Yakov Sverdlov 1885 – 1919

Biography

Yakov Sverdlov was born on June 3, 1885, in Nizhny Novgorod, a major city on the Volga River in western Russia. He would become one of the influential Soviet politicians of the early revolutionary era, playing a significant role during a transformative period in Russian history.

Sverdlov’s life was cut short when he died on March 16, 1919, in Moscow at the age of thirty-three. He succumbed to influenza during a time of great upheaval in the young Soviet state. His death marked the loss of a prominent political figure during the critical early years following the Russian Revolution.

The esteem in which Sverdlov was held by the Soviet leadership was evident in his final resting place. He was interred at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow’s Tverskoy District, an honor reserved for the most significant figures of the Soviet state. This burial site reflected the importance of his contributions during the formative years of the Soviet Union.