Yakov Agranov 1893 – 1938

Biography

Yakov Agranov was born on October 24, 1893, in Chachersk, a town in the Russian Empire. He went on to become an officer in the NKVD, the Soviet Union’s secret police organization during a turbulent period in the nation’s history. His career placed him within the inner workings of the Soviet state apparatus during the 1930s, a time of significant political upheaval and change.

On August 1, 1938, Agranov’s life ended tragically in Moscow at the age of 44. He died from a gunshot wound, a fate that reflected the violent and dangerous circumstances of his era. Following his death, he was interred at the Kommunarka shooting ground near Sosenskoye in the Soviet Union, a burial ground that would come to hold the remains of many others from that period.

Yakov Agranov’s life and death remain part of the complex and difficult history of the Soviet Union during the 1930s, a time when many lives were profoundly affected by the political forces of the day.