Roman Malinovsky Biography and Timeline

Metalworkers Union

Roman Malinovsky joined the St Petersburg Metalworkers' Union and became active in the organized labor movement while working as a metal turner.

Union Secretary

Malinovsky was elected secretary of the St Petersburg Metalworkers' Union and became a prominent organizer among the city's industrial workers.

Arrest at Temperance Congress Meeting

Police arrested Malinovsky at a preliminary meeting connected with a workers' delegation to the Temperance Congress, interrupting his trade-union leadership.

Bolshevik Infiltration

Acting under police direction, Malinovsky moved into Bolshevik political circles while secretly reporting party contacts, meetings, and organizational information to the Okhrana.

Exile from St Petersburg

After repeated political arrests, Malinovsky was barred from remaining in St Petersburg and transferred his political activity to Moscow.

Okhrana Recruitment

Following an arrest in Moscow, Malinovsky entered regular service as a paid informer for the tsarist secret police and began supplying information on socialist organizations.

Central Committee Election

Delegates at the Prague Conference elected Malinovsky to the Bolshevik Central Committee, giving him access to highly confidential party discussions while he remained an Okhrana informer.

Fourth Duma Election

Workers of Moscow Governorate elected Malinovsky to the Fourth State Duma, where he emerged as one of the most visible Bolshevik parliamentary representatives.

Meeting with Lenin

During a visit to Lenin in Krakow, Malinovsky discussed Bolshevik parliamentary tactics and received instructions concerning relations with the Menshevik deputies.

Prague Conference

Malinovsky attended the Prague Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, where Lenin's supporters consolidated an independent Bolshevik organization.

Pravda Administration

Malinovsky participated in the business and organizational work surrounding Pravda, giving the police an additional channel of information about the Bolsheviks' legal newspaper network.

Vienna Central Committee Meeting

Malinovsky attended a Central Committee meeting in Vienna at the end of 1912, strengthening his position within the senior leadership of the Bolshevik organization.

Accusation by Martov

Menshevik leader Julius Martov publicly accused Malinovsky of connections with the secret police, bringing growing suspicions about the Duma deputy into open political controversy.

Bolshevik Caucus

Instructed by Lenin to split the SDP delegation in the Duma & form a Bolshevik Caucus

Bolshevik Party

The Mensheviks turn down Lenins programe & find a leader in Malinovsky. 6 Bolshevik deputies demand 7 Menshevik deputies accept Lenins programme

Defence by Lenin

Lenin rejected allegations that Malinovsky was a police agent and continued to defend him as an important Bolshevik worker-deputy despite accusations from political opponents.

Manifesto

The Mensheviks turn down Lenins programe & find a leader in Malinovsky. 6 Bolshevik deputies demand 7 Menshevik deputies accept Lenins programme

Menshevik Party

The Mensheviks turn down Lenins programe & find a leader in Malinovsky. 6 Bolshevik deputies demand 7 Menshevik deputies accept Lenins programme

Expulsion from Party

The Bolsheviks expelled Malinovsky after condemning his unexplained resignation from the State Duma as a serious breach of party discipline.

Military Conscription

After the outbreak of the First World War, Malinovsky entered Russian military service and disappeared from active parliamentary and party politics.

Resignation from the Duma

Malinovsky abruptly resigned his seat in the Fourth State Duma after senior officials decided that his continued presence risked exposing his secret relationship with the police.

German Captivity

German forces captured Malinovsky during the First World War, and he spent much of the remaining conflict as a Russian prisoner of war in Germany.

Exposure as Okhrana Informer

Documents opened after the collapse of the tsarist regime established that Malinovsky had secretly worked as an Okhrana agent while holding senior positions in the Bolshevik movement.

Role range: 1917-1918

Bolshevik Party

Tried by a Bolshevik Revolutionary Tribunal & executed for being an Okhrana informer

Role range: 1917-1918

Death of Roman Malinovsky

Tried by a Bolshevik Revolutionary Tribunal & executed for being an Okhrana informer

Role range: 1917-1918

Execution

Tried by a Bolshevik Revolutionary Tribunal & executed for being an Okhrana informer

Role range: 1917-1918

Return to Petrograd

After his release from wartime captivity, Malinovsky voluntarily returned to Petrograd and presented himself to Bolshevik authorities, who detained him after his identity and former police service were recognized.

Role range: 1917-1918

Revolutionary Tribunal

Tried by a Bolshevik Revolutionary Tribunal & executed for being an Okhrana informer

Role range: 1917-1918