Konon Berman-Yurin

Konon Borisovich Berman-Yurin (aka Hans Stauer, Alexander Fomich) (1901 – 25 August 1936) was a Latvian Communist who was a state witness in the trial of Grigory Zinoviev.

Background Berman-Yurin was born in Courland, Latvia. He was a member of the Communist Party of Latvia from 1921 to 1924.

In 1923, he left Latvia for Germany without obtaining the permission of the party, who expelled him as a deserter. However he did join the German Communist Party, where he joined the regional directorate involved in propaganda and organisational work. He claimed that Trotsky had instructed him that "if possible, the terroristic act must be carried out at a Plenum or Congress of the Comintern, so that the shot at Stalin should ring out in a large assembly. This would have a tremendous repercussion far beyond the borders of the Soviet Union and call forth a mass movement throughout the world. This would have a world-historical political significance".

After being convicted and sentenced to death, Berman-Yurin was shot on 25 August 1936.