Matvei Konstantinovich Tsaplin

Born 1886 in the village of Sergeevka, Shuia District, Vladimir Province; died Sept. 26, 1918, near Barnaul. One of the leaders of the struggle for Soviet power in the Altai. Member of the Communist Party from 1905.

The son of a peasant, Tsaplin became a weaver. He carried out party work in Shuia, Yaroslavl, and Barnaul. Tsaplin became chairman of the Barnaul soviet in August 1917 and helped organize the Red Guard. In September he was elected chairman of the Altai provincial executive committee of soviets. Tsaplin was a delegate to the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets. He also served as chairman of the Barnaul military revolutionary committee, which took power in the city on Dec. 7 (20), 1917. In June 1918, Tsaplin was captured and shot by White Guards.