Viktor Abakumov
Encyclopedia
Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov ' onMouseout='HidePop("53469")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow
– 19 December 1954, Moscow; Colonel General
), was a high level Soviet
security organs official, from 1943 to 1946 the head of SMERSH
in the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense, and from 1946 to 1951 Minister of State Security or MGB
(ex-NKGB). Abakumov was a notoriously brutal official who was known to torture
prisoners personally.
, and served with the 2 Special Task Moscow Brigade in the Russian Civil War
, until he was demobilized in December 1923. He then joined the Communist Youth League
, became a candidate member of the Communist Party in 1930, and worked in the People's Commissariat of Supplies until 1932, while also being responsible for the Military Section of the Communist Youth League in the Moscow area( raion
). In early 1932, he was recommended by the Party to join the security services (OGPU), and was assigned to the Economic Department and possibly to the Investigation Department. In 1933, he was dismissed from the Economic Department and assigned as an overseer to the GULAG
. This was a clear demotion; Abakumov was a compulsive womanizer, and his superior, P.M. Shreider, felt that he was unfit to be a Chekist
.
as a GUGB), Abakumov started his work in a 1st Section of Economics Department (EKO) by the Main Directorate of State Security of NKVD
. Then on the first of August 1934 he was transferred to The Chief Directorate of Camps and Labour Colonies well known as GULAG
, where he served to 1937, mainly as operative officer in 3rd Section of Security Department of GULAG of the NKVD. In April 1937 Abakumov was moved to the 4th Department (OO) of GUGB of the NKVD where he served until March 1938.
After the next reorganization of NKVD
structure in March 1938, he became assistant to the chief of the 4th Department in the 1st Directorate of the NKVD, and then from September 29 to November 1, 1938 he fulfilled duties of assistant to Pyotr Fedotov
, the head of the 2nd Department (Secret Political Dep – or. SPO) of GUGB of the NKVD. Next, until the end of 1938, he worked in SPO GUGB NKVD
as a head of one of the Sections. Abakumov had survived the great purge by participating in it. He executed each order without scruples, probably saving him from facing an execution squad himself. Near the end of December 1938 Abakumov was moved from Moscow
to Rostov
, where soon he became the head of UNKVD of Rostov Oblast
, (the head of the local NKVD Office).
who was the People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (head of the NKVD). On July 19, 1941 he become the head of Special Department (OO) of the NKVD which was responsible for Counterintelligence and internal security in the RKKA (Red Army
). In this position after the attack of Nazi Germany
on the Soviet Union
and the defeats experienced by the Red Army, on Stalin
's order he led the purges of RKKA commanders accused of betrayal and cowardice. In 1943 for some time (from April 19 to May 20, 1943), Abakumov was one of Stalin’s deputies, when he held the post of People's Commissar of Defence of the USSR.
In April 1943 when Chief Counterintelligence Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defence of the USSR (or GUKR NKO USSR) better known as SMERSH
was created, Abakumov was put in charge of it, in the rank of Commissar (2nd rank) of State Security, and held the title of vice-Commissar of Defense.
," in which the Politburo members Nikolai Voznesensky
and Aleksei Kuznetsov
were executed.
bypassed Abakumov and went directly to Stalin to report his creation, the Doctor's Plot. Abakumov was accused of inaction and was arrested and brutally tortured. With Stalin's death in March 1953, the Doctor's Plot unravelled. Ryumin was arrested, tried, and executed. Abakumov, however, was not released; he was eventually tried for his role in the Leningrad Affair and executed on 18 December 1954.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
– 19 December 1954, Moscow; Colonel General
Colonel General
Colonel General is a senior rank of General. North Korea and Russia are two countries which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
), was a high level Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
security organs official, from 1943 to 1946 the head of SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
in the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense, and from 1946 to 1951 Minister of State Security or MGB
Ministry for State Security (USSR)
The Ministry of State Security was the name of Soviet secret police from 1946 to 1953.-Origins of the MGB:The MGB was just one of many incarnations of the Soviet State Security apparatus. Since the revolution, the Bolsheviks relied on a strong political police or security force to support and...
(ex-NKGB). Abakumov was a notoriously brutal official who was known to torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
prisoners personally.
Early life and career
Abakumov was born in 1908 in Moscow. His father was an unskilled laborer and his mother a nurse. Despite being only a teenager, Abakumov joined the Red ArmyRed Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, and served with the 2 Special Task Moscow Brigade in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, until he was demobilized in December 1923. He then joined the Communist Youth League
Komsomol
The Communist Union of Youth , usually known as Komsomol , was the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Komsomol in its earliest form was established in urban centers in 1918. During the early years, it was a Russian organization, known as the Russian Communist Union of...
, became a candidate member of the Communist Party in 1930, and worked in the People's Commissariat of Supplies until 1932, while also being responsible for the Military Section of the Communist Youth League in the Moscow area( raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
). In early 1932, he was recommended by the Party to join the security services (OGPU), and was assigned to the Economic Department and possibly to the Investigation Department. In 1933, he was dismissed from the Economic Department and assigned as an overseer to the GULAG
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. This was a clear demotion; Abakumov was a compulsive womanizer, and his superior, P.M. Shreider, felt that he was unfit to be a Chekist
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
.
Rise through NKVD ranks
In 1934 after the reorganization of security aparatus (the OGPU was joint to NKVDNKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
as a GUGB), Abakumov started his work in a 1st Section of Economics Department (EKO) by the Main Directorate of State Security of NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
. Then on the first of August 1934 he was transferred to The Chief Directorate of Camps and Labour Colonies well known as GULAG
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
, where he served to 1937, mainly as operative officer in 3rd Section of Security Department of GULAG of the NKVD. In April 1937 Abakumov was moved to the 4th Department (OO) of GUGB of the NKVD where he served until March 1938.
After the next reorganization of NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
structure in March 1938, he became assistant to the chief of the 4th Department in the 1st Directorate of the NKVD, and then from September 29 to November 1, 1938 he fulfilled duties of assistant to Pyotr Fedotov
Pyotr Fedotov
Pyotr Vasileevich Fedotov was long time Soviet security and intelligence officer, head of counterintelligence in NKVD/NKGB and head of foreign intelligence as the deputy chairman of the Committee of Information....
, the head of the 2nd Department (Secret Political Dep – or. SPO) of GUGB of the NKVD. Next, until the end of 1938, he worked in SPO GUGB NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
as a head of one of the Sections. Abakumov had survived the great purge by participating in it. He executed each order without scruples, probably saving him from facing an execution squad himself. Near the end of December 1938 Abakumov was moved from Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
to Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
, where soon he became the head of UNKVD of Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Southern Federal District. Rostov Oblast has an area of and a population of making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia...
, (the head of the local NKVD Office).
World War II activities
Abakumov returned to Moscow Hq on February 12, 1941 as a Senior Major of State Security and, after the reorganization and creation of the new NKGB, he became one of the deputies of Lavrentiy BeriaLavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
who was the People's Commissar for Internal Affairs (head of the NKVD). On July 19, 1941 he become the head of Special Department (OO) of the NKVD which was responsible for Counterintelligence and internal security in the RKKA (Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
). In this position after the attack of Nazi Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the defeats experienced by the Red Army, on Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's order he led the purges of RKKA commanders accused of betrayal and cowardice. In 1943 for some time (from April 19 to May 20, 1943), Abakumov was one of Stalin’s deputies, when he held the post of People's Commissar of Defence of the USSR.
In April 1943 when Chief Counterintelligence Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defence of the USSR (or GUKR NKO USSR) better known as SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
was created, Abakumov was put in charge of it, in the rank of Commissar (2nd rank) of State Security, and held the title of vice-Commissar of Defense.
Head of MGB
In 1946, Stalin appointed Abakumov Minister for State Security (MGB). Although the ministry was under the general supervision of Beria, Stalin hoped to curb the latter's power. In this capacity he was in charge of the 1949 purge known as the "Leningrad AffairLeningrad Affair
The Leningrad Affair, or Leningrad case , was a series of criminal cases fabricated in the late 1940s–early 1950s in order to accuse a number of prominent members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of treason and intention to create an anti-Soviet organization out of the Leningrad Party...
," in which the Politburo members Nikolai Voznesensky
Nikolai Voznesensky
Nikolai Alekseevich Voznesensky was the Soviet economic planner who oversaw the running of Gosplan during the German-Soviet War. A protégé of Andrei Zhdanov, Voznesensky was appointed Deputy Premier in May 1940 at the age of thirty-eight. He was directly involved in the recovery of production...
and Aleksei Kuznetsov
Aleksei Kuznetsov
Alexey Alexandrovich Kuznetsov was a Soviet statesman, CPSU functionary, Lieutenant General, member of CPSU Central Committee...
were executed.
Arrest and execution
At the end of 1951 an MGB employee, Mikhail RyuminMikhail Ryumin
Mikhail Dmitrievich Ryumin was Deputy Head of the Soviet MGB who engineered the "Doctors' Plot" in 1952-1953; the case was dismissed on Stalin's death and Ryumin was arrested and executed....
bypassed Abakumov and went directly to Stalin to report his creation, the Doctor's Plot. Abakumov was accused of inaction and was arrested and brutally tortured. With Stalin's death in March 1953, the Doctor's Plot unravelled. Ryumin was arrested, tried, and executed. Abakumov, however, was not released; he was eventually tried for his role in the Leningrad Affair and executed on 18 December 1954.