Sergei Kirov monument

Sergei Mironovich Kirov (1886 – 1934), born Sergei Mironovich Kostrikov, was a prominent early Bolshevik leader in the Soviet Union. Kirov rose through the Communist Party ranks to become head of the Party organization in Leningrad. Kirov was seen as a focal point of opposition to the more extreme policies of Joseph Stalin, and as a counterbalance to the increasing concentration of power in Stalin's hands.

On 1 December 1934, Kirov was shot and killed by a gunman at his offices in the Smolny Institute. Blame for his assassination has been directly attributed to Stalin and its facilitation by the NKVD, but any evidence for this claim remains elusive.