Aleksei Kuznetsov
Encyclopedia
Alexey Alexandrovich Kuznetsov ' onMouseout='HidePop("40027")' href="/topics/Borovichi">Borovichi
—October 1, 1950, Moscow
) was a Soviet
statesman, CPSU
(since 1925) functionary, Lieutenant General
, member of CPSU Central Committee
(1939-1949). He was 1st Secretary (deputy leader) to Leningrad
CPSU gorkom (city committee) and obkom (oblast
committee), and, during the Siege of Leningrad
, helped organize the city's defense.
Zhdanov
was thought to want Kuznetsov to replace him as CC Party Chairman. Kuznetsov was also believed to be a possible replacement for Stalin on the latter's death. He was a strong supporter of Stalin, who appointed him to head the security functions of the party, showing how much the Soviet leader trusted him.
Kuznetsov helped Zhdanov to remove Malenkov
and in 1946 replaced Beria as curator of the MGB. This replacement may have reminded Beria of how Yezhov
was elevated in order to remove Yagoda
in the 1930s. The supposition is that these acts would ensure the enmity of both Malenkov and Beria.
The beginning of Kuznetsov’s fall came when Stalin demoted him and returned him to a minor post in Leningrad (a frequent sign that the subject was destined for a final fall). This may have been because Kuznetsov had been digging into Kirov's
death - suspicion of Stalin’s involvement in this murder has never been put to rest. Eventually Kuznetsov was arrested, tried and sentenced to death in a secret trial during the Leningrad Affair
.
His death consolidated the power of Malenkov, Beria and Bulganin
– with the inference that they may have been involved in the charges – fabricated or not.
He was rehabilitated posthumously.
Borovichi
Borovichi is the second largest town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Population: -Geography:The town is located in the northern spurs of the Valdai Hills, east of Veliky Novgorod. It stands upon the Msta River. Just upstream Borovichi there are the famous rapids of Msta popular among...
—October 1, 1950, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
statesman, CPSU
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
(since 1925) functionary, Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
, member of CPSU Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
(1939-1949). He was 1st Secretary (deputy leader) to Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
CPSU gorkom (city committee) and obkom (oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
committee), and, during the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
, helped organize the city's defense.
Zhdanov
Andrei Zhdanov
Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet politician.-Life:Zhdanov enlisted with the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1915 and was promoted through the party ranks, becoming the All-Union Communist Party manager in Leningrad after the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934...
was thought to want Kuznetsov to replace him as CC Party Chairman. Kuznetsov was also believed to be a possible replacement for Stalin on the latter's death. He was a strong supporter of Stalin, who appointed him to head the security functions of the party, showing how much the Soviet leader trusted him.
Kuznetsov helped Zhdanov to remove Malenkov
Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita...
and in 1946 replaced Beria as curator of the MGB. This replacement may have reminded Beria of how Yezhov
Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov or Ezhov was a senior figure in the NKVD under Joseph Stalin during the period of the Great Purge. His reign is sometimes known as the "Yezhovshchina" , "the Yezhov era", a term that began to be used during the de-Stalinization campaign of the 1950s...
was elevated in order to remove Yagoda
Genrikh Yagoda
Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda , born Enokh Gershevich Ieguda , was a Soviet state security official who served as director of the NKVD, the Soviet Union's Stalin-era security and intelligence agency, from 1934 to 1936...
in the 1930s. The supposition is that these acts would ensure the enmity of both Malenkov and Beria.
The beginning of Kuznetsov’s fall came when Stalin demoted him and returned him to a minor post in Leningrad (a frequent sign that the subject was destined for a final fall). This may have been because Kuznetsov had been digging into Kirov's
Sergey Kirov
Sergei Mironovich Kirov , born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad...
death - suspicion of Stalin’s involvement in this murder has never been put to rest. Eventually Kuznetsov was arrested, tried and sentenced to death in a secret trial during the Leningrad Affair
Leningrad Affair
The Leningrad Affair, or Leningrad case , was a series of criminal cases fabricated in the late 1940s–early 1950s in order to accuse a number of prominent members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of treason and intention to create an anti-Soviet organization out of the Leningrad Party...
.
His death consolidated the power of Malenkov, Beria and Bulganin
Nikolai Bulganin
Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
– with the inference that they may have been involved in the charges – fabricated or not.
He was rehabilitated posthumously.
Honours and awards
- Two Orders of Lenin
- Medal for the Defence of LeningradMedal for the Defence of Leningradthumb|200px|right|The Medal for the Defence of LeningradThe Medal for the Defence of Leningrad was established on December 22, 1942, and was awarded to all members of the Soviet Army, Navy, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and civil citizens who took part in the defense of Leningrad during its siege...