Semyon Denisovich Ignatyev (russian: Семён Денисович Игнатьев; 14 September 1904,
Karlivka
Karlivka ( ; ) is a city and the administrative center of Karlivka Raion, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. Population:
Gallery
File:Karlivka2.jpg, Central part of Karlivka
File:Karlivka3.jpg, A typical street in Karlivka
File:Мотокросс - p ...
– 27 November 1983,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
) was a Soviet politician, and the last head of the security forces appointed by
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
.
Early career
Ignatyev, the son of a peasant family of
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
ethnicity. When he was 10, his parents moved to
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, and he learnt to speak Uzbek. After the
Bolshevik Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...
, he joined
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
and became a trade union organiser in
Bukhara
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...
and an engineer, joined the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
in 1926. For most of his career, he was a discreet regional
apparatchik
__NOTOC__
An apparatchik (; russian: аппара́тчик ) was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the Soviet government ''apparat'' ( аппарат, apparatus), someone who held any position ...
in the border republics of the USSR. In 1934-38, he worked in the central party apparatus in Moscow, but received sudden promotion in 1938, as a result of the
Great Purge
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...
, when he was appointed First Secretary of the communist party in the Buryat-Mongolian Republic. He was subsequently First Secretary in the
Bashkir ASSR
The Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( ba, Башҡорт Автономиялы Совет Социалистик Республикаhы; russian: Башкирская Автономная Советская Социалистиче ...
, in 1944-46, and served in senior party posts in
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
, and Uzbekistan. In May or June 1946, he was summoned to Moscow to act as an inspector of party organisations, on the recommendation of
Nikolai Patolichev
Nikolai Semyonovich Patolichev (russian: Николай Семёнович Патоличев; 23 September 1908 – 1 December 1989) was a Soviet statesman who served as Minister of Foreign Trade of the USSR from 1958 to 1985. Prior to that, he wa ...
, who had taken over as a party secretary. In March 1947, he was appointed a secretary of the communist party of
Belorussia
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
, responsible for agriculture, but was removed early in 1950, and posted to Uzbekistan.
Head of Security
In December 1950, Ignatyev was recalled to Moscow and appointed head of the department of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...
that supervised party,
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
and trade union personnel, and given the task of investigating the Minister of State Security ( MGB - forerunner of the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
),
Viktor Abakumov
Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov (russian: link=no, Виктор Семёнович Абакумов; 24 April 1908 – 19 December 1954) was a high-level Soviet security official from 1943 to 1946, the head of SMERSH in the USSR People's Commissari ...
, who had been accused of corruption by a rival,
Ivan Serov
Ivan Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Ива́н Алекса́ндрович Серóв; 13 August 1905 – 1 July 1990) was a Russian Soviet intelligence officer who served as the head of the KGB between March 1954 and December 1958, as well as ...
When Abakumov was dismissed and arrested, in July 1951, Ignatyev was originally appointed representative of the Central Committee in the MGB. On 9 August 1951, he was appointed USSR Minister of State. He was a member of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...
from 1952 until 1961. He also briefly served as a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee (previously named Politburo) in the final months before Stalin's demise.
Ignatyev's first task was to purge the security apparatus. In just over a year, he had 42,000 MGB officers sacked. His tenure as its head coincided with the anti-semitic campaign that began with the arrests of every known Jew employed by the MGB -
Lev Shvartzman
Lev Leonidovich (Aronovich) Shvartzman (russian: Лев Леони́дович (Аронович) Шва́рцман; 25 July 1907 13 May 1955) was a Soviet MGB officer, notorious for his brutality, who was executed for using torture to extract ...
,
Leonid Eitingon
Nahum Isaakovich Eitingon (russian: Наум Исаакович Эйтингон ''Naum Isaakovič Ejtingon''), also known as Leonid Aleksandrovich Eitingon (russian: Леонид Александрович Эйтингон)Leonid Raikhman, Andrei Sverdlov, son of
Yakov Sverdlov
Yakov Mikhailovich Sverdlov (russian: Яков Михайлович Свердлов; 3 June Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._22_May.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S ...
, and many more- and culminated in the infamous
Doctors' plot
The "Doctors' plot" affair, group=rus was an alleged conspiracy of prominent Healthcare in Russia, Soviet medical specialists to murder leading government and party officials. It was also known as the case of saboteur doctors or killer doctors. ...
.
On 5 March 1953, after Stalin's death, Ignatyev was removed from his post in the MGB, as Beria absorbed the MGB into his
MVD
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; russian: Министерство внутренних дел (МВД), ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia.
The MVD is responsible for law enfor ...
, and was appointed a Secretary of the Central Committee. In April, it was announced in ''
Pravda
''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the co ...
'' and other newspapers that the Doctors' Plot had been a miscarriage of justice and that Ignatyev had been guilty of "political blindness and ignorance" in allowing it to happen.
Role in the Anti-Semitic Purge
Ignatyev's subordinate,
Mikhail Ryumin
Mikhail Dmitrievich Ryumin Михаил Дмитриевич Рюмин (1 September 1913 – 22 July 1954) was a Soviet security officer and deputy head of the Soviet MGB (Ministry of State Security) who engineered the "Doctors' Plot" in 195 ...
, was charged with being the main instigator of the Doctors' Plot, for which he was shot, while it was Ignatyev's good fortune to be the first former head of the security services in almost 30 years to escape being arrested and executed - the fate suffered by
Genrikh Yagoda
Genrikh Grigoryevich Yagoda ( rus, Ге́нрих Григо́рьевич Яго́да, Genrikh Grigor'yevich Yagoda, born Yenokh Gershevich Iyeguda; 7 November 1891 – 15 March 1938) was a Soviet secret police official who served as director ...
,
Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov ( rus, Никола́й Ива́нович Ежо́в, p=nʲɪkɐˈɫaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ (j)ɪˈʐof; 1 May 1895 – 4 February 1940) was a Soviet secret police official under Joseph Stalin who was head of the N ...
,
Vsevolod Merkulov
Vsevolod Nikolayevich (Boris) Merkulov (russian: Всеволод Николаевич Меркулов; – 23 December 1953) was the head of NKGB from February to July 1941, and again from April 1943 to March 1946. He was a leading member of ...
, Beria and Abakumov. In later life, Ignatyev would claim that he was never really involved in the Doctors' Plot, except to pass messages between Stalin and Ryumin, and that Stalin had repeatedly threatened to have him killed if he did not obey orders.
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 ...
evidently believed him. In the famous
Secret Speech
"On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences" (russian: «О культе личности и его последствиях», «''O kul'te lichnosti i yego posledstviyakh''»), popularly known as the "Secret Speech" (russian: секре ...
that he delivered in 1956 to the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, in which he exposed Stain's crimes for the first time, Khrushchev remarked: "Present at this Congress as a delegate is the former Minister of State Security Comrade Ignatyev. Stalin told him curtly, 'If you do not obtain confessions from the doctors we will shorten you by a head'." In his memoirs, Khrushchev claimed:
By contrast, the former MGB officer,
Pavel Sudoplatov
Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov (russian: Пáвел Aнатóльевич Cудоплáтов; ua, Павло Анатолійович Судоплатов, translit=Pavlo Anatoliiovych Sudoplatov; July 7, 1907 – September 24, 1996) was a member ...
, asserted that "at the peak of the anti-semitic campaign, not Ryumin but Mesetsov, Konyatkin and Ignatyev were in charge of the criminal investigation and the beating of the doctors" He described Mesetsov and Konyatkin, who was Ryumin's deputy, as "incompetent". Ryumin was sacked in November 1952, while Ignatyev remained in office, though he collapsed on 14 November 1952 after transmitting a direct order from Stalin that the prisoners were to be tortured. He may have been reluctant to have the instruction carried out, but the historians Jonathan Brent and Vladimir Naumov have noted that "Ignatyev's malaise and exhaustion did not prevent him from slavish obedience."
Sudoplatov also alleged that Ignatyev planned to carry out assassinations in Germany and Paris of elderly opponents of the Soviet regime, including exiled
Mensheviks
The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries.
The factions eme ...
and a Ukrainian nationalist who "was in this seventies, no longer active, but Ignatyev's group was eager to report his liquidation to impress the government." Other planned targets for assassination allegedly included
Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
and
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; Reforms of Russian orthography, original spelling: ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months ...
.
Later career
In February 1954, Ignatyev was reappointed to the post of First secretary in the Bashkir republic, which he had held ten years earlier. In June 1957-October 1960, he was head of the communist party in
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...
. Tatar historian credit him with having lobbied Moscow in 1958 to bring about a revival of the Tatar language. According to one historian, Rimzil Valeyev "no other party leader cared for the
Tatar language
Tatar ( or ) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by Volga Tatars, Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia. It should not be confused with Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tat ...
and culture as fundamentally and effectively as Ignatyev did in 1957-1960" - partly because no other party official in Tatarstan had Ignatyev's experience of high level politics in Moscow.
Ignatyev retired "for health reasons" at the age of 55. He died of natural causes in 1983 and was buried in the
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...
in Moscow, along with many members of the Soviet elite.