Historical Figure
Lavrentiy Beria
1899–1953
Soviet secret police chief (1899–1953)
Talk to Lavrentiy Beria
Have a conversation with this historical figure through AI
Biography
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Soviet politician and one of the longest-serving and most influential of Joseph Stalin's secret police chiefs, serving as head of the NKVD from 1938 to 1945, during the country's involvement in the Second World War. Beria was also a prolific sexual predator who serially raped scores of girls and young women, and murdered some of his victims.
Timeline
The story of Lavrentiy Beria, told in moments.
Appointed head of the NKVD, the Soviet secret police. He replaced Nikolai Yezhov, whom he then had arrested and shot. Beria ran the vast Gulag system and mobilized millions of forced laborers for wartime production.
Appointed head of the NKVD, the Soviet secret police. Oversaw the final phase of Stalin's Great Purge. Managed the Gulag system. Personally signed thousands of execution orders.
Put in charge of the Soviet atomic bomb project. He recruited scientists, built secret cities, and used intelligence from spies inside the Manhattan Project. The first Soviet bomb was tested in 1949.
Directed the Soviet atomic bomb project. Used intelligence from spies inside the Manhattan Project and forced labor from imprisoned German scientists and Gulag prisoners. The bomb was tested in 1949.
After Stalin's death, Beria moved quickly to consolidate power. He proposed liberal reforms, including relaxing controls on Soviet satellite states. The other Politburo members grew terrified of him.
Arrested by Khrushchev and other Politburo members at a meeting. Soldiers burst in. Beria reportedly begged on his knees. He'd been maneuvering for power after Stalin's death three months earlier.
Executed by firing squad in Moscow after a secret trial. Convicted of treason, terrorism, and multiple sexual crimes. He was 54.
Executed by firing squad in Moscow after a secret trial. Arrested at gunpoint during a Politburo meeting in June. Charged with treason, terrorism, and multiple counts of rape. He reportedly begged for his life on his knees.
In Their Own Words (6)
Do you know that there’s hardly anyone left of last year’s Caucasian governments? I’ve tried to stop it, but in vain. Yet they can’t all be Trotskyites and traitors.
Quoted in "The Kremlin and the People" by Walter Duranty (2007), p. 126, 2007
The enemies of the Soviet state calculate that the heavy loss we have borne will lead to disorder and confusion in our ranks. But their expectations are in vain: bitter disillusionment awaits them. He who is not blind sees that our party, during its difficult days, is closing its ranks still more closely, that it is united and unshakable.
Quoted in "The Current Digest of the Soviet Press" Joint Committee (1953), p. 9, 1953
In a Capitalistic state you are aided on all sides by the corruption of the philosophy of man and the times. You will discover that everything will aid you in your campaign to seize, control and use all "mental healing" to spread our doctrine and rid us of our enemies within their own borders.
To produce a maximum of chaos in the culture of the enemy is our first most important step. Our fruits are grown in chaos, distrust, economic depression and scientific turmoil. At least a weary populace can seek peace only in our offered Communist State, at last only Communism can resolve the problems of the masses.
By psychopolitics create chaos. Leave a nation leaderless. Kill our enemies. And bring to Earth, through Communism, the greatest peace Man has ever known.
Artifacts (7)
was not raised in a religious household.
igious views === Obama is a Protestant Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. He wrote in The Audacity of Hope that he "was not raised in a religious household." He described...
a man who saw religion as not particularly useful.
He described his father as a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." Obama explained how, through working with...
I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look lik...
, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "It's like a little mini-United Nations," he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like...
That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pit...
lled in an automobile accident in 1982, when Obama was 21 years old. Recalling his early childhood, Obama said: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch,...
The opportunity that Hawaii offered — to experience a variety of cultures in a c...
n Hawaii following unsuccessful treatment for ovarian and uterine cancer. Of his years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered — to experience a variety of cultures in a...
I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death...
nd "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change." In January 2008, Obama told Christianity Today: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the...
Related Historical Figures
Explore what happened on the days that shaped Lavrentiy Beria's life. Today In History connects historical figures with the events, births, and deaths that defined their era. Browse all historical figures or explore today's events.