Roman Malinovsky is a revolutionary with whose name the activities of the Bolshevik Party in 1905-1914 are closely connected. The career growth of this functionary was rapid and not always explainable. Later it turned out that he received all kinds of support from the tsarist security department, in the service of which he was secretly serving. The traitor exposed was convicted by the Supreme Tribunal at the Central Committee of the RSDLP and executed in 1918.
Malinowski's name was removed from all party documents. And he himself, leading a double life, hid some events, presenting two, or even three options for their development. Therefore, it is difficult to trace its path through the remaining documentary fragments and rare recollections of fellow revolutionaries. That’s why there are so many fictions around this name, which still causes the interest of compatriots.
Criminal youth
Little is known about Roman Vaclavovich’s childhood. He was born in 1876 in a suburb of Warsaw. Either a peasant son, or a descendant of an impoverished noble family, he, along with his brothers and sisters, remained an orphan. In this case, its origin is not so important, it should be noted that he acquired the ability to survive, adapt and cunning from childhood.
Not wanting to earn money for food by honest labor in the shop where his older sister arranged for him, the boy preferred to neglect, beg and steal. The archives of the police department retained documents on the "drives" and the arrest of Roman Malinovsky. A year and a half in the Paviak prison in Warsaw in the company of mature criminals taught him a lot, but the application of this experience had to be postponed: the young man was sent to a children's correctional institution after the prison. There he mastered the profession of a locksmith and tinsmith, which were useful to him in the future.
Guard Corporal
In 1901, Malinovsky Roman Wenceslas was called up for military service. Historians still put forward a variety of versions about how a draftee with a criminal past got into the soldiers of the elite life guard of the Izmailovsky regiment, stationed in St. Petersburg. Two options seem most real. First: acquaintance in criminal circles helped the young man straighten out new documents, and he was able to start life from scratch. And external data, growth, become, bearing, appearance allowed him to pass the selection among recruits. The second, unconfirmed documentary version, admits that already in those years he was connected with the police department, which facilitated the introduction of a scammer into the soldier’s environment of elite troops.
Gifted by nature as a leader, able to inspire confidence in others, he did not want to remain an inconspicuous soldier in the army. For conflicts with officers, he was sent to serve from St. Petersburg to Krasnoye Selo, and in 1905, for the "indignation of soldiers" in the barracks, they offered a choice: a "political" case or sending to the front. Having chosen the second, Malinovsky did not lose, he was promoted to corporal, and he went to the Far East. But on the road he was caught up by the good news about the end of the Russo-Japanese War, and the newly-made corporal was demobilized.
The beginning of a political career
From that moment, the biography of Roman Malinovsky could go the way, far from any adventures and adventurous events that he periodically arranged in his life. Upon resigning, he remained in St. Petersburg, married the maid of his company commander, and entered the Langezipen metallurgical plant.
An active and energetic man, he quickly became an activist of the labor movement. An experienced person who has gone through a difficult soldier’s service, sparing no effort and time for community service — such was Malinovsky in the eyes of the factory workers. Although he really was like that, hiding only some details of his life.
In 1906, he joined the ranks of the RSDLP, was elected secretary of the first regional, and then the central St. Petersburg board of the metalworkers' union, the largest union in the country. In preparation for the next All-Russian Congress in 1909, Roman Malinovsky was arrested. He came out of prison with a ban on living in the capital, and in 1910 he moved with his wife and two sons to Moscow, where he continued his revolutionary activities.
Colleagues in the party strengthened their confidence in the comrade’s allegiance to their common cause and, preparing for the next Plenum of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, outlined Malinovsky’s candidacy for the Central Committee. But on May 13, 1910, a large group of Moscow Social Democrats was arrested. The provocateur Malinovsky was already released from prison.
Agent Recruitment
Police provocations have happened before, the Social Democrats are used to them. These were the working methods of the police department. But to recruit secret informants among the advanced workers was new and unexpected.
During interrogation at the Moscow Security Department, experienced specialists quickly realized that Malinovsky was not a convinced revolutionary, ready to give his life for the cause of the party. An ambitious adventurer, striving to make a career spurt in any field, was the best suited for a new role. The minutes of the interrogation of 1918 recorded the words of Roman Malinovsky that he calmly reacted to the proposal for cooperation, and did not feel remorse. He was more concerned about the question: will the agent “Tailor” be able to cope with the “double role”.
In the service of the "secret police"
In four years, 88 reports were transmitted to them, according to which many party members were arrested, including Viktor Nogin, who worked directly with the provocateur, and Malinovsky’s best friend, Vasily Sher. Roman Vaclavovich and this his "work" performed conscientiously and recklessly. Thanks to people like him, the security department knew everything about the underground life of members of the RSDLP, about printing houses, communication channels, the distribution of illegal literature, addresses of appearances and plans.
The cost of Malinowski grew every year, by deed or report. The initial payment for his “services” was estimated at 50 rubles, it soon became 250, and after moving to St. Petersburg - up to 700 rubles. The fact that having moved from Moscow to the capital, the provocateur continued to “earn extra money” at the Moscow police department, passing part of the information there for a fee, clearly characterizes his human qualities.
When, evaluating Malinowski’s abilities and intelligence, it was decided to introduce him to the top of the party, the provocateur easily agreed to this.
Acquaintance with Lenin
Having learned about the preparation of the conference in Prague, the leadership of the Police Department did everything possible to introduce its informants into the membership. For various reasons, two Moscow deputies could not go there, and Malinovsky took the place of one of them. The conference has already begun, and there has been fierce debate about the next form of the struggle against power. The Mensheviks proposed leaving the underground and continuing actions within the limits permitted by law. The Bolsheviks voted for an illegal labor party. A split was brewing.
Malinovsky, whose name and authority were known outside of Moscow, supported earlier the opinion of the Mensheviks. But having received the task to infiltrate the leadership of the Bolshevik party, he “revised” his point of view, thereby gaining the favor of Lenin and his associates. Being a talented speaker, Malinovsky violently defeated the position of the Mensheviks. By the end of the conference no one doubted that they were a worthy candidate for the Central Committee. They voted for him almost unanimously (12 votes out of 14), in addition, his candidacy was nominated for elections to the IV State Duma.
Secret police agent
The Moscow Security Department, which did not expect such success, began to facilitate in every possible way the passage of its secret agent into the corridors of power from the Bolshevik party. He was hastily arranged at the Ferman factory, which was located on the territory of the province, since employees of Moscow enterprises were not allowed on the lists from the working curia. Police arrested an assistant mechanic trying to fire Malinovsky. Criminal cases of past years with the participation of a homeless child were removed from the archive. Of course, voters did not know about such preparation of the “pure” name of the candidate.
In 1912, Roman Vaclavovich was safely elected to the IV State Duma, and all factions of the Social Democratic Party supported his candidacy. Malinovsky and his family moved to St. Petersburg, where the director of the police department, S.P. Beletsky, became his curator. He has a new pseudonym - X.
Of the 442 deputies of the Duma of the Social Democrats, there were only 14 people. Everyone was in sight. Speeches by Malinovsky, who knows how to force himself to listen to an unfriendly audience, were appreciated by his party comrades especially highly. He was entrusted with the announcement of the first party program. The chief police officer of the city helped the revolutionary choose the topics of speeches that caused the greatest resonance in society.
Malinovsky continued to carry out active revolutionary activity, was the main orator of the Bolsheviks in the Duma, spoke to the workers, did not lose ties with the trade unions. Often traveled abroad, where he met with V.I. Lenin, N.K. Krupskaya, Nikolai Bukharin and other comrades.
Urgent departure from the country
So the double life of the provocateur would continue if the head of the police department did not change. The new comrade of the Minister of Internal Affairs V.F. Dzhunkovsky was a categorical opponent of the presence of police informants in the State Duma. He believed that this reduces the prestige of the monarchy. The collection of information during the meetings began to occur with the use of listening devices.
It was necessary to get rid of Malinovsky in the Duma. He was given a generous reward and demanded to leave the authority with subsequent emigration. Upon learning of the deputy’s declaration of withdrawal, the party comrades were outraged by the violation of discipline and his irresponsibility. The question arose of expulsion from the party. However, just in case, a serious investigation was conducted into his past, work areas, and documents drawn up. The commission concluded: Malinovsky is not a provocateur.
The return of Malinowski
The world war began, and Roman Vatslovovich, who had left for Warsaw, was drafted into the army. He is captured and for four years in a prison camp in Germany. There he conducted educational activities and revolutionary propaganda, lectured. Party comrades, as they could, provided him moral and material assistance. Parcels were sent with food, warm clothes, letters were written. Malinovsky’s correspondence with Lenin, Zinoviev and Krupskaya was preserved.
The truth about his double life became known when the archives of the Police Department were opened. This happened after the February Revolution. But even then the comrades could not believe it to the end.
Malinovsky returned to Russia in 1918 after the conclusion of the Brest Peace. He came to Smolny and declared that he had come to surrender to justice. He was arrested. He probably hoped for forgiveness or hoped that his merits to the party were more weighty than provocative activities. Admitting his guilt, he signed himself a death sentence.
No one understood the nuances of the situation, did not appreciate the complex and confusing moments. Only one trial was held. In 1918, a revolutionary, adventurer, provocateur was shot.