Zinovev, Boris

Born 1874, in St. Petersburg; died Feb. 5 (17), 1900, in Tver’ (present-day Kalinin). Active figure in the St. Petersburg Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class.

The son of an artisan, Zinov’ev graduated from a trade school in 1892 and worked in the Putilov Factory. He joined an illegal workers’ circle, where he studied economic and political Marxist literature, and he organized four workers’ circles, one of which was led by V. I. Lenin. Zinov’ev was elected an organizer at a meeting of Social Democratic circles at the Narva Gates in April 1895. Arrested in the same year, he was quickly released. Lenin gave Zinov’ev constant assistance. G. M. Krzhizhanovskii, V. V. Starkov, and P. K. Zaporozhets frequented Zinov’ev’s apartment. Zinov’ev was arrested again on Dec. 9, 1895. Under open police surveillance, he arrived in Tver’ in February 1897, where he established ties with Social Democratic organizations in Tver’ and engaged in revolutionary propaganda. Zinov’ev was arrested in the spring of 1899 for establishing an underground printing shop. He fell ill and died in prison in the beginning of 1900.