Avel Yenukidze was a powerful Soviet official who refused to call Stalin a genius.
In short: Avel Yenukidze held immense influence in the Kremlin, managing administration and security for years. Yet, his refusal to rewrite history to glorify Stalin’s past ultimately sealed his fate. Despite being a foundational Bolshevik, he became a target of the Great Purge, illustrating the lethal cost of dissent under Stalin.
Born in 1877 to peasant parents in Georgia, Avel Yenukidze rose to become a central figure in the Soviet hierarchy. By 1918, he was Secretary of the executive committee of the Soviets, a role that granted him control over Kremlin security and administration. He was one of the three most prominent native Georgians in the Soviet leadership, alongside Joseph Stalin and Sergo Ordzhonikidze. His influence was vast; he chaired the boards of the Bolshoi and Moscow Art Theatres and oversaw the Academy of Sciences.
The rift between Yenukidze and Stalin grew from a mix of personal and political friction. Yenukidze resisted pressure to fabricate Stalin’s revolutionary history, specifically regarding the creation of an underground printing press in Baku. When pushed to declare Stalin a genius, he famously lamented that his compliance was never enough. Furthermore, he openly pleaded for leniency for Old Bolsheviks like Lev Kamenev and Grigori Zinoviev, an act of mercy that Stalin viewed as a betrayal. Stalin’s chilling response to his pleas was, 'Whoever is not with me is against me.'
By 1935, the regime began systematically dismantling Yenukidze’s reputation. He was accused of political negligence and eventually expelled from the Central Committee. His downfall culminated in the Great Purge. Arrested in 1937, he faced absurd charges of espionage and military conspiracy. Stalin initially hesitated to execute him, likely hoping to use him in a show trial, but eventually signed his death warrant. Yenukidze was executed in December 1937, a victim of the very system he helped build, before being posthumously rehabilitated in 1960.
Yenukidze remains a complex historical figure, remembered by contemporaries as an amiable, sensitive man who occasionally used his position to assist those in need. Yet, he was also known for personal debauchery and the abuse of his power to exploit young women. His life and fall inspired Mikhail Bulgakov, who based the character Arkady Sempleyarov in 'The Master and Margarita' on him, capturing the public exposure of his private hypocrisies.
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