Ivan Serov

Ivan Serov Full Name: Ivan Alexandrovich Serov Alias: Ivan Serov Origin: Afimskoye, Kadnikov Uyezd, Vologda Governorate, Russian Empire Occupation: Head of the KGB (March 1954 - December 1958) Head of the GRU (1958 to 1963) Crimes: Mass murder

The State Security General Ivan Alexandrovich Serov (13 August 1905 – 1 July 1990) was a head of the KGB between March 1954 and December 1958. Serov was also the head of the GRU between 1958 and 1963. Under Lavrentiy Beria, he was the Deputy Commissar of the NKVD. He played a large role in the power struggle after Joseph Stalin died. Serov helped establish a variety of secret police forces in Central and Eastern Europe after the lowering of the Iron Curtain. He played an important role in crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

He headed both the KGB and the GRU, making him a unique figure in Soviet/Russian history. Inside the Soviet security forces, he was well known for showing off to his colleagues that he could "break every bone in a man's body without killing him".

There is possibility that he shot Nikolai Yezhov.