Kirov Murder Myster

1. In what circumstances did the assassin carry out the murder?
The assassin carried out the murder by killing Kirov and then fainting next to the body. I believe that Nikolayev the assassin had no part in the murder but Stalin had asked the NKVD to murder Kirov and they knocked out Nikolayev next to the body to make it seem like he was in fact the murderer.

2. What strange coincidences surround the murder?
The strange coincidence surrounding the murder was that the assassin had fainted next to the main he had murdered, Kirov. It was very strange that this had accorded and when Stalin asked Kikolayev why he had murdered Kirov he said that Stalin should ask the NKVD that question. This is a strange coincidence surrounding the murder because it was a very confusing time.

3. Is there any evidence to link Stalin to the murder?
Yes there is evidence that links Stalin to the murder. For example Kirov had recieived a great deal of support at the seventeenth party congress and more people had votes for him than for Stalin. Kirov had opposed Stalin over the Ryutin affair and over the pace of industrialisation. This is evidence to link Stalin to the murder because Stalin wanted to get rid of anyone that would be better than him and so it is assumed that Stalin wanted Kirov dead.

4. Is there any evidence to suggest that the NKVD was involved in the murder?
Yes there is evidence to suggest that the NKVD was involved in the murder because prior to the murder, Nikolayev had twice been arrested in Kirov's neighbourhood and released both times on the order of Zaporozhets. It was also alleged that an NKVD man had posed earlier as a friend of Nikolayeva and practiced shooting his revolver with him.

5. Who had the best motive for the murder?
The person who had the best motive for the murder was the NKVD. The NKVD had been involved with Stalin and were on Stalin's side. They would have been the people that set up Nikolayev's murder and blamed on Kirov.

6. What theories can you suggest about who was responsible - was it the assassin alone or were others involved?
No the assassin was not alone. The NKVD had set up Nikolayev and they were the ones who had killed Kirov( in my own opinion) The NVKD were the ones who might have hit Nikolaye and got him out of prison in order to set him up. Stalin didnt want to be the main reason for why this person dies so he might have put it on someone else and paid him for it.