Investor Presentaiton
the leader of the local Bolshevik organization where he formed an illegal bootmakers union and
led numerous successful strikes. 112 Still in Yuzovka, Kaganovich spoke at his first mass meeting
in March 1917, and he discovered a talent for public speaking that would carry on throughout his
life. 113 He also joined the Yuzovka unified committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labor
Party (RSDLP) at this point.
Later in 1917, Kaganovich returned to Kiev, but was conscripted into the Army and
shortly transferred to Saratov. Specifically, Kaganovich served in the 7th company of the 42nd
Infantry Regiment in Saratov. 114 While in the Army, Kaganovich was elected chairman of the
newly established Military Organization of the Saratov RSDLP. 115 This role was especially
impactful on Kaganovich's development because it allowed him to attend the All- Russian
Conference of Bolshevik military Party organizations which was occurring in Petrograd; this trip
made a major impact on Kaganovich, filling him with conflicting emotions. He recalls the
beauty of the city, noting that "bourgeois aesthetes lie when they portray us, workers, soldiers,
and peasants, as simpletons, not feeling and not interested in beauty. On the contrary, we
received, especially a city like Petrograd, enthusiastically ... However, in 1917 our hearts,
souls, and brains were mainly filled with indignation, not admiration, not with the shapes of
palaces, but their class content. "116 Additionally, Kaganovich emphatically notes, “We knew that
these palaces were built on the bones and tears of the people, that even though the tsars and
courtiers were overthrown, even today ... those in power, who continue to exploit and oppress
112 Ibid, 8.
113 Ibid, 9.
114 Ibid.
115 Ibid.
116 Kaganovich, Pamiatnye zapiski, 107-108.
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