Sergei Mironovich Kirov[a] (born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov;[b] 27 March [O.S. 15 March] 1886 – 1 December 1967) was a prominent Russian revolutionary and a Soviet politician. In 1953, after Stalin's death, he became First Secretary of the Communist-Social Democratic Party of the Soviet Union. He became a prominent member of the Revision commission on Stalin's achievements and problems. He was a moderate Stalinist, but later became a Kirovist-Voznessenskist.
One of the negotiators for the Second Postdam Conference, he was proven to be a skill diplomat. Kirov's appearance on the USA, UK and China proved that he's a peacemaker, although there are some problems like 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In addition to his diplomatic skills, he's also being considered to be a reformer like his Second Secretary and Prime Minister, Nikolai Voznessensky.
His death on 1st December, 1967 was alerted to be a political struggle for Voznessenskist and Brezhnevist, which led to the Voznessenky's landslide victory in 1967. He implemented new reforms and a convertible currency (Kirov plan). However, the conservative planned a coup and it was a success (1967). Voznessensky had to waited until 1970 when the protests began. Voznessensky promised to return the Kirov plan, which led the USSR economy became developed.
Early life[]
Sergey Kirov was born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov into a poor family in Urzhum (then in Vyatka Governorate of the Russian Empire, subsequently in Kirov Oblast) as one of seven children born to Miron Ivanovich Kostrikov and Yekaterina Kuzminichna Kostrikova (née Kazantseva). Their first four children had died young, while Anna (born 1883), Sergey (1886) and Yelizaveta (1889) survived.
Miron, an alcoholic, abandoned the family around 1890. In 1893, Yekaterina died of tuberculosis. The children's paternal grandmother, Melania Avdeyevna Kostrikova, raised Sergey and his sisters for a brief time but she could not afford to take care of them all on her small pension of three rubles per month. Through her connections, she succeeded in having Sergey placed in an orphanage but he saw his sisters and grandmother regularly.[5]
In 1901, a group of wealthy benefactors provided a scholarship for him to attend an industrial school at Kazan. After gaining his degree in engineering he moved to Tomsk in Siberia. Kirov became a Marxist and joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) in 1904.
Revolution times[]
Kirov took part in the 1905 Russian Revolution and was arrested and later released. He joined with the Bolsheviks soon after being released from prison. In 1906, Kirov was arrested once again, but this time jailed for over three years, charged with printing illegal literature. Soon after his release, he again took part in revolutionary activity. Once again being arrested for printing illegal literature, after a year of custody, Kostrikov moved to the Caucasus, where he stayed until the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.
By this time, Sergei Kostrikov had changed his name to Kirov in order to make his name easier to remember[citation needed], a practice common among Russian revolutionaries of the time. Kostrikov began using the pen name "Kir", first publishing under the pseudonym "Kirov" on 26 April 1912. One account states that he chose the name "Kir" (Cyrus, from the Greek Kūros), after a Christian martyr in third-century Egypt from an Orthodox calendar of saints' days, Russifying it by adding an "-ov" ending. A second story is that he based it on the name of the Persian king Cyrus.
Kirov became commander of the Bolshevik military administration in Astrakhan. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, he fought in the Russian Civil War until 1920. Simon Sebag Montefiore writes: "During the Civil War, Kirov was one of the swashbuckling commissars in the North Caucasus beside Ordzhonikidze and Mikoyan. In Astrakhan he enforced Bolshevik power in March 1919 with liberal bloodletting; more than 4,000 were killed. When a bourgeois was caught hiding his own furniture, Kirov ordered him shot."
Stalin era[]
In 1921, he became manager of the Azerbaijan party organisation. Kirov was a loyal supporter of Joseph Stalin and in 1926 he was rewarded with the command of the Leningrad party organisation.
Kirov was a close, personal friend of Stalin, although he is a moderate objector of industrialisation and forced collectivisation. At the 16th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1930 he stated: "The General Party line is to conduct the course of our country industrialisation. Based on the industrialisation, we conduct the transformation of our agriculture. Namely we centralise and collectivise in the frame of market economy."
At the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), in 1934, Kirov delivered the speech called "The Speech of Comrade Stalin Is the Program of Our Party", which refers to Stalin's speech delivered at the Congress earlier. Kirov praised Stalin for everything he did since the death of Vladimir Lenin. However, he still protect Bukharin and Tomsky
Nevertheless, Kirov did display some independence. Knight suggests that whereas Kirov 'might have toed the line as others did', on the other hand he might have acted as a rallying point for those 'who wanted to oppose his [Stalin’s] dictatorship.'
Further, Knight suggests that Kirov 'would not have been a willing accomplice when the full force of Stalin’s terror was unleashed in Leningrad.
Knight’s contention is supported by the fact that whereas most of the elite tried to anticipate what Stalin desired and acted accordingly, Kirov did not always do what Stalin wanted. In 1934, Stalin wanted Kirov to come to Moscow permanently. Whereas all the other members of the Politburo would have complied, Stalin accepted that, as Kirov had no desire to leave Leningrad, he would not come to Moscow until 1938. Again, when Stalin wanted Medved moved from the Leningrad NKVD to Minsk, Kirov refused to agree and, rarely for Stalin, he had to accept defeat.
However, it would be wrong to claim Kirov had moral superiority over his colleagues. In St Petersburg there is a museum to show all gifts that Kirov accepted and used from inhabitants and businesses over which he ruled. The guides of the museum imply that these were bribes paid by people who needed Kirov’s favour.
Later, Kirov came to Moscow, became First Secretary of Moscow City Committee. At that time, he implemented semi-market economic reform in the Moscow. As the reform became success, Stalin implemented it nationwide and as a result, the second Five-Year Economic Planning was a success, which nearly everyone had expected. It became the third largest economy in the world.
Later Kirov (direct commander) successfully invaded Poland, which led to the current Soviet border today. Stalin praised him by giving him the rank Marshal of the Soviet Union and title Hero of the Soviet Union.
But Germany invaded USSR afterward, Kirov (together with Zhukov) commanded the Soviet Armed Forces to aid Germany and marched into Berlin on August 7th, 1944. The symbol of Victory was given to Zhukov and Kirov. However, Stalin outraged with that and Kirov and Zhukov almost demoted if they weren't Stalin friends.
Kirov era[]
Stalin died in 1953, Kirov replaced Stalin. A strong and reformative leader, he introduced some reforms. First, to led Soviet Union having Big enterprises such as Zil privatised and accepted Marshall plan. He said that if USSR couldn't defeated USA immediately, wait until the chance comes. The economy of the Soviet Union averagely grew ten percent. But Soviet Union had some influence in Asia and Eastern Europe. In 1949, the Soviet Union had Central Europe Republic, People's Republic of China, Socialist Republic of South East Asia became it's allies. Kirov remained moderate reformer in economic policies. He appointed Alexei Kosygin and Alexei Kuznetsov as First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers for Economy. Voznessensky was promoted to Chairman of the Council of Ministers and therefore, the Gosplan's chairman position was taken by Alexei Kosygin who Kirov believed that he would make better economic reforms than Saburov. Kosygin had developed what was going to be Kirovism.
Kirovism was like Lenin's NEP. It tried to prevailed socialism by using Kosygin's market reforms. Therefore, it could made Soviet Union's economy strong and stable but with a moderate debt. The Gosplan was redesigned and therefore, it marked the immediate/official change from the planned economy to the market economy or state capitalism. Some Politburo members didn't agree like LTGEN Leonid Brezhnev of the MVD. They defended that during Stalin's era was more miraculous than this era. The radical Stalinist/Neo-Conservative faction decided to assasinate Kirov during the 50th Anniversary of the October Revolution and 45th Anniversary of the Formation of the Soviet Union. The Stalinist faction said that Kirov should be poisoned rather that be shot because he once was Stalin's best friends and subordinate and therefore, it should be concluded as Kirov died from cancer or accident once he was assasinated.
Staticstics[]
| Year | 1947 | 1952 | 1957 | 1962 | 1967 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (Trillion USD) | 0.98 | 1.078 | 1.185 | 1.3035 | 1.43385 |
| Inflation | 2.5% | 3% | 2.5% | 3.1% | 1.75% |
| USD to SUR | 30.15 | 31.55 | 32.22 | 33.15 |
Soviet's economy had been improved since Kirov era and from 1957, it became 2nd largest economy in the world by GDP. Thanks to the Kirov reform, Soviet Union wasn't the country affected by 1973 oil crisis. It became a potential threat to the US economy and for the radical MVD leftist such as Leonid Brezhnev. Brezhnev had became 2nd secretary of the CPSU after the Soviet Debate at the Soviet Central Television.
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (conservative) members began to defect to the reformative faction. Younger Politburo members, such as Kirill Mazurov began to support Kirov. Kirov also said in 1965 that we must need 50 years of fast but stable economy growth to have a transition to USSR-Western democracy. Technological advances was also visibly seen. By 1964, the USSR-USA sent the first man to Moon. Medical standards also improve. An average hospital could contain about 1,500 people without any shortage of food, medical equipment and vaccine.
Military standards also improved. Tank T-72 also first introduced with autoreloader, which made USSR has the most modern military technology in the world. At the same time, the military budget was decreasing, after the transition of conscripted army to a new semi-conscripted professional army was succeed. Military District also being reorganized. Moscow Military District, Leningrad Military District, Kiev-Minsk Military District and Transcaucasia Military District united into Western Military District. Central Asian MD and Ural Military District united into Central Military District. Siberia MD and Yakutia MD united into Eastern MD.