(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Paul Axelrod, founder and leader of the Russian Social Democratic movement and a bitter foe of the Bolshevik regime, died here today at the age of 78.
The death of Axelrod in exile occasioned deep mourning among the Russian Socialists abroad who continue their fight against the Bolshevik government.
He was born in 1850, the son of a poor Jewish family. His parents were unable to provide him with a proper education. At an early age he was attracted to the movement for social justice and became a member of the group of five which established the socialist movement in Russia. Together with other socialist leaders, he circulated among the Russian peasants about fifty years ago a proclamation alleged to have been issued by the Czar distributing the land to the peasants. Active in various directions, Axelrod spent a great deal of his life among the Russian mouzhiks, spreading among them the gospel of freedom and literacy.
He was one of the early members of the party “Narodniki.” Known as one of the best educated Socialist leaders in Russia, he was the father of Menshevism. Axelrod was a bitter foe of the Bolsheviks, and he continued his opposition up to the time of his death. He left Russia after the Bolsheviks came into power.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
