Kamenev's interest in politics began very early and in 1901 he joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. Educated in Georgia and Moscow University, he was arrested in 1902 and did not complete his studies. Further disillusioned by the regime, he became a dedicated revolutionary. He married Trotsky's sister Olga who was also a Marxist. In 1902, he met Lenin on a trip abroad and became a close friend. In 1905, he attended the 3rd Party Congress in London and, on his return to Russia, took part in the October revolution in St. Petersburg. Over the next three years he was in and out of jail and after his release from prison in 1908, he again went abroad. He helped Lenin to edit the Bolshevik magazine Proletariy and, together with Zinoviev, became Lenin's assistant. Until the outbreak of the First World War, Kamenev continued to work in editing and the organization of the Bolsheviks. He was arrested again in 1915 and exiled to Siberia where he was finally freed by the February Revolution in 1917. He returned to St. Petersburg where he edited Pravda. When the subsequent revolution took place in October of 1917, he and Zinoviev both voted against armed rebellion. The political strength of Lenin and Trotsky prevailed. Kamenev became chairman of the Moscow Soviet in 1918 and the following year was elected to the Politburo. When Lenin became ill, Kamenev became the chairman of the Politburo and formed an alliance with Stalin and Zinoviev (the "Troika"). In 1925, Kamenev and Zinoviev split with Stalin and allied themselves with Lenin's widow and others. He was expelled from the Communist Party in 1927 for his opposition views, but was soon reinstated. In 1932, he was again expelled for failing to report on the opposition movement. After Kirov's murder in 1934, Kamenev, together with Zinoviev and others, was put on trial and was sentenced to 5 years. He was again tried in 1936 for the attempted murder of Stalin in what became known as the Moscow Show Trials. He was executed by firing squad on August 25th. Over the next few years most of Kamenev's family were also executed and only his youngest son survived the labor camps. Kamenev was completely exonerated of any wrongdoing by the Soviet Government in 1988. |
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