Nikolai Shchelokov | |
|---|---|
 Shchelokov in 1973 | |
| Minister of Internal Affairs (Minister of Public Order until 25 November 1968) | |
| In office 17 September 1966 – 17 December 1982 | |
| President | Nikolai Podgorny[a] Leonid Brezhnev[a] Vasili Kuznetsov[a] |
| Prime Minister | Alexei Kosygin Nikolai Tikhonov |
| Preceded by | Office reestablished |
| Succeeded by | Vitaly Fedorchuk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nikolai Anisimovich Shchelokov 26 November 1910 Almazna,Bakhmutsky Uyezd,Yekaterinoslav Governorate,Russian Empire |
| Died | 13 December 1984(1984-12-13) (aged 74) Serebryany Bor,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union |
| Resting place | Vagankovo Cemetery, Moscow |
| Political party | Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1931–1984) |
| Alma mater | Dzerzhinsky Metallurgical Institute |
| Signature |  |
Nikolai Anisimovich Shchelokov[b] (26 November [O.S. 13 November] 1910 – 13 December 1984) was a Soviet statesman and army general who served sixteen years asminister of internal affairs from 17 September 1966 to 17 December 1982. He was fired from all posts on corruption charges and committed suicide on 13 December 1984.
Shchelokov was born inAlmazna, a largeCossack village nearLuhansk inDonbas region ofRussian Empire, on 26 November 1910.[1]
His father was a mine worker, and Shchelokov himself began working in the mines when he was sixteen years old.[2] He attended Dzerzhinsky Metallurgical Institute and received abachelor's degree inmetallurgical engineering in 1933.[1][2]
Shchelokov joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1931.[2] In 1938, he was appointed first secretary of its committee in theKrasnogvardeysky district ofDnipropetrovsk.[3] From 1939 to 1941 he was the chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk City Soviet underLeonid Brezhnev who was the first secretary of theDnipropetrovsk Oblast. Since then, Brezhnev and Shchelokov forged very strong ties and continued supporting each other in their political careers until Brezhnev's death.[4]
At the start ofWorld War II, Shchelokov was promoted to the rank of commissar in theRed Army while remaining the chairman of the City Soviet of Dnipropetrovsk. He served as a political commissar in the army from 1941 to 1946.
After the war, Shchelokov resumed to work as a politician in Ukraine from 1947 to 1951. He was part of theDnipropetrovsk Mafia, consisting of several allies to Brezhnev, includingAndrei Kirilenko andVolodymyr Shcherbytsky, when Brezhnev was head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast party committee, or obkom.[5] Following the appointment of Brezhnev as the first secretary of theCommunist Party of Moldavia, Shchelokov followed him, becoming second secretary and Brezhnev'sde facto deputy in 1951, and he was also named first deputy premier of theMoldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.[2] In the same period, he became a member in the Supreme Soviet.[6]
Shchelokov was appointed by Brezhnev as minister of public order on 17 September 1966.[7] On 25 November 1968, the Ministry of Public Order (MOOP) was renamed asMinistry of Internal Affairs (MVD) with the title of Shchelokov's office renamed accordingly.[4][8] He was promoted to the rank of general on 12 September 1976, while serving as interior minister.[9] He was also the Soviet Union's top police officer.[10] One of Shchelokov's deputies at the ministry was Brezhnev's son-in-law,Yuri Churbanov.[11]
Five weeks after the death of Brezhnev, on 17 December 1982, Shchelokov was replaced as interior minister by KGB chairmanVitaly Fedorchuk, a measure seen as influenced byYuri Andropov, Fedorchuk's predecessor as head of the KGB and newly elected general secretary of the Communist Party as well as an opponent of the Dnipropetrovsk Mafia.[12][13][14] Shchelokov's dismissal was due to corruption charges against him.[15][16]
After leaving office, Shchelokov began work as chief of a police unit at a gas pipeline construction site inSiberia.[2] On 15 June 1983, he was dismissed from the central committee of the Communist Party on allegations of corruption during his tenure, as part of Andropov's anti-corruption campaign.[17][18] His son Igor was also removed from his post in theKomsomol shortly after.[19] Later reports argued that his wife and son had also been involved in illegal acts of selling and buying foreign cars.[20] It was further argued that Shchelokov spent huge amounts of state money to buy luxury items for personal use.[21] On 6 November 1984, his military rank of army general was withdrawn by the state,[15] and on 7 December he was expelled from the Communist Party.[3] In 1988, author Raul M. Mir-Haidarov argued that Shchelokov had been the godfather of the Uzbek mob.[22]
Shchelokov committed suicide by gunshot to his head using his own hunting rifle from his collection of rarities at his suburban mansion inSerebryany Bor on 13 December 1984.[20] He was buried on 15 December in Vagankovo cemetery in Moscow.[23] His wife Svetlana predeceased him having committed suicide on 19 February 1983.[3]
Shchelokov was awarded the followings: theOrder of Lenin (three times), theOrder of the Red Banner (twice), theOrder of Bogdan Khmelnitsky (Second Class), theOrder of the Patriotic War (First Class), theOrder of the Red Banner of Labour, theOrder of the Red Star,Hero of Socialist Labour and various medals.[3][1]
Shchelokov was stripped of all civilian awards and honors on 12 December 1984.[3]
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Badge "Honored Worker of the Ministry of Internal Affairs"_BAR.svg) | Military Order of the White Lion "For Victory", 2nd class (Czechoslovakia) |
 | War Cross 1939–1945 (Czechoslovakia) |
_BAR.svg) | Military Commemorative Medal with 'USSR' clasp (Czechoslovakia) |
 | Patriotic Order of Merit in gold (East Germany) |
 | Order of Sukhbaatar (Mongolia) |
 | Order of Military Merit, twice (Mongolia) |
 | Medal "50 Years of the Mongolian People's Revolution" (Mongolia) |
 | Commander's Cross with Star of theOrder of Polonia Restituta (Poland) |
 | Cross of Valour (Poland) |
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