General Grubozaboyschikov
Encyclopedia
Colonel General Grubozaboyschikov is a fictional character
and an antagonist
in Ian Fleming
's 1957 James Bond novel
From Russia with Love.
, the fictional "murder apparatus" of the Russian
Committee of State Security
, and is known as "G", in the same way that Sir Miles Messervy, the Head of the British Secret Service in Fleming's novels, is known as "M
". Grubozaboyschikov's appearance is described in detail in Chapter Four of the novel. He is "a tough-looking, thick-set man of about fifty", with a sharp, narrow face, a deeply cleft chin
and a broad, grim mouth. He has a clean-shaven head but thick black eyebrows, over bulging brown eyes with flabby pouches beneath them. The whole effect is of "a hard, unyielding face of formidable authority". He smokes cheap cardboard Moskwa-Volga cigarettes and has a fondness for using peasant obscenities in his conversation.
Grubozaboyschikov has had a distinguished military career. His ribbon bar
, also described in Chapter Four, comprises the Order of Lenin
(twice), the Order of Suvorov
, the Order of Alexander Nevsky
, the Order of the Red Banner
, the Order of the Red Star
(twice), the Twenty Years' Service medal, the Medal for the Defence of Moscow, the Medal for the Capture of Berlin, the British CBE and the American Medal for Merit
. However, his post-war career in the MGB was hampered by the enmity of Beria
, who controlled State Security. By 1952 Grubozaboyschikov was deputy to one of the Heads of the MGB, but his post was abolished when the MGB was absorbed into Beria's own MVD
on 5 March 1953. Grubozaboyschikov thereafter plotted to help bring about Beria's downfall, working under the secret instructions of General Serov
. Beria fell from power on 26 June 1953 and was executed on 23 December following, and Serov
was appointed Head of the newly formed KGB on 13 March 1954. As a reward for his loyalty, Grubozaboyschikov was given command of SMERSH, now subordinated to the KGB.
s and exposures, including that of the cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko
in September 1945, the rocket scientist Grigori Tokaev in 1947, the atomic physicist Klaus Fuchs
in January 1950, the assassin Nikolai Khoklov in February 1954 and the diplomat Vladimir Petrov
in April 1954. "G" as Head of SMERSH was therefore charged by the Praesidium of the Supreme Soviet, through Serov, with carrying out "an act of terrorism within the intelligence field", to restore Russian credibility in the international intelligence community without any public culpability. In a meeting, described in Chapters Four to Six of the novel, with the other Russian intelligence chiefs — Lieutenant-General Slavin, of the GRU
; Lieutenant-General Vozdvishensky of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
; Colonel of State Security Nikitin, of the KGB
— it was determined to target the British Secret Service by assassinating and disgracing (killing "with ignominy") one of its most able agents, James Bond
. Bond had already brought about the deaths of two valuable Russian agents, Le Chiffre
(in Casino Royale
) and SMERSH's own "Mr Big
" (in Live and Let Die
) — G is quick to point out that these reverses took place before he assumed command — and had ruined another Russian plot "three years ago" in Moonraker. Grubozaboyschikov hands the formulation of the operation over to SMERSH's Head of Plans, the chess
grand master Colonel Kronsteen, and its execution to the Head of Operations, Colonel Klebb
.
General Grubozaboyschikov does not appear further in the novel, and it is unknown what his eventual fate is. The attempt to murder and discredit James Bond ends in unmitigated disaster for SMERSH, with the death among others of its Chief Executioner, Donovan "Red" Grant, the capture of its Head of Operations, Rosa Klebb
, and the incidental destruction of the Russian consulate in Istanbul
. Even if Grubozaboyschikov's career survived this severe setback, which was followed by the death at Bond's hands of SMERSH's treasurer
in Goldfinger, he would undoubtedly have been out of power by 1958, when SMERSH was disbanded and replaced by the Special Executive Department of the MVD
on the orders of Nikita Khrushchev
, who became Premier of the Soviet Union
in March of that year. Grubozaboyschikov's patron Serov
was replaced as Head of the KGB by Alexander Shelepin
in December.
, starring Sean Connery
as James Bond. In the film, the plot against Bond is mounted by Ernst Stavro Blofeld
's criminal organisation SPECTRE
, as revenge for the death of Doctor Julius No in the previous film, Dr. No
. Rosa Klebb is a SPECTRE agent placed within the SMERSH
, and runs the operation using SMERSH resources (including Tatiana Romanova
), but without the knowledge of the Russian government. The film character with the nearest approximation to Grubozaboyschikov's role in the plot is Blofeld himself.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and an antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
in Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
's 1957 James Bond novel
James Bond (novels)
From 1953 to the present day , dozens of novels and a number of short stories have been published chronicling the adventures of a British secret agent James Bond, often referred to by his code name, 007...
From Russia with Love.
Character background
At the time of the novel, General Nicholai Sergenovitch Grubozaboyschikov is the Head of SMERSHSMERSH (James Bond)
SMERSH is a Soviet counterintelligence agency featured in Ian Fleming's early James Bond novels as agent 007's nemesis. СМЕРШ is an acronym from two Russian words: "SMERt' SHpionam" meaning "Death to Spies"...
, the fictional "murder apparatus" of the Russian
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
Committee of State Security
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, and is known as "G", in the same way that Sir Miles Messervy, the Head of the British Secret Service in Fleming's novels, is known as "M
M (James Bond)
M is a fictional character in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. The head of MI6 and Bond's superior, M has been portrayed by three actors in the official Bond film series: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and since 1995 by Judi Dench. Background =Ian Fleming...
". Grubozaboyschikov's appearance is described in detail in Chapter Four of the novel. He is "a tough-looking, thick-set man of about fifty", with a sharp, narrow face, a deeply cleft chin
Cleft chin
The terms cleft chin, chin cleft, butt chin, superhero chin, dimple chin, or a chin dimple refer to a dimple on the chin. It is a Y-shaped fissure on the chin with an underlying bony peculiarity...
and a broad, grim mouth. He has a clean-shaven head but thick black eyebrows, over bulging brown eyes with flabby pouches beneath them. The whole effect is of "a hard, unyielding face of formidable authority". He smokes cheap cardboard Moskwa-Volga cigarettes and has a fondness for using peasant obscenities in his conversation.
Grubozaboyschikov has had a distinguished military career. His ribbon bar
Ribbon bar
Ribbon bars are small decorations that are worn by military, police, and fire service personnel or by civilians. Ribbon bars are mainly used when wearing either full decoration, or when wearing medals is considered inappropriate or impractical. Each military force has its own rules on what ribbons...
, also described in Chapter Four, comprises the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
(twice), the Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
, the Order of Alexander Nevsky
Order of Alexander Nevsky
The Order of Alexander Nevsky is an order of merit bestowed by the Russian Federation. It is named in honour ofAlexander Nevsky's struggle with the Teutonic Knights....
, the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
, the Order of the Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
(twice), the Twenty Years' Service medal, the Medal for the Defence of Moscow, the Medal for the Capture of Berlin, the British CBE and the American Medal for Merit
Presidential Medal for Merit
The Medal for Merit was, during the period it was awarded, the highest civilian decoration of the United States, awarded by the President of the United States to civilians for "exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services ... since the proclamation of an emergency by...
. However, his post-war career in the MGB was hampered by the enmity of Beria
Lavrentiy Beria
Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria was a Georgian Soviet politician and state security administrator, chief of the Soviet security and secret police apparatus under Joseph Stalin during World War II, and Deputy Premier in the postwar years ....
, who controlled State Security. By 1952 Grubozaboyschikov was deputy to one of the Heads of the MGB, but his post was abolished when the MGB was absorbed into Beria's own MVD
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
on 5 March 1953. Grubozaboyschikov thereafter plotted to help bring about Beria's downfall, working under the secret instructions of General Serov
Ivan Serov
State Security General Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov 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...
. Beria fell from power on 26 June 1953 and was executed on 23 December following, and Serov
Serov
Serov is a mining and commercial town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern foothills of the Ural Mountains, on the left bank of the Kakva River, a tributary of the Sosva River, about north of Yekaterinburg. It serves as the administrative center of Serovsky District, although it...
was appointed Head of the newly formed KGB on 13 March 1954. As a reward for his loyalty, Grubozaboyschikov was given command of SMERSH, now subordinated to the KGB.
Interaction with James Bond
When Grubozaboyschikov came to power as Head of SMERSH, the Soviet intelligence machine had recently suffered a series of high-profile defectionDefection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
s and exposures, including that of the cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko
Igor Gouzenko
Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko was a cipher clerk for the Soviet Embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. He defected on September 5, 1945, with 109 documents on Soviet espionage activities in the West...
in September 1945, the rocket scientist Grigori Tokaev in 1947, the atomic physicist Klaus Fuchs
Klaus Fuchs
Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who in 1950 was convicted of supplying information from the American, British and Canadian atomic bomb research to the USSR during and shortly after World War II...
in January 1950, the assassin Nikolai Khoklov in February 1954 and the diplomat Vladimir Petrov
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov (diplomat)
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Petrov was a member of the Soviet Union's clandestine services who became famous in 1954 for his defection to Australia.-Early life:...
in April 1954. "G" as Head of SMERSH was therefore charged by the Praesidium of the Supreme Soviet, through Serov, with carrying out "an act of terrorism within the intelligence field", to restore Russian credibility in the international intelligence community without any public culpability. In a meeting, described in Chapters Four to Six of the novel, with the other Russian intelligence chiefs — Lieutenant-General Slavin, of the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
; Lieutenant-General Vozdvishensky of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign affairs of Russia. Its predecessor organisation is the Ministry of External Relations of the USSR...
; Colonel of State Security Nikitin, of the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
— it was determined to target the British Secret Service by assassinating and disgracing (killing "with ignominy") one of its most able agents, James Bond
James Bond (character)
Royal Navy Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the main protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics and video games...
. Bond had already brought about the deaths of two valuable Russian agents, Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre
Le Chiffre is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Casino Royale. On screen Le Chiffre has been portrayed by Peter Lorre in the 1954 television adaptation of the novel for CBS's Climax! television series, by Orson Welles in the 1967 spoof of the novel and...
(in Casino Royale
Casino Royale (novel)
Casino Royale is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel. It paved the way for a further eleven novels by Fleming himself, in addition to two short story collections, followed by many "continuation" Bond novels by other authors....
) and SMERSH's own "Mr Big
Mister Big (James Bond)
Mr. Big is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond novel and film Live and Let Die. In the film, Big is portrayed by actor Yaphet Kotto. The novel and film versions of Mr. Big are extremely different, with the film incarnation bordering on being a completely new character...
" (in Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (novel)
Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics...
) — G is quick to point out that these reverses took place before he assumed command — and had ruined another Russian plot "three years ago" in Moonraker. Grubozaboyschikov hands the formulation of the operation over to SMERSH's Head of Plans, the chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grand master Colonel Kronsteen, and its execution to the Head of Operations, Colonel Klebb
Rosa Klebb
Colonel Rosa Klebb is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond film and novel From Russia with Love. She was played by Lotte Lenya in the film version...
.
General Grubozaboyschikov does not appear further in the novel, and it is unknown what his eventual fate is. The attempt to murder and discredit James Bond ends in unmitigated disaster for SMERSH, with the death among others of its Chief Executioner, Donovan "Red" Grant, the capture of its Head of Operations, Rosa Klebb
Rosa Klebb
Colonel Rosa Klebb is a fictional character and the main antagonist from the James Bond film and novel From Russia with Love. She was played by Lotte Lenya in the film version...
, and the incidental destruction of the Russian consulate in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. Even if Grubozaboyschikov's career survived this severe setback, which was followed by the death at Bond's hands of SMERSH's treasurer
Auric Goldfinger
Auric Goldfinger is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the James Bond film and novel Goldfinger. His first name, Auric, is an adjective meaning of gold...
in Goldfinger, he would undoubtedly have been out of power by 1958, when SMERSH was disbanded and replaced by the Special Executive Department of the MVD
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del is the interior ministry of Russia. Its predecessor was founded in 1802 by Alexander I in Imperial Russia...
on the orders of Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, who became Premier of the Soviet Union
Premier of the Soviet Union
The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier...
in March of that year. Grubozaboyschikov's patron Serov
Ivan Serov
State Security General Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov 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...
was replaced as Head of the KGB by Alexander Shelepin
Alexander Shelepin
Alexander Nikolayevich Shelepin was a Soviet state security officer and party statesman. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its Politburo and was the head of the KGB from 25 December 1958 to 13 November 1961.Shelepin was born in Voronezh...
in December.
Film adaptation
General Grubozaboyschikov does not appear in the 1963 film adaptation of the novelFrom Russia with Love (film)
From Russia with Love is the second in the James Bond spy film series, and the second to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1963, the film was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1957 novel of the...
, starring Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
as James Bond. In the film, the plot against Bond is mounted by Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character and a supervillain from the James Bond series of novels and films, who was created by Ian Fleming and Kevin McClory. An evil genius with aspirations of world domination, he is the archenemy of the British Secret Service agent James Bond and is arguably...
's criminal organisation SPECTRE
SPECTRE
SPECTRE is a fictional global terrorist organisation featured in the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming, the films based on those novels, and James Bond video games...
, as revenge for the death of Doctor Julius No in the previous film, Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
. Rosa Klebb is a SPECTRE agent placed within the SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
, and runs the operation using SMERSH resources (including Tatiana Romanova
Tatiana Romanova
Tatiana Romanova is a fictional character in the James Bond novel, film, and video game From Russia with Love. She is played by Daniela Bianchi in the movie. According to William F...
), but without the knowledge of the Russian government. The film character with the nearest approximation to Grubozaboyschikov's role in the plot is Blofeld himself.
Sources
- Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
, From Russia with Love.