In early August 1922, GPU intelligence agents in the city of Kremenchug were conducting surveillance on a big target – a prominent Zionist nicknamed "Redhead." This young man, the commander of the Kremenchug legion "Maccabi" and head of the local Jewish scouts, was preparing to leave for Kharkiv, where the All-Ukrainian Congress of "Maccabi" and the All-Ukrainian Conference of Zionists from the "Ze'irei Zion" movement were to be held.

The head of the agent group reported that from August 6 to 8, 1922, the scoutmaster of the "Maccabi" legion tirelessly conducted various meetings and gatherings in Kremenchug. Surveillance agents observed him in Theater Lane, at the Candle Factory in Pomerki, and also at a house on Sumsky Lane, where Sema gathered several dozen Jews. That same evening, the young man organized a Zionist meeting in the garden of the Central Club "Vseobuch." The next day, the pattern repeated itself: Lyubarsky's "tail" was clearly noticed, as he had placed a female observer on the balcony of one of the houses where a large meeting was taking place.

Nearly thirty years later, at the end of Stalin's terror, the authorities came for the doctor Solomon Lyubarsky. He was a well-known figure, with his entire life in the public eye. Surveillance was unnecessary.

It might seem that there could be no connection between the Zionist of the turbulent 1920s, who was being watched by GPU agents in Kremenchug, and the distinguished surgeon of Siberia, known in the post-war period as Semen Romanovich Lyubarsky, a professor at the Novosibirsk Medical Institute. However, the fact remains: surgeon Lyubarsky was indeed the same "Redhead," who, along with his comrades, founded the Zionist movement "Hashomer Hatzair" in the Soviet Union.

In his youth, the surgeon Lyubarsky was known by a different name and patronymic – Solomon Rakhmilevich. Solomon Lyubarsky was born on March 24, 1903, in a Jewish family in Kremenchug. His father, Rakhmil Aronovich, was an employee, and his mother, Rosalia Aronovna, was a housewife. Sema Lyubarsky also had a younger brother named Michael or Milya, who later also became a Zionist.

Before the Civil War in Ukraine, Sema Lyubarsky attended the eight-grade Kremenchug Commercial School. From a young age, he was incredibly energetic and athletic, and he was recognized as the leader of local boys' gangs. These qualities were especially useful to him when the Jewish population began to suffer desperately from pogroms in 1918. When, in December 1918, the Directorate of the Ukrainian People's Republic replaced the government of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi, a so-called "reserve militia" was established in several Ukrainian towns with the permission of the Kyiv authorities. Its primary role was to protect the Jewish population. According to some eyewitnesses of those events, one of the commanders of such "reserve militia" units, which mainly consisted of demobilized soldiers, was Sema Lyubarsky. Even as a teenager, he coped perfectly with his duties, and his name instilled genuine fear in the thugs who wanted to loot the Jewish streets.

In April 1919, Solomon Lyubarsky voluntarily joined the Red Guard. He first became a cadet in the commanders' courses of the Special Purpose Units (ChON) in Elisavetgrad and then joined the 4th Special Purpose Regiment. Later, he served in the 2nd Regiment, which operated on the southern and southwestern fronts. In battles with the "Makhnovists," ataman Grigoryev, and other opponents of the "proletarian power," he received a perforating thigh wound but continued to serve until 1922, demobilizing as a battalion commander. Sema Lyubarsky's unwavering belief in the power of the proletariat was combined with principled Zionism. This left-wing, socialist Zionism was extremely popular among Jewish youth in post-revolutionary Ukraine.

Upon returning from the front to his hometown of Kremenchug, Solomon Lyubarsky joined the " Ze'irei Zion" movement, which promoted the idea of Jews returning to Palestine and organized Hebrew courses in the city. As a former commander and avid sports enthusiast, Sema Lyubarsky decided to develop the local branch of the Jewish scouting organization "Maccabi" in Kremenchug. Soon, under the leadership of scoutmaster Sema Lyubarsky, the Kremenchug legion of "Maccabi" became one of the best in the country. The legion in Kremenchug had up to 700 members, mostly former gymnasium students who had transitioned to secondary schools after the educational reforms. Entire classes joined the scouts, and the movement also included girls from the Jewish Women's Vocational Sewing School.

The presence of the "Maccabi" members in Kremenchug left no chance for the Komsomol. The Jewish community, even children from quite poor families, showed no interest in joining the Young Leninists' club. This reluctance was especially pronounced after such impressive events as the "Maccabi" procession, which took place on the night of July 5, 1922. With Zionist songs, the scouts marched through Kremenchug, alarming the entire communist activist community.

"Redhead's" role in the Kremenchug movement was decisive. Besides organizing ceremonial gatherings, oaths on the blue-and-white flag, sports competitions, and other activities, Lyubarsky personally engaged in debates with the communists. According to the authorities, during one discussion about the labor movement in Palestine, Sema Lyubarsky stubbornly defended the perspective of "bourgeois Zionism."

In May 1922, Lyubarsky unexpectedly traveled to Moscow. For the sake of disguise, Sema carried a sack of flour with him, supposedly for sale. However, the real purpose of his visit was the organizational congress of the new Zionist youth movement, "Hashomer Hatzair." The theses for the founding congress were prepared by its main initiator, a student of the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages, Lasya Iskoz, while the organizational scheme was proposed by Sema Lyubarsky. "Hashomer Hatzair" aimed at the patriotic education of Jewish children and adolescents based on scouting principles.
Following the congress, Lyubarsky joined the leadership and headed the regional headquarters of "Hashomer Hatzair" in Kharkiv. In Ukraine's temporary capital, he lived in a commune with two other comrades. The activists worked tirelessly in Kharkiv, taking no days off, except for their constant trips around Ukraine. In addition to building the movement, the "shomrim" (guards) conducted "comradely courts" and administered exams. Solomon Lyubarsky himself examined the scouts, making them read and translate Hebrew stories. A great lover of Jewish history, he questioned the youngsters in detail about Jewish heroes, folk legends, and the ancient history of Eretz-Israel.

In December 1922, the repeated demonstrations with songs and flags around Kremenchug so irritated the communists that it led to the dissolution of the "Maccabi" legion created by Lyubarsky. During a Hanukkah parade involving over 200 people, the participants were surrounded by militia and members of the Kremenchug district branch of the GPU of the Ukrainian SSR. A large amount of material was confiscated from those present: flags, seals, leaflets, and magazines. The young scouts were detained by the police, and the leaders were taken away by the Chekists.

After the arrests in Kremenchug, Lyubarsky, who was living in Kharkiv, stopped staying overnight in his own room. However, he boldly appealed to the GPU leadership, petitioning for the release of the minors detained during the parade. By that time, he was well known to the authorities and had been summoned for questioning multiple times. Through their informants, the GPU was already aware of his activities but still called him in for interrogations. These interactions always followed the same pattern: "Comrade Lyubarsky, did you travel to Moscow?" - "No!" - "We know you did. For what purpose?" - "To speculate."

Lyubarsky's "acquaintance" with the GPU was due to the fact that at its inception, "Hashomer Hatzair" sought legalization in the Soviet Union. The Jewish scouts had no intention of fighting the Bolsheviks, focusing instead on Eretz-Israel. When scouts asked how he felt about the surrounding reality, Lyubarsky consistently replied, "Soviet power and communism are very good for us Jews, but not here, in Palestine." Following David Ben-Gurion's visit to Moscow, "Hashomer Hatzair" began to openly declare its aim of preparing young collectivist workers who would build a "Jewish, labor, socialist Palestine."

In May 1923, at the first congress of "Hashomer Hatzair" in Kharkiv, Sema Lyubarsky was appointed Chief of the movement's General Staff. The congress attendees officially adopted the name "Union of Jewish Scouts in Russia 'Hashomer Hatzair'." While they parted ways with the "Maccabi" organization, they proposed a federation of the "Maccabi," "HeHalutz," and "Hashomer Hatzair" unions to more effectively carry out practical work and fight for legalization.

Lyubarsky's remarkable personality greatly contributed to the rapid growth of "Hashomer Hatzair." Wearing a Budyonovka hat on his head, dressed in the Red Army uniform, and armed with a pistol, Sema marched the "shomrim" through Kharkiv, creating a sensation among the Jewish youth.
Such escapades soon deeply concerned the Chekists. In September 1924, following mass arrests in Ukraine, all members of the General Staff of "Hashomer Hatzair" were arrested in Moscow, including the two most prominent leaders, Lasya Iskoz and Sema Lyubarsky. Lyubarsky's arrest involved an actual chase after the "shomrim" through central Moscow. During his interrogation by the "head of the Zionists," OGPU Secret Department officer Iosif Chertok, Lyubarsky was openly defiant. Under the threat of a three-year imprisonment in Solovki, Lyubarsky and Iskoz decided to employ a ruse: they wrote a letter to the Evsektsiya newspaper, "Der Emes," announcing their decision to leave the Zionist organization.

The members of "Hashomer Hatzair," who were pre-informed of this maneuver, supported their leaders' decision to do whatever it took to continue their organizational work. However, this tactic was harshly condemned by the Zionist community in the Soviet Union and the labor movement in Palestine. The central council of "Hashomer Hatzair" declared that it would not tolerate "letters and declarations of renunciation," like those publicized by the organization's leaders. Sema Lyubarsky, who was also a member of the Zionist Socialist Party, was immediately expelled from its ranks.

Lyubarsky proved his loyalty to his ideals when he was re-arrested on November 2, 1926, for the same reasons. One of the founders and leaders of "Maccabi" and the left-wing "Hashomer Hatzair" could not bear the disgraceful label of a "former" Zionist who had recanted before the Bolsheviks. Since the time of his release in December 1924, Lyubarsky continued to serve as the Chief of the General Staff of "Hashomer Hatzair", but he operated underground, using false documents under the name Krechman. While in Moscow, he coordinated the work of regional headquarters, maintained contact with other Zionist movements, and sought funds to assist his arrested comrades, demanding resources and leaders from the Overseas Delegation of "Hashomer Hatzair" in Palestine.