User:Babieca51/Prokopy Zubarev

Prokopy Timofeevich Zubarev (Russian: Прокопий Тимофеевич Зубарев; February 1886 – 15 March 1938) was a Soviet politician and statesman. He was purged and executed during the "anti-Trotskyist" repressions of Stalin.

Early Life
Zubarev was born in Kotelnichesky district, Vayatka in 1886. He was born into a peasant family where he received up to secondary education. Zubarev joined the Bolshevik party in 1904 at the age of 18. He participated in the First Russian Revolution in 1905 that lasted until 1907. During these years he was repeatedly arrested and exiled. In 1915, he fought alongside Imperial Russia in WWI until 1917.

Political Career
Zubarev started his political career in 1922 when he served in the Soviet of Ufa Governorate. In 1923 he became Deputy Chairman of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee. In January of 1929, Oblispolkom Chairman Shvernik was removed from office and was replaced by I.D. Kabakov and Zubarev became his assistant under the title of Second Secretary. Two years later, Zubarev was kicked from the Urals Obkom Bureau with the excuse that he limited the collection of targets in Urals state farms. In reality, he was used as a scapegoat due to a scandal that had gone public. Information exposing high ranking officials for regional resistance to to collections had caused a Politburo Investigation. In 1934, Zubarev was named Deputy People's Commissar of Agriculture which would end in 1937 after his arrest.

Trial
On March 2, 1938, The Trial of 21 began. 21 defendants were all charged with crimes found in Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the R.S.F.S.R. including Zubarev. During the morning session of March 2, 1938, Zubarev was formally indicted of being an agent of the tsarist police in 1908, working under three aliases. His alias names were Vasily, Palin, and Prokhor. He plead guilty to his crimes during that same morning session. On the morning session of March 3, Zubarev is examined by the President. During his testimony, he confesses to have joined the Organization of the Rights in 1929. He claims that he moved to the former Urals Region to participate in counter-revolutionary work. He explains the three main tasks to causing insurrections in the region. The first task was to reduce the quality and supply of seeds during the sowing campaign. The second point was to provoke the public by disorganize the food supply and public catering. The third point was to organize and create connections with enemies of the state, which he claims was the task that he worked on. When asked to clarify what crimes he committed in 1931, Zubarev responded with "I gave instructions in the sphere of agriculture to disrupt the grain collections, to encourage hostile mood in connection with grain deliveries, to resist collectivization, to resist the measure the party and government were carrying out to strengthen the collective farms." Zubarev goes on to explain crimes he claims to have committed during his time as the People's Commissariat of Agriculture. The prosecutor then moves to the subject of Zubarev's time in the tsarist police. He gives testimony of obtaining information about political exiles during the years of 1910 to 1915 until he was called to serve the army. At 4:00 a.m. on March 13, 1938, the President announced the verdict. All 21 defendants were found guilty for their crimes. Eighteen of the defendants, including Zubarev, were to be shot and all personal property was confiscated by the state. On March 15, 1938, Zubarev was executed.