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July 1, 1953

Letter from Lavrentiy Beria to Georgii Malenkov Reflecting on the Events of Spring 1953 (Excerpt)

Letter from Beria to Malenkov discussing the events which took place in East Germany in the spring of 1953. Beria also discusses his actions after Stalin's death, asking for the forgiveness of the CPSU CC Politburo.

July 1, 1953

Letter from Beria to Malenkov, 1 July 1953

Letter from Beria to Malenkov, 1 July 1953, taking blame for his inappropriate actions.

January 31, 1955

Central Committee Plenum of the CPSU Ninth Session, Morning

The Soviet leadership discusses the state of Soviet foreign affairs. Khrushchev reviews Soviet policy after Stalin's death, blaming Molotov and Malenkov for mistakes in Soviet policy towards Germany. The role of executed Soviet leader Lavrentii Beria is also discussed.

February 8, 1955

[Uncorrected] Transcript of a Meeting of the Party group of the USSR Supreme Soviet on 8 February 1955

Khrushchev reads the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU that states that Georgy Malenkov does not have the knowledge or experience to fulfill the post of Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers. The decision lists political mistakes that Malenkov has made, including his close relationship to Lavrenti Beria. Khrushchev upholds this decision, citing examples of Malenkov's political and ideological weakness: his support for abandoning socialism in East Germany in favor of a unified, neutral Germany and his emphasis of light industry over heavy industry, among others. Malenkov speaks, accepting responsibility for his mistakes and agreeing with the CC Plenum decision. Khrushchev then nominates N. A. Bulganin to replace Malenkov as Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers and G. K. Zhukov to replace Bulganin as Minister of Defense; both nominations are accepted. Malenkov is given the posts of Minister of Electric Power Stations and Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers.

March 5, 1953

CPSU CC Protocol, 'Record of Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of the CPSU Central Committee Plenum, the Council of Ministers of the Union of the SSR, and the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR'

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