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task that was made easier by the foundation of
the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in
1898. On the major issues that divided the
young party in the next decade, Plekhanov alter-
nated from early support of LENIN 's Bolshevik
wing to support of the Mensheviks. Personal
issues connected with his desire to maintain his
senior position in the movement seem to have
been as important as his commitment to ortho-
dox Marxism. In 1910, he split with the Men-
sheviks and set up his own subfaction, briefly
collaborating with Lenin. During World War I,
Plekhanov advocated an Allied victory as the
best policy for advancing the socialist cause, a
view that set him at odds with Lenin. After 37
years of émigré politics, Plekhanov returned to
Russia after the FEBRUARY REVOLUTION of 1917
and set up a bitterly anti-Bolshevik social demo-
cratic organization, called Unity. He died after
the Bolshevik revolution.
sketchy, but at some point in the 1930s she was
recruited by the OGPU-NKVD (secret police),
who at the time were very interested in pene-
trating Russian émigré circles. She used her influ-
ence on Skoblin, and they eventually took part
in the NKVD-organized kidnapping and assassi-
nation of the former White General Evgeni
Miller in Paris, 1937. It is likely that she was also
involved in the kidnapping of General Kutepov
that had also taken place in Paris seven years
earlier, although this was never proven. Skoblin
disappeared and was probably executed by the
NKVD, but Plevitskaya was arrested by the
French police. After a long, sensational trial she
was sentenced to 15 years in prison for her part
in Miller's murder. She died soon after while
serving her sentence in Rennes prison. The
Soviet press often reported on her singing career,
without mentioning her intelligence activities.
Plisetskaya, Maya Mikhailovna
(1925- )
ballerina
The leading ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet during
the 1950s and 1960s, Plisetskaya is most identi-
fied with the dual role of Odette/Odile in
Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Born into a Moscow
family of dancers—she was the niece of the
dancers Asaf and Sulamith Messerer—Plisetskaya
studied with Agrippina Vaganova, a teacher of
other prominent Soviet dancers. Plisetskaya
joined the Bolshoi Company after graduation
from the Bolshoi Ballet School in 1943. With the
Bolshoi she was given lead roles and developed
a style that combined technical virtuosity with
unique acting portrayals that made the fullest
expressive use of her body, especially her arms.
In addition to Swan Lake, Plisetskaya danced in
classical ballets such as The Fountain of Bachk-
isaray, Don Quijote, Giselle, and Sleeping Beauty. She
also performed in modern Soviet ballets such as
The Stone Flower (1954). Plisetskaya toured with
the Bolshoi Ballet, performing in numerous
countries including the United States, India, and
China. In 1964 she was awarded a Lenin Prize
Plevitskaya, Nadezhda Vasilievna
(1884-1940)
singer and spy
Born Nadezhda Vinnikova, Plevitskaya was a
renowned Russian singer who embarked on a
second career as a Soviet intelligence agent
while living in France. Plevitskaya was born in
the village of Vinnikovo, Kursk province, the
12th child in a peasant family. By 1906 she had
already become a famous mezzo-soprano who
entertained members of the imperial family and
government ministers. Her first husband was the
ballet soloist Edmund Plevitskii, and her second
husband a young officer, Iurii Levitskii, whom
she soon left. In 1921 she married Nikolai
Skoblin, a major-general in the imperial army 11
years her junior, and immigrated with him to
Paris. In Paris, Plevitskaya became the darling of
the Russian émigré community, attracting large
crowds at Russian restaurants and numerous
admirers. One of her songs, “Zamelo tebia snegom
Rossii,” became close to an unofficial anthem for
émigré White Russians. She also toured Europe
with equal success. Details of her other life are
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