Along with those duties he also was head of the State Political Publishing house, edited in the "Literary newspaper" ("Літературнa газетa") and the journal "Soviet Literature" ("Радянська література"). He was married to the Ukrainian writer (1899–1937), an ethnic German. He was arrested during the Great Purge in 1937, charged with "spying against the Soviet Union" and executed by shooting on October 10, 1937. Earlier, on September 25, 1937, his wife was executed as well for "supporting her husband in anti-state activities".