History Daily – The Assassination of Sergei Kirov

Host: Lindsay Graham
Date: December 1, 2025
Episode Theme:
This episode explores the assassination of Sergei Kirov on December 1, 1934—a pivotal event that Joseph Stalin used as the catalyst for the Great Terror, resulting in the execution and imprisonment of over a million people in the Soviet Union. The narrative traces the turbulent years following Lenin’s death, the rise of Stalin, the circumstances of Kirov’s killing, and the far-reaching consequences for Soviet society.

Overview

Lindsay Graham narrates the story of Sergei Kirov’s assassination, detailing how the murder served as Stalin’s pretext to initiate widespread purges—known as the Great Terror. The episode interweaves dramatic portraits of key figures, from the disturbed assassin Leonid Nikolayev to Stalin’s political rivals, anchoring the consequences of Kirov’s death within the grim context of Soviet history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: After Lenin's Death (00:00–03:07)

• Red Square, 1924: The episode opens at Lenin's funeral, where his potential successors, including Joseph Stalin, are depicted as both mourners and rivals.
• Party Infighting: The Communist Party is described as a "viper's nest of competing allegiances and fierce rivalries, a dog eat dog world in which nobody is to be trusted and everybody is to be feared."
• Stalin’s Ambition: The narrative suggests Stalin recognized early on the necessity of eliminating rivals to secure his rise to power.
  • Quote (03:07):

    “Stalin will soon outmaneuver his opponents and emerge as the next leader of the Soviet Union. But by the early 1930s, opposition to Stalin’s leadership will grow.”
    — Lindsay Graham

2. The Assassination of Sergei Kirov (03:08–08:51)

• Leonid Nikolayev’s Motive:
  • Nikolayev, a dismissed and disgruntled party bureaucrat, blames Kirov for his personal and professional woes, suspecting even an affair between his wife and Kirov.
  • “He feels wronged by the Communist Party’s leadership. And there is one man he blames above all others. Sergei Kirov … charismatic, successful, respected. Making matters worse, Nikolayev suspects that his wife... is having an affair with Kirov.” (04:51)
• Kirov’s Murder:
  • Nikolayev enters the Smolny Institute, finds Kirov, and shoots him dead in the corridor.
    • Quote (06:38):

      “Realizing that it’s now or never, Nikolayev dashes into the open, lifts his revolver and squeezes the trigger... Kirov falls face first onto the hardwood floor, blood gushing from a bullet wound in his neck.”

  • Nikolayev attempts suicide but survives and is quickly apprehended.
• Stalin’s Reaction:
  • Stalin uses the event to claim a broader conspiracy, directing the NKVD secret police to initiate a sweeping purge.

3. Stalin's Purge Begins (09:58–13:50)

• Mass Executions:
  • Less than a month after Kirov’s death, Nikolayev and 13 others—mainly associates of Stalin’s ex-rivals Zinoviev and Kamenev—are executed.
    • “The verdict of the court was already decided before the hearing began.” (10:18)
• Zinoviev and Kamenev’s Ordeals:
  • Once powerful figures, they are imprisoned, forced to confess under duress, and eventually executed following staged trials (“Moscow Show Trials”).
  • “Both Zinoviev and Kamenev know that to plead their innocence would be pointless. So instead, they comply with Stalin’s demands, confessing...” (12:30)
• Show Trials' Façade:
  • Confessions are extracted with false promises of leniency; the trials themselves are mere performances for public consumption.

4. The Widening Terror (13:51–18:30)

• Great Terror Expands:
  • The purges escalate beyond the party, affecting military officers, clergy, intellectuals, and eventually even the NKVD itself.
• Case of Marshal Tukhachevsky:
  • Heroic Marshal of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, is arrested without cause, tortured, forced to confess, and executed.
    • Quote (16:26):

      “During Stalin’s Great Terror, nobody in Soviet civic life was safe, not even the NKVD.”

• Irony of the Purge:
  • Even the leaders of the NKVD, including Nikolai Yezhov, fall victim to the purges they help orchestrate.

5. The Aftermath and Historical Impact (18:31–End)

• Death Toll and Secrecy:
  • Estimated between 700,000 and 1 million deaths, figures suppressed for decades.
  • “A veil of silence will be cast across the atrocities until the 1980s, when it finally becomes legal in the Soviet Union to speak openly about what happened during Stalin’s Great Terror.” (18:40)
• Historical Turning Point:
  • The assassination of Kirov is framed as the catalyst for one of the bloodiest episodes in Soviet—and world—history.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lenin’s Funeral, Setting Up the Power Struggle (01:22):

  “As Mrs. Lenin fights to hold back tears, Stalin glances across the stony faces of the other pallbearers, his rivals in the race to succeed Lenin. These men appear undivided, united in grief over their fallen comrade. But the reality is far different.”
  — Lindsay Graham

• On Party Dynamics and Paranoia (02:14):

  “In truth, the Communist Party is a viper's nest of competing allegiances and fierce rivalries, a dog eat dog world where nobody is to be trusted and everybody is to be feared.”

• Nikolayev’s Motivation and Isolation (04:00):

  “In every day that passes, he can feel himself becoming less in his wife’s eyes. Less of a husband, less of a provider, less of a man.”

• On Show Trials (12:00):

  “Once again, it is not a legitimate hearing, but merely a charade designed to create the illusion of fair practice.”

• The Escalation of Terror (16:26):

  “During Stalin’s Great Terror, nobody in Soviet civic life was safe, not even the NKVD.”

• Legacy of the Terror (18:40):

  “A veil of silence will be cast across the atrocities until the 1980s, when it finally becomes legal in the Soviet Union to speak openly about what happened during Stalin’s Great Terror.”

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:00–03:07: Lenin’s death; Stalin’s ambitions and Soviet political atmosphere
• 03:08–08:51: Nikolayev’s background, the murder of Kirov, and immediate aftermath
• 09:58–13:50: Execution of Nikolayev and others; Zinoviev and Kamenev’s show trials and execution
• 13:51–18:30: The Great Terror expands across Soviet society, targeting both high-profile and ordinary citizens
• 18:31–End: The scale of the terror, secrecy, and later recognition of the atrocities

Summary

“The Assassination of Sergei Kirov” powerfully narrates how a single act of violence was manipulated by Stalin to justify a campaign of terror that profoundly shaped 20th-century history. Through vivid, dramatic storytelling, Lindsay Graham and the History Daily team expose the human stories behind the statistics, illustrating how fear, paranoia, and personal vendettas laid the groundwork for one of the darkest chapters in Soviet Russia.

The episode stands as a cautionary tale about unchecked power, the manipulation of justice for political ends, and the chilling consequences of authoritarian paranoia—reminders brought to life through the personal stories of those swept up in, and destroyed by, the machinery of state violence.