Background
Aralov was born on December 18, 1880 in Moscow, Russia. He was the son of a wealthy merchant.
Aralov was born on December 18, 1880 in Moscow, Russia. He was the son of a wealthy merchant.
He joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1905 and during the First World War he was promoted to the rank of Major in the Military Intelligence department. He participated in the October Revolution
Trotsky then sent him to Siberia to lead negotiations with the Czechoslovakian Legion. When the Registration Unit, as the Red Army Intelligence Directorate was originally called, was founded in October 1918, he was the head, joining Trotsky and Jukums Vācietis on the Executive Bureau of the Defence Council.
In July 1920 Aralov relinquished his role as head of the GRU taking up an operational role as head of intelligence with the 12th Army and between 1921 and 1927 interspersed his role as deputy head with various foreign assignments, often under diplomatic cover. His subsequent diplomatic career included postings in the United States, Germany and Japan. During the purges of 1937, he was dismissed from all intelligence posts.
However, he was able to gain the post of a deputy director of the Literature Museum. He volunteered for service in the Second World War at age 60 in 1941 and was discharged in 1946.