120 years ago, on January 8, 1902 (according to other sources – December 6, 1901), Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov , Soviet statesman and leader from party, associate of was born Stalin , who took the place of the head of the Soviet government immediately after the death of the leader.
The Soviet people, who viewed Malenkov as the next ruler and were used to the fact that leaders of a lower rank often turned out not to be rulers at all, but traitors and spies, happily joked about the way “Comrade Beria lost confidence and Comrade Malenkov hit him. Yet at the height of power in the USSR, this “ demi-chef '' itself didn't last long.
Successful marriage
Malenkov was born in Orenburg in the family of a college clerk and the daughter of a blacksmith. In 1919 he graduated from a classical gymnasium in Orenburg, enlisted in the Red Army and soon in the RCP (b). He was a political worker of a squadron, regiment, brigade and even political administration on the Eastern and Turkestan fronts. However, according to unofficial data, Malenkov barely kept his horse, shot poorly, and never personally raised fighters to attack, but served as a clerk thanks to his good writing developed during his years in the gymnasium.
The start of Malenkov's party career was largely facilitated by Valeria Golubtsova , whom he married during the Civil War. The point is that his mother's sisters were Lenin's comrades in arms in Marxist circles in the 1890s. And when Malenkov and Golubtsova moved to Moscow in 1921, she got a job in the department of organization of the Central Committee and received a separate room. And Georgy entered the Moscow Higher Technical School and soon became the secretary of the general organization of the university party.
Trotsky was very popular among students at this time, the opposition platform received the support of many university cells of the party. After Trotsky's defeat, Malenkov entered the commission to control the Communist students who supported the opposition. Here he gained his first experience of fighting the 'enemies of the people'. and for the general party line. Malenkov's party zeal was noticed, and in 1925 he moved to the post of Technical Secretary of the Organizing Office of the Central Committee, and in 1927 became the Technical Secretary of the Politburo. In 1934 Malenkov was appointed deputy head of the department of the main party organs, which was soon headed by Nikolai Yezhov . In the mid-1930s, Malenkov carried out a campaign for the verification and exchange of party documents, during which around 2.5 million registration cards were issued – on all members and candidates of the CPSU (b). With Lavrenty Beria he participated in the arrest of his former boss Yezhov, who had previously been removed from his post as head of the NKVD. Moreover, the arrest took place in Malenkov's office. & Nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp;
Georgy Malenkov's career during these years developed rapidly. Since 1939 he has been a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of All-Union Bolsheviks, then a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee. He entered the inner circle of Joseph Stalin and in fact became the second person in the party.
Power for three
After the 19th Party Congress, on Stalin's instructions, a “ five leaders '' was created, where, in addition to himself included Malenkov, Beria, Khrushchev and Bulganin … After the leader's death, they began to share power in the country. Georgy Malenkov headed the government, Nikita Khrushchev became the first secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Lavrenty Beria was appointed the first deputy head of government and minister of the Unified Ministry of the Interior, which included the Ministry of Home Security. # 39; State. But soon, as usual, intrigue and a power struggle began within the upper management. Khrushchev, with the support of Malenkov and Bulganin, accused his recent ally of espionage and many other deadly sins. Interestingly, during a Presidium meeting, Beria, among other things, even got caught up in anti-Stalinism.
& # 39; Glass of Malenkovo & # 39;
The fact that Malenkov was the first to speak at Stalin's funeral was viewed by the people unequivocally: he is the speaking leader's successor. But people wanted to know more, and since information about the new leader in official biographies was extremely scarce, locals began to collect rumors about Malenkov. Has whispered a lot. For example, a rumor spread widely that Georgy Maximilianovich was not just anyone, but a relative of Lenin himself. The more stubborn even sought his portrait resemblance to Ilich, but could not find it. And it must be admitted that the motives, although small, for such inquiries were & ndash; Malenkov's mother had the surname of her second husband – Ulyanov.
Nevertheless, even such incredible assumptions contributed to the popularity of Malenkov. During his short reign, he managed to move towards liberalization. His proposals to increase the purchase prices of the products of collective farms and to reduce the agricultural tax appealed to the peasants. “Malenkov came, ate a few blinks,” the collective farm workers said. He called for urgent production of consumer goods.
By the way, it was under him that the mass production of one of the cult objects of Soviet life was organized & ndash; faceted glass. All catering establishments in the country were equipped with such glasses, which is why they were called Malenkovsky.
However, the ambitious head of the Soviet government failed to turn around widely enough. After becoming de facto the first person of the state after being appointed to the post of 1st Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Khrushchev continued to rid himself of dangerous competitors. With his submission, in early 1955 Malenkov was relieved of his post as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In 1957 Malenkov, Molotov, Kaganovich and & # 39; & # 39; Shepilov who joined them & # 39; & # 39; tried in vain to remove Khrushchev from the post of party leader. As a result, they all lost their true power and Malenkov was accused of & hellip; Stalinism, deposed from the Central Committee and transferred to the post of director of the Ust-Kamenogorsk power station.
In November 1961, he was expelled from the CPSU and sent into retirement. Back in Moscow, he led a rather modest and discreet life. Even up to the dacha in Kratovo, it is said, he traveled by train, like a simple Soviet pensioner. But he was one of the few associates of Stalin who managed to live up to perestroika & ndash; Georgy Malenkov died in 1988, at the age of 86. The former Prime Minister of the Union was buried in the Kuntsevo cemetery.