Goglidze, Sergei Arsenyevich

(1901–1953)

   A protégé of Lavrenty Beria, Goglidze rose quickly with his mentor and became one of the most powerful Chekists in Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union. Goglidze left the tsarist army in 1917 and joined the Red Army two months after the Bolshevik Revolution. He joined the Cheka in 1921 and served at posts in Central Asia and in Georgia, where he came to Beria’s attention.

   When Beria was appointed to the leadership of the NKVD, Goglidze was assigned to purge Leningrad of enemies. In 1941 he was sent by Beria to oversee developments in the Far East. He held positions in both counterintelligence and labor camp administration during the next decade. Goglidze was promoted to colonel general in 1945 and was appointed by Stalin to the Communist Party Central Committee. Following Stalin’s death in March 1953, Goglidze was responsible for security arrangements for the dictator’s funeral. He was then appointed by Beria to a series of important posts, but with his mentor’s fall four months later, his fate was sealed. He was arrested on 7 July and tried and shot with Beria on 23 December 1953.