Izrail Leplevsky

Born into a Jewish family in Brest-Litovsk, Grodno Governorate, Leplevsky received a home education and worked afterwards in a hat shop, and in a pharmacy warehouse. In 1914 he was enrolled as a conscript in the Russian army and served on the Turkish front from October 1914 till June 1917. ==Political career==

In March 1917, Leplevsky became active in the Bolshevik party in Tbilisi. From June 1917 he was a member of the military organization of the RSDLP (Bolshevik) in Yekaterinoslav. Afterwards, he made a career in the Soviet secret service, the GPU, in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, culminating in his appointment as People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR from June 14, 1937 to January 25, 1938. During this period he was in charge of mass repressions in Ukraine. In particular, he was the major instigator of Vesna Case, a massive repression of former officers and generals of the Russian Imperial Army during 1930–1931. He was arrested on April 26, 1938, and on 28 July he was shot according to a sentence passed by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR. == References ==