Nikolai Sidorovich Vlasik (russian: Никола́й Си́дорович Вла́сик; May 22, 1896 – June 18, 1967) was a ranking Soviet state security (

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

NKGB The People's Commissariat for State Security (russian: Народный комиссариат государственной безопасности) or NKGB, was the name of the Soviet secret police, intelligence and counter-intelligence fo ...

- MGB) officer, Lieutenant-General, best known as head of

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 Secretar ...

's personal security from 1931 to 1952.

Early life

Nikolai Vlasik was born to a poor peasant family in the village of Bobynichi in the

Slonimsky Uyezd Slonimsky Uyezd (''Слонимский уезд'') was one of the nine subdivisions of the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northeastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Slonim. Demographics A ...

of the

Grodno Governorate The Grodno Governorate, (russian: Гро́дненская губе́рнiя, translit=Grodnenskaya guberniya, pl, Gubernia grodzieńska, be, Гродзенская губерня, translit=Hrodzenskaya gubernya, lt, Gardino gubernija, u ...

(the present-day

Hrodna Voblast Grodno Region ( pl, Grodzieńszczyzna) or Grodno Oblast or Hrodna Voblasts ( be, Гродзенская вобласць, ''Hrodzienskaja vobłasć'', , ''Haradzienščyna''; russian: Гродненская область, ''Grodnenskaya oblast' ...

Belarus 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 ...

) of 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. ...

on 22 May 1896. Drafted into the Russian Army in March 1915, he earned the

Cross of St. George The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and by the time of the

October 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 Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

in November 1917 had the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

. In November 1917 he began serving in the

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 millio ...

militia. In September 1919 he transferred to the Cheka. By January 1926 he had become the senior representative of the Operative branch of OGPU. Furthermore, Vlasik held supervising posts in the operations section, which included the protection of the heads of the party and government. For many years, Vlasik served as chief of Stalin's personal protective service in the Kremlin, beginning in 1931 (this service was subordinated directly to Stalin and independent of the secret police, the

). He also became, in essence, a member of Stalin's family. After the death of Stalin’s wife,

Nadezhda Alliluyeva Nadezhda Sergeyevna Alliluyeva (russian: link=no, Надежда Сергеевна Аллилуева; – 9 November 1932) was the second wife of Joseph Stalin. She was born in Baku to a friend of Stalin, a fellow revolutionary, and was ra ...

in 1932, he also functioned as the tutor of Stalin's children and practically carried out the functions of a major-domo. Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Allilueva, characterizes Vlasik in her memoirs as an "illiterate, silly, rough and extremely impudent despot". She said he was so corrupted by power that "he began to dictate to art workers and arts, tastes of comrade Stalin", and "...figures listened and followed his counsels. Any celebratory concert at the Bolshoi Theatre or George Hall did not take place without the sanction of Vlasik."

Arrest

On 15 December 1952, Vlasik was removed from his position and soon arrested on charges related to the

Doctors' plot The "Doctors' plot" affair, group=rus was an alleged conspiracy of prominent Soviet medical specialists to murder leading government and party officials. It was also known as the case of saboteur doctors or killer doctors. In 1951–1953, a gr ...

. Immediately after Stalin's death, all of the accused doctors were released and charges against them dropped. However, Vlasik was not released and the charges against him were changed to abuse of power and embezzlement. In 1955, he was stripped of his General rank and all decorations and exiled for ten years to

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

. In accordance with an earlier amnesty of 1953, his sentence was reduced to five years. In 1956, Vlasik was pardoned but his rank was not restored. In 2000, 33 years after his death, his sentence was annulled and he was completely exonerated. In his memoirs Vlasik wrote, "I was severely hurt by Stalin. For 25 years of doing an irreproachable job, receiving nothing but encouragement and awards, I was excluded from the Party and flung into prison. For my boundless fidelity he gave me into the charge of my enemies. But never, for any minute of the condition I was in, to whatever mockeries I was exposed while in prison, had I in my soul any malice against Stalin".Власик Н. С. Моя биография //Логинов В. Тени Сталина. М., 2000. С. 136.

Awards

, 4th class * Three

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

(26 April 1940, 21 February 1945, 16 September 1945) *

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of t ...

, four times (28 August 1937, 20 September 1943, 3 November 1944) * Order of the Red Star (14 May 1936) *

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established ...

, 1st class (24 February 1945) *

Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" The Jubilee Medal "XX Years of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «XX лет Рабоче-Крестьянской Красной Армии») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Un ...

(22 February 1938) * Honoured Worker of the Cheka-GPU, twice (20/12/1932, 16/12/1935)

Sources

References

Л.Колесник. Главный телохранитель Сталина (Судебное дело Н.С.Власика)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vlasik, Nikolai 1896 births 1967 deaths People from Slonim District Bolsheviks Cheka Commissars 3rd Class of State Security Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Expelled members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Russian military personnel of World War I Soviet lieutenant generals Soviet people of World War II Soviet rehabilitations Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 1st class Recipients of the Cross of St. George