was a Latvian writer and employee of the Communist Party of Latvia. Participant of the Spanish Civil War (1937-1939) and World War II. Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia (1961-1966) and deputy of the Supreme Council of the USSR (1962-1966). At the same time, he was the chairman of the Latvian SSR Committee for the Defense of Peace, a member of the World Peace Council (1962-1981).
