Genrikh Yagoda - NKVD

Who was Yagoda?

Genrikh Yagoda joined the Bolshevik Party in 1907. He was a member of the secret police.

When was Yagoda important?

Yagoda was important between 1934 and 1936.

What role did Yagoda have in the Communist Party?

Yagoda's most important role was as head of the secret police or NKVD from 1934 to 1936 during the Great Purge.

What happened to Yagoda in the Great Purge?

Yagoda was involved in the Great Purge in 2 ways:

• ❖ He organised and led the initial phase of the Great Purge, including the Trial of the Sixteen in 1936, in which Zinoviev and Kamenev were accused of treason and executed.
• ❖ He was arrested and put on trial in the Trial of the Twenty-One in March 1938. He was found guilty of being a member of a Trotskyite conspiracy and sentenced to death.

When did Yagoda die?

Yagoda was executed by being shot on 13th March, 1938.