Everything about Georgy Chicherin totally explained
Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin (
Russian: Георгий Васильевич Чичерин) (–
7 July 1936) was a
Marxist revolutionary and a
Soviet politician. He served as
People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs in the Soviet government from March
1918 to
1930.
Biography
A distant relative of
Aleksandr Pushkin, Georgy Chicherin was born in an aristocratic family. His father, Vasily N. Chicherin, was a diplomat in the service of the
Russian Empire. As a young man, Chicherin became fascinated with history as well as
classical music, especially
Richard Wagner (and indirectly
Friedrich Nietzsche), two passions which he'd pursue throughout his life. He spoke all major European languages and a number of Asian ones. After graduating from
St. Petersburg University with a degree in history and languages, Chicherin worked in the archival section of the Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs from 1897 until 1903.
In 1904 Chicherin inherited the estate of his celebrated uncle —
Boris Chicherin — in the
Tambov region and became very wealthy. He immediately used his new found fortune to support revolutionary activities in the runup to the
Russian Revolution of 1905 and was forced to flee abroad to avoid arrest later in the year. He spent the next 13 years in Western Europe, mostly
London,
Paris and
Berlin, where he joined the
Menshevik faction of the
Russian Social Democratic Labor Party and was active in emigre politics.
With the outbreak of
World War I in 1914, Chicherin adopted an anti-war position, which brought him closer to
Vladimir Lenin's
Bolsheviks. In 1917 he was arrested by the
British government for his anti-war writings and spent a few months in the
Brixton prison. In the meantime, the Bolsheviks had come to power in Russia after the
October Revolution of 1917 and the first head of the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs (which had replaced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs),
Leon Trotsky, secured Chicherin's release and safe passage to Russia in exchange for British subjects held in Russia at the time, including
George Buchanan, the British ambassador.
Upon his return to Russia in early 1918, Chicherin formally joined the Bolsheviks and was appointed Trotsky's deputy during the negotiations that led to the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. After the treaty was signed in late February 1918, Trotsky, who had advocated a different policy, resigned his position in early March. Chicherin became the acting head of the Commissariat and was appointed Commissar for Foreign Affairs on
May 30.
In
1922, Chicherin participated in the
Genoa Conference and signed the
Treaty of Rapallo with
Germany. He pursued a policy of collaboration with Germany and developed a closer working relationship with
Ulrich Graf von Brockdorff-Rantzau. Although known for his
workaholic habits from 1918 and until the late 1920s, he became increasingly sidelined by an illness from
1928 on and was formally replaced by his deputy,
Maxim Litvinov, in 1930.
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