December 01, 2014

The Mystery of the Kirov Assassination


The Mystery of the Kirov Assassination

Eighty years ago today, on December 1, 1934, a fellow named Leonid Nikolayev shot beloved Leningrad party chief Sergei Kirov, setting off the Great Terror. But not all is clear in this incident. In Charon’s Chronicles, Russian writer Alexander Lavrin investigates the murky background of Kirov’s death.

[…]

There exist four theories as to why Kirov was killed.

  1. Nikolayev had a personal vendetta against Kirov.
  2. Stalin either ordered or knew of the assassination.
  3. It was a terrorist plot organized by Trotsky through the employees of foreign diplomatic missions.
  4. The assassination was planned by the opposition within the USSR.

The third and fourth points have as few supporters as they have pieces of evidence. So I will elaborate only on the first two. Let us examine the historical evidence.

In the first rounds of interrogation, Nikolayev claimed that he wanted to get revenge on Kirov for allegedly “destroying his honor and destabilizing his life.” Indeed, since April Nikolayev had not had a job anywhere, and had changed jobs 11 times in the previous 15 years. He had been a minor bureaucrat in Party and Komsomol branches, and his last position was in the Party archives. The regional office in Vyborg had offered him some minor positions, but they did not appeal to him. There is evidence of Nikolayev “catching” Kirov on two occasions, when the latter was getting into his car, looking to complain to him about his situation. Could Nikolayev have come to hate the entire world so much as to choose Kirov as a target for revenge? A possibility. But although he could have made the choice himself, he could also have listened to a tip from someone else. Note that after his arrest Nikolayev demanded to see Stalin. Had he, perhaps, wanted to explain that the assassination had not been his idea, and hoped for lenience, if not a miracle?

When in 1990-1991 the Soviet press debated the mystery of Kirov’s death, an interesting pattern emerged: all the supporters of the “lone gunman” theory were conservative Party officials. So what were their arguments?

  1. In response to journalist Georgy Tselms’s question, “So could Nikolayev have killed Kirov on his own initiative?” one of the officials answered, “Sure he could! You know the kind of guy he was? A pipsqueak with a chip on his shoulder. And he’d just been fired. If they hadn’t fired him, maybe nothing would’ve happened…”
  2. Stalin could not have ordered Kirov’s assassination because the two were close friends.
  3. The death of Borisov, Kirov’s bodyguard (who died on his way to interrogation), was just an accident, caused by a defect in his car.

And from a legal standpoint, supporters of the “lone gunman” theory have the more stable position, because in December 1990 a plenary session of the USSR Supreme Court ruled that “the terrorist act targeting S. M. Kirov was planned and carried out by Nikolayev alone.”

But let’s hear the arguments for the second theory. […] In his memoirs, Nikita Khruschev writes: “First of all, we found out that not long before Kirov’s assassination Nikolaev had been apprehended near Smolny, where Kirov worked. He had appeared suspicious to the guards, and was searched. They found a gun on him (in his bag). At the time, the stance on guns was strict, but despite that, and despite the fact that he had been stopped in a high-security area, Nikolayev was immediately released.”

What do you think? Was Nikolayev really acting on his own?

A profile of the assassination appeared in the November-December 2014 issue of Russian Life, and you can read more arguments from both sides on bibliotekar.ru [ru].

 

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955