Artur Christianowitsch Frautschi

Artur Artuzov ( Russian Артур Христианович Фраучи , Deck Name: Artuzov ; Russian Артур Христианович Артузов * February 6 ^{. Jul} / 18th February  1891 ^greg. In Kashin , Tver province , † 21st August 1937 in Moscow ) was a leader of the State Security Service and the Secret Services in the Soviet Union and Commissioner.

Life

Frautschi comes from a Swiss cheesemaker family. His mother had Latvian and Estonian roots. He had three children, including the music teacher Kamill Arturowitsch Frautschi . The revolutionaries Mikhail Kedrov and Nikolai Podvoiski were often guests in their father's house. As a youth he supported the Bolsheviks by distributing illegal literature. After graduating from high school, he studied metallurgy at the State Polytechnic University of Saint Petersburg . As an engineer he worked in Professor Grschimailo's office.

In December 1917 he joined the Bolshevik Party. In the following years he worked in various positions in the intelligence apparatus in the Soviet Union. From 1920 to 1921 he was head of border security , at that time a special division of the Cheka . For his activities he received the Order of the Red Banner in 1921 . In 1922 he became head of the counterintelligence department. Terrorist Boris Savinkov and British agent Sidney Reilly were arrested under his responsibility . From 1931 to 1935 he headed the OGPU's Foreign Intelligence Service (INO) and contributed significantly to the extermination of "anti-revolutionary organizations".

During the " Great Terror " Frautschi was arrested on May 13, 1937 on the orders of Josef Stalin . He was accused of sympathizing with Trotsky and shot on August 21, 1937. In 1956 the Supreme Military Tribunal overturned the verdict for lack of evidence and he was posthumously rehabilitated.

Web links

• Biography of Artuzov (Russian)