Ivan Serov
State Security General Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov (Russian: Иван Александрович Серов, August 13, 1905 – July 1, 1990) was a prominent leader of Soviet security and intelligence agencies, head of the KGB between March 1954 and December 1958, as well as head of the GRU between 1958 and 1963. He was Deputy Commissar of the NKVD under Lavrentiy Beria, and was to play a major role in the political intrigues after Joseph Stalin's death. Serov helped establish a variety of secret police forces in Central and Eastern Europe after the rise of the Iron Curtain, and played an important role in crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
Serov headed both the political intelligence agency (KGB), and the military intelligence agency (GRU), making him unique in Soviet/Russian history.
Read more about Ivan Serov: Early Life and Military Career, Actions in World War II, Post-War Actions, GRU Executive and Downfall, Significance, Further Reading