Vera Yakolevka, who comes from a well-known Jewish family, was yesterday appointed People’s Commissar of Finance by the Soviet Union Central Executive Committee. The 44-year-old Jewess thus becomes the first women member of the Soviet cabinet.
Madame Yakolevka has the difficult task of being responsible for the entire Soviet budget, the largest in the world. She has long been prominent in the Soviet revolution. The new finance commissar joined the revolutionary movement in 1905, when she was only twenty. She was twice exiled to the Narim district and twice she escaped. Prior to her appointment to the cabinet she was assistant commissar of education.
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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.
