Konstantin Stepanovich Kuzakov (1911–1996) (russian: Константин Степанович Кузаков)
was a Soviet journalist and politician and one of the organizers of Soviet television, radio and cinema. Kuzakov claimed that he was an illegitimate child of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...

, though there is no proof of this.Khlevniuk, Oleg V. (2015), ''Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator'', translated by Seligman Favorov, Nora, New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, p. 251 Kuzakov alleged that his mother, Maria Kuzakova, had been Stalin's landlady and mistress during his 1911 exile in

Solvychegodsk Solvychegodsk (russian: Сольвычего́дск, lit. "salt on the Vychegda River") is a town in Kotlassky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right-hand bank of the Vychegda River northeast of Kotlas, the adminis ...

. One of Stalin's biographers,

Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore (; born 27 June 1965) is a British historian, television presenter and author of popular history books and novels, including ''Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar' (2003), Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and ...

, supported Kuzakov's claims. According to Montefiore, Maria was still pregnant when Stalin left his exile.

: ''Young Stalin''.

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...

. . For a while, Kuzakov taught philosophy at the Leningrad Military Mechanical Institute. Afterward, he got a job in the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

's '' apparat'' 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 million ...

. He served as a colonel during World War II. In 1947, while working for

Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov ( rus, Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов, p=ɐnˈdrej ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐdanəf, links=yes; – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician and cultural ideologist. After World War ...

, a very close ally of Stalin, he and his deputy were accused of being American spies. While he was never officially introduced to the man he claimed was his father, Kuzakov alleged that on one occasion while working in the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (Ru ...

"Stalin stopped and looked at me and I felt he wanted to tell me something. I wanted to rush to him, but something stopped me. He waved his pipe and moved on." Simon Sebag-Montefiore claimed that although Stalin prevented Kuzakov's arrest, he was nonetheless dismissed from the Communist Party. After Stalin's death and the arrest of

Lavrentiy Beria Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (; rus, Лавре́нтий Па́влович Бе́рия, Lavréntiy Pávlovich Bériya, p=ˈbʲerʲiə; ka, ლავრენტი ბერია, tr, ; – 23 December 1953) was a Georgian Bolshevik ...

, Kuzakov was restored in the Party and in Soviet apparat, holding various positions associated with culture, a member of the collegium of

Gosteleradio The State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Soviet Union ( Russian: Государственный комитет СССР по телевидению и радиовещанию) commonly known as Gosteleradio of the USSR (Г� ...

, chief of a department in the Ministry of Culture and other posts. He died in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuzakov, Konstantin 1911 births 1996 deaths People from Kotlassky District People from Solvychegodsky Uyezd Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Saint Petersburg State University alumni Soviet military personnel of World War II