Biography
Leon Pozemsky was the eldest son in a family that belonged to a small ethnic group of Karaites. This Turkic people especially revered several Jewish traditions and customs, including a reverent attitude towards education and books.
Leon was the eldest son in a large family, he was born in 1897. He had three brothers - Isaiah, Romuald and Yakov, as well as a sister, Sophia. Mikhail (Moisey) Eliseevich, Leon's father, was an accountant, mother Beata Osipovna was engaged in raising children and domestic life.
Leon has always studied well. In 1907 he graduated with honors from elementary school and successfully passed the exams at the Pskov gymnasium. At that time, it was the only educational institution of this level in the entire Pskov province, because there was a great competition there. Of the 500 people, only 90 were admitted to the first grade, among them was Leon Pozemsky.
Memories of Leon's classmate in that gymnasium, N. Kolibersky (later a famous teacher in the Pskov region), have been preserved. He wrote that Leon has always been among the leaders in academic performance. But he did not spend much time studying - his abilities allowed him to grasp everything on the fly. However, this did not prevent him from being a very sympathetic boy - he always helped his classmates who came to his home for help. He patiently explained the material and was sincerely happy about the success of others. After his studies, Leon went to help his father and worked with him in the workshop.
In 1915 Pozemsky graduated from the gymnasium with a gold medal. He planned to get further education, but a summons came to the army. The First World War was going on, there were not enough soldiers at the front.
Leon Pozemsky was enrolled in the ensign school, after which he was sent to the front. During his service, the young officer almost openly declared his disagreement with the tsarist regime and sympathy for the Bolshevik movement. After the 1917 revolution, Leon immediately joined the winners and joined the ranks of the Komsomol organization.
In 1916, Leon's father died, the family began to feel an acute lack of finance. Returning from the war, Pozemsky became a typesetter in a printing house. Then he goes to the financial department of the Pskov City Council.
At the origins of the Komsomol organization in Pskov
At the end of 1918, a large youth rally took place in Pskov, the result of which was the creation of the first city Komsomol organization. It was headed by Stepan Telegin, military commissar. But almost immediately, in January 1919, Telegin went to the front, and Leon Pozemsky took his place.
Komsomol cells emerged en masse in all cities of the Pskov province. They needed to be networked and led. This task was entrusted to the young Leon, who turned out to be a real leader. He skillfully organized youth, carried out social assignments. For the Komsomol members, a plan was drawn up, according to which the priority tasks were political and cultural development, strengthening the city's labor collectives with Komsomol cadres, training in military affairs, etc.
They did not forget about aesthetic education. A choir circle and a string orchestra appeared. We created a youth club and campaigned. Those who considered the Komsomol only entertainment were expelled from the organization.
Hero-member of the Komsomol Leon Pozemsky
In the spring of 1919, whites came to the city. Volunteer townspeople fought against them in consolidated detachments. Among them was Leon, who was appointed assistant commander. The forces were clearly incomparable, so the militias had to retreat.
There was a crossing over Keb - a small river near the village of Karamysheva. Part of Pozemsky covered the withdrawal of the main forces, and during the exchange of fire Leon was wounded in both legs, lost consciousness.
In this state, Pozemsky was taken prisoner, where at first he was mistaken for an ordinary private. But among the White Guards turned out to be the son of a local kulak - he identified the leader of the Pskov Komsomol members. Leon was interrogated in order to find out which of the Komsomol members remained in the city for underground work. The torture was cruel and long, the fighter was doused with water and interrogated again. However, the whites did not achieve results and on the evening of June 12, 1919, Pozemsky was shot near the river. That night, the locals buried him secretly at the place of death.
In 1934, during general collectivization, it was possible to prove the involvement in the murder of L. Pozemsky, the son of the kulak Kuznetsov, who pointed out the Komsomol to the White Guards command. He was tried as a direct participant in those events.
Then, in 1934, Pozemsky's ashes were reburied in Pskov on the Square of the Victims of the Revolution. Later this place was renamed the Square of the Fallen Soldiers.
Memory
A memorial plaque with the name of the famous hero L. Pozemsky was installed on the building of the first gymnasium in Pskov.
One of the streets of his hometown is named after him.
At the place of the execution of Leon Pozemsky in 1988, a monument was erected - a star made of concrete, which was previously decorated with a bronze sculpture. At some point, it disappeared - most likely it was handed over as a non-ferrous metal. In Soviet times, Komsomol members held actions and commemoration days near the monument. It is currently abandoned.
A family
Leon's brothers and sisters continued his work and always cherished the memory of him.
Isai was a Red Army soldier, died in 1942 at the front.
Romuald received an art education, was engaged in the manufacture of mosaic panels. His work can be seen in the Moscow metro. Killed during the blockade of Leningrad.
Yakov chose a job in agriculture and worked in the Pskov region. In the very first days of the Great Patriotic War, he went to the front. He died in 1944.
Sophia graduated from the music and theater studio. She was evacuated to the Gorky region, after which she returned to her homeland. I collected information about my brother and other members of the Komsomol, wrote down the events that made up the history of the formation of the Komsomol in Pskov. With stories about the contribution of heroes and ordinary fighters she performed at factories, enterprises, schools.
