The NKVD, the precursor to the KGB, orchestrated the assassination on Stalin's order, but the inquiry gave the Soviet dictator a pretext for eliminating other opponents. The search for Kirov's murderers eventually culminated in the Great Terror, a massive purge of Party leaders, military commanders, and intellectuals.
但是，普京的俄罗斯尽管吓人，其所有行为都不是原创。1934年，斯大林也下令彻底调查其对手、列宁格勒共产党首脑基洛夫被杀案。克格勃的前身内务部根据斯大林的指令实施了这次暗杀，但调查给了这位苏联独裁者一个借口清洗反对派。追查杀害基洛夫的凶手的过程最后演变为大清洗，大量苏共领导人、军官和知识分子被杀。