Mikhail Frinovsky Mikhail Petrovich Frinovsky ( ) ( January 1898 - February 4 , 1940 ) served as a deputy head of the NKVD in the years of the Great Purge and , along with Nikolai Yezhov was responsible for setting in motion the Great Purge . Biography . Mikhail Petrovich Frinovsky was born in 1898 to a teacher in the village of Narovchat , Penza Guberniya . Prior to World War I , he studied in a religious school . In January 1916 , Frinovsky volunteered for the army . He served as a sergeant in the cavalry until his desertion in August of the same year . He joined an anarchist group and took part in the assassination of Major - General M . A Bem in 1917 . In March 1917 , Frinovsky began working as an accountant in Moscow . In September , he volunteered for the Red Guard . The unit under his command participated in the storming of the Kremlin , during which Frinovsky was severely wounded . Between March and July 1918 , Frinovsky again returned to civilian life and worked as a deputy administrator of the Hodynskaya Clinic . In July 1918 , he joined the RKP ( b ) and volunteered for the Red Army . Frinovsky was made a commissar of a combat unit and also head of the Special Section ( the political supervisor and the representative of the secret police , ChK ) of the 1st Cavalry Army . In 1919 , Frinovsky was transferred to the VChK . Later in the year , he became a deputy of the Special Section for the Moscow ChK . In this capacity , he participated in many operations most vital for the survival of the bolshevik regime , including actions against the anarchists , as well as the destruction of anarchist and rebel militias in the Ukraine . From December 1919 until April 1920 , Frinovsky served in the Special Section for the Southern Front . In 1920 , he was transferred to the South - Western Front , where he served as chief of the Special Section , and as deputy to the Chief of the Special Section of the 1st Cavalry Army . Between 1921 - 1922 , he was the deputy to the Chief of the Ukrainian ChK . From 1922 to 1923 , Frinovsky headed the administrative division of the Kiev GPU . From the June 23 he was also head of the OGPU of the South - East . In November 1923 , Mikhail Frinovsky was transferred to the Northern Caucasus and given command of the Special Section for the region . In January 1926 , he became head of GPU forces . In July 1927 , Frinovsky was again transferred to Moscow , this time as aide to the commander of the Special Section for the region . In 1927 , he completed high - command courses at the Frunze Military Academy . From November 28 , 1928 until September 1 , 1930 , he served as the commissar of the Special Forces division assigned to the Dzerjinsky College of the OGPU USSR . On September 1 , 1930 , Mikhail Frinovsky was promoted and made chairman of the GPU of Azerbaijan . In April 1933 , he was again promoted and became the commander of OGPU Border Guard . On July 10 , 1934 , Frinovsky became head of Border and Internal Security for the NKVD . After the fall of Genrikh Yagoda and the appointment of Yezhov to that post , Frinovsky became deputy of the Narkom of Internal Affairs . Great Purges . From April 15 , 1937 to June 9 , 1938 , Frinovsky was head of State Security . From March 28 , he was also head of the State Security of the NKVD . From 1937 , Mikhail Frinovsky was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR . During this period , he became a close ally of Yezhov and along with him was responsible for organizing the repressions which began that year . Frinovsky personally , without the authorization of a judge , signed numerous arrest warrants . On September 8 , 1938 , Frinovsky was made the People ’ s Commissar of the Navy . This was a well known method of Stalin to ensure successful liquidation of a mighty rival , which also served to weaken Yezhov considerably . By this appointment , Frinovsky was uprooted from his devotees and the sources of power , being forced to travel to distant locations and being ever surrounded by unfamiliar people of unknown loyalties . On April 6 , 1939 , Mikhail Frinovsky was arrested . He was accused of “ participating in conspiracies within the NKVD ” and on February 4 of the following year , along with Yezhov he was sentenced to death and executed in Moscow .