"Stalin's People's Commissar" Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov is one of the most sinister and at the same time mysterious figures in our history. His name has become a household name and the concept of "Yezhovshchina" is associated with the most brutal period of Stalinist repression. Under Yezhov, under his direct supervision, according to his instructions, about seven hundred thousand people were shot, about three million were thrown into prisons and camps.