Alexey Alexandrovich Kuznetsov (, in

Borovichi Borovichi (russian: Боровичи́) is the second largest town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Msta River in the northern spurs of the Valdai Hills, east of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the ...

– 1 October 1950, in

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 ...

) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

statesman,

CPSU "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

(since 1925) functionary,

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 ...

, member of CPSU Central Committee (1939-1949). He was Second Secretary (deputy leader) to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

CPSU '' gorkom'' (city committee) and ''

obkom The organization of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was based on the principles of democratic centralism. The governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was the Party Congress, which initially met annually but whose ...

'' (

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

committee), and, during the Siege of Leningrad, helped organize the city's defense. For his work during the siege, he was promoted to First Secretary in 1945. Zhdanov was thought to want Kuznetsov to replace him as CC Party Chairman. Kuznetsov was also believed to be a possible replacement for Stalin on the latter's death. He was a strong supporter of Stalin, who appointed him to head the security functions of the party, showing how much the Soviet leader trusted him. The beginning of Kuznetsov’s fall came when Stalin demoted him and returned him to a minor post in Leningrad (a frequent sign that the subject was destined for a final fall). This may have been because Kuznetsov had been digging into Kirov's death - suspicion of Stalin’s involvement in this murder has never been put to rest.Simon Sebag Montefiore, ''Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar''. Eventually Kuznetsov was arrested, tried and sentenced to death in a secret trial during the Leningrad Affair. He was executed in 1950. His death consolidated the power of Malenkov, Beria and Bulganin, with the inference that they may have been involved in the charges, fabricated or not. He was rehabilitated posthumously.

Honours and awards

* Two

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 ...

Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" The Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" (russian: Медаль «За оборону Ленинграда») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on December 22, 1942 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Sovie ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuznetsov, Alexey Soviet politicians Russian people executed by the Soviet Union Members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union executed by the Soviet Union Soviet rehabilitations 1905 births 1950 deaths Executed people from Novgorod Oblast Recipients of the Order of Lenin Executed Soviet people from Russia People executed for corruption Residents of the Benois House