Soviet Union. Communist Party. Central Committee (CPSU CC)

The violent actions by the DRA, led by H. Amin, to de-stabilize the Afghan government, dissolving the gains made in the April Revolution, causes the Soviet Union to place military detachments in Afghanistan.

The Soviet leadership discusses the state of Soviet foreign policy after the Hungarian crisis and Khrushchev’s visit to the US. Molotov criticizes Khrushchev for recklessness in foreign policy direction. Soviet inroads in the Middle East and the Third World are analyzed. The effects of the crises in Eastern Europe are placed in the context of the struggle against US imperialism.

This protocol concerns the meeting of the CPSU Presidium & Soviet Council of Ministers as Stalin was about to die.

At this session of the Presidium, Mikoyan argues that in the face of a universal demand for troop withdrawal the best option is to support the Hungarian government. Mikoyan promotes negotiations over force. The other members support the application of force to put down the uprising. Supporters of force refer to the necessity of keeping Hungary within the Soviet sphere and preventing the uprising from spreading to other Eastern European nations.

A note from P. Shelest to the CC CSPU regarding a suspicious incident relating to Czechoslovak unrest.