Pavel Yefimovitch Dybenko (Russian: Павел Ефимович Дыбенко) (February 16, 1889 in Ljudkovo near Novosybkov - July 29, 1938) was a Russian revolutionary and a leading Soviet naval officer.

From 1907 onward, Dybenko was active in Russia's revolutionary movement. In 1911 he joined the Baltic Fleet and in 1915 was a leader of the mutiny on board the battleship Emperor Paul I. In April 1917 he was leader of the Zentrobalt. Dybenko took part in Russia's Civil War on the side of the Bolsheviks and afterward dedicated himself to building up the Soviet fleet. After the closure of the military academy in 1922 he commanded various units, including ones in the Leningrad military district. He was appointed military dictator of Kronstadt, following the suppression of the 1921 naval rebellion there against Communist authority.

In the rank of a Commander, 2nd Rank, Dybenko was the deputy of the Supreme Soviet. He received the Order of the Red Banner three times.

Despite these successes, he later fell out of favor with Joseph Stalin, and was among the officers purged from the Party in the late 1930’s. In 1938 he was imprisoned, sentenced to death in a show trial, and executed. Twenty years later, following the death of Stalin, Dybenko was rehabilitated.

External links

• The Truth About Kronstadt - A translation of Pravda o Kronshtadte, part of a Bates College master's thesis by Scott Zenkatsu Parker.