Sergey Kirov
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Sergey Mironovich Kirov (Russian: Серге́й Миро́нович Ки́ров) (March 27 [O.S. March 15] 1886 – December 1, 1934) was a prominent early Bolshevik leader, killed probably on orders of Stalin, who resented his popularity.
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[edit] Youth
He was born Sergey Mironovich Kostrikov (Ко́стриков), later assuming the name "Kirov" as an alias. Born to a poor family in Urzhum, Russia, Kirov lost his parents when he was young. His father, Miron Kostrikov, had left him at a tender age; his mother also died in the subsequent year. As a child, Sergey was brought up by his grandmother before being sent to an orphanage at seven years of age. Becoming a Marxist, he joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) in 1904.
[edit] Russian revolutions
Kirov took part in the Russian Revolution of 1905, and was arrested and later released. He joined the [Bolshevik]s soon after being released from prison. In 1906, Kirov was arrested once again, but this time jailed for over three years, charged with printing illegal literature. Soon after his release, he again took part in revolutionary activity. Once again being arrested for printing illegal literature, after a year of custody, Kostrikov moved to the Caucasus, where he stayed until the abdication of Nicholas II.
By this time, Sergey Kostrikov had changed his name to Kirov. He had selected it as a pen name, just as other Russian revolutionary leaders. The name "Kir" reminded him of a Persian warrior king, and he was to become head of the Bolshevik military administration in Astrakhan.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he fought in the Russian Civil War until 1920. In 1921, he became head of the Azerbaijan party organisation. Kirov loyally supported Joseph Stalin, and in 1926 he was rewarded with the leadership of the Leningrad party.
[edit] Popularity and death
In the 1930s, Stalin apparently became increasingly worried about Kirov's growing popularity. At the 1934 Party Congress where the vote for the new Central Committee was held, Kirov received only three negative votes, the fewest of any candidate, while Stalin received 292 negative votes, the highest of any candidate. Kirov was close friends with Sergo Ordzhonikidze, and together they formed a moderate bloc to Stalin in the Politburo. Later in 1934, Stalin asked Kirov to work for him in Moscow. One theory suggests that he did this in order to keep a closer eye on him, this despite of the supposed fact that Stalin entirely controlled the NKVD. Kirov refused, however, and according to the same theory he became a competitor in Stalin's eyes.
On December 1, 1934, Kirov was killed by Leonid Nikolaev (also seen spelt Nikolayev)in the Smolny Institute Leningrad. Kirov had arrived at the Smolny to work in his office, and, apparently leaving his bodyguard downstairs, headed to the upper floors, where the officials had their rooms. Nikolayev emerged from a bathroom and followed Kirov towards his office, shooting him in the back of the neck. Stalin claimed that Nikolayev was part of a larger conspiracy led by Leon Trotsky against the Soviet government. This resulted in the arrest and execution of Lev Kamenev, Grigory Zinoviev, and fourteen others in 1936. The death of Kirov ignited the great purge where supporters of Trotsky and other suspected enemies of the state were arrested. It has been speculated that Stalin was the man who ordered the murder of Kirov, and that the shooting was carried out with the help of the NKVD, but this has never been proven.
[edit] Legacy
Publicly Stalin took his friend's death as a tragedy and buried him by the Kremlin Wall in a state funeral. Many cities, streets and factories took his name, including the cities of Kirov (formerly Vyatka), Kirovograd (Kirovohrad in Ukrainian), Kirovabad (today Ganja, Azerbaijan) and Kirovakan (today Vanadzor, Armenia), the station Kirovskaya of the Moscow Metro (now Chistiye Prudy), Leningrad ballet theatre, and the massive Kirov industrial plant in Saint Petersburg.
For many years, a huge statue of Kirov in granite and bronze dominated the panorama of the city of Baku. The monument was erected on a hill in 1939 and was dismantled in January of 1992, after Azerbaijan gained its independence. The Kirov class of battlecruisers is named in his honor, though the first-of-class vessel originally named Kirov has since been renamed Admiral Ushakov.
[edit] Trivia
Kirov was a very popular figure during his reign in Leningrad, particularly with women, and he was known to have had several affairs with ballerinas.
The movie 2010: The Year We Make Contact mentions a Soviet space station named Sergey Kirov.
In the game Red Alert 2, the Soviets have the ability to build the 'Kirov Airship', an extremely slow but powerful zeppelin.
In the game Grand Theft Auto IV, the name of the protagonist is Sergei Villonovich, a possible reference of Kirov
[edit] External links
| Leaders of Azerbaijan |  |
|---|---|
| Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918—1920): Mammed Amin Rasulzade • Alimardan Topchubashev
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1920—1991), First Secretaries: Mirza Davud Huseynov • Grigory Kaminsky • Sergey Kirov • Levon Mirzoyan • Nikolay Gikalo • Vladimir Polonsky • Mir-Jafar Bagirov • Mir-Teymur Yagubov • Imam Mustafayev • Vali Akhundov • Heydar Aliyev • Kamran Bagirov • Abdulrahman Vazirov • Ayaz Mutallibov Republic of Azerbaijan (1991—): Ayaz Mutallibov • Yagub Mammadov* • Ayaz Mutallibov • Isa Gambar* • Abülfaz Elçibay • Heydar Aliyev • Ilham Aliyev |
