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for a period of time (in effect, a demotion). Initially, a
Communist Party communiqué reported that Nikolaev's guilt had been established and that he had confessed that he acted at the behest of a 'fascist power', receiving money from an unidentified 'foreign consul' in Leningrad. Barmine further claimed 104 other defendants, who were already in prison at the time of Kirov's assassination, who had no demonstrable connection to Nikolaev, were found guilty of complicity in the 'fascist plot' against Kirov and were summarily executed.
64:. He was a small, thin man, about 152 centimetres (5 ft) tall; even as an adult he showed the effects of childhood malnutrition. He had difficulty holding a job, and had been reprimanded by the Party for having refused a posting that was not to his liking. Eventually, the Party expelled him as a member. Unemployed, he soon ran short of money, and blamed the Party for his troubles. His wife Milda Draule was a member of a regional party committee and he had a strong suspicion that she had a love affair with
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directed the investigation of Kirov's assassination. He questioned
Nikolaev at length. The leaders of the Opposition placed the gun in Nikolaev's hand!" Other speakers rose to condemn the Opposition, "The Central Committee must be pitiless – the Party must be purged ... the record of every member must be scrutinized ... ." No one at the meeting mentioned the theory of fascist agents. Later, Stalin used the Kirov assassination to eliminate the remainder of the Opposition leadership against him, accusing
148:, Nikolaev's wife, Milda Draule, was noted for her physical plainness, while Kirov was known to prefer liaisons with ballerinas and other Soviet women of notable beauty and grace. Other theories claim that Stalin himself was involved in the assassination. This claim originates from former Soviet colonel and defector
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observed, "the negligence of the NKVD in protecting such a high party official was without precedent in the Soviet Union". According to later press accounts and party communiques, which were never substantiated, Nikolaev was apprehended with the aid of an electrician, Platanov, who was working in the
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On the afternoon of 1 December 1934, Nikolaev paid a final visit to the Smolny
Institute offices. With Stalin's alleged approval, the NKVD had previously withdrawn the remaining guards manning the security desk at Smolny. Unopposed, Nikolaev made his way to the third floor, where he shot Kirov in the
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revolver in
Nikolaev's briefcase. Some Soviet sources later argued that Nikolaev did have a permit to carry a loaded handgun. After Nikolaev's visit, the NKVD failed to augment Kirov's security; instead, it withdrew all police protection for Kirov with the exception of a police escort to Smolny and a
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Several NKVD officers from the
Leningrad branch were convicted of negligence for not adequately protecting Kirov and were sentenced to prison terms of up to ten years. Barmine claimed they never served their prison sentences; instead, they were transferred to executive posts in Stalin's labour camps
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After Kirov's death, Stalin called for swift punishment of the traitors and those found negligent in Kirov's death. Borisov, one of the first to come upon the scene, was immediately arrested; he died the day after Kirov's assassination, allegedly as the result of a fall from a truck in which he was
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A few days later, during a
Communist Party meeting of the Moscow District, the Party secretary announced in a speech that Nikolaev had been personally interrogated by Stalin the very next day after the assassination, an unheard-of event for a party leader such as Stalin, "Comrade Stalin personally
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After
Nikolaev's death, there was some speculation that his motivation in killing Kirov may have been more personal. His wife worked at the Smolny and unsubstantiated rumours surfaced that she was having an affair with Kirov. It is unknown whether these had a basis in fact, or were deliberately
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It is unknown whether
Nikolaev had had prior dealings with the Leningrad branch of the Soviet government, headed by Kirov. As Nikolaev's troubles grew, he became steadily more obsessed with the idea of "striking a blow". On 15 October 1934, he was arrested by the
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area; a friend of Kirov's, a middle-aged man named
Borisov, also rushed out and helped subdue Nikolaev, who was said to have undergone a complete collapse and had to be carried away.
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and others who had stood with Kirov in opposing Stalin (or simply failed to acquiesce to Stalin's views), of having connections with
Nikolaev and facilitating the assassination.
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being transported by the NKVD. On 28–29 December 1934, Nikolaev and 13 other people as members of the "counterrevolutionary group" were tried by the
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Kirov's death was an important turning point in the period of increasing political repression that led up to Stalin's
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notes that nothing in Nikolaev's personal diary indicates that he did not carry out the assassination on his own.
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observed, "One thing is certain: the only man who profited by the Kirov assassination was Stalin."
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back of the neck with his Nagant revolver. As former Soviet official and author
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261:"XIII. Процесс Николаева-Котолынова – Сталинский неонэп – В. Роговин"
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Leningrad City Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
40:(10 May 1904 – 29 December 1934) was the Russian assassin of
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412:
The Kirov Assassination, The New Leader, 23 August 1941
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guarded security post at the entrance to his offices.
68:, the Party administrator of the Leningrad district.
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Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
434:Who Killed Kirov: The Kremlin's Greatest Mystery
224:Who Killed Kirov? The Kremlin’s Greatest Mystery
191:Who Killed Kirov? The Kremlin’s Greatest Mystery
479:People executed by the Soviet Union by firearm
474:People convicted of murder by the Soviet Union
103:Aftermath and responsibility for Kirov's death
390:. New Haven and London: Yale. p. 20-21.
388:Life and Terror in Stalin's Russia, 1934-1941
348:Life and Terror in Stalin's Russia, 1934-1941
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30:For other people named Leonid Nikolaev, see
213:, New York: G.P. Putnam (1945), pp. 247–252
350:. New Haven and London: Yale. p. 21.
276:"Сообщение Агранова по делу Л. Николаева"
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250:, New York: G.P. Putnam (1945), p. 252
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81:, allegedly for loitering around the
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375:. London: Jarrolds. pp. passim.
373:A Secret History of Stalin's Crimes
144:fostered by the NKVD. According to
226:, New York: Hill and Wang (1999),
193:, New York: Hill and Wang (1999),
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469:Soviet people convicted of murder
484:1934 murders in the Soviet Union
32:Leonid Nikolaev (disambiguation)
27:Soviet assassin of Sergei Kirov
429:, New York: G.P. Putnam (1945)
56:Nikolaev was a troubled young
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494:Assassination of Sergei Kirov
295:"СТАЛИН И КИРОВ – Страница 4"
72:Assassination of Sergei Kirov
386:Thurston, Robert W. (1996).
346:Thurston, Robert W. (1996).
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38:Leonid Vasilevich Nikolaev
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371:Orlov, Alexander (1954).
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464:Executed Soviet people
58:Soviet Communist Party
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425:Barmine, Alexander,
410:Nikolaevsky, Boris,
332:Barmine, Alexander,
316:Barmine, Alexander,
301:on 12 February 2012.
246:Barmine, Alexander,
209:Barmine, Alexander,
118:executed by shooting
489:Executed assassins
154:Robert W. Thurston
232:978-0-8090-6404-5
199:978-0-8090-6404-5
169:Boris Nikolaevsky
96:Alexander Barmine
16:(Redirected from
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427:One Who Survived
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161:Great Purge
152:. However,
134:Lev Kamenev
443:Categories
175:References
146:Amy Knight
60:member in
52:Early life
274:Агранов.
165:Menshevik
62:Leningrad
167:scholar
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79:NKVD
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