Frinovskiy, Mikhail Petrovich

(1898–1940)

   Raised in a middle-class family before the Russian Revolution, Frinovskiy attended a theological seminary for a short period of time, as had Joseph Stalin. Frinovskiy’s early career was spent in the Border Guard Directorate. He took part in the repression of peasant risings in the Kuban, the homeland of the Cossacks, during the collectivization of agriculture. As one of Nikolai Yezhov’s chief deputies during the Red Terror, Frinovskiy took part in the purge of the party and the NKVD. Following the purge of the armed forces and the execution of many senior naval officers, Frinovskiy was made People’s Commissar of the Navy in September 1938. In April 1939 he was stripped of this post and arrested. He was shot after a short trial in February 1940 on the same day as his mentor, Nikolai Yezhov.