Born in Borovichi, in the Novgorod province of European Russian, he started work as teenager in a local sawmill.

On 19 November 1937, speaking at a public meeting in Volkhovsky District, he declared: "I consider it a great happiness to work under the leadership of Comrade Zhdanov.

On 18 March 1946, he was promoted again, to the post of Secretary of the Central Committee, replacing Georgy Malenkov as the head of party organisation, and working alongside Zhdanov and Stalin.

[2][3] Aged 41, he was now part of the 'inner circle' of the roughly nine most powerful Soviet officials, but "Kuznetsov's promotions earned him the undying hatred of the two most vindictive predators in the Stalinist jungle: Beria and Malenkov.

Soviet leaders accused the trade fair organisers of denigrating the Central Committee and presenting themselves as special defenders of Leningrad.

[5] Kuznetsov was forced to sign a confession under torture, but when put on trial with Gosplan chairman Nikolai Voznesensky on 29 September 1950, he refused to confess, insisting, "I am a Bolshevik and remain one in spite of the sentence I have received.