Aleksi Inauri ( ka, ალექსი ინაური; russian: Алексей Николаевич Инаури, ''Aleksey Nikolayevich Inauri'') (May 12, 1908 – June 23, 1993) was a Soviet and Georgian commander who headed the Georgian KGB (Committee for State Security) for over 30 years (1954–1986) and made it one of the most effective of the KGB's regional Soviet branches. Cherkashin, Victor & Feifer, Gregory (2005), ''Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer'', p. 125. Basic Books, . He ended his career as a colonel general and a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

Early life and career

Born in Gori (then under the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

), Inauri was a worker until volunteering, in 1926, in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

and graduated from a Cavalry School for the North Caucasian Mountainous Nationalities in

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

in 1931. From April 1931, he commanded a cavalry platoon and then a squadron of the 16th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Cavalry Division of the Ukrainian Military District. He became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1932. From October 1936, Inauri was put in charge of the regimental schools for the same division, later in 1938 as assistant commander for the commanding officer. Before the outbreak of war, Inauri commanded the same division's 99th Cavalry Regiment as a major in the Kiev Special Military District.

World War II

From June 1941 to January 1942, lieutenant colonel Inauri led the 99th Cavalry Regiment into combat. The cavalrymen under his command excelled in mid-January 1942 during the Second Battle of Kharkov, which led to another promotion on May 6 of the same year. From August 1942 to the end of the war, Inauri commanded the 1st Cavalry Division of the 15th Cavalry Corps, Transcaucasus Front, stationed in Iran. Due to outstanding performance, Inauri was promoted to

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by the resolution of the

Council of People's Commissars The Councils of People's Commissars (SNK; russian: Совет народных комиссаров (СНК), ''Sovet narodnykh kommissarov''), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (Совнарком), were the highest executive authorities of ...

of the USSR.

Post war

Inauri continued service as a commander of a cavalry division till 1946. In 1948 he graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy and took charge of the 18th Mechanized Division as part of the Soviet occupation forces in Germany. In 1951 he commanded the 9th Rifle Division and in February 1953 he took command over the 3rd Mountain Rifle Corps of the

Carpathian Military District The Red Banner Carpathian Military District (, ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Cold War and subsequently of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the early Post-Soviet period. It was established on 3 May 1946 on the ...

. In 1954, Inauri was made head of the Georgian KGB, a post that he retained until 1986. Later in 1957, he was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) 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 ...

. His tenure coincided with a series of upheavals, including the 1956 uprising, and rise of

anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism, anti-Soviet sentiment, called by Soviet authorities ''antisovetchina'' (russian: антисоветчина), refers to persons and activities actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the ...

dissident groups in Georgia to which Inauri was able to respond vigorously due largely to a strict discipline imposed by him within the KGB and a large web of espionage through which Inauri's agents infiltrated dissident groups and even the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

. He played a key role in a palace coup against

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

in October 1964, escorting the Soviet leader from his

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to a special meeting of the

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of the Central Committee in

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where Khrushchev was to be ousted. Inauri was promoted to the rank of colonel general in 1967 and awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union in 1985, shortly before his retirement later in 1986.Knight, Amy W. (1993), ''Beria: Stalin's First Lieutenant'', pp. 214, 277.

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, . From 1984 to 1989, Inauri was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.

References