Zalomov, Petr Andreevich

Born May 3 (15), 1877, in Nizhny Novgorod, now the city of Gorky; died Mar. 18, 1955, in Moscow. Member of the Russian revolutionary movement; the prototype for Pavel Vlasov, the hero of M. Gorky’s novel The Mother.

A worker’s son and a mechanic by profession, Zalomov joined the revolutionary movement in 1892. In 1901–02 he created a social democratic organization in Sormovo. He joined the Nizhny Novgorod Committee of the RSDLP in May 1901 and participated in organizing the demonstration of May 1, 1902, in Sormovo, carrying a red banner with the slogan “Down With Autocracy!” Arrested, he made a brilliant speech at his trial. V. I. Lenin expressed a high opinion of the behavior of Zalomov and his comrades at the trial (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 7, p. 65). Sentenced to life exile in Eastern Siberia, he escaped in March 1905 with M. Gorky’s financial support and lived in Kiev, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. He participated in the December Armed Uprising of 1905 in Moscow and organized druzhiny (armed workers’ detachments). In 1906 a severe illness forced him to abandon political activity.

After the February Revolution of 1917, Zalomov helped set up Soviets in Kursk Province. During the Civil War (1918–20), he was arrested by the haidamaks and Denikin’s men and brutally tortured; he was ill for a long time as a result. Zalomov joined the ACP (Bolshevik) in 1925 and participated in the collectivization of agriculture in 1929. He was awarded the Order of Lenin.