The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Rakovsky, Christian Georgyevich
(khrstyän´ gyr´gyvch rkôf´sk) (KEY) , 1873–1938, Soviet Communist diplomat. His early revolutionary activities extended from his native Bulgaria through Switzerland, Germany, France, and Romania. In 1919 he briefly headed the Ukrainian Soviet government. A Soviet delegate at the Conference of Genoa (1922), he was later Russian chargé d’affaires at London (1924) and ambassador to France (1926–27). His opposition to Joseph Stalin’s leadership caused his expulsion (1927) from the party. He later recanted (1934). In the public purge trial of Mar., 1938, Rakovsky was convicted of treason and sentenced to imprisonment for 20 years. He is believed to have died in prison.
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