Alexandru Nicolau | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 1889 |
| Died | September 27, 1937 (aged 48) |
| Cause of death | Executed |
| Resting place | Donskoy Cemetery, Moscow |
| Nationality | Romanian, Soviet |
| Other names | Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Nikolau |
| Alma mater | University of Bucharest University of Paris |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, socialist activist, communist activist |
| Employer(s) | Communist University of the National Minorities of the West Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party of Romania Communist Party of the Soviet Union |
Alexandru Nicolau (Russian: Александр Александрович Николау, romanized: Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Nikolau; January 1889 – September 27, 1937) was a Romanian lawyer, socialist and later communist activist. Active in the Romanian and French socialist movements before and during World War I, he left for Russia during the 1917 Revolutions. There, he became one of the organisers of Romanian volunteer detachments in support of the Soviets. Arrested shortly after returning to Romania in 1920, he left for Soviet Russia after a successful prison escape. During the later part of his life he held teaching positions at several Soviet universities, before falling victim to the Great Purge in 1937. His name was posthumously rehabilitated both in the Soviet Union and in his native Romania.