Latest / World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Vasily Blokhin: Stalin's Chief Executioner and the Butcher of Katyn
Vasily Blokhin was the Soviet Union’s most prolific executioner and one of the most feared figures of Stalin’s era. As the head of the NKVD's elite execution squad, he personally carried out thousands of killings during the Great Purge and became one of the principal perpetrators of the Katyn massacre.
Born in 1895 into a poor peasant family, Blokhin rose from humble origins to become one of the most trusted enforcers of Soviet state terror. After joining the Soviet secret police, he earned a reputation for loyalty, efficiency, and absolute obedience. During Stalin’s Great Purge, Blokhin was…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.