Program "I love Psychology 

After Stalin became the head of the Soviet government. Who ruled after Stalin? Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov. Who was in power after Stalin's death

With the death of Stalin - the "father of the peoples" and the "architect of communism" - in 1953, a struggle for power began, because the one established by him assumed that the same autocratic leader would be at the helm of the USSR, who would take the reins of government into his own hands.

The only difference was that the main contenders for power were all in favor of the abolition of this very cult and the liberalization of the country's political course.

Who ruled after Stalin?

A serious struggle unfolded between the three main contenders, who initially represented a triumvirate - Georgy Malenkov (chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), Lavrenty Beria (minister of the united Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Nikita Khrushchev (secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). Each of them wanted to take a seat, but victory could only go to the applicant whose candidacy would be supported by a party whose members enjoyed great authority and had the necessary connections. In addition, all of them were united by the desire to achieve stability, end the era of repression and gain more freedom in their actions. That is why the question of who ruled after Stalin's death does not always have an unambiguous answer - after all, there were three people at once fighting for power.

Triumvirate in power: the beginning of the split

The triumvirate created under Stalin divided the power. Most of it was concentrated in the hands of Malenkov and Beria. Khrushchev was assigned the role of secretary, not so significant in the eyes of his rivals. However, they underestimated the ambitious and assertive party member, who stood out for his extraordinary thinking and intuition.

For those who ruled the country after Stalin, it was important to understand who should be eliminated from the competition in the first place. The first target was Lavrenty Beria. Khrushchev and Malenkov were aware of the dossier on each of them that the Minister of the Interior, who was in charge of the entire system of repressive agencies, had. In this regard, in July 1953, Beria was arrested, accusing him of espionage and some other crimes, thereby eliminating such a dangerous enemy.

Malenkov and his politics

Khrushchev's authority as the organizer of this conspiracy increased significantly, and his influence on other party members increased. However, while Malenkov was Chairman of the Council of Ministers, key decisions and policy directions depended on him. At the first meeting of the Presidium, a course was taken towards de-Stalinization and the establishment of collective governance of the country: it was planned to abolish the cult of personality, but to do it in such a way as not to detract from the merits of the “father of nations”. The main task set by Malenkov was to develop the economy taking into account the interests of the population. He proposed a rather extensive program of changes, which was not adopted at a meeting of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Then Malenkov put forward the same proposals at the session of the Supreme Council, where they were approved. For the first time since Stalin's absolute rule, a decision was made not by the party, but by an official authority. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Politburo were forced to agree to this.

Further history will show that among those who ruled after Stalin, Malenkov will be the most "effective" in his decisions. The set of measures he adopted to combat bureaucracy in the state and party apparatus, to develop the food and light industry, and to expand the independence of collective farms, bore fruit: 1954-1956, for the first time after the end of the war, showed an increase in the rural population and an increase in agricultural production, which for many years decline and stagnation became profitable. The effect of these measures persisted until 1958. It is this five-year plan that is considered the most productive and productive after the death of Stalin.

It was clear to those who ruled after Stalin that it would not be possible to achieve such success in light industry, since Malenkov’s proposals for its development contradicted the tasks of the next five-year plan, which emphasized the promotion

I tried to approach the solution of problems from a rational point of view, applying economic rather than ideological considerations. However, this order did not suit the party nomenklatura (headed by Khrushchev), which had practically lost its predominant role in the life of the state. This was a weighty argument against Malenkov, who, under pressure from the party, submitted his resignation in February 1955. Khrushchev's associate Malenkov took his place and became one of his deputies, but after the dispersal of the anti-party group in 1957 (of which he was a member), he was expelled from the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee along with his supporters. Khrushchev took advantage of this situation and in 1958 also removed Malenkov from the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers, taking his place and becoming the one who ruled after Stalin in the USSR.

Thus, he concentrated in his hands almost complete power. He got rid of the two most powerful competitors and led the country.

Who ruled the country after the death of Stalin and the removal of Malenkov?

Those 11 years that Khrushchev ruled the USSR are rich in various events and reforms. There were many problems on the agenda that the state faced after industrialization, war and attempts to restore the economy. The main milestones that remember the era of Khrushchev's rule are as follows:

  1. The virgin lands development policy (not supported by scientific study) increased the amount of sown area, but did not take into account the climatic features that hampered the development of agriculture in the developed territories.
  2. "Corn Campaign", the purpose of which was to catch up and overtake the United States, which received good harvests of this crop. The area under corn has doubled to the detriment of rye and wheat. But the result was sad - the climatic conditions did not allow for a high yield, and the reduction in areas for other crops provoked low rates for their collection. The campaign failed miserably in 1962, and its result was an increase in the price of butter and meat, which caused discontent among the population.
  3. The beginning of perestroika is the mass construction of houses, which allowed many families to move from hostels and communal apartments to apartments (the so-called "Khrushchevs").

The results of Khrushchev's reign

Among those who ruled after Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev stood out for his non-standard and not always well-thought-out approach to reforming within the state. Despite numerous projects that were put into practice, their inconsistency led to Khrushchev's removal from office in 1964.

General secretaries of the USSR in chronological order

General secretaries of the USSR in chronological order. Today they are already just a part of history, and once their faces were familiar to every single inhabitant of a vast country. The political system in the Soviet Union was such that citizens did not choose their leaders. The decision to appoint the next general secretary was made by the ruling elite. But, nevertheless, the people respected the state leaders and, for the most part, perceived this state of affairs as a given.

Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Stalin)

Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, better known as Stalin, was born on December 18, 1879 in the Georgian city of Gori. He became the first general secretary of the CPSU. He received this position in 1922, when Lenin was still alive, and until the death of the latter he played a secondary role in government.

When Vladimir Ilyich died, a serious struggle began for the highest post. Many of Stalin's competitors had a much better chance of taking him, but thanks to tough, uncompromising actions, Iosif Vissarionovich managed to emerge victorious from the game. Most of the other applicants were physically destroyed, some left the country.

In just a few years of rule, Stalin took the whole country under his "hedgehogs". By the beginning of the 1930s, he finally established himself as the sole leader of the people. The policy of the dictator went down in history:

mass repressions;

· total dispossession;

collectivization.

For this, Stalin was branded by his own followers during the “thaw”. But there is something for which Joseph Vissarionovich, according to historians, is worthy of praise. This is, first of all, the rapid transformation of a ruined country into an industrial and military giant, as well as a victory over fascism. It is quite possible that if the "cult of personality" was not so condemned by all, these achievements would have been unrealistic. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin died on March 5, 1953.

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev was born on April 15, 1894 in the Kursk province (the village of Kalinovka) into a simple working-class family. Participated in the Civil War, where he took the side of the Bolsheviks. In the CPSU since 1918. In the late 1930s he was appointed secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

Khrushchev took over the Soviet state shortly after Stalin's death. At first, he had to compete with Georgy Malenkov, who also claimed the highest post and at that time was actually the leader of the country, chairing the Council of Ministers. But in the end, the coveted chair still remained with Nikita Sergeevich.

When Khrushchev was General Secretary, the Soviet country:

launched the first man into space and developed this sphere in every possible way;

· Actively built up five-story buildings, today called "Khrushchev";

planted the lion's share of the fields with corn, for which Nikita Sergeevich was even nicknamed the "maize man".

This ruler went down in history primarily with his legendary speech at the 20th Party Congress in 1956, where he branded Stalin and his bloody policies. From that moment, the so-called “thaw” began in the Soviet Union, when the grip of the state was loosened, cultural figures received some freedom, etc. All this lasted until the removal of Khrushchev from his post on October 14, 1964.

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev

Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was born in the Dnepropetrovsk region (village Kamenskoye) on December 19, 1906. His father was a metallurgist. In the CPSU since 1931. He occupied the main post of the country as a result of a conspiracy. It was Leonid Ilyich who led the group of members of the Central Committee that ousted Khrushchev.

The Brezhnev era in the history of the Soviet state is characterized as stagnation. The latter appeared as follows:

· the development of the country has stopped in almost all areas, except for the military-industrial;

The USSR began to seriously lag behind Western countries;

Citizens again felt the grip of the state, repressions and persecution of dissidents began.

Leonid Ilyich tried to improve relations with the United States, which had aggravated back in the time of Khrushchev, but he did not succeed very well. The arms race continued, and after the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, it was impossible to even think about any kind of reconciliation. Brezhnev held a high post until his death, which occurred on November 10, 1982.

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was born in the station town of Nagutskoye (Stavropol Territory) on June 15, 1914. His father was a railroad worker. In the CPSU since 1939. He was active, which contributed to his rapid rise up the career ladder.

At the time of Brezhnev's death, Andropov headed the State Security Committee. He was elected by his associates to the highest post. The board of this general secretary covers a period of less than two years. During this time, Yuri Vladimirovich managed to fight a little with corruption in power. But he did nothing drastic. On February 9, 1984, Andropov died. The reason for this was a serious illness.

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko was born in 1911 on September 24 in the Yenisei province (the village of Bolshaya Tes). His parents were peasants. In the CPSU since 1931. Since 1966 - Deputy of the Supreme Council. Appointed General Secretary of the CPSU on February 13, 1984.

Chernenko became the successor of Andropov's policy of identifying corrupt officials. He was in power for less than a year. The cause of his death on March 10, 1985 was also a serious illness.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 in the North Caucasus (the village of Privolnoe). His parents were peasants. In the CPSU since 1952. He proved to be an active public figure. Moved quickly along the party line.

He was appointed Secretary General on March 11, 1985. He went down in history with the policy of "perestroika", which provided for the introduction of glasnost, the development of democracy, the provision of certain economic freedoms and other liberties to the population. Gorbachev's reforms led to mass unemployment, the liquidation of state-owned enterprises, and a total shortage of goods. This causes an ambiguous attitude towards the ruler on the part of the citizens of the former USSR, which collapsed just during the reign of Mikhail Sergeyevich.

But in the West, Gorbachev is one of the most respected Russian politicians. He was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev was Secretary General until August 23, 1991, and the USSR headed until December 25 of the same year.

All deceased general secretaries of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are buried near the Kremlin wall. Their list was closed by Chernenko. Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev is still alive. In 2017, he turned 86 years old.

Photos of the General Secretaries of the USSR in chronological order

Stalin

Khrushchev

Brezhnev

Andropov

Chernenko

The death of Stalin on March 5, 1953 contributed to the beginning of the struggle for power within the CPSU party. This struggle continued until 1958.

Struggle for power after Stalin at the initial stage it was conducted between Melenkov and Beria. Both of them spoke out for the fact that the functions of power should be transferred from the hands of the CPSU to the state. The struggle for power after Stalin between these two people lasted only until June 1953, but it was during this short historical period that the first wave of criticism of Stalin's personality cult fell. For members of the CPSU, the coming to power of Beria or Malenkov meant a weakening of the role of the party in governing the country, since this point was actively promoted by both Beria and Malenkov. It was for this reason that Khrushchev, who at that time headed the Central Committee of the CPSU, began to look for ways to remove from power, first of all, Beria, who he saw as the most dangerous opponent. Members of the Central Committee of the CPSU supported Khrushchev in this decision. As a result, on June 26, Beria was arrested. It happened at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers. Soon Beria was declared an enemy of the people and an opponent of the Communist Party. The inevitable punishment followed - execution.

The struggle for power after Stalin continued into the second stage (summer 1953 - February 1955). Khrushchev, who had removed Beria from his path, was now Malenkov's main political rival. In September 1953, the Congress of the Central Committee of the CPSU approved Khrushchev as the General Secretary of the Party. The problem was that Khrushchev did not hold any public office. At this stage of the struggle for power, Khrushchev secured the support of the majority in the party. As a result, Khrushchev's position in the country became noticeably stronger, while Malenkov lost his position. This was largely due to the events of December 1954. At this time, Khrushchev arranged a process against the leaders of the MGB, who were accused of forging documents in the "Leningrad case". Malenkov was heavily compromised as a result of this process. As a result of this process, Bulganin removed Malenkov from the post he held (head of government).

The third stage, in which struggle for power after Stalin, began in February 1955 and continued until March 1958. At this stage, Malenkov united with Molotov and Kaganovich. The united "opposition" decided to take advantage of the fact that they had a majority in the party. At the next congress, which took place in the summer of 1957, the post of first secretary of the party was eliminated. Khrushchev was appointed Minister of Agriculture. As a result, Khrushchev demanded the convening of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, since, according to the party charter, only this body could make such decisions. Khrushchev, taking advantage of the fact that he was the secretary of the party, personally selected the composition of the Plenum. The vast majority of people who supported Khrushchev turned out to be there. As a result, Molotov, Kaganovich and Malenkov were dismissed. This decision was made by the Plenum of the Central Committee, arguing that all three were anti-party activities.

The struggle for power after Stalin was actually won by Khrushchev. The party secretary understood how important the post of chairman of the council of ministers is in the state. Khrushchev did everything to take this post, since Bulganin, who held this position, openly supported Malenkov in 1957. In March 1958, the formation of a new government began in the USSR. As a result, Khrushchev achieved his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. At the same time, he retained the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In fact, this meant Khrushchev's victory. The struggle for power after Stalin was over.

The general secretaries (general secretaries) of the USSR... Once their faces were known to almost every inhabitant of our vast country. Today they are only part of the story. Each of these political figures committed actions and deeds that were later evaluated, and not always positively. It should be noted that the general secretaries were not chosen by the people, but by the ruling elite. In this article, we present a list of the General Secretaries of the USSR (with photo) in chronological order.

I. V. Stalin (Dzhugashvili)

This politician was born in the Georgian city of Gori on December 18, 1879 in the family of a shoemaker. In 1922, during the lifetime of V.I. Lenin (Ulyanov), he was appointed the first general secretary. It is he who heads the list of general secretaries of the USSR in chronological order. However, it should be noted that while Lenin was alive, Joseph Vissarionovich played a secondary role in government. After the death of the “leader of the proletariat”, a serious struggle broke out for the highest state post. Numerous competitors of I. V. Dzhugashvili had every chance to take this post. But thanks to uncompromising, and sometimes even tough actions, political intrigues, Stalin emerged victorious from the game, he managed to establish a regime of personal power. Note that most of the applicants were simply physically destroyed, and the rest was forced to leave the country. For a rather short period of time, Stalin managed to take the country into "hedgehogs". In the early thirties, Joseph Vissarionovich became the sole leader of the people.

The policy of this Secretary General of the USSR went down in history:

  • mass repression;
  • collectivization;
  • total dispossession.

In 37-38 years of the last century, mass terror was carried out, in which the number of victims reached 1,500,000 people. In addition, historians blame Iosif Vissarionovich for his policy of forced collectivization, mass repressions that took place in all sectors of society, and the forced industrialization of the country. Some traits of the leader's character affected the domestic policy of the country:

  • sharpness;
  • thirst for unlimited power;
  • high conceit;
  • intolerance for other people's opinions.

Cult of personality

You will find a photo of the Secretary General of the USSR, as well as other leaders who have ever held this post, in the presented article. We can say with certainty that Stalin's personality cult had a very tragic effect on the fate of millions of very different people: scientific and creative intelligentsia, statesmen and party leaders, and the military.

For all this, during the thaw, Joseph Stalin was branded by his followers. But not all actions of the leader are reprehensible. According to historians, there are moments for which Stalin is worthy of praise. Of course, the most important thing is the victory over fascism. In addition, there was a fairly rapid transformation of the destroyed country into an industrial and even military giant. There is an opinion that if it were not for the personality cult of Stalin, now condemned by all, many accomplishments would be impossible. The death of Joseph Vissarionovich happened on March 5, 1953. Let's look at all the general secretaries of the USSR in order.

N. S. Khrushchev

Nikita Sergeevich was born in the Kursk province on April 15, 1894, in an ordinary working-class family. He took part in the civil war on the side of the Bolsheviks. He was a member of the CPSU since 1918. In the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine in the late thirties he was appointed secretary. Nikita Sergeevich headed the Soviet Union some time after Stalin's death. It should be said that he had to fight for this post with G. Malenkov, who chaired the Council of Ministers and at that time was actually the leader of the country. But still the leading role went to Nikita Sergeevich.

During the reign of Khrushchev N.S. as General Secretary of the USSR in the country:

  1. There was a launch of the first man into space, all kinds of development of this sphere.
  2. A huge part of the fields were planted with corn, thanks to which Khrushchev was nicknamed "corn".
  3. During his reign, the active construction of five-story buildings began, which later became known as "Khrushchev".

Khrushchev became one of the initiators of the "thaw" in foreign and domestic policy, the rehabilitation of victims of repression. This politician made an unsuccessful attempt to modernize the party-state system. He also announced a significant improvement (along with capitalist countries) in living conditions for the Soviet people. At the XX and XXII Congresses of the CPSU, in 1956 and 1961. accordingly, he spoke harshly about the activities of Joseph Stalin and his cult of personality. However, the construction of a nomenklatura regime in the country, the violent dispersal of demonstrations (in 1956 - in Tbilisi, in 1962 - in Novocherkassk), the Berlin (1961) and Caribbean (1962) crises, the aggravation of relations with China, the building of communism by 1980 and the well-known political call to “catch up and overtake America!” - all this made Khrushchev's policy inconsistent. And on October 14, 1964, Nikita Sergeevich was relieved of his post. Khrushchev died on September 11, 1971, after a long illness.

L. I. Brezhnev

The third in order in the list of General Secretaries of the USSR is L. I. Brezhnev. Born in the village of Kamenskoye in the Dnepropetrovsk region on December 19, 1906. In the CPSU since 1931. He took the post of general secretary as a result of a conspiracy. Leonid Ilyich was the leader of the group of members of the Central Committee (Central Committee) that ousted Nikita Khrushchev. The era of Brezhnev's rule in the history of our country is characterized as stagnation. This happened for the following reasons:

  • in addition to the military-industrial sphere, the development of the country was stopped;
  • The Soviet Union began to lag significantly behind Western countries;
  • repression and persecution began again, people again felt the grip of the state.

Note that during the reign of this politician there were both negative and favorable sides. At the very beginning of his reign, Leonid Ilyich played a positive role in the life of the state. He curtailed all the unreasonable undertakings created by Khrushchev in the economic sphere. In the first years of Brezhnev's rule, enterprises were given more independence, material incentives, and the number of planned indicators was reduced. Brezhnev tried to establish good relations with the United States, but he never succeeded. And after the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, this became impossible.

period of stagnation

By the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, Brezhnev's entourage cared more about their clan interests and often ignored the interests of the state as a whole. The politician's inner circle catered to the sick leader in everything, awarded him orders and medals. The reign of Leonid Ilyich lasted for 18 years, he was in power the longest, with the exception of Stalin. The eighties in the Soviet Union are characterized as a "period of stagnation". Although after the devastation of the 1990s, it is increasingly presented as a period of peace, state power, prosperity and stability. Most likely, these opinions have the right to be, because the entire Brezhnev period of government is heterogeneous in nature. L. I. Brezhnev was in his position until November 10, 1982, until his death.

Yu. V. Andropov

This politician spent less than 2 years at the post of General Secretary of the USSR. Yuri Vladimirovich was born in the family of a railway worker on June 15, 1914. His homeland is the Stavropol Territory, the city of Nagutskoye. Party member since 1939. Due to the fact that the politician was active, he quickly climbed the career ladder. At the time of Brezhnev's death, Yuri Vladimirovich led the State Security Committee.

He was nominated for the post of general secretary by his associates. Andropov set himself the task of reforming the Soviet state, trying to prevent the impending socio-economic crisis. But, unfortunately, I didn't have time. During the reign of Yuri Vladimirovich, special attention was paid to labor discipline in the workplace. While serving as Secretary General of the USSR, Andropov opposed the numerous privileges that were granted to employees of the state and party apparatus. Andropov showed this by personal example, refusing most of them. After his death on February 9, 1984 (due to a long illness), this politician was the least criticized and most of all aroused the support of society.

K. U. Chernenko

On September 24, 1911, Konstantin Chernenko was born into a peasant family in the Yeysk province. He has been in the ranks of the CPSU since 1931. He was appointed to the post of General Secretary on February 13, 1984, immediately after Yu.V. Andropov. When governing the state, he continued the policy of his predecessor. He served as general secretary for about a year. The death of a politician occurred on March 10, 1985, the cause was a serious illness.

M.S. Gorbachev

The date of birth of the politician is March 2, 1931, his parents were simple peasants. Gorbachev's homeland is the village of Privolnoye in the North Caucasus. He joined the Communist Party in 1952. He acted as an active public figure, therefore he quickly moved along the party line. Mikhail Sergeevich completes the list of general secretaries of the USSR. He was appointed to this position on March 11, 1985. Later he became the only and last president of the USSR. The era of his reign went down in history with the policy of "perestroika". It provided for the development of democracy, the introduction of publicity, and the provision of economic freedom to the people. These reforms of Mikhail Sergeyevich led to mass unemployment, a total shortage of goods and the liquidation of a huge number of state-owned enterprises.

The collapse of the Union

During the reign of this politician, the USSR collapsed. All the fraternal republics of the Soviet Union declared their independence. It should be noted that in the West, MS Gorbachev is considered perhaps the most respected Russian politician. Mikhail Sergeevich has the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev remained in the post of general secretary until August 24, 1991. He headed the Soviet Union until December 25 of the same year. In 2018, Mikhail Sergeevich turned 87 years old.

Most of the population, trained by decades of Stalin's rule, was ready to sacrifice themselves, following the example of the builders of the Egyptian pyramids. However, there were people in those days who, having remembered the “friend of all children” and the “father of peoples”, having taken a bite of vodka and a bite of cucumber with sauerkraut, decided that now their time has come.

The first version of the post-Stalin upgrade

Beria-Malenkov-Khrushchev and Bulganin who joined them became the first version of the upgrade of the political and social system of the post-Stalin era.

Few people remember now, but after Stalin, Comrade Malenkov, convenient to him, stood at the head of the country, put there through the efforts of Beria. During the life of Stalin, Comrade Malenkov was what is now commonly called a speechwriter - in addition to the official post he occupies. Most of the Stalinist reports in the late forties and early fifties were written by Georgy Malenkov.

It seemed to Beria and Malenkov that in order to gain a foothold in power and prevent themselves from being devoured by the rest of the Kremlin's gray wolves, it was necessary to crush all state structures and, most importantly, the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. They treated the party structures with a short-sighted reckless attitude.

It was the post of Chairman that Malenkov took, and the portfolios were divided between the “comrades-in-arms” who supported him and Beria. Comrade N.S. Khrushchev did not get the state post. He was placed in an insignificant - according to the high-nomenklatura criteria of that time - an almost nominal post of secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.

Checkmate Nikita Khrushchev

It took Nikita Khrushchev a little less than two years to dislodge his rivals in an uncharacteristic - calm - manner, with the help of behind-the-scenes party games, and sometimes very risky steps. And not just to remove, but to intercept and safely appropriate them, almost democratic, undertakings.

So, it was Beria who carried out a number of large industrial enterprises from the Gulag system to departmental ministries, began the process of mitigating and stopping the already launched flywheel of new repressions (the case of doctors, etc.), carried out an amnesty and carried out the rehabilitation of several tens of hundreds of prisoners - this was a drop in the sea of ​​the Gulag, and it almost did not touch political prisoners, but it was then that many thousands of innocently convicted hope for change arose.

In a matter of months, he began to turn from a fiend into one of the most “liberal” reformers, but they did not begin to hate him less. Especially all the Kremlin assessors, since it was he who had all the threads connecting each of them and their associates with the repressions of the 30-50s.

Malenkov, on the other hand, was the author of the idea of ​​debunking the personality cult, reforming agriculture, liberating collective farmers from socialist slavery, and giving priority to light industry over heavy industry. He was generally an adherent of the ideas of the NEP.

Khrushchev, with two preemptive strikes - first on Beria, and then on Malenkov - got rid of rivals who were superior to him in intelligence, but not in ambition.

It was Malenkov's attempt to turn the government of the country from the Stalinist model to the Leninist - collegial - when he heads the government and at the same time directs the activities of the highest bodies of the party, and played a cruel joke with him, since collegiality is possible only under democracy, and not under authoritarian totalitarianism.

At one of the meetings of the Presidium of the Central Committee, to which Malenkov came a little late, Khrushchev took his place. To an interrogative remark - "we decided to return to the tradition of Lenin and I should preside as the head of government," Khrushchev dismissively answered him: "What are you, Lenin?" It was from this moment that the star of the weak-willed and executive Malenkov finally fell from the Kremlin sky.

Of course, Nikita Sergeevich did not dare to take such an extravagant step. Somewhat earlier, Malenkov's patron Beria was appointed "an agent of international imperialism", convicted, and shot. It was he, and not Stalin, whom Khrushchev feared even after his death, who was to a greater extent blamed for the repressions - as a conspiracy against the Soviet people. Accusations of involvement in repression became a convenient mechanism for Khrushchev to remove all dangerous and objectionable rivals who had to repent and then resign. That is how Khrushchev removed almost everyone who had been especially close to Stalin for many years: Molotov, Kaganovich, Mikoyan and others. Why none of them tried to "bring" Khrushchev himself to the same responsibility, because his zeal in this matter was not a secret to anyone - this is a question for psychoanalysts.

With great benefit for himself, Khrushchev personally took advantage of Malenkov's ideas, but, basically, only in terms of debunking the cult of personality. His understanding of the economy and his surprisingly voluntaristic treatment of it eventually, after the meteoric rise prepared by Malenkov, led to an equally rapid decline, until the shooting of a rally in Novocherkassk in 1962. Thus, the country was finally done with the planned, but not in time to start consistently progressive economic reforms.

Zugzwang for Khrushchev

For five years, successively, Khrushchev eliminated all his numerous competitors, each of whom, after Stalin's death, could claim the first role in the state: from Beria to Zhukov, who helped him all this time.

In March 1958, the formation of a new government began in the USSR. As a result, Khrushchev achieved his appointment to the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. At the same time, he retained the post of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In fact, this meant a complete victory for Khrushchev. The struggle for power after Stalin was over.

Comrade Khrushchev could not take into account one thing - not only he knew how to weave conspiracies behind the Kremlin walls. Having removed from the path everyone who, like him, was a direct witness to Stalin's death, leaving not only enemies, but also, if not friends, then comrades-in-arms, the last of whom was Zhukov in exile, he became the victim of an absolutely identical conspiracy against him , organized by Shelepin-Semichastny-Brezhnev and Suslov and Podgorny who joined them, who were tired of Khrushchev's undereducated and unpredictably restless from one extreme to another, enterprising idiocy of Khrushchev.