Yekaterina Peshkova



Yekaterina Pavlovna Peshkova, née Volzhina (Екатери́на Па́вловна Пешко́ва, née Во́лжина; 26 July 1876 – 26 March 1965) was a Soviet human rights activist and humanitarian, first wife of Maxim Gorky.

Life
Before the October Revolution she took an active part in the work of the Committee for Assistance to Russian Political Prisoners (Комитет помощи русским политкаторжанам) under the leadership of Vera Figner. After 1914 she led the Children's Commission at the Society for Assistance to War Victims. After 1918 she was the major activist of the Moscow Committee of the Political Red Cross.

After 1922, she was chairwoman of the subsequent organization the Assistance to Political Prisoners (Pompolit, Помощь политическим заключенным, Помполит). She was honored by an order of the Polish Red Cross for her participation in the exchange of prisoners of war after the Polish–Soviet War.

In 1927, she was instrumental in securing the commutation and release of Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn after he was accused of counter-revolutionary activities, and sentenced to death.