Timenchik Shmuel Yankelevich (1913-1978)

Timenchik (Timentschik) Shmuel (Schmuel) Yankelevich (22 October 1913, Riga — 5 January 1978, Riga) — head of the newsreel department of the Riga Film Studio, literary and public figure.

Shmuel Timenchik was born into the family of a craftsman-tinsmith. After graduating from the Riga Jewish school, in 1927–1931 he worked in private printing houses; in 1931–1939 he was an employee of the firm “Record” and at the same time studied in a theatre studio, which he completed in 1934.

From 1928, he participated in the underground revolutionary movement and was an active member of the Komsomol. In 1934, he was assigned to work in the organization of antifascist writers, journalists, and artists; in 1937, he was recalled to Komsomol and propaganda work. His last position in the underground was secretary of the 4th district Komsomol in Riga.

In 1939–1940, he worked in a private tinware shop, after which he was drafted into military service in the 5th Cēsis Infantry Regiment. He knew four languages — German, Latvian, Russian, and Yiddish? (in a questionnaire, in his own hand, he wrote “Jewish”).

After the establishment of Soviet power in Latvia in July 1940, he became commissar of a separate artillery battalion of the Latvian People’s Army, and after its incorporation into the Soviet Army — head of the personnel department and special department of a chemical industry trust. At the same time, he also headed the literary section of the Jewish Art Theatre.

When the Nazi Germany attacked the USSR, he volunteered for the front and commanded a platoon of a destruction battalion. On 22 July 1941, he was wounded in battles near Narva and discharged due to disability. He worked as chairman of the district council of Osoaviakhim in Yanaul (Bashkiria) and was artistic director and stage director of the Stalin House of Culture.

In April 1944, he was again sent to the army and served as a party organizer of a company. After demobilization in 1945, he returned to Latvia, where he was appointed a political officer in prisoner-of-war camps under the UPVI of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Latvian SSR.

In 1949, after the liquidation of the camps, he transferred to the system of labor reserves of the Latvian SSR as deputy political officer and assistant director for cultural and educational work.

From May 1958, he worked at the Riga Film Studio: head of the filming department, then head of the newsreel department, and secretary of the party organization. Alongside his work at the studio, Timenchik was аctively engaged in literary and public activity. He authored numerous publications and received a number of government awards.

He contributed to the hiring of G. V. Frank at the Riga Film Studio, who later became a prominent Soviet, Latvian, and Israeli documentary filmmaker.