Alexander Semyonovich " Alyosha " Svanidze ( ; ) ( 1886 – 20 August 1941 ) was a Georgian Old Bolshevik and historian . He was a personal friend of Joseph Stalin and a brother of Stalin ’s first wife Kato . Nevertheless , Stalin had him arrested during a purge in 1937 . He was shot in prison in 1941
purge
Great Purge
Alexander Svanidze