Jan Ernestovich Sten (Russian: Ян Эрнестович Стэн; Latvian: Jānis Stens; 21 March 1899 – 20 June 1937) was a Soviet Communist Party functionary and specialist in Marxist philosophy.
According to Yeveny Frolov, an Old Bolshevik who survived the purges:
Hardly anyone knew Stalin better than Sten. Stalin, as we know, received no systematic education. He struggled to understand philosophical questions, without success. And then, in 1925, he called in Jan Sten, one of the leading Marxist philosophers of that time, to direct his study of Hegelian dialectics. Sten drew up a program of study for Stalin and conscientiously, twice a week, dinned Hegelian wisdom into his illustrious pupil. Often he told me in confidence about these lessons, about the difficulties he, as a teacher, was having because of his student's inability to master the material of Hegelian dialectics. Jan often dropped in to see me after a lesson with Stalin, in a depressed and gloomy state, and despite his naturally cheerful disposition, he found it difficult to regain his equilibrium...The meetings with Stalin, the conversations with him on philosophical matters, during which Jan would always bring up contemporary political problems, opened his eyes more and more to Stalin's true nature, his striving for one-man rule, his crafty schemes and methods...As early as 1928, in a small circle of his personal friends, Sten said: "Koba [a nickname for Stalin] will do things that will put the trials of Dreyfus and Beilis in the shade."[2]
Opposition and execution
It can be assumed that Jan Sten privately sided with Nikolai Bukharin in his opposition to the campaign to force the Soviet Union's rural population onto collective farms. Although he did not express his opposition openly, he was dismissed from his posts in 1930. He then joined the conspiratorial group led by Martemyan Ryutin who plotted to remove Stalin from office, and was openly calling for "the liquidation of Stalin and his clique".[3][4] He was also a member of a secret oppositional group which included Sergey Syrtsov and Vissaron Lominadze, this group later joined a larger oppositional bloc which was dissolved in early 1933.[5] He was arrested in October 1932, held for two months in Butyrka prison, then deported to Akmolinsk, in Kazakhstan. He was permitted to return to Moscow in 1934, after making an admission of error, and was employed on the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. He was re-arrested on 3 August 1936, and during the first of the Moscow Show Trials on 20 August, the lead defendant, Grigory Zinoviev named him as one of the conspirators who had been plotting against Stalin.[6] He was shot on 20 June 1937.
Personality
Bukharin's widow, Anna Larina, described Sten as "an independent-minded party man who always looked down on Stalin from a position of superior intellect" adding "There was something majestic in the proud bearing of this Latvian with his expressive, intelligent face, Socratic brow, and shock of white hair."[7]
Jan Sten was posthumously rehabilitated in August 1988.
^Ryutin, Martemyan N. (2010). The Ryutin Platform: Stalin and the Crisis of Proletarian Dictatorship : Platform of the "Union of Marxists-Leninists". Seribaan. ISBN978-81-87492-28-3.
^"Pierre Broué: The "Bloc" of the Oppositions against Stalin (January 1980)". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
^Report of Proceedings: The Case of the Trotskyite-Zinovievite Terrorist Centre. Moscow: People's Commissariat of Justice of the U.S.S.R. 1936. p. 72.
^Larina, Anna (1994). This I Cannot Forget. London: Pandora. p. 139. ISBN0-04-440887-0.
January 31, 2023
sten, ernestovich, sten, russian, Ян, Эрнестович, Стэн, latvian, jānis, stens, march, 1899, june, 1937, soviet, communist, party, functionary, specialist, marxist, philosophy, contents, early, career, stalin, tutor, opposition, execution, personality, referenc. Jan Ernestovich Sten Russian Yan Ernestovich Sten Latvian Janis Stens 21 March 1899 20 June 1937 was a Soviet Communist Party functionary and specialist in Marxist philosophy Contents 1 Early career 2 Stalin s tutor 3 Opposition and execution 4 Personality 5 ReferencesEarly career EditBorn into a peasant family in modern day Latvia Jan Sten joined the Bolsheviks as a teenager in 1914 shortly before taking up a place at a teachers seminary in Valmiera In 1917 when Latvia was overrun by the German army he was evacuated to Syzran 1 circular reference After graduating in 1919 he fought in the Russian Civil War In 1921 he was one of the original batch of students enrolled in the Institute of Red Professors and graduated from its philosophy department in 1924 after which he taught at Moscow State University and served on the editorial board of the magazine Under the Banner of Marxism From 1924 to 1927 he was head of the propaganda department of Comintern He was a member of the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1928 he was deputy head of the propaganda department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union From 1928 to 1930 he was deputy director of the Marx Engels Institute Stalin s tutor EditAccording to Yeveny Frolov an Old Bolshevik who survived the purges Hardly anyone knew Stalin better than Sten Stalin as we know received no systematic education He struggled to understand philosophical questions without success And then in 1925 he called in Jan Sten one of the leading Marxist philosophers of that time to direct his study of Hegelian dialectics Sten drew up a program of study for Stalin and conscientiously twice a week dinned Hegelian wisdom into his illustrious pupil Often he told me in confidence about these lessons about the difficulties he as a teacher was having because of his student s inability to master the material of Hegelian dialectics Jan often dropped in to see me after a lesson with Stalin in a depressed and gloomy state and despite his naturally cheerful disposition he found it difficult to regain his equilibrium The meetings with Stalin the conversations with him on philosophical matters during which Jan would always bring up contemporary political problems opened his eyes more and more to Stalin s true nature his striving for one man rule his crafty schemes and methods As early as 1928 in a small circle of his personal friends Sten said Koba a nickname for Stalin will do things that will put the trials of Dreyfus and Beilis in the shade 2 Opposition and execution EditIt can be assumed that Jan Sten privately sided with Nikolai Bukharin in his opposition to the campaign to force the Soviet Union s rural population onto collective farms Although he did not express his opposition openly he was dismissed from his posts in 1930 He then joined the conspiratorial group led by Martemyan Ryutin who plotted to remove Stalin from office and was openly calling for the liquidation of Stalin and his clique 3 4 He was also a member of a secret oppositional group which included Sergey Syrtsov and Vissaron Lominadze this group later joined a larger oppositional bloc which was dissolved in early 1933 5 He was arrested in October 1932 held for two months in Butyrka prison then deported to Akmolinsk in Kazakhstan He was permitted to return to Moscow in 1934 after making an admission of error and was employed on the Great Soviet Encyclopedia He was re arrested on 3 August 1936 and during the first of the Moscow Show Trials on 20 August the lead defendant Grigory Zinoviev named him as one of the conspirators who had been plotting against Stalin 6 He was shot on 20 June 1937 Personality EditBukharin s widow Anna Larina described Sten as an independent minded party man who always looked down on Stalin from a position of superior intellect adding There was something majestic in the proud bearing of this Latvian with his expressive intelligent face Socratic brow and shock of white hair 7 Jan Sten was posthumously rehabilitated in August 1988 References Edit Yan Ernestovich Sten Medvedev Roy 1976 Let History Judge The Origins and Consequences of Stalinism Nottingham Spokesman pp 224 225 Medvedev Let History Judge p 142 Ryutin Martemyan N 2010 The Ryutin Platform Stalin and the Crisis of Proletarian Dictatorship Platform of the Union of Marxists Leninists Seribaan ISBN 978 81 87492 28 3 Pierre Broue The Bloc of the Oppositions against Stalin January 1980 www marxists org Retrieved 2020 08 07 Report of Proceedings The Case of the Trotskyite Zinovievite Terrorist Centre Moscow People s Commissariat of Justice of the U S S R 1936 p 72 Larina Anna 1994 This I Cannot Forget London Pandora p 139 ISBN 0 04 440887 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jan Sten amp oldid 1089637421, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
