1.Origins of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky
His father was a Polish nobleman and taught in a grammar school. There were nine children in the family. Felix Dzerzhinsky's father passed away when Felix was only five years old. All care for the children fell on the shoulders of his mother Helena Dzerzhinsky, maiden name Januszewska. Poland (Kingdom of Poland) at that time was part of the Russian Empire. And although Felix Edmundovich's parents were Poles, they were not considered foreigners. And why Poland belonged to Russia, do you know? It's simple. It was the result of the Napoleonic wars.
2.What Dzerzhinsky dreamed of becoming as a child
As a child, little Felix of course did not dream of revolution, and certainly not of becoming head of the VChK or becoming People's Commissar of Internal Affairs. Felix wanted to become a seminarian and then to serve the Lord and be a priest. Quite a strange wish of a child, considering that his father was not a priest. Don't you think?
3. Dzerzhinsky was a repeater in gymnasium.
In spite of his noble origins and intelligent parents, young Felix was a repeat student. This was most likely due to his poor Russian language skills and the absence of his father. And Dzerzhinsky received an "F" for the Russian language at the end of his studies.
4.A dark story about his sister
There is still a record in a foreign Wikipedia that Felix Dzerzhinsky shot his sister with his father's gun as a child (or adolescent). What actually happened is now difficult to know. Was it an accident or was it deliberate, and whether it happened at all. But this is interesting. My father told me about this in the early 1980s. Somehow he got this information, I don't know. There was no Internet or Wikipedia back then. And you could only find out from books, newspapers, and movies. So this information really did exist.
5. Seven aliases of Dzerzhinsky and one nickname.
I hope you friends still remember that Lenin's real surname was Ulyanov and Stalin's was Dzhugashvili. Revolutionaries who hid from the police had pseudonyms and nicknames. Dzerzhinsky also had them. Felix Dzerzhinsky. He's also the Astronomer and the Bookbinder. AKA Jakub and Jacek. He's also Jozef, Franek, and Mr. Domanski. The only nickname that survived is Iron Felix.
6. spouse and son
Felix Dzerzhinsky's wife, Sofia Sigizmundovna Mushkat was also an active revolutionary. She was in jail and in exile. She even gave birth to a son, Jan, to Dzerzhinsky, while in prison in Warsaw. Those were the times.
7. Dzerzhinsky and children
In addition to being the chairman of the Cheka, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs, Chairman of the GPU and initiator of the red terror, Dzerzhinsky was the head of the commission to improve the lives of children. It was he who organized orphanages and labor communes. And after the revolution and the civil war there were a lot of homeless children! The number was in the millions.
8.Dzerzhinsky and the camera "FED"
Another interesting fact. It was these waifs who created and mastered the production of the famous Soviet camera "FED". The name of the camera was the initials of Dzerzhinsky. Did you know about it?
9.An interesting fact for sports fans
I would like to congratulate all the fans of sports and, in particular, the fans of Dynamo sports society. Yes, my friends. It was at the suggestion of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky that this voluntary sports society was created. I am sure true "Dynamo" fans know about it.
10.Dzerzhinsky awards
I was able to find information about only one order. Order of the Red Banner. And the departmental award of Honorary Officer of State Security. Many of today's Russian actors, singers and different showmen have much more orders and medals...
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