The BRUTAL Execution Of Nikolay Yezhov - Stalin's Great Purger

Inside of Joseph's Stalin's Soviet Union, the NKVD were a notorious secret police who were responsible for the executions and deaths of hundreds of thousands. One of the most shocking events in Stalin's time as the leader, was the Great Purge in which its estimated between 700,000 to 1,100,000 people were executed. The man who organised the NKVD to carry out this purge was its Chief, Nikolay Yezhov. He had risen from humble beginnings, to become the most feared person inside of the Soviet Union behind Stalin himself.
Yezhov was responsible for the imprisonment in the Gulags of hundreds of thousands, and also it was his police force that instilled horrific torture of the Soviet people who were suspected of dissenting against Stalin and the Communist Party. Anyone who was accused of speaking against Stalin's leadership was treated terribly, being sacked from their jobs, tortured and even executed by firing squads. It was Yezhov who was responsible for the mass murder of over 1 million people, but like many inside of Stalin's government, he too fell from grace incredibly sharply. Stalin realised how powerful he was, and he began to prefer Lavrentiy Beria's efficiency with leading the NKVD, and Beria and Stalin plotted Yezhov's downfall.
He was accused of being an enemy of the people, and Yezhov admitted a number of charges under torture. He was eventually sentenced to death, but his execution was carried out in utmost secrecy. It's believed that deadly executioner Vasily Blohkin shot Yezhov in a tiny execution cell inside an NKVD station in Moscow. After his death, Stalin sought to erase him from history, and he became known as the 'vanishing commissar.'
So join us today as we look at, 'The BRUTAL Execution OF Nikolay Yezhov - Stalin's Great Purger.'
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[@MrEjidorie]

Nikolay Yezhov purged, arrested, tortured and executed a lot of innocent people in order to gain Stalin`s favoritism. And he was also purged, arrested, tortured and executed like his victims. "He who lives by the sword shall perish by the sword." And his successor, Beria followed the same fate.

[@Lenny2012S]

Karma

[@megamillionfreak]

Woke vermin always end up murdering everyone, including the woke themselves.

[@tumuraltan9432]

His predecessor Yagoda also arrested and got shot. Yagoda wasn’t innocent Jewish leader. He created the GULAG and because of Jewish people like him, Hitler was accusing Jews for the Bolshevism.

[@MrEjidorie]

@@tumuraltan9432 NKVD was originally Cheka which was established by Lenin. Its purpose was to purge anti-revolutionaries without any legal procedures. Yagoda, Yezhov and Beria just inherited cruel nature from Lenin. If there was no Lenin, there would be no Yagoda, Yezhov and Beria, and countless innocent people would not suffer.

[@Lenny2012S]

@@tumuraltan9432 Hitler was accusing Jews of every problem in the World long before he learned about Yagoda existence.

[@coopmurphy9216]

The fact that this vicious, murderous garden gnome spent the last days of his life drunk, terrified, weeping, and grovelling and being cast aside by the system he sold his soul for is definitely the most satisfying part of his biography. I dance on Yezhovs grave.

[@ShoegazingHammer74]

Totally. And the fact he died on his own specially designed execution chamber floor (sloped downwards to allow the blood to drain away) gives this rat's demise an extra piquancy.

[@petesmith9472]

Prepare to dance on Putin’s

[@Itried20takennames]

I never understood how many who support terrible people doing terrible things seem surprised when those same terrible people are terrible…to them. The really bad guys eventually turn on their own supporters, as well as their rivals or adversaries.

[@ShoegazingHammer74]

@@Itried20takennames Exactly. It's bizarre that an almost constant stream of Soviet Cheka/NKVD/MGB/KGB enforcers met the same or a similar fate, each either knowing or indeed being directly responsible for the fate of their predecessor (I suspect the 1st 2 Soviet terror enforcers Dzerzhinzsky (sic!) and Menshinzsky would have suffered the same fate had they not died earlier). Yagoda, Yezhov, Beria and Abakumov - and so many of their senior henchmen - all went the same way. Total power corrupts absolutely as they say.

[@FAngus-ly8lk]

What's the point in dancing on Yezhov's grave? His death meant nothing and changed nothing. Yezhov merely carried on the insane, murderous method of government that preceded him. After he was killed, the strategy of institutionalized imprisonment and mass murder continued under Beria. Stalin was preparing another purge of the Party at the time of his own death in 1953. The Gulag remained in operation for decades after Krushchev's denunciation of Stalin in 1956. What is the point in celebrating Yezhov's execution?

[@poal573]

Yezhov always had a stack of documents on his desk containing the information of people who were recently arrested, and to order an execution of the arrested individuals, Yezhov would have to stamp the document. It was said that Yezhov would frequently ask his associates to watch him stamp all of the documents in under a minute as a game without ever reviewing each case document like he was supposed to, essentially ordering the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Yezhov had no regard for human life at all.

[@shesaknitter]

It is amazing when people like him don't realize that sooner or later, they are liable to suffer the same fate. How can they not see that?

[@Lobos222]

@@shesaknitter Dunning Kruger effect, if you ask me.

[@mongo4511]

@@Lobos222 yeh

[@Sturmensky]

@@LordBruuh That strikes me as incredibly reductive. It'd be like saying "all right wingers are attracted to sociopathic behavior" because the Nazis existed.

[@b.g.3073]

@@LordBruuh Dumb comment. And I'm not even a leftist.

[@lanzknecht8599]

There is a (bitter) joke from Sowjet times that showed the reality during the Stalin era: An old man is walking along and complaining: "You hardly are getting meat anymore, and butter is short and cabbage isn´t easy to get...." Some militia men (the sowjet and russian police are called so) hear that and arrest the old guy because of "anti-socialist propaganda". A couple of days later there is an important holiday and because of the russian tradition of pardoning prisoners to such an event the mayor visits the prison and asks what crimes the detainees are accused of. "And this old one here?" he asks. "Anti-socialist propaganda, comrade!" The mayor shakes his head "He´s so old, he doesn´t know what he is complaining about, release him!" And as soon as the old man is standing outside the prison he says: "Oh no! Now they´ve even run out of ammunition!"

[@louisbarraud7853]

This is really good made me laugh, at least people could find humour in this time

[@whiplash8277]

Such beautiful irony in that statement...very nice.

[@lashlarue7924]

Ha, that’s a good one! Thanks for sharing.

[@DavidBrown-cp2vm]

Thank you. Added this to my collection of Soviet-era jokes. They are all ringing true today in the Covidised Western world with food shortages etc, etc, and citizens force-fed bullshit and lies on a daily basis.

[@anothergermanmapper7754]

@@DavidBrown-cp2vm Nobody asked for your Conspiracy Theories, Kyle.

[@cheriefsadeksadek2108]

When the Great Purger Gets Purged You know You are in the Soviet Union

[@jamesricker3997]

When you are doing a purge make sure you are not the only one who can connect Starling to the purge

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

@@jamesricker3997 he wasn't only one, another ones just disapearred along with their names

[@jthunders]

Or the USA circa 2022

[@ericmiller8404]

Or revolutionary France

[@enchmengas6394]

🤣😂😅👊🏾

[@AngriestAmerican]

Let this be heard by all- DO NOT CRY WHEN IT COMES TIME FOR YOU TO SUFFER WHAT YOU HAVE DEALT!!

[@zibabird]

Excellent!

[@Goodkidjr43]

Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot did not suffer what they dealt.....

[@duncancurtis1758]

Yezhov to Stalin job tvojemadj!

[@factspoken9062]

it is funny how those people who have no mercy, no qualms whatsoever of executing hundreds of innocent people cry , scream and appeal so pathetically when it was their turn.

[@ajarofmayonnaise3250]

@JoozdontliketheTruth rip emglish

[@kylemohs8728]

The Lesson: It doesn't matter how loyal you are, the revolution will inevitably devour its own. Don't assume that just because you went along with the radicals initially, that they will spare you.

[@wr1120]

Even so they lasted 70 years

[@donaldbraugh2314]

It's socio political complexity, for sure, yet this is why the U.S. in part, stood so firmly against Soviet-style Communism. And this is when the Soviets in the 50s-70s were, like the CCP today, hiding all the proof of their barbarism against their own people.

[@donaldbraugh2314]

​@@wr1120a reign of terror that made Hitler seem he was not the greatest villain.

[@kennyevans4998]

The world needs to hear this stuff more, and a little less of what Germany did. Stalin was no better than Hitler. Probably worse.

[@JakobFischer60]

My grandfather was one of the victims. A simple farmer in Ukraine. Men came, brought him to prison, killed him.

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

main problem with your grandfathers guys - nazi collaborationists and nazi death camps guards claims to be "simple innocent farmers" too

[@JakobFischer60]

@@ImPedofinderGeneral Hmm, that was before the Nazis came to power. He was a simple german farmer in Ukraine with no connection to Germany at all. My mother even was a komsomolz, a leader of the communist youth. His problem was, he was on the list they made for every city. 5000 here, 6000 there.

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

@@JakobFischer60 oh, okay, sorry. This is really a mess with the repressed because the perpetrators also declared their innocence and because of the tendency to rewrite history in favor of local nationalists in some countries (just like Stalin did, only with the opposite point of view)

[@bengrimm622]

Your family didnt tell you. He was a Nazi. No farmers were killed. That is Nazi propaganda.

[@JakobFischer60]

@@bengrimm622 Yes, he was a famous Nazi leader and after the war he went with Hitler to the South pole where they are waiting to come back. Oh my god. What people do we have out there.

[@tonydevos]

Yezhov was almost a dwarf. Stalin was a short guy, look at how Yezhov was so much shorter than him in the picture. Those short guys are dangerous

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

Bloody Dwarf

[@mesolithicman164]

He had that small penis energy.

[@thelordofcringe]

Watch a right wing or antifa rally. Theyre all manlets. Manlets are dangerous and cannot be allowed to have power.

[@alanmountain5804]

Just checked up and he was 4ft 11in

[@obey2dmax]

Napoleon Complex

[@jerryjeromehawkins1712]

As he said... "When chopping wood, chips fly." He was one of many "chips" under Stalin.

[@cristobalvalladares973]

Beria would also die begging for his life. It amazes me how the cruel can also be cowardly. Better 10 innocents die is an inversion of 10 guilty go free than one innocent die. This illustrates a contempt for the individual and a hunger for power. It can happen again. The greed for power never leaves human nature.

[@captain4595]

Disregard for rule of law will come back at you too.

[@randomtanker4355]

Your last line reminds me of a saying: "Indeed, mankind is ungrateful"

[@Deskglass]

it's naive to just believe beria's reported last words are accurate. We have no idea how he acted before death.

[@TheMacTownPoke]

@@Deskglass True. And the person(s) who killed him would more likely want to sully his name then sing his praises, naturally

[@50gary]

The most frightening part is the STATE is more important than any one individual or any number of individuals.. ten or ten thousand it's all the same.

[@raoulduke344]

Got to admit, Soviet phototshop was very impressive back then. That they could remove him from pictures was astounding (to me, at least).

[@gabebarbieri194]

They also found a way to photoshop Stalin’s features in pictures to make him look better, as he actually had lots of pockmarks on his face from childhood fever. I have no idea how they did it

[@kenjifox4264]

Analog photoshop (air brushes and paint). No computers in them days.

[@raoulduke344]

@@kenjifox4264 that... that was the joke.

[@kenjifox4264]

@@raoulduke344 🙀

[@xnotasweatx]

@@raoulduke344 shit joke

[@gunyvw8761]

it never ceases to amaze me how the 'killers' cry for mercy from death themselves...

[@ggggia]

Most of the response to torture is purely physical and obviously completely natural. It doesn't matter how many he tortured himself.

[@captain4595]

And frankly it's so satisfying.Its satisfying to torture and kill a pure evil who killed innocent people,children,old men.

[@kabardinka1]

One of the more unusual elements of Yezhov's downfall was that, under torture, they forced him to admit he had a gay relationship with old school Bolshevik Filip Goloshchekin (the two had once shared an apartment for a short period of time). Homosexuality wasn't illegal in the early part of the Soviet Union but, under Stalin, it became outlawed.

[@ezekielbrockmann114]

That's the problem with torture, or even interrogation under duress. It's impossible to ascertain what's true. The tortured themselves can even come to fully believe their own false memories.

[@ajaysidhu471]

@@ezekielbrockmann114 no, Niki admitted that his loyalties lied with Stalin, and his spy accusations were under torture. He didn't mention the sexuality. If he wasn't a supporter of the Bolsheviks, and fought for the enemies, I'm sure he would still have the same us" (the good guys who fought against the current early 1900s corrupt system) Vs "them" ideology (scum, terrorist, evil, greedy all the negative aspects of the before system etc etc) the ideology he had most his life.. Nikolai Yezhov was the same person from the 1920s up until his death, enemies and traitors are everywhere and to him it's personal, he was a member of the working class in the 1910s and he knew how bad it was under Nicholas the 2nd

[@bjr4567]

​@@ajaysidhu471 The "enemies and traitors are everywhere" obsession emanated from Stalin and Molotov, not Yezhov. He was just their willing accomplice. When Stalin was done using him to do his dirty work, it was time for him to go. First humiliate, then destroy the dupe. Rinse and repeat like Yagoda before him.

[@tekniqal2639]

Stalin himself died under awkward circumstances. Once he was felled by a stroke, those around him did not bother giving him much help. He was simply laid in his bed and had to listen and see, but could not move or speak, while those around him waited him out. He should have considered himself lucky, in his last moments, that he managed to die a relatively natural death.

[@azieldaly2965]

Nah they feared him too much.

[@beezelsub]

Heard Beria did it.

[@randybyrd6778]

@@beezelsubStalin imprisoned the top Soviet doctors claiming they were plotting to kill the Soviet leaders. That fittingly came back to bite him when had a stroke and needed a doctor .

[@Matthew-hb9ff]

I’m sure Stalin is in hell

[@miroslavputinovic6650]

Imagine treating Stalin, having him still die, and then getting executed as an assassin. Forget it. RUN AWAY.

[@jameshoopes6467]

This is “live by the sword, die by the sword” in action. But why do these beasts turn into simpering losers when their fate arrives?

[@ahmedmakki3638]

Because they are losers and narcissists who found themselves with huge authority just by luck

[@martinleifnymark7432]

@@ahmedmakki3638 cowards with no empathy

[@ahmedmakki3638]

@@martinleifnymark7432 precisely

[@antoniolima1068]

narcs are cowards with delusions of grandeur feul by grandiosity, the problems was that his boss, a psychopath was playing with is mind, narcs are flying monkeys for psychopaths.

Not Saddam Hussein

[@TimohaNorveg]

My great grandmother suffered in a prison for 15 years during Yezhov’s time as head of NKVD, just because she was ethnically Polish (kinda sus ethnicity in Soviet during that time) and had noble descent. Luckily, she survived this hell

[@whythelongface64]

Damn, that's sad

[@DP-zs3hg]

Because she was ethnically polish? Sounds like a lie, because founder of NKVD was polish too - Dzerjinski.

[@DEVOPS_R_US]

@@DP-zs3hg he denounced his Polish background

[@TimohaNorveg]

@@DP-zs3hg Yeah, but he was a loyal commie as well. While my great grandmother wasn’t

[@gla9322]

@Hello There Yes Katyn was made by the Nazis

[@TrueBrit1]

I recall a previous video on Yezhov I watched. He apparently tortured his predecessor horribly before killing him. It was said that when Beria arrested Yezhov, he tortured Yezhov in the same manner that Yezhov had tortured his predecessor - just in an even more terrible , sadistic way, and that he goaded Yezhov about how did it feel to experience what he'd done to his predecessor? I'd suggest searching for that other video as it provides further really interesting info on these lunatics.

[@mikehoare6093]

thats what you´ve done to whole countries...

[@lashlarue7924]

@@mikehoare6093 oh shut it!

[@cpj93070]

And Beria in turn would cry like a bitch exactly like Yezhov did when he was about to be executed, scum the whole lot of them.

[@mikehoare6093]

@@cpj93070 this must have been exactly your words at Amritsar.

[@mikehoare6093]

@@lashlarue7924 .!.

[@MultiOpolis]

Can you imagine the stress and paranoia of living in those days

[@1984isnotamanual]

And what’s so scary about humans is that no one had the courage to just shoot Stalin in the head or be the first to speak out. In fact they all cooperated with Stalin, even when they hated and feared him.

[@Skulltaro]

@@1984isnotamanual Stalin only prosecuted the guilty. This guy was the one executing innocent people. That’s why he was executed.

[@bjr4567]

@@Skulltaro Noah, go read a history book or two on the subject, please. Or better yet, start with Khrushchev's memoirs.

[@richtxn47]

Due to his short stature, he was called " The BLoody Dwarf" by the people.

[@jamesricker3997]

Starlin who was 5'-2" towered over him

[@richtxn47]

@@jamesricker3997 Wow, I didn't know that. They could have been midget wrestlers.

[@capncake8837]

@@jamesricker3997 Stalin was a bit taller than that. He was probably between 5'5" and 5'6" based off of photographic evidence. But yeah, he wasn't very tall.

[@1azboy1]

At about 4:42 into the video Yezhov is quoted as saying in part, “”…better that ten innocent people should suffer than one spy get away…” Benjamin Franklin said, quoting Sir William Blackstone, “...it is better 100 guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer…” The difference between those two statements succinctly sums up one of the major differences in the outlooks of autocracies and constitutional republics.

[@blatherskite3009]

The ironic footnote to which is that in recent years the constitutional republic to whch you refer make some pretty big strides toward becoming an autocracy and around half of its population absolutely loved it and wanted more. Heck, they were even chanting "lock them up" about the wannabe autocrat's political opponents. It's almost as if people learn nothing from history.

[@megamillionfreak]

@@blatherskite3009 It is the Left that want to do away with the important artifacts of our constitutional Republic: pack the Supreme Court to meet their political needs, invent 2 new states to give them permanent advantage in the Senate, do away with Electoral College, do away with a number of constitutional Amendments they don’t like, do away with due process (notably in the case of Kyle Rittenhouse when the prosecutor tried to cast shade on the 5th amendment), recent push in colleges to suspend due process and cancel and fire students and faculty who are out of favor by the braying mob and so on.

[@blatherskite3009]

@@megamillionfreak America doesn't even have a "Left" :) What Americans call the "Left" is in fact Center-Right on the political spectrum. I guess Center-Right *is* technically to the left of Far-Right, which is your other option, but the point is: neither of your options are actually politically left of center so you're basically quibbling between two slightly different shades of right-wing. American politics consists of right-wing extremists (Rep) versus right-wing moderates (Dem). When "leftist" is used as a pejorative in your country, you know your politics is all on the right...

[@megamillionfreak]

@@blatherskite3009 OK commie.

[@blatherskite3009]

@@megamillionfreak Wow, I set a really low bar for you, and you sailed right under it. That's kinda impressive, in a way :)

[@zibabird]

Thank you and as always, shared.

[@eleanorkett1129]

Chilling story no matter how many times I read about it. Once again thank you for an excellent presentation.

[@christopheraliaga-kelly6254]

I read that one of the things Yezhov did was to order a number of cells in the basement of the Lubyanka prison to be removed and a special corridor constructed. Then, the prisoner was told to collect the things they had with them and go to a new cell, via this corridor. As they moved along this corridor, they found it was badly lit with weak lights illuminating short stretches, with areas of near-darkness. In these parts, there was a compartment almost invisible from the corridor, in which there was a gunman, holding a pistol. As the person told to move along moved past, the gunman would move behind the other and shoot them through the back of the neck, killing them almost instantly. The body would be dragged off to the crematorium. This was known as "The Death Corridor" Apparently, during the Purges, so much blood was shed in the Lubyanka that a special extra pipe had to be laid to the Moscow River to carry away the excess.

[@brucekilby9957]

Just Pure Evil. When a Leader is Clinically Paranoid a Whole Nation Suffers for Nothing.

[@DeadManSinging1]

[Citation need]That's complete bullshit. The Soviets were pretty bad, but after looking online for 30 minutes I couldn't find a single article or historic reference to a supposed "Death Corridor" at Lubyanka. This is a ridiculous assertion paramount to claims that Saddam had a "human paper shredder". The basement of the garage was filled with zinc and used as a special space for regular mass executions until 1948. 15,000 people were executed there, but not in a way that resembles a fucking James Bond film. The Soviets were brutal, but they weren't that convoluted and needlessly complex. They would just drag you out of your cell and shoot you.

[@bjr4567]

@@DeadManSinging1 Exactly. There are more BS references dished out across the internet and particularly websites like KZbin than anywhere else known to mankind. It's reached damn near epidemic proportions. One mindless or crazy assertion after the next, with no backing evidence. All I can say is reader beware!

[@jobu88]

Stephen Kotkin's recent biography of Stalin goes into great detail of how crazy Stalin was during the four years of "The Terror." He basically destroyed his own security services in addition to the Army leadership and of course millions of ordinary Russians. And the case of Nikolai Yezhov is one of the most bizarre. Yezhov had done and would have done anything Stalin ever ordered him to do, and still Stalin had him liquidated.

[@bennyandersen742]

To jobu, this is the nature of these dictatorships, terror is a pervasive force, not anyone should feel safe

[@jobu88]

@@bennyandersen742 Agreed; but Stalin really went off the deep end with it

[@dennisyoung4631]

True. Anyone who might possibly be a threat, become a threat, or cause trouble for those in power. The more capable, the greater the threat - and Number One (Arthur Koestler, “Darkness at Noon,”) did not waste time in their disposal.

[@johnhardin4358]

Had to sweep out the institutional history and maintain the Red Terror.

[@martinleifnymark7432]

@@jobu88 paranoid! Do unto others before they do to you

[@davisworth5114]

Killers are everywhere in society, and in times of social and political upheaval they come slithering out from under the rocks. They are among the people you interact with all the time. It can happen here.

[@dannymcnamara2554]

An intelligent observation indeed 😳

[@parabellum9168]

Same with the hoes , they are everywhere

[@ericpalmer3588]

January 6th was the beginning of the trend towards paramilitary political violence in the US.

[@rajaoc1]

@@ericpalmer3588 from the ashes of January 6fh will rise patriot day.

[@ericpalmer3588]

@@rajaoc1 Trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power because your preferred candidate lost is not patriotic. It’s against the Republic and it’s against the constitution.

[@andrewclark8630]

Many of us read 1984 but only when I learn the history do I realise that many of the events detailed actually took place in Stalin's USSR.

[@warrenwhite9085]

Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, socialists are authoritarian.. the violence, cruelty is endemic to socialism/communism/liberalism.

[@captain4595]

@@warrenwhite9085 anything extreme is wrong.By the way,they were not liberal.And neither was Hitler communist or Socialist.

[@parabellum9367]

@@warrenwhite9085 and that's why Orwell predicated for Democratic socialism...

[@1997lordofdoom]

@@captain4595 This is flawed logic, the USSR was terrible, but so is Capitalism, look at guys like Pinochet who rose to power with the help of the USA, he was just as brutal as Stalin. What qualifies as an extreme? Why is Capitalism considered in the middle?

[@joelanderson5285]

@@1997lordofdoom Pinochet was a fascist and fascists were not capitalists.

[@websurfer191]

Another small man who found he had a taste of power and seemed to enjoy using it. At the end he met his death like many others who wielded similar power.

[@stevefox8605]

A truly evil man, but not well known- at least he got what he deserved!. Excellent episode, thank you 👍👍

[@JDA2185]

"He got what he deserved"? Is that the fitting thing to say here? He did what Stalin told him to do. And when he wasn't useful anymore, Stalin had him killed too. As he did with all his executioners. No matter how evil Yezhov was, he was nothing compared to Stalin. The true evil in there was Stalin.

[@stevefox8605]

@@JDA2185 yes Stalin was the bigger monster, but he was a monster too & most definitely earned a horrible death like he'd inflicted upon others ....

[@JDA2185]

@@stevefox8605 Yeah, but the fact that he was killed by the one for whom he inflicted those terrible deaths upon others pretty much takes away any notion or feeling of justice here.

[@nicks2581]

@@JDA2185 The lesson here... Do not allow yourself to be the tool of a monster in the first place. Stalin only had power because of the cowards and weak-minded followers who carried out his will with blind loyalty.

[@JDA2185]

@@nicks2581 They were very low morals people, actually they were all psychopaths and sociopaths just like he was, who only looked at the apparent advantages and privileges they would get from being his lackeys. Also "Stalin only had power because of the cowards and weak-minded followers who carried out his will with blind loyalty" - this is the case with all dictators. None of them could've done what they did without a bunch of people around them carrying out their orders and implementing their agenda.

[@oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@geetikabhagwat9816]

By far one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@tobystewart4403]

There is a problem when we describe Yezhov as "Stalin's instrument". That is, the 17th Party Congress, in 1934, saw Yezhov elected to the extremely powerful office of chairman of the Central Control Commission of the central committee. Basically, the 1250 or so members of the 17th Party Congress elected Yezhov to this office. Yet, the 17th Party Congress was also the same forum, the same set of folks, that set out to replace Stalin with Sergei Kirov. We know that "the plan" by the "old bolsheviks", a dominant faction within the Party Congress wanted to replace Stalin with Kirov because they told him this, and he told Stalin. It wasn't really a secret, it was just communist politics. Now, it follows that Yezhov was appointed to carry out this transition of power. Remember, it is the very same people who appoint Yezhov, who approach Kirov to replace Stalin. At the same event, the 17th Party Congress. Why did Yezhov not carry out his role? Well, Kirov was mysteriously assassinated in December 1934, and then things got extremely messy. With their preferred candidate gone, the old Bolsheviks seemed to lose focus. Or, if you prefer, perhaps Yezhov saw himself as the better candidate to replace Stalin. It is worth pondering whether Yezhov had Zirov killed, in order to further his own candidacy for Stalin's job. Firstly, the role Yezhov held was exactly the same role Stalin had held, before he became the General Secretary in 1924. This office held a lot of practical power, it's holder could literally order the trial and punishment of anyone in the communist party. If Yezhov was ambitious, and wanted the top job, Kirov would have been in his way, and he possessed the power to cover up the true story behind any assassination. If we examine the way Stalin reacted to Kirov's death, it also raises questions about who really had him killed. Stalin had come to an agreement with Kirov, and his death was obviously something that made people suspicious of Stalin. After demanding a full investigation, Yezhov took great pains to blame the NKVD, and he even tried to have Stalin's right hand man, Beria, arrested and liquidated. Beria fled to Moscow for the personal protection of Stalin. If Yezhov was "Stalin's man", how can we account for Beria's terror, and flight to safety under Stalin's personal protection? Why was Yezhov trying to neuter Stalin's pet attack dog? Now, between 1934 and 1939, Yezhov began purging the entire Party Congress. Of the 139 members of the supreme party body that elected him in 1934, the Central Committee, 70% were murdered by Yezhov by 1938. Yezhov purged 98 of the 139 people who elected him. Not Stalin, but Yezhov. There is a famous quip about Stalin purging the body that elected him, but in fact it was Yezhov who did this. It was Yeshov, not Stalin, who held the party appointed power during the purge. My own theory is that Yezhov was elected in order to purge Stalin, once Kirov began his coup against Stalin. Yezhov wanted the top job for himself, and so he had Kirov murdered, hoping the party would blame Stalin (which many did), and choose him instead. When the party members did not choose Yezhov (because he was a total psycho), Yezhov began murdering them. He goes after Stalin, by trying to have have Beria killed. When Stalin and Beria gather the numbers in the party, they go after Yezhov, and he is purged. In any case, the Soviet Union was not a simple and magical place, where a few special individuals had magical mind control powers, and everyone else was mind controlled by them. The central committee had always been wolves fighting under a blanket, and there is a case to be made that Stalin relied on quite a bit of pure luck to stay within its graces.

[@helencoe7839]

Very interesting thx for the information

[@ohwnosrepeht]

Great post, sounds quite plausible. I can draw a lot of similarities to the inter-party factional rivalries & power plays amongst the upper echelons of the Chinese communist cadres, resulting in millions of ordinary people dying during the various famines, purges, wars and most keenly, during the Cultural Revolution. "Wolves fighting under a blanket" indeed!

[@RootzRockBand]

Sound like the way the Sith operate in the Star Wars universe.

[@neilmccarthy1839]

Stalin was always the only one who ordered any and all arrests and certified all names not Yezhod. Look instead at Stalin noting what Hitler had done to remove the SA per the '...night if the long knives... as the genesis for Stalin to both copy and ruthlessly expand the numbers. Stalin was worried evidence of his working for the Okhrana, before 1917, was going to be unearthed and used to depose him - in particular by Tuchachevski. Yes, Yezhod was ambitious, but he wasn't a fool. Only Stalin controlled all levers and Stalin trusted no body especially a toady such as Yezhod.

[@mememachine6022]

That souns hella lot like you want to clear stalins name. Stalin personaly signed every list of people to be purged

[@RRaquello]

It's interesting that Yagoda, who was Jewish, was condemned for being a Nazi spy. Same for a lot of the old line Bolsheviks like Kamenev, Zinoviev and Radek. Well, I wouldn't weep for any of these people, all of whom deserved worse than they got. Beria managed to survive it, maybe because he was a Georgian like Stalin, though that didn't save Ordzhonikidze. Beria himself paid the price when he no longer had Stalin to protect him.

[@adjeiboateng6720]

How did Ordzhonikidze Really die?

[@RRaquello]

@@adjeiboateng6720 The rumors were that he was murdered on Stalin's orders. He was too popular in the home country and Stalin saw him as a threat. The official story is different, but we know what that's worth.

[@bjr4567]

Beria manage to survive Stalin but only barely. He was next on Koba's hit list. Along with Molotov and Mikoyan, and likely Voroshilov and Kaganovich to boot. And yes at the end, Stalin was planning a massive purge/pogrom of the Jews. Only his death likely prevented all of this from occurring.

[@trj1442]

Another excellent episode. Thankyou.

[@Patrickrooney1962]

Very interesting and well presented. Looking forward to seeing your next video...🙏👏👏👏👏

[@nunosilva7505]

I remember this story..the evil dwarf..then Stalin expunged him all personal fotos

[@lucasglowacki4683]

Everyone that Stalin made second in command was shorter than him😂😂. How predictable..

[@TexasNationalist1836]

If I was an evil dictator or even a regular leader I would make sure than everyone else under me was also shorter than me I am 5’7

[@hughjass1044]

He was shorter than Stalin... and Stalin was not a tall man at all. So Yezhov must have been tiny!

[@dennisyoung4631]

Yes. Stalin was a short fellow…

[@Rob1066-]

They weren't actually disloyal, but purging seemed to work for Koba.

[@justinwillingale2086]

Koba followed the tsar lesson in life purge half the population and put them into fear. Rule with a whip then love kill your generals he was another Ivan the terrible

[@hugosophy]

Lol good old Koba

[@ggggia]

One of the scariest places to be in at that time. Having said that, what the hell did he expect? He must have known how this would end from the very beginning. This couldn't possibly end any other way, unless Stalin himself died.

[@josesiliezar1758]

You are right. Sadly, most psychopathic murderers manage to convince themselves that THEY are smart enough to avoid the fate they inflict upon others. It's an all too-common human trait.

[@ggggia]

@@HavocHerseim Serov could have been purged but there were quite a few things going in his favor. The Purge was already over and full on WWII had Stalin distracted. Serov wasn't on his radar.

[@krissiregar8083]

that's the way Beria was still alive. Thank God there was Zhukov that finished him.

[@afterglow6143]

Yes, but even Stalin's death didn't save his replacement, Beria. Good old Kruschev had him eliminated shortly afterward, and he certainly deserved it.

[@moistmike4150]

Fun Fact: It's quite satisfying to hear that, after Stalin's death, even Beria was himself executed for being too brutal and treacherous to remain among the living. These pricks generally get what they dish out, but sadly do tremendous evil while they're still above room temperature.

[@ukaszb9223]

Beria wasn't killed for being a monster, he was killed because of a power struggle. Some people just didn't want him to be Stalin's successor.

[@moistmike4150]

@@ukaszb9223 After Stalin's death, Kruzcheov didn't want Beria left alive because he said, "Either Beria dies, or we do."

[@daneaxe6465]

@@ukaszb9223 I think its safe to say Beria's loyal band of killers was "liquidated" also.

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

@@ukaszb9223 Beria's execution was prepared before Stalin's death, Beria just delayed the inevitable by blocking doctors and by arresting the head of Stalin's security while Stalin was helpless

[@vladtheimpaler5454]

​@@moistmike4150it was more of a power struggle...kuuschev also had hundreds of thousands in Ukraine killed

[@alikhodajani6075]

True legends say during the hight of 1937 purge it happened quite often when dozens of people were carried in a military van to the execution field they were still shouting and chanting so heartily patriotic slogans for motherland Russia, for the Bolsheviks and especially in favour of Stalin ... and that was sometimes hours and minutes before the execution !!!

[@johntomlinson6849]

Shows how loony communists are!

[@jabjabato7791]

Totalmente cierto. Que se lo digan al íntimo amigo de John Dos Pasos en España. Nunca se le pudo encontrar.

[@baraxor]

"If only Stalin knew!" The cry of the victims who actually thought that Stalin was on their side.

[@johnhardin4358]

@@baraxor Sending that guy a letter bought you a ticket on the Gulag RR.

[@Alex-dc3xp]

@@johntomlinson6849 sad but true. Bizzare really.🤔

[@MalleusImperiorum]

I just love all those links to the sources used in this video in the description.

[@TheLeadSled]

Stalin without a doubt was one of the most wicked men to have ever lived. There's a quote from him that I think sums him up perfectly and it goes as follows "one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic," that's all you need to know about one of histories most evil men.

[@azieldaly2965]

No evidence he said that.

[@RichardTaylor1630]

@@azieldaly2965 Yes, there is. That was his comment on the Armentian Holocaust, in which the Ottoman Empire ordered the murder of 1.5 million of its Armenian citizens merely for being of the wrong ethnicity/religion.

[@azieldaly2965]

@@RichardTaylor1630 Your mixing up Hitler with Stalin. Hitler supposedly said "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" There is no proof Stalin said "One death is a tragedy ,a million deaths is a statistic."

[@MrYevyan]

„Смерть одного человека - трагедия, смерть миллионов - статистика. Это слегка изменённая фраза из романа Э. М. Ремарка «Чёрный обелиск» (1956)

[@creature2479]

"Death is the solution to all problems, no man - no problem" is also a good one

[@cheesegyoza]

What goes around comes around.

[@nicholasnelson8641]

Yes, I had that phase on my mind while watching the entire video.

[@sleazyfellow]

Him being tortured and killed in no way makes up for what he did. He deserved alot worse than that.

[@badensnaxx5804]

I was told a joke about this guy by a Russian friend who was in the Soviet army. Two guys are in a cell shackled when the door opens & another prisoner is shoved inside. The new guy sits down & asks one prisoner, "why are you here" "I'm here because I never supported comrade Yezhov, when I should have" And you, he asks the second prisoner. "I'm here because I supported comrade Yezhov, when I shouldn't have" It goes quiet & they ask the new guy, so why are you here? "I am comrade Yezhov" he replies.

[@jensenwilliam5434]

Thank you!!!

[@marcelalopezmartin9160]

°Under the °Sign of the °Scorpion.

[@chelseacharger]

It is to be wished that humans finally start to learn from the past. It's 2,400 years since Plato observed 'Those who seek power are not worthy of that power'. And yet time and again, power hungry psychopaths are allowed to become cruel despots, inflicting misery on so many. And still it continues. Will we ever wise up?

[@6TypoS9]

Love it how you monotone each silable of the last word in each phrase

[@DaveS859]

THANK YOU . I can't believe it took this many comments before I found someone else driven crazy by that

[@jamesbodnarchuk3322]

Being on top in the NKVD was a death sentence. Only a matter of time. Stalin had his use of them.

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

for everybody except first one - Dzershinsky, but he died from stroke seeing how guilty and incompetent other party members and how there is nobody to replace them, lol

[@buddyluv584]

@@ImPedofinderGeneral What a bs. He was imprisoned and sent into exile in Tsarist times. He got sick there and since then Iron Felix was in poor health

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

@@buddyluv584 he was in poor health from the childhood. Stroke killed him 20th of July 1926 after his 2 hours speech regarding corruption and incompetence of some party members (Georgiy Pyatakov, Leon Kamenev and co). Tsarist jails didnt make him healthier tho.

[@bjr4567]

@@ImPedofinderGeneral Stalin would have done in Dzerzhinsky just like the rest of them had he lived on long enough. Just as he was planning to do in his old faithfuls Molotov and Mikoyan, and likely Voroshilov and Kaganovich at the end. Eventually all his cronies come to be distrusted, no matter how acquiescent.

[@ImPedofinderGeneral]

@@bjr4567 nope. If we dont speak about Stalin from "books of historical fiction genre" without any scientifical proofs thats people like to buy here. Old guard revolutioneeres like Budeniy were his most loyal supporters and base of his power. Only an author of fiction might have thought that Stalin holding the power of the largest state on the entire planet for years and years was so stupid that he believed that he could rule a huge ex-empire alone without tested by Revolution party officials

[@chrisphillips408]

This government was pure insanity!

[@catotheoldest6451]

I figured a video on the poisonous dwarf was just around the corner, when I saw the beria vid. Do all murderers like these die like cowards?

[@TheUntoldPast]

Poisonous dwarf - that did make me laugh a significant amount haha!

[@normannokes9513]

I believe that Beria 'protested' when his turn came.

[@WyattRyeSway]

@@normannokes9513 ……it is said Beria begged. He was a sadistic prolific pedophile. Soso did not even allow Svetlana to be alone with him.

[@daneaxe6465]

@@normannokes9513 If crying and begging for your life on your knees is "protesting" then he "protested" very vigorously.

[@normannokes9513]

@@daneaxe6465 Please forgive my sarcasm.

[@governorofthedeathstar1680]

If that poison dwarf had any real courage, he would had took out Stalin first!

[@ronaldwhite1730]

Thank you .

[@8bitorgy]

when your political system is built around central planning, it's only a matter of time (and historical example) that brutal authoritarianism is required. handing over power was simply not an option to stalin, as it's not to other such dictators.

[@robertbruce7686]

As you sow....so shall ye reap.

[@cw6983]

I read that before Yagoda was executed, yezov had him stripped naked and beaten before being shot..and Beria had the same thing done to yezov..what comes around goes around...

[@bjr4567]

All on Stalin's orders.

[@juliataylor2623]

A truly horrible man but it was not a shock after what he had done to the rest of the party.

[@thomasm5714]

The "zh" in Yezhov is pronounced like the "zh" in Dr Zhivago, or the "s" in "pleasure". It's written with one letter in the Russian alphabet (ж).

[@valmid5069]

*“No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?“* -Squealer, Animal Farm

[@georgedonaldson6252]

In the book The Court Of The Red Csar Yezhov was referred to by Committee members as " the poisoned dwarf "

[@lyndaoneill7813]

Dammed if you do and dammed if you dont.Not a good way to live but that's how things were.Great video as usual.👍👍👍

[@carmelgrace1939]

This series is a warning to us all.

[@fdllicks]

"An appeaser is someone who feeds a crocodile, hoping he will be eaten last" churchill

[@bjr4567]

Ironic how willing Churchill was to appease Uncle Joe and the Reds.

[@NordeggSonya]

What they do with you, they will do TO you.

[@AngriestAmerican]

And when they do,,don't cry about it.

[@baraxor]

The reading on my Givafuckometer for Yezhov's final situation remains stubbornly at zero. Great video!

[@whiplash8277]

Not many know the true evil and paranoia of Stalin...he was a petty, jealous little man. Before his death Lenin spoke clearly that Stalin was an animal and Lenin did not want Stalin to succeed him. Lenin knew his strokes had brought him close to death, and at that point Stalin had Lenin isolated and Stalin just took over the Party. As for Yezhov and his demise, Stalin used a favorite tactic of his - to secretly promote a new leader of whatever post was in question, then Stalin would have the new boss liquidate the old boss. In this case Stalin had Beria kill Yezhov and Beria then assumed control of the NKVD. Stalin is the second greatest mass murderer the world has ever known, being responsible thru purges and all other manner of evil, of killing upwards of 50,000,000 Soviet citizens from 1923 until his death in March, 1953. Mao is the greatest mass killer of human history, having ordered upwards of 70,000,000 Chinese killed. Communism is a cancer.

[@TruthLivesNow]

Yes, Stalin was very evil!

[@christopherlucy1772]

Bless you for telling the truth and I want to second everything you say .. I tell anyone I can that communism is an intolerable unmitigated evil..

[@DavidL1986]

I always wondered what if Lenin recovered? I wonder if Stalin had become too powerful and could even purge Lenin himself? Or.. if Lenin didn’t have strokes at all, perhaps Stalin himself would have ended in a gulag

[@anthonyfuqua6988]

Because people are greedy, Marx's true vision of communism was never carried out. Marx never wanted a dictatorship of the proletariat. He favored worker's councils. It still would have been a bad system though.

[@trevorelliston1]

This was not Communism but was the antithesis of it, with one man rule, as opposed to “for the people by the people.” It is however a fundamental flaw of Communism that it allows such people to take power and inflict such atrocities on the people they are meant to serve.

No great purge goes unpurged.

[@AJ99]

Why didn't you show the famous altered photo of Stalin standing WITHOUT Yezhov in the boat? Amazing that you didn't bother to show that photo. You could have showed the before and after side by side for a good effect. You show the un-altered photo at about 10:38 as you describe Yezhov becoming known at the "vanishing commissar" but you don't show the actual evidence of his vanishing.

[@Zgmflegend]

Don't you see in the picture Stalin's hand in his coat? A freemason symbol.

[@silverfingerthesilverstack5062]

Hey I asked for this, thankyou :-) The Poison Dwarf.

[@TileGuyJesse]

Murderers being murdered by those who helped them murder. Talk about poetic justice.

[@judydavenport9636]

Some historians say 40 to 60 million was a more accurate count of those killed.

[@kayvan671]

Not only by him Beria was also responsible for these numbers. And the numbers is at 20 Million.

[@jacksonreilly3441]

@@kayvan671 And the bolshevik bastards said that their Batiushka Tsar was a tyrant! Nicholas II was a benevolent ruler appointed by God. Kozis were the agents of Satan.

[@danielk4089]

@@jacksonreilly3441 lmao

[@jacksonreilly3441]

@Anarcho Monarchist I couldn't agree more. The Russian people did not want bolshevism; it was imposed upon them. Then, for the next 70 years they were under the iron heel of tyrannical thugs. What amazes me more than anything is that there are still many around the world who advocate such a system.

[@vchk5330]

@@jacksonreilly3441 Nicholas was a pathetic and incompetent tyrant who got kicked out by his own people.

[@featheredmusic]

It is almost unreal, but yes humans do this to each other just remember this.

[@douglasschneider9127]

"Sir, we have the full names of the one million you requested!" "One million and one.." "What?" "What?"

[@samkitty5894]

Worst criminals, the most blood thirsty animals who can murder innocents without flinching are also the biggest cowards when the shoe is on the other foot.

[@bobarmstrong4403]

One of the more dangerous places to be in 1930s Russia...Stalins snake pit

[@grahamtaylor6883]

No sympathy what so ever. A perfect example of 'what goes around, comes around'.

[@rickoshay5525]

I am amazed that you didn't show the picture transfer from the original to the doctor picture where he disappeared.

[@johanroeffen5670]

Unfortunately, in any criminal regime, there are always enough criminals to do the dirty work. What does that say about man in general.....civilization is nothing more than a thin layer of chromium! thanks for the post

[@marvwatkins7029]

You failed to show the altered group photo with Stalin by the water and compare the two: now you see him. Now you don't.

[@sphakamisozondi]

Thousands of innocent people perished because he wanted to gain Stalin's favoritism. Only to suffer the same fate he carried out to his victims.

[@ricgunn1439]

Wrong millions not thousands

[@bjr4567]

@@ricgunn1439 If he didn't do it, someone else would have for Stalin. And it was done just as much out of fear and self-preservation as it was favoritism.

[@PaulHussey01]

Sorry to be pedantic but it’s quite important in this case. At 10:18 you say “he was turned on”. You put the emphasis on the word “on”. This suggests something quite different from what I think you mean! I politely suggest you put the emphasis on the word “turned”. That way you’ll be saying he was betrayed, rather than that he got the raging horn. Great video though - really interesting and well presented. Thanks.

[@SantosBadongen-is9sq]

His biggest mistake was being too loyal instead of eleminating him first...

[@charlesloomis2224]

During Stalin’s time, only one man in Russia experienced the freedom one could only experiment in a western capitalist democracy...Joseph Stalin.

[@bjr4567]

And yet, he was too paranoid to ever feel truly free. He didn't even trust himself.

[@Chamindo7]

Communism, so warm, cuddly, caring and loving.

[@rarekev9332]

Is capitalism warm,cuddly,caring and loving? 😂🤣

[@BigSad49702]

@@rarekev9332 yes

[@vivians9392]

@@rarekev9332 Yes, it is very much!

[@btgkg9639]

@@rarekev9332 Yes, definitely.

[@Chamindo7]

@@rarekev9332 Let's go Brandon.🐸

[@zelesluk1]

Great video, just a remarque: the name is pronounced Iejov.

[@dreamchaser7559]

Since he saw that coming, why didn't he escape the USSR? Or was that impossible for him to do back then?

[@patriot03062]

If this happened today Yezhov would be Times Man of the Year on the front Cover

[@bjr4567]

CNN and MSNBC would be fawning all over him.

[@paulgardner5079]

wasnt yezhov the one who said before he was executed "I praised stalin and cursed god, here I am"?

[@rdallas81]

He used Yezhov because he knew he would take revenge on everyone for his stature.

[@johnthomson6507]

Known as the malignant dwarf

[@bordapatrol4930]

my man just read the wiki page and slightly rephrased each sentence lmao

[@LilChi423]

“He was purged and turned on”…wait, being purged turned him on? Lol

[@Dontnegotiatewithterrorist]

Proving the old adage,... "Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug"

[@bredaokeeffe4702]

Evil has many faces many may look kind but evil is as evil does

[@KronStaro]

Fun fact: During Stalin's purges that ended in 1938, many of the victims were accused of being fascists and Germany was an ideological enemy of the Soviet Union. Then later, in 1938, the Soviet Union and Germany became practically allies in everything but paper. A Friendship act was signed, which included military and economic pacts. The secret Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, that divided Poland later. All government public propaganda and Soviet committee meetings started to preach about how Germany isnt really an enemy and both nations should work together against the evil capitalist Great Britain

[@KoolKinchishKat]

The non-aggression pact was only signed to buy time after all the western powers refused to unite with the Soviets against Hitler - they knew they'd have to fight Germany eventually, it wasn't an alliance just an agreement not to go to war

[@myrtlefishing7722]

Of course. It's how it goes one day you'll be shot for saying something the next day shot for speaking against the same thing.

[@KronStaro]

@@KoolKinchishKat not sure if youre just a Russian or uninformed. Ive already mentioned that there were few political and economical treaties signed, and internal propaganda was aimed at improving relations with Germany. AND, Poland was festively divided between both countries, with a military parade following it, where generals from both sides saluted each other and the parading soldiers. Unless you are an imbecile, everything mentioned above is a description of a friendhship.

[@andreylyubavin1211]

Another pathetic speculations. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was a consequence of an impotent foreign policy of the GB and France towards Hitler. And by the way, the GB, Poland and many others had non-aggression pact with Germany too. So, have you double standards to the SU?

[@bjr4567]

@@andreylyubavin1211 None of those countries signed non-aggression pacts with Germany. Where are you getting this? They were fearful of Hitler, just as Stalin was. He signed that pact with Germany to buy the Soviet Union time, with the hopes Hitler would get bogged down fighting those very countries in Europe.

[@deepatlantic2222]

The communist rant about the purge of 1938 because it hit the party elites but large and small purges were carried out constantly since Lenin took power.

[@RodCalidge]

As opposed to those "user friendly" executions that we've all become accustomed to.

[@ilovephotography1254]

He was Stalin's Yez-man, before he fell from good grace.