Vyacheslav Molotov Вячесла́в Мо́лотов
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars
In office December 19, 1930 – May 6, 1941
Preceded by	Alexei Rykov
Succeeded by	Joseph Stalin
People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs
In office May 3, 1939 – June 1, 1956
Preceded by	Maxim Litvinov
Succeeded by	Dmitri Shepilov
Born	March 9, 1890(1890-03-09) Kukarka, Russian Empire
Died	November 8, 1986 (aged 96) Moscow, Soviet Union
Nationality	Russian / Soviet

Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (Russian: Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов, Vjačeslav Mihajlovič Molotov; March 9 [O.S. February 25] 1890 – November 8, 1986), Soviet politician and diplomat, was a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from Presidium (Politburo) of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states Council of Ministers of the USSR (Совет Министров СССР tr The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following He was the principal Soviet signatory of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1939 (also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers See also Non-aggression Pact (band A non-aggression pact is an international Treaty between two or more states agreeing to avoid war Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Molotov cocktail was named after him by the Finnish military during the Winter War. The Molotov cocktail, also known as the booze bomb, alcohol bomb or Molotov bomb, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the

Origins and early life

Molotov was born in the village of Kukarka (now Sovetsk in Kirov Oblast) as Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Skryabin (Скря́бин), son of a shop clerk. Sovetsk (Сове́тск is a town in Kirov Oblast, Russia. Population 18167 ( 2002 Census) 19368 ( 1989 Census Kirov Oblast (Ки́ровская о́бласть Kirovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) Contrary to a commonly repeated error, he was not related to the composer Alexander Scriabin. Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Скря́бин Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin; sometimes transliterated as Skriabin ^[1] He was educated at a secondary school in Kazan, and joined the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1906. Kazan (Каза́нь Казан tt Qazan) is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and one of Russia's largest cities The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists ( Большевик Большевист (singular, derived from bolshe, "more" were a faction The Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party, or RSDLP ( Росси́йская Социа́л-Демократи́ческая Рабо́чая For his political work he took the pseudonym Molotov (from the Russian molot, "hammer"). A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias) He was arrested in 1909 and spent two years in exile in Siberia. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving In 1911 he enrolled at the St Petersburg Polytechnic, and also joined the editorial staff of Pravda, the underground Bolshevik newspaper, of which Joseph Stalin was editor. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Pravda (Правда "The Truth" was a leading Newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party In 1913 Molotov was again arrested and deported to Irkutsk, but in 1915 he escaped and returned to the capital. Irkutsk (Ирку́тск Эрхүү Erkhüü; Эрхүү Erkhüü) is one of the largest cities in Siberia and the administrative center of

Early career

In 1916, Molotov became a member of Bolshevik Party's committee in Petrograd. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River When the February Revolution broke out in February 1917, he was one of the few Bolsheviks of any standing in the capital. The February Revolution (Февральская революция in 1917 in Russia was the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Under his direction Pravda took a turn "left" in opposing the Provisional Government which was formed after the revolution. Pravda (Правда "The Truth" was a leading Newspaper of the Soviet Union and an official organ of the Central Committee of the Consequently, when Stalin returned to the capital, he reversed Molotov's line. However, when the party leader, Vladimir Lenin, arrived, he overruled Stalin. Despite this, Molotov became a protégé and close adherent of Stalin, an alliance to which he owed his later prominence. Molotov became a member of the Military Revolutionary Committee which planned the October Revolution (effectively bringing the Bolsheviks to power). The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, usually called the Petrograd Soviet, was the soviet (workers' council in Petrograd (Saint The October Revolution (Октябрьская революция Oktyabrskaya revolyutsiya) also known as the Soviet Revolution

In 1918, Molotov was sent to Ukraine to take part in the so-called civil war (Ukrainian-Soviet War of 1918-1921) then breaking out. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. The Russian Civil War (1917–1923 was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed Since he was not a military man, Molotov took no part in the fighting. In 1920, he became secretary to the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Bolshevik Party. Lenin recalled him to Moscow in 1921, elevating him to full membership in the Central Committee and Orgburo, and putting him in charge of the party secretariat. Central Committee most commonly refers to the central executive unit of a Leninist (commonly also Trotskyist) or Communist party, whether ruling or The Organizational Bureau (Orgburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union existed from 1919 to 1952 until the 19th Congress when the In 1922, Stalin became General Secretary of the Bolshevik Party with Molotov as the de facto "second" secretary. Under Stalin's patronage, Molotov became a member of the Politburo in 1926. Politburo, short for Political Bureau, Russian Politicheskoye Buro, is the executive organization for a number of Political parties, most notably

During the power struggles which followed Lenin's death in 1924, Molotov remained a loyal supporter of Stalin against his various rivals: first Leon Trotsky, later Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev and finally Nikolai Bukharin. Leon Trotsky ( Russian:, Lev Davidovich Trotsky, also transliterated Leo, Lyev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij ( Russian: Лев Борисович Каменев born Rosenfeld, Розенфельд ( – August 25, 1936) was a Bolshevik Gregory Yevseevich Zinoviev (Григо́рий Евс́еевич Зин́овьев alternative transliteration Grigorii Ovseyevish Zinoviev born Ovsei-Gershon Aronovich Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin (Никола́й Ива́нович Буха́рин ( &ndash March 15, 1938) was a Bolshevik He became a leading figure in the "Stalinist centre" of the party, which also included Kliment Voroshilov, Lazar Kaganovich, Sergo Ordzhonikidze and Sergei Kirov. (Климе́нт Ефре́мович Вороши́лов Kliment Efremovič Vorošilov, Климент Єфремович Ворошилов popularly known as Klim Voroshilov Grigoriy Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze (გრიგოლ (სერგო ორჯონიკიძე - Grigol (Sergo Orjonikidze Russian: Григорий Константинович Sergei Mironovich Kirov (Серге́й Миро́нович Ки́ров ( &ndash December 1, 1934) was a prominent early Bolshevik leader whose assassination Trotsky and his supporters underestimated Molotov as many others did. Trotsky called him "mediocrity personified", but his outward dullness concealed a sharp mind and great administrative talent. He operated mainly behind the scenes and cultivated an image as a colorless bureaucrat - for example, he was the only Bolshevik leader who always wore a suit and tie (Lenin's attire routine changed in the later years).

Prime minister

When Bukharin's ally, Alexei Rykov, was removed as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (the equivalent of a prime minister) in December 1930, Molotov succeeded him. Alexei Ivanovich Rykov ( Russian: Алексей Иванович Рыков Aleksej Ivanovič Rykov; March 15 1938 was a Russian Marxist The Council of the People's Commissars, or the Council of People's Commissars, was the highest government authority under the Bolshevik system after the success This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. In this post, he oversaw the Stalin regime's greatest social revolution, the collectivisation of agriculture. Collectivization in the Soviet Union was a policy pursued under Stalin, between 1928 and 1940(much later for areas further away from capital to consolidate individual Molotov carried out Stalin's line of using a combination of force and propaganda to crush peasant resistance to collectivisation, including the deportation of millions of kulaks (peasants with property) to labor camps. Kulaks ( Russian: кула́к kulak " Fist ", by extension "tight-fisted" were a category of rich Peasants in later A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are engaged in Penal labor. A significant fraction of the deportees died. He signed the "Law of Spikelets" and personally led the Extraordinary Commission for Grain Delivery in Ukraine, which seized a reported 4. Law of Spikelets (Закон о колосках was a common name of the law based on the decree of Central Executive Committee and Sovnarkom of the USSR 2 million tonnes of grain from the peasants, during a widespread famine (known in Ukraine as Holodomor). A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation The Holodomor (Голодомор is the famine that took place in Soviet Ukraine during the 1932-1933 agricultural season Contemporary historians estimate that between four and six million people died, either of starvation or in labor camps, in the move to collectivise farms. Molotov also oversaw the implementation of the first Five-Year Plan for rapid industrialisation.

The assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934, an action now believed by some historians to have been ordered by Stalin, triggered a second crisis, the Great Purge. Sergei Mironovich Kirov (Серге́й Миро́нович Ки́ров ( &ndash December 1, 1934) was a prominent early Bolshevik leader whose assassination Great Purge (Большая чистка transliterated Bolshaya chistka) was a series of campaigns of Political repression and Persecution This purge acquired momentum through 1935 and 1936 and culminated in 1937-38 in the Moscow Trials, in which most of the pre-Stalin Bolshevik leaders were convicted on usually fabricated charges of treason and espionage, and millions of other Russians were deported to labor camps. The Moscow Trials were a series of trials of political opponents of Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Although the purges were carried out by Stalin's successive police chiefs, Genrikh Yagoda, Nikolai Yezhov and Lavrenty Beria, Molotov was intimately involved in the processes. Genrikh Grigor'evich Yagoda (Генрих Григорьевич Ягода born Yenokh (Enoch Gershonovich Ieguda ( Енох Гершонович Иегуда 1891 Biography His character Yezhov was born in Saint Petersburg according to his official Soviet biography though he stated he was born in Mariiampole Lithuania Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (ლავრენტი პავლეს ძე ბერია Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria; Russian: Лаврентий Павлович Stalin frequently required him and other Politburo members to sign the death warrants of prominent purge victims, and Molotov always did so without question. There is no record of Molotov attempting to moderate the course of the purges or even to save individuals, as some other Soviet leaders did.

Despite the great human cost, the Soviet Union under Molotov's prime ministership made great strides in industrial technology (See command economy). A planned economy or directed economy is an Economic system in which the Government or Workers' councils manages the Economy. The rise of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany gave the development of a modern armaments industry great urgency, and Molotov and the commissar of industry, Lazar Kaganovich, were primarily responsible for guiding this success. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Ultimately, it was this arms industry which enabled the Soviet Union to prevail in World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including However, the purges of the Red Army leadership, in which Molotov participated, weakened the Soviet Union's defence capacity. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya This somewhat contributed to the military disasters of 1941 and 1942, which were mostly caused by unreadiness for war. It also led to the dismantling of the peasant class, and its replacement by collectivised agriculture left a legacy of chronic agricultural under-production which the Soviet regime never fully overcame.

Following the purges, Molotov was generally regarded as Stalin's deputy and as his long-term successor, although Molotov was careful not to encourage any such suggestion. The American journalist John Gunther wrote in 1938: "Molotov has a fine forehead, and looks and acts like a French professor of medicine - orderly, precise, pedantic. John Gunther ( August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an American journalist and author whose success came primarily in the 1940s and 1950s with He is. . . a man of first-rate intelligence and influence. Molotov is a vegetarian and a teetotaller. Stalin gives him much of the dirty work to do".

Foreign minister

Molotov signs the German-Soviet non-aggression pact; behind him are Ribbentrop and Stalin.

In 1939, following the Munich agreement and Hitler's subsequent invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938, Stalin decided that Soviet expansion would benefited by signing a treaty with Hitler. The Munich Agreement (Mnichovská dohoda Mníchovská dohoda Münchner Abkommen Accords de Munich was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland, which were areas along borders Czechoslovakia may also refer to what is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In May 1939, Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov (who was Jewish and therefore not appropriate for these negotiations) was dismissed, and Molotov was appointed to succeed him. This page lists foreign ministers of Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Russian Federation: Heads of Posolsky Prikaz, 1549-1699 Maxim Maximovich Litvinov (Макси́м Макси́мович Литви́нов) ( July 17, 1876 &ndash December 31, 1951) was a Russian PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Molotov remained at the head of the Sovnarkom until May 1941, when Stalin took over as the official head of the Soviet government.

At first, Hitler rebuffed Soviet diplomatic hints that Stalin desired a treaty, but in early August, he authorised Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop to begin serious negotiations. Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946 was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945 A trade agreement was concluded on August 18, and on August 22, Ribbentrop flew to Moscow to conclude a formal non-aggression treaty. Events 293 BC - The oldest known Roman temple to Venus is founded starting the institution of Vinalia Rustica. Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Although the treaty is known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Molotov and Ribbentrop acted only as agents for their masters, Stalin and Hitler. The most important part of the agreement was the secret protocol, which provided for the partition of Poland, Finland and the Baltic States between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union and for the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia (then part of Romania, now Moldova). The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the Bessarabia ( Basarabia in Romanian, Бесарабія in Ukrainian, Бессарабия in Russian, Бесарабия in Bulgarian Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova ( Republica Moldova) is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania This protocol gave Hitler the green light for his invasion of Poland, which began on September 1. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle.

Under the terms of the Pact, Stalin was, in effect, given authorisation to occupy and annex Estonia, Latvia and Bessarabia, as well as the part of Poland east of the Curzon Line (an area in which Ukrainians and Byelorussians comprised the majority of the population). Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Bessarabia ( Basarabia in Romanian, Бесарабія in Ukrainian, Бессарабия in Russian, Бесарабия in Bulgarian The Curzon Line was a Demarcation line proposed in 1920 by the British Foreign Secretary George Nathaniel Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston He was also given a free hand in relation to Finland. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. In the Soviet-Finnish War that ensued, a combination of fierce Finnish resistance and Soviet mismanagement resulted in Finland losing parts of its territory, but not its independence. The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the During this conflict, the Finns coined the term Molotov cocktail for a homemade incendiary device to be used against tanks. The Molotov cocktail, also known as the booze bomb, alcohol bomb or Molotov bomb, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary Germany was authorised to occupy the western two-thirds of Poland (much of which was annexed to Germany), as well as Lithuania, but the Pact was later amended to allocate Lithuania to the Soviet sphere in exchange for a more favourable border in Poland. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the All these annexations led to massive suffering and loss of life in the countries which were occupied and partitioned by the two dictatorships.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact governed Soviet-German relations until June 1941 when Hitler, having occupied France and neutralised Britain (or so he thought), turned east and attacked the Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Molotov was also responsible for telling the Soviet people of the attack, when he announced the war, instead of Joseph Stalin. Following the invasion, Molotov conducted urgent negotiations with Britain and, later, the United States for wartime alliances and traveled to London in 1941 and to Washington in 1942. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D In 1942, he signed the Anglo-Soviet Treaty of Alliance. The Twenty-Year Mutual Assistance Agreement Between the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established military and political alliance between the USSR He also secured Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill's agreement to create a "second front" in Europe. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 He accompanied Stalin to the Teheran conference in 1943, the Yalta conference in 1945 and the Potsdam conference, which followed the defeat of Germany. The Tehran Conference ( Codenamed EUREKA) was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and Codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, Germany, from July 16, He represented the Soviet Union at the San Francisco Conference, which created the United Nations. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Even during the period of wartime alliance, Molotov was known as a tough negotiator and determined defender of Soviet interests. In this he was carrying out Stalin's wishes.

Winston Churchill in his wartime memoirs lists many meetings with Molotov. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Acknowledging him as a ruthless and difficult diplomat, Churchill was generous enough to conclude: "In the conduct of foreign affairs, Mazarin; Talleyrand, Metternich, would welcome him to their company, if there be another world to which Bolsheviks allow themselves to go. Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino ( July 14 1602 &ndash March 9 1661) was an accomplished French statesman Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord 1st Sovereign Prince of Beneventum (2 February 1754 17 May 1838 the Prince of Diplomats, was a French "

Postwar career

In the postwar period, Molotov's position began to decline. In 1949, he was replaced as Foreign Minister by Andrey Vyshinsky, although retaining his position as Deputy Prime Minister and membership of the Politburo. Andrey Januaryevich Vyshinskiy (Андре́й Януа́рьевич Выши́нский Andrej Januar'evič Vyšinskij) ( Odessa &ndash November 22, 1954 Following the death of Andrei Zhdanov, who had come to be seen as Stalin's most likely successor, Stalin and Beria began to plan a new purge, which would have removed most of the older party leaders such as Molotov from their positions. Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов ( Mariupol', &ndash August 31, 1948 New leaders, such as Georgii Malenkov and Nikita Khrushchev, enjoyed Stalin's patronage. Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov (Гео́ргий Максимилиа́нович Маленко́в Georgij Maksimilianovič Malenkov; January 8, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following

A clear sign of Molotov's precarious position was his inability to prevent the arrest of his Jewish wife, Polina Zhemchuzhina, in December 1948 for "treason". Polina Semyonovna Zhemchuzhina ( Полина Семеновна Жемчужина; 1897 - 1970 was the wife of Vyacheslav Molotov. She had long been distrusted by Stalin. The couple were reunited by Beria upon the death of Stalin. Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (ლავრენტი პავლეს ძე ბერია Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria; Russian: Лаврентий Павлович At the 19th Party Congress in 1952, Molotov was elected to the new, expanded Presidium of the Communist Party but was excluded from the smaller standing committee of the Presidium (although this was not made public). The 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was held during 5- 14 October 1952. The Presidium or Præsidium (from Latin praesidium meaning protection or defense so plural presidia or praesidia is the name for the Executive committee It seems likely that Stalin's death in March 1953 saved Molotov from being purged as part of a "clean out" of the Soviet leadership.

Following Stalin's death, a realignment of the leadership was sought, in the course of which Molotov's position was strengthened. Beria was purged and executed, and Molotov regained the Foreign Ministry under Malenkov as Prime Minister. However, the new Party Secretary, Khrushchev, soon emerged as the real power in the regime. He presided over a gradual domestic liberalisation and a "thaw" in foreign policy, shown by the reconciliation with Tito's government in Yugoslavia (which Stalin had expelled from the communist movement). See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian Molotov, an old-guard Stalinist, seemed increasingly out of place in this new environment, but he represented the Soviet Union with his usual tenacity at the Geneva Conference of 1955 which discussed European security, German reunification and disarmament. The Geneva Summit was first held on July 18th 1955 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The events which led to Molotov's downfall began in February 1956 when Khrushchev launched an unexpected denunciation of Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party. The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was held during February 14 26 1956. Khrushchev attacked Stalin both over the purges of the 1930s and the defeats of the early years of World War II, which he blamed on Stalin's over-trusting attitude to Hitler and the purges of the Red Army. Since Molotov was most senior of Stalin's collaborators still alive and had played a leading role in the purges, it became obvious that Khrushchev's examination into the past would probably result in Molotov's fall from power. Consequently, he became the leader of the "old guard" in resisting Khrushchev, although whether he actually plotted to overthrow Khrushchev, as was later alleged, is not clear.

In June 1956, Molotov was removed as Foreign Minister, and in June 1957 was expelled from the Presidium (Politburo) following a failed attempt to remove Khrushchev as First Secretary. Although Molotov's faction initially won a vote in the Presidium 7-4 to remove Khrushchev, the latter refused to resign unless a Central Committee plenum decided so. In the plenum, which lasted from 22 to 29 June, Molotov and his faction were defeated. Eventually he was banished as ambassador to Mongolia. Mongolia (mɒŋˈɡoʊliə, literally Mongol country/nation,) is a Landlocked Country in East In 1960, he was appointed Soviet representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was seen as a partial rehabilitation. The International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its However, after the 22nd Party Congress in 1961, during which Khrushchev carried his de-Stalinization campaign to removal of the Stalin's body out of the Lenin's Mausoleum, Molotov was removed from all positions and expelled from the Communist Party. The Cold War ensued as the USSR and the United States struggled indirectly for influence around the world In March 1962, it was announced that Molotov had retired from public life.

In retirement, Molotov remained totally unrepentant about his role during Stalin's period of rule. After the Sino-Soviet split, it was reported that he agreed with the criticisms made by Mao Zedong of the supposed "revisionism" of Khrushchev's policies. The Sino-Soviet split was a gradual divergence of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR Mao Zedong ( 26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976) was a Chinese Military and political leader who led The term "revisionism" is also used to refer to other concepts According to Roy Medvedev, Stalin's daughter, Svetlana, recalled Molotov and his wife telling her: "Your father was a genius. For the current Russian President, see Dmitry Medvedev. Roy Aleksandrovich Medvedev (Рой Александрович Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva (sometimes Stalina, later Lana Peters) (born 28 February 1926 Moscow, Soviet Union) (Светлана Иосифовна There's no revolutionary spirit around nowadays, just opportunism everywhere. China's our only hope! Only they have kept alive the revolutionary spirit". In 1976, he said:

"The fact that atomic war may break out, isn't that class struggle? There is no alternative to class struggle. This is a very serious question. The be-all and end-all is not peaceful coexistence. After all, we have been holding on for some time, and under Stalin we held on to the point where the imperialists felt able to demand point-blank: either surrender such and such positions, or it means war. So far the imperialists haven't renounced that".

Molotov was partly rehabilitated during the Leonid Brezhnev years and was allowed to rejoin the Communist Party in 1984 under Konstantin Chernenko. Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (Константи́н Усти́нович Черне́нко Konstantin Ustinovič Černenko; 24 September 1911 &ndash 10 March 1985 was He died at the age of 96 in Moscow in November 1986, only five years before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of At the time of his death he was the last surviving major participant in the events of 1917. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow. Novodevichy Cemetery (Новоде́вичье кла́дбище Novodevichye kladbishche is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia, situated next to the Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of A collection of interviews with Molotov, Molotov Remembers: Inside Kremlin Politics, was published posthumously by Felix Chuev. At the end of 1989, two years before the final collapse of the Soviet Union, the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union and Mikhail Gorbachev's government formally denounced the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, acknowledging that the annexation of the Baltic States and the partition of Poland had been illegal. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev ( Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov;; born 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye Stavropol Krai) is a Russian politician

See also

• Soviet-German relations before 1941
• Molotov Plan

References

1. ^ Montefiore, The Court of the Red Tsar, pp. The Molotov Plan was the system created by the Soviet Union in 1947 in order to provide aid to rebuild the countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to 39, 62n.

• Chuev, Felix (ed), Molotov Remembers: Inside Kremlin Politics (1993). Dee Ivan Inc. ISBN 1-56663-027-4
• Raymond H. Anderson, "Vyacheslav M. Molotov Is Dead; Close Associate of Stalin Was 96", The New York Times, 11 November 1986. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar)
• The Associated Press, "200 Attend Molotov Funeral in Private Rites at Cemetery," The New York Times, 13 November 1986. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar)
• Vladislav Zubok and Constantine Pleshakov, Inside the Kremlin's Cold War, 1996, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 0-674-45532-0
• Montefiore, Simon Sebag, Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar (2003). ISBN 1-84212-726-8

External links

• Report by Shkiryatov and Abakumov to Stalin on Molotov's wife
• V.M. Molotov and the Liquidation of Socialism in the USSR
• Annotated bibliography for Vyacheslav Molotov from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
• The Meaning of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact Molotov speech to the Supreme Soviet on Aug. 31, 1939