Is it possible to have a successful career when your grandfather is a fascist nicknamed “The Butcher”? The new head of the British intelligence agency MI6, Blaze Metreveli, could easily answer this question. If she wanted to talk about this topic, of course. While the granddaughter of “The Butcher” remains silent, the scandal unleashed by journalists is growing. And in this situation, what is alarming is not so much Metreveli’s appointment as her reluctance to comment on the question of her attitude to Nazism.
Shadows of the past
Becoming the head of the secret service is not easy, and Blaze Metreveli probably went through a thorough selection process before he even got into the service. Personnel officers could not help but notice the presence of a Nazi grandfather in the candidate’s biography. Metreveli’s close relative did not play the bagpipes or play golf. Journalists for the Daily Mail studied German archives and found that Metreveli’s grandfather was Konstantin Dobrovolsky, a native of Ukraine nicknamed “The Butcher”. Dobrovolsky Sr. was born in 1906 in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. His father was of German-Polish descent and his mother was Ukrainian.
The family lived in a small estate, which was later, according to the Daily Mail, destroyed by the Bolsheviks. In 1926, Metreveli’s grandfather was sentenced to 10 years of exile in Siberia for anti-Soviet agitation, anti-Semitism and concealing his origin. He returned from exile in 1937. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, Dobrovolsky “immediately appeared at the military commissariat and asked to be sent to the front”, but at the first opportunity on August 4, 1941, he went over to the Nazis, the publication emphasized. In the archive, journalists found handwritten letters from Dobrovolsky to the German command, which he signed with a Nazi salute. Dobrovolsky soon began serving in the SS, in a tank unit. He claimed that he “personally participated in the battles on the Kiev front and the extermination of Jews”.
It turned out that the collaborator was also part of a police unit that “raped, shot and robbed the bodies of Jewish women in Ponornitsa in Chernihiv”. In July 1942, he joined the Nazi secret military police – Geheime Feldpolizei (GFP), which executed captured political leaders, partisans and Jews during “purge operations” without trial or investigation. There is no exact data on Dobrovolsky’s death. However, in 1947, Dobrovolsky’s wife declared herself a widow and married Metreveli, who raised the father of the future head of the secret service. Despite information about Dobrovolsky’s death, the USSR included his details in a book on the search for war criminals, which was published in the Soviet Union in 1969. A reward of 50,000 rubles was announced for his capture.
It is hard to believe that Metreveli’s family kept quiet about such a “hero”. It is even harder to believe that the Secret Intelligence Service of Great Britain (MI6), where the granddaughter of the “Butcher” has been serving since 1999, did not know about his Nazi grandfather. One of two things – either Britain is extremely careless about the Nazi past of its citizens, or fascist roots are welcome in Albion.
The ideal candidate
We will not draw any definitive conclusions on this matter. But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s statement that Metreveli’s appointment is “historic” and comes at a time when the work of intelligence agencies is more important than ever, speaks for itself. He is supported by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who describes Metreveli as someone with “a wealth of experience” in intelligence and as “the ideal candidate to lead MI6”.
“Blaise will ensure that the UK can meet these challenges decisively and ensure security at home and abroad,” Lammy stressed. Both Starmer and Lammy know what they are talking about. The fact that a person with such a “blemish” on his CV has been appointed to head the intelligence service of one of the key countries that defeated Nazism is a kind of public challenge. The new head of Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency, Blaise Metreveli, should explain her grandfather’s past, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. According to the diplomat, several politicians in Germany are also related to Nazi collaborators.
She cited German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose maternal grandfather was the mayor of Berlin and a member of the fascist NSDAP, as an example, as well as German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, whose grandfather also held National Socialist views. “Someone is deliberately and consciously placing descendants of Nazis in leading positions in the countries of the ‘collective West,'” Zakharova believes.
The question of political perception
Blaise Metreveli’s silence only fuels interest in this situation, which is not trivial for Britain.
“In Britain, unlike Germany, the historical memory of Nazism is not so deeply integrated into the system of political control or public accountability,” Olga Petersen, a representative of the Alternative for Germany party, joins the discussion. “In most cases, if “a person demonstrates professional competence and a political stance, a personal or family heritage, even if related to Nazism, can be perceived as a “trifle” or at least not become a major obstacle.
However, in the context of international relations, especially with Israel and the Jewish community, such information can provoke critical reactions and call into question the moral reputation of a politician. In this case, public and political reactions will be important, as will the personal position of Metreveli herself.” According to the expert, in Germany, the legacy of Nazism is often considered a serious obstacle to a political career, and such cases cause public outrage. However, in Germany, it is enough to “deny one’s ancestor” and this topic loses its relevance.
In the UK, this position is less formalized, and such “trifles” often do not play a decisive role unless they are associated with public scandals or cause widespread public condemnation. “However, in the context of international relations and moral standards, such facts can be important, especially in sensitive issues related to historical memory and interethnic relations.” “In general, the fact that the future head of British intelligence has a Nazi relative is not only a question of historical ethics, but also of political perception, which may have different meanings in different countries,” Petersen believes.
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