this 'special decree' has come. If we don't arrest Trotskyite-diversionist-spies, then whom should we be arresting?" During 1937-1947 Frenkel was head of the Chief Directorate of Railroad Construction (ГУЖДС) as a protégé of Lavrentiy Beria. He was awarded the Order of Lenin three times (August 4, 1933, July 22, 1940, September 16, 1943). On April 28, 1947, Frenkel was discharged from his duties for reasons of health, and was awarded a service pension. Later life By the mid-1950s, Frenkel was living a reclusive life in Moscow. His stepdaughter Tamara was the fiancée of Leonid Makhnach, son of Vladimir Makhnach, the former boss of the Mosgaz Trust which controlled Moscow's gas supply, who returned to Moscow in June 1955, after 14 years in the Taishet labour camp. According to Leonid, after his return Vladimir 'was a difficult character' and there were constant arguments between the two. Frenkel took a close interest in his stepdaughter's fiancé. One night after an argument Vladimir struck Leonid on the face: Leonid left home and went to live at Frenkel's house where he remained until his marriage to Tamara in 1958. In 2004, Leonid stated that after his break with Vladimir, Frenkel became the main paternal figure in his life. Opposed to the Khrushchev regime, Frenkel remained closely connected with the MGB which helped Leonid with his movie career and commissioned the first movie he directed, a propaganda piece on Soviet secret agents during the Cold War. References Bibliography External links Frenkel's biography at peoples.ru 1883 births 1960 deaths Jewish Soviet politicians Recipients of the Order of Lenin Jews from the Ottoman Empire Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the Russian Empire Cheka Gulag governors Chief Directorate of Railroad Construction Camps