 After the death of Yakov Sverdlov, he was considered a candidate for the post of Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the head of state of the Russian SFSR, but lost to Mikhail Kalinin.He subsequently served as the fourth People's Commissar for Internal Affairs of the Russian SFSR and the second for the Soviet Union, succeeding Felix Dzerzhinsky.A member of the Left Opposition associated with Leon Trotsky, he signed the Declaration of 46 in October 1923, making himself a lifelong enemy of future Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin.