Theodor Ivanovich Nete ( Latvian: Teodors Nete ; August 15, 1896 [1] [2] [3] - February 5, 1926, Latvia ) - diplomatic courier of the USSR People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs . Theodor Nette died in 1926 in Latvia , defending diplomatic mail.
| Theodore Nette | |
|---|---|
| Latvian. Teodors nete | |
 | |
| Date of Birth | August 15, 1896 |
| Place of Birth | Riga , Russian Empire [1] |
| Date of death | February 5, 1926 (aged 29) |
| Place of death | Salaspils , Latvia [1] |
| Citizenship |  the USSR |
| Nationality |  Russian empire |
| Occupation | diplomatic courier |
| Children | daughter |
| Awards and prizes |
|
Content
Biography
Born in Latvia , son of a shoemaker, spoke German. In the Social Democratic Party since 1914. In the First World War , he was arrested with his father, kept in the Riga Central , then was transferred to the Petrograd Crosses . After his release in March 1917, again in Latvia. According to the official version, from August 1917 he was at underground work in parts of the German troops that occupied Riga . From the beginning of 1918 in Petrograd - Secretary of the Visa Division of the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR , then Political Commissioner of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Latvian Rifle Regiment . After the proclamation of Soviet Latvia in 1919, he was a member of the Jelgava Revolutionary Tribunal. Member of the Civil War on the Southern Front of the RSFSR . Since 1922 - diplomatic courier of the People's Commissariat of the RSFSR [4] .
Assault on diplomats Nette and Mahmastal
On February 5, 1926, on the Moscow-Riga train on the line between the Ikskile and Salaspils stations, unidentified armed with revolvers demanded that the guide show the coupe of diplomatic couriers and attacked the Soviet sales representative L.F. Pechersky (1885-1938). Diplomatic couriers Theodor Nette and Johann Mahmastal (1891-1942) heard a noise, prepared weapons, but did not manage to close the compartment door. The attackers found them and tried to enter the compartment with weapons in their hands. Nette was in a favorable position - on the top shelf. He fired first and immediately incapacitated one of the attackers, but was immediately wounded in the head and died on the spot. Mahmastal hesitated with return fire, was wounded in the stomach and in his right hand, shot from the left and wounded another bandit. The attackers retreated; soon two of them were found dead, at least one more disappeared. The wounded Mahmastal remained in the compartment and guarded the diplomatic post until his arrival in Riga, where he was met by employees of the USSR embassy. The killed bandits identified the citizens of Lithuania as brothers Gavrilovich. The investigation conducted by the Latvian authorities did not give other results.
Perpetuating Nette's memory
The attack on Soviet diplomatic couriers in the USSR caused a significant public outcry. V.V. Mayakovsky , with whom Nette was personally acquainted, devoted this poem to " Nette 's Comrade - the Steamboat and Man ."
A year after the tragic events, the film of the film director Alexander Dovzhenko - “ Bag of the diplomatic courier ”, (1927) was released. Its plot, however, is very far from the real incident of 1926.
Nette (posthumous) and Mahmastal were awarded the Order of the Red Banner .
In honor of Theodore Nette, the ship Tver was renamed. In the future, this name was sequentially carried by two more vessels of the Northern Shipping Company , a gas turbine ship built in 1963 and a log carrier built in 1990 of the type “Peacock Vinogradov” (of the same type as the log carrier “Johann Mahmastal”) [5] . Currently, there is no such name in the lists of the shipping fleet [6] .
Theodore Nette's daughter, who at the time of her father’s death was about a year old, was taken up by the state.
February 5 is celebrated as a day of remembrance for diplomatic couriers who died in the line of duty.
The fact of the attack on Theodor Nette and Johann Mahmastal formed the basis of the plot of the feature film " Red Diplomatic Couriers " ( Odessa Film Studio , 1977).
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Latvijas Padomju Enciklopēdija. - Rīga: Galvenā enciklopēdiju redakcija, 1986. - T. 7. - S. 167.
- ↑ year of birth is mistakenly indicated as 1886
- ↑ Latvijas Padomju Enciklopēdija. - Rīga: Galvenā enciklopēdiju redakcija, 1988 .-- T. 10 2 . - S. 356.
- ↑ Collection “Duty and Courage: Tales of Diplomatic Couriers” Moscow, 1989. V. I. Popov, pp. 185-186
- ↑ SMP
- ↑ Northern Shipping Company. Transport fleet
Literature
- Maisky I.M.Duty and courage. Stories about diplomatic couriers. - M.: Politizdat, 1988, ISBN 5-250-00052-5