Part 5/9:
Yezhov, nicknamed “the bloody dwarf”, is another example of the NKVD's brutal leadership. He orchestrated mass arrests and executions during the Great Purge, displaying a relentlessness that earned him both fear and disdain. However, his own fate would later serve as a stark reminder that power within the NKVD was transient; he too was executed in 1940 after falling out of favor with Stalin.
Further down the hierarchy, we encounter figures who executed orders with fervor. Boris Rodos stands out as a figure who not only commanded but relished in violence—torturing and murdering many in the name of political loyalty. His ruthless actions ultimately led him to be denounced and executed, exemplifying the cyclical nature of violence within the NKVD.