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Soviet politician Sergei Kirov, 17th Congress of the Communist Party, Moscow, USSR, 1934. Kirov (1886-1934) rose through the Bolshevik ranks after the Russian Revolution to become head of the Communist Party organisation in Leningrad. He became the focus of opposition within the Party to the policies and leadership style of Stalin but was assassinated on 1 December 1934. Suspicion exists that Stalin ordered the assassination, but proof was never found. For his part, Stalin used the killing and its investigation as an opportunity to purge his opponents within the Party. Found in the collection of the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, Moscow.