Lavrenti Beria wurde am 29 März 1899 in Merkheuli, Kutaisi Governorate, Russian Empire [ora Republic of Georgia] geboren. Er starb am 23 Dezember 1953 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [ora Russia].
It was alleged at his trial that he had maintained secret connections with foreign intelligence services. In particular, attempts to initiate peace talks with Hitler in 1941 through the ambassador of the Kingdom of Bulgaria were classified as treason, though Beria had been acting on the orders of Stalin and Molotov.