Lev Zadov | |
|---|---|
לעוו זאדאוו | |
 | |
| Otaman of the Kontrrazvedka | |
| In office March 1919 – August 1921 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Levko Mykolaiovych Zadov 11 April 1893 Veselaya Yevreyka, Yuzivka, Katerynoslav, Russian Empire |
| Died | 25 September 1938 (aged 45) Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Resting place | Bykivnia, Darnytsia, Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Citizenship | Russian Empire (1893-1917) Stateless (1918-1925) Soviet Union (1925-1938) |
| Nationality | Ukrainian Jew |
| Spouse | Vera Matvienko |
| Children | Alla Zinkovskaya (b. 1921) Vadim Zinkovsky (b. 1926) |
| Relatives | Danylo Zadov (brother) |
| Occupation | Intelligence agent |
| Known for | Military intelligence, espionage |
| Nickname | Levko the Bandit |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ukrainian Soviet Republic (1918) Makhnovshchina (1918-1921) Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1925-1937) |
| Service | Red Guards (1918) Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (1918-1921) Joint State Political Directorate (1925-1934) People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (1934-1937) |
| Years of service | 1918-1937 |
| Rank | Commandant |
| Unit | 1st Donetsk Corps |
| Battles/wars | |
Lev Mykolaiovych Zadov (Ukrainian: Лев Миколайович Задов; 1893–1938), also known by his nom de guerre Lev Zinkovskyi (Ukrainian: Лев Зіньковський), was chief of military intelligence of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine (RIAU) and later an operative of the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU).
After joining the Ukrainian anarchist movement, Zadov was arrested and imprisoned for a series of robberies he committed in Donbas. He was released during the February Revolution and returned to Donbas, where he became involved in the local Soviet and joined the Red Guards, which he fought with until November 1918, when he joined Nestor Makhno's Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.
He became the de facto chief of the Kontrrazvedka, the Makhnovist military intelligence division, and carried out a campaign of terror against the Bolsheviks and the White movement. After the defeat of the Makhnovists, he retreated to Romania, before re-entering Ukraine in 1925 and joining the OGPU. He used his position to carry out subversive activities, for which he was arrested and executed during the Great Purge.