Olga Taratuta

Olga Taratuta
Ольга Таратута
Portrait photograph of Olga Taratuta
Mugshot of Taratuta (1905)
Born
Elka Illivna Ruvinska

1874 (1874) or 1876 (1876)
Died8 February 1938(1938-02-08) (aged 62)
Cause of deathExecution by shooting
OrganizationAnarchist Black Cross (1919–1933)
Known forTerrorism, prisoner support
Political partySocial Democratic Labour Party (1898–1903)
Other political
affiliations
Chernoe Znamia (1903–1909)
Nabat (1920)
MovementAnarchism in Ukraine
Criminal chargesAnti-Soviet agitation
Criminal penaltyCapital punishment
SpouseOleksandr Taratuta
ChildrenLeonid Taratuta (b. 1903)
FamilyKhasya Erdalievska (sister)
Roza Vilenska (sister)

Olha Illivna Taratuta (Ukrainian: О́льга Іллівна Тарату́та;[1][a] 1876–1938) was a Ukrainian Jewish anarchist and a founder of the Anarchist Black Cross (ABC).

Taratuta joined the Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) during its founding in 1898, but within a few years moved towards more radical anarchist positions. She became a leading figure in the Odesa anarchist communist movement, organising a terrorist campaign against Russian imperial officials. After a number of years she was finally caught and imprisoned by the Tsarist authorities.

She was released from prison during the February Revolution and immediately dedicated herself to prisoner support work, first through the Political Red Cross and then later establishing the Anarchist Black Cross. For her activities, she was arrested and imprisoned by the Bolshevik government. She continued to organise international campaigns for Soviet political prisoners even after her release. During the Great Purge, Taratuta was charged with anti-Soviet agitation, sentenced to death, and executed by shooting.

  1. ^ Savchenko 2021, p. 101.
  2. ^ Avrich 1971, p. 68; Dubovik 2009, p. 5; Dubovik 2022, p. 1; Maximoff 1975, pp. 567–568.


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