100 years ago, Felix Dzerzhinsky passed away.

      July 20, 2026 12:56 Society On July 20, it has been 100 years since the death of Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. For most, he remains the "Iron Felix" - the founder and first head of the Cheka. However, in the last years of his life, he was primarily engaged in restoring the country's economy after the Civil War. In April 1921, Dzerzhinsky was appointed People's Commissar for Transport. By that time, the railway transport was in a dire state, but in less than three years under his leadership, the industry was restored and transformed into one of the key elements of the economy. In February 1924, he headed the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the USSR (VSNKh), as well as the Main Administration of the Metallurgical Industry - "Glavmetall". As noted in the monograph "F. E. Dzerzhinsky - Economist" by Vladimir Mikhalkin, during the NEP period, Dzerzhinsky became one of the ideologists of the country's industrial development. Under him, new industries began to form, including aviation, tractor, shipbuilding, and radio engineering. He participated in the development of the first state plans for economic development, advocated for the implementation of economic calculation, and paid great attention to issues of labor productivity and worker compensation. Contemporaries noted his demand for accuracy in calculations: Dzerzhinsky personally checked statistical data, analyzed indicators, and was not afraid to admit his own mistakes. For his interest in the development of industry and new technologies, he was called the "Knight of Industry." He was fascinated by radio, became the first chairman of the Society of Friends of Soviet Cinematography, and was also a member of the presidium of the Society for the Study of Interplanetary Communications along with Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and Friedrich Tsander. The city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region is closely associated with Dzerzhinsky's name. It received its current name in 1929, and in 1948, one of the most famous monuments to the revolutionary - a ten-meter bronze sculpture by Sergey Merkurov - was erected in the city center. Another important chapter of his activities was the fight against child homelessness. Heading the Commission for Improving the Lives of Children under the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Dzerzhinsky worked on creating a system to help orphans left without parents after the revolution and the Civil War. In memory of this work, in 2023, a sculptural composition featuring homeless boys was placed next to the monument to Dzerzhinsky in the city. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" has channels on Telegram and MAX. Subscribe to stay updated on major events, exclusive materials, and timely information. Copyright © 1999—2025 NIA "Nizhny Novgorod". When reprinting, a hyperlink to NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" is mandatory. This resource may contain materials 18+