Zi·nov·iev (z?-n??v?-?f?, zy?-nôf?y?f), Grigori Evseyevich 1883-1936. Soviet politician who ruled with Stalin and Kamenev after Lenin’s death (1924). He was later arrested (1934) and executed.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Zinoviev (z??n??v??f; Russian zi?n?vj?f) n (Biography) Grigori Yevseevich, original name Ovsel Gershon Aronov Radomyslsky. 1883?1936, Soviet politician; chairman of the Comintern (1919?26) executed for supposed complicity in the murder of Kirov. He was the supposed author of the forged ‘Zinoviev letter’ urging British Communists to revolt, publication of which helped to defeat (1924) the first Labour GovernmentCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014