# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/nikolai-yezhov
# Generated: 2026-08-15T05:11:37.555Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/nikolai-yezhov"
name: "Nikolai Yezhov"
slug: "nikolai-yezhov"
description: "He ran the Soviet secret police at the apex of the Great Purge, signing off on mass arrests, torture, and executions from 1936 to 1938. Then Stalin turned the machine on him."
tagline: "NKVD director under Joseph Stalin (1895-1940)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Ezhov_NI.jpg"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Politicians"
  slug: "politicians"
profileType:
  name: "Politician"
  slug: "politician"
birthDate: "1895-04-08"
deathDate: "1940-02-04"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           58.72
  momentum:             0
  historical:           25.92425333333334
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "FALLING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Yezhov"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q141860"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Nikolai%20Yezhov"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%89_%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%81"
    title: "نيكولاى يجوف"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Yejov"
    title: "Nikolay Yejov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ba.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%95%D0%B6%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B9_%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87"
    title: "Ежов Николай Иванович"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B9_%D0%AF%D0%B6%D0%BE%D1%9E"
    title: "Мікалай Яжоў"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B9_%D0%86%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%96%D1%87_%D0%AF%D0%B6%D0%BE%D1%9E"
    title: "Мікалай Іванавіч Яжоў"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B9_%D0%95%D0%B6%D0%BE%D0%B2"
    title: "Николай Ежов"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Iejov"
    title: "Nikolai Iejov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Iejov"
    title: "Nikolai Iejov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaj_Je%C5%BEov"
    title: "Nikolaj Ježov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Iwanowitsch_Jeschow"
    title: "Nikolai Iwanowitsch Jeschow"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9D%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%AC%CE%B9_%CE%93%CE%B9%CE%B5%CE%B6%CF%8C%CF%86"
    title: "Νικολάι Γιεζόφ"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaj_Je%C4%B5ov"
    title: "Nikolaj Jeĵov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikol%C3%A1i_Yezhov"
    title: "Nikolái Yezhov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Je%C5%BEov"
    title: "Nikolai Ježov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Jezhov"
    title: "Nikolai Jezhov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%DB%8C%DA%A9%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C_%DB%8C%DA%98%D9%88%D9%81"
    title: "نیکولای یژوف"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Je%C5%BEov"
    title: "Nikolai Ježov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola%C3%AF_Iejov"
    title: "Nikolaï Iejov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Ivanovich_Yezhov"
    title: "Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%99_%D7%99%D7%96'%D7%95%D7%91"
    title: "ניקולאי יז'וב"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyikolaj_Ivanovics_Jezsov"
    title: "Nyikolaj Ivanovics Jezsov"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%86%D5%AB%D5%AF%D5%B8%D5%AC%D5%A1%D5%B5_%D4%B5%D5%AA%D5%B8%D5%BE"
    title: "Նիկոլայ Եժով"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikolaj_Ivanovi%C4%8D_E%C5%BEov"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Niko%C5%82aj_Je%C5%BCow"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Jezjof"
    title: "Nikolai Jezjof"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A_%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%88%D9%81"
    title: "نيكولاي يجوف"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov was born 1 May 1895 and rose to head the NKVD in 1936, just as Stalin's Great Purge gathered force. For two years he organized the apparatus of mass terror: arrests by quota, forced confessions, executions. By 1938 Stalin had soured on him. Yezhov was removed, then arrested, and under interrogation confessed to anti-Soviet activity and to making "unfounded arrests" during the very campaign he had orchestrated. He was executed 4 February 1940, one of the officials blamed for the purge's excesses after the fact.