Vlodomirskiy, Lev Yemelyanovich

(1903–1953)

   Vlodomirskiy was one of the most prominent Russian Chekists in Lavrenty Beria’s official family. He apparently came to Beria’s attention in the Caucasus, where he had been assigned by Genrykh Yagoda. Beria brought him to Moscow to head the investigations department. In this role, Vlodomirskiy routinely tortured and executed prisoners. In the summer of 1941, Vlodomirskiy was put in charge of the arrest, interrogation, and execution of senior officers and their wives who had angered Joseph Stalin: among those executed were a former chief of the GRU and two former leaders of the air force.

   Vlodomirskiy is remembered as one of Beria’s hardest men. He took part in a number of extra-legal killings for Beria. He was arrested shortly after Beria and executed the same evening. In 2000 a Moscow court reversed the death sentence, substituting one of 25 years. This allowed his heirs to claim his estate, which had been confiscated as part of the 1953 death sentence. This decision angered many of the descendants of Vlodomirskiy’s victims, who saw the decision as an effort to efface the terror of the Stalin years.