Nikolai Grigoryevich Ignatov (; – 14 November 1966) was a Soviet politician during the 1950s and 1960s who served as the Chairman of the

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some countries' political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. The term is also sometimes used for the ...

of the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet () was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). These soviets were modeled after the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, establ ...

of the Russian Soviet Federative Republic briefly in 1959 and again from 1962 until his death.

Biography

Ignatov was born in the village Tishanskaya of Donskaya Oblast (now

Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast ( rus, Волгоградская область, p=vəɫɡɐˈgratskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, lower Volga region of Southern Russia ...

) in a family of a Russian carpenter. Since 1915 he started working as a carpenter too. In 1917, after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he joined the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

, then served in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in 1918–1921. In 1921, he enlisted in the

OGPU The Joint State Political Directorate ( rus, Объединённое государственное политическое управление, p=ɐbjɪdʲɪˈnʲɵn(ː)əjə ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əjə pəlʲɪˈtʲitɕɪskəjə ʊprɐˈv ...

, and was based on

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

first, then in 1923–1932 in Central Asia, where he helped suppress the

Basmachi movement The Basmachi movement (, derived from ) was an uprising against Imperial Russian and Soviet rule in Central Asia by rebel groups inspired by Islamic beliefs. It has been called "probably the most important movement of opposition to Soviet rul ...

. After completing his secondary education in 1932–1934, he worked as a Communist Party representative at a factory in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. In 1937, he achieved rapid promotion, as a result of the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. Early in the year he was appointed first party secretary in one of the suburbs of Leningrad, where the regional party boss was

Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov ( rus, Андрей Александрович Жданов, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ˈʐdanəf, a=Ru-Андрей Жданов.ogg, links=yes; – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician. He was ...

. In August 1937, Ignatov was appointed a secretary of the Communist Party of Kuybyshev – evidently with instructions to undermine the local party boss,

Pavel Postyshev Pavel Petrovich Postyshev (; – 26 February 1939) was a Soviet politician, state and Communist Party official and party publicist. He was a member of Joseph Stalin's inner circle, before falling victim to the Great Purge. In 2010, a court in K ...

. When the Central Committee of the Soviet communist party (CPSU) held a plenary session in Moscow, in January 1938, Ignatov was allowed to attend and speak, although he was not a member, and launch a personal attack on Postyshev, who was a Central Committee member, and an alternate member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

. During an angry exchange, Postyshev accused Ignatov several times of lying. In March 1938, Ignatov replaced Postyshev – who was arrested and shot – as first party secretary in Kuybyshev, and in March 1939, he was elected to the Central Committee, but at the 18th party conference of the CPSU in February 1941, he was singled out by

Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov (8 January 1902 O.S. 26 December 1901">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 26 December 1901ref name=":6"> – 14 January 1988) was a Soviet politician who br ...

– Zhdanov's rival – for his failure to increase agricultural output in Kuybyshev, after he had ordered the return one third of the collected crops to farmers, to motivate them in the collective agriculture. As an added humiliation, he was made to stand up so that everyone could see him while he was attacked. He was removed from his post in Kyubyshev, and from the Central Committee, and demoted to the post of head of a department of the regional communist party in

Oryol Oblast Oryol Oblast (), also known as Orlovshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Oryol. Population: Geography It is loc ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ignatov organised partisan resistance in Oryol while the city was under German occupation. In July 1944, he was appointed First Secretary of the Oryol Communist Party, but lost this post in November 1948, soon after the death of his patron, Zhdanov. Then, in March 1949 – November 1952 he took the equivalent party position in

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the t ...

. He received a sudden promotion in October 1952, when his membership of the Central Committee was restored, and he was appointed a secretary of the Central Committee and a member of the Presidium, the new name for the Politburo - but was sacked in March 1953, immediately after the death of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. In April 1953, Ignatov was appointed Second Secretary of the Leningrad party committee, but was removed after only six months. In 1954–57, he was the regional party boss, first in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

, then Gorky (Nizhy Novgorod). On 6 May 1957, the central Communist newspaper ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

'' published an article where he proposed to reorganize the Soviet economy and generally supported the similar ideas of

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

. During the next month, he was one of the most active defenders of Khrushchev during the well-organized attempt by Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich to demote him within the party. Khrushchev repaid for this by promoting Ignatov to the

Presidium of the Supreme Soviet The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet () was the standing body of the highest organ of state power, highest body of state authority in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).The Presidium of the Soviet Union is, in short, the legislativ ...

, as early as in December 1957, bypassing the usually required candidate stage, and reappointing him a Secretary of the Central Committee. With his background as former OGPU officer, Ignatov apparently formed an alliance with the head of the KGB,

Ivan Serov Ivan Alexandrovich Serov (; 13 August 1905 – 1 July 1990) was a Soviet intelligence officer who served as Chairman of the KGB from March 1954 to December 1958 and Director of the GRU from December 1958 to February 1963. Serov was NKVD Commis ...

, arousing the suspicion of Khrushchev's second in command, Aleksey Kirichenko, the party secretary with oversight over the security services, who complained to the Presidium that "several times I looked for Serov and found him with Ignatov" – which was "incomprehensible." In April 1959, soon after Serov had been sacked, Ignatov was transferred to the ceremonial position of chairman of the

of Russia, but seven months later, after Kirichenko had been abruptly sacked, he was reinstated as a Secretary of the Central Committee, only to be shifted in May 1960 to a lesser job of Deputy Chairman of the

USSR Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ˌɛsˌɛsˌɛsˈɛr), sometimes abbreviated as Sovmin or referred to as the ...

, responsible for agriculture, and subsequently removed from the Presidium. In December 1962, he resumed his former post as Chairman of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet. In this capacity, he started traveling around the Soviet Union and personally persuading local party leaders against Khrushchev. He hoped in this way to gain support of the incoming party leader,

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...

, but failed. In 1966, while visiting

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, he fell ill with an unknown viral infection and died shortly afterwards. Ignatov was awarded with the honorary title

Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...

, as well as with the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(three times),

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

and

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

of the 1st degree. In recognition of his achievements before the Communist Party, he was buried in the

Kremlin Wall Necropolis The Kremlin Wall Necropolis is the former national cemetery of the Soviet Union, located in Red Square in Moscow beside the Moscow Kremlin Wall, Kremlin Wall. Burials there began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolsheviks who died during the Mosc ...

in the

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

References