Karolis Požela

Karolis Požela (29 February 1896 – 27 December 1926) was one of the early Lithuanian communist leaders. As a medical student at the University of Tartu, he joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (bolsheviks) in 1916. In the short-lived Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic he organized communists in Šiauliai. After the collapse of the Soviet regime, Požela joined the underground Communist Party of Lithuania (CPL) becoming a member of its Central Committee in 1921. When party leadership was arrested in Königsberg in 1921, he remained essentially the only party leader in Lithuania. He continued political work and became a member of CPL Orgburo in 1923 and Politburo in 1926. At various times, he edited and published various communist newspapers and publications, including Tiesa (Truth), Kareivių tiesa (Soldiers' Truth), and Darbininkų gyvenimas (Life of Workers). For his communist activities, he was imprisoned a total of six times. When Lithuanian military organized the coup d'état of 17 December 1926, the official rationale was to protect Lithuania from an imminent Bolshevik revolt (historians found no credible evidence of such revolt). In the aftermath, many communists were arrested. Požela and three others, who became known as the four communards, were executed on 27 December in the Sixth Fort of the Kaunas Fortress.

Požela was born in the Bardiškiai village near Žeimelis to a family of well-off farmers. From 1906 to 1915, he was a student and the Mitau Gymnasium. He participated in various student activities and got acquainted with Julius Janonis. After the graduation, he enrolled at the University of Tartu to study medicine. There he became more interested in communism and joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (bolsheviks) in autumn 1916. Požela helped establishing Tartu section of the party and illegally publishing various communist brochures. After the February Revolution, he became a member of the Tartu soviet. The university was closed in February 1918 and Požela returned to his native Bardiškiai where he organized local communist groups (cells).

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