David Shub (1887 – 1973) was a social democrat arrested for activity in the 1905 Russian revolution and exiled to Siberia in 1906 and escaped to the United States in 1908.
In 1930 he wrote the lead article on Stalin, probably the first authoritative profile to appear in the American press,[1] for the New York Times magazine (22 March 1930)[citation needed]
His 1948 biography of Lenin has been reprinted over sixteen times, described as "indispensable to the student of contemporary history, of russia, and of social revolution".[2]
During his exile, he remained in close contact with leading figures of the Russian Revolutionary movement, including Bolsheviks Lenin, Trotsky, and Bukharin, and also liberals and socialists such as Kerensky, Miliukov, Chernov, Catherine Breshkovsky, and others.[1]
David Shub was born and educated in Russia. In 1904-1905 he lived in London, Paris, and Geneva, where he often met with leaders of the Social Democratic Party, both Menshevik and Bolshevik, including Lenin, Plekhanov, Axelrod, Zasulich, Bogdanov, Lunacharsky, Bonch-Bruyevich, Martov, Potresov, and Dan.[1]
David was an editor of "The Jewish Daily Forward" for 45 years, joining the editing board in 1924. He wrote and solicited articles about the international Socialist movement.
He retired in 1969, though he continued to contribute articles in Yiddish and Russian in other publications for the rest of his life.[3]
He died May 27th, 1973, in a Miami Beach hospital from complications following a series of heart attacks. He was survived by a daughter, Mona (a social worker), with whom he lived; a son Anatole Shub, editor of Radio Free Europe, and three grandchildren.[3]
As an appendix to his biography, Shub compiled a distillation of Leninist ideology in Lenin's own words. Although he abhorred its ideology and praxis, Shub felt that Leninism was self-refuting. The best way to undermine the project, therefore, was to allow Lenin to speak for himself.