Who ruled after Stalin in the USSR: history

With the death of Stalin - the "father of the people" and the "architect of communism" - in 1953 the struggle for power began, because the cult of personality established by him assumed that at the helm of the USSR there will be a same unilateral leader who will take over the reins of government .

The only difference was that the main contenders for power all as one advocated 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 originally represented the triumvirate - Georgy Malenkov (chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), Lavrenti Beria (minister of the united Interior Ministry) and Nikita Khrushchev (secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). Each of them wanted to take a place at the head of the state, but the victory could be got only to the candidate, whose candidature will 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, to end the era of repression and to get more freedom in their actions. That's 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 who fought for power.

Triumvirate in power: the beginning of the split

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

For those who ruled the country after Stalin, it was important to understand who in the first place should be eliminated from the competition. The first target was Lavrenty Beria. Khrushchev and Malenkov were aware of the dossier for each of them was from the minister of the Ministry of the Interior, who was in charge of the entire system of repressive bodies. In this connection, in July 1953, Beria was arrested, accusing him of espionage and certain other crimes, thereby eliminating such a dangerous adversary.

Malenkov and his policy

Khrushchev's authority as the organizer of this conspiracy greatly increased, and his influence on other party members intensified. However, while Malenkov was the chairman of the Council of Ministers, key decisions and directions in politics depended on him. At the first meeting of the Presidium, a course was taken to de-Stalinize and establish collective governance of the country: it was planned to abolish the cult of personality, but to do so in such a way as not to detract from the merits of the "father of nations". The main task that Malenkov posed was to develop the economy in 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 CPSU Central Committee. Then Malenkov put forward the same proposals at the session of the Supreme Council, where they were approved. For the first time since the unipolar rule of Stalin, the decision was taken not by the party, but by the official authority. The Central Committee of the CPSU and the Politburo were forced to agree with this.

Further history will show that among those who ruled after Stalin, Malenkov will prove to be the most "effective" in its decisions. The complex of measures he adopted to combat bureaucracy in the state and party apparatus, the development of the food and light industry, and the expansion of the independence of the collective farms gave their fruits: for the first time since the end of the war, the increase in the rural population and the growth of agricultural production, which over many years Decline and stagnation became cost-effective. The effect of these measures was maintained until 1958. It is this five-year plan that is considered the most productive and productive after Stalin's death.

Those who ruled after Stalin, it was clear that in the light industry, such success will not be achieved, since Malenkov's proposals for its development contradicted the tasks of the plan for the next five-year plan, which placed emphasis on the advancement of heavy industry.

George Malenkov tried to approach problems from a rational point of view, applying economic, and not ideological considerations. However, this order did not suit the party nomenclature (headed by Khrushchev), which practically lost its prevailing role in the life of the state. This was a weighty argument against Malenkov, who submitted a resignation letter under pressure from the party in February 1955. His place was taken by Khrushchev's colleague Nikolai Bulganin. Malenkov became one of his deputies, but after the crackdown in 1957, the anti-Party group (which he was part of) along with his supporters was expelled from the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. Khrushchev took advantage of this situation and in 1958 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, Nikita Khrushchev concentrated in his hands almost complete power. He got rid of the two most powerful competitors and headed the country.

Who ruled the country after Stalin's death and Malenkov's dismissal?

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

1. The virgin lands development policy (not backed up by scientific elaboration) increased the number of sown areas, 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 US, which received good harvests of this culture. Crop areas for maize have doubled to the prejudice of rye and wheat. But the result was sad - the climatic conditions did not allow to obtain a high yield, and the reduction of areas for other crops provoked the receipt of low rates for their collection. The campaign failed miserably in 1962, and its result was an increase in the prices of oil 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 dormitories and communal apartments to apartments (the so-called "Khrushchevs").

Results of Khrushchev's rule

Among those who ruled after Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev stood out for his unconventional and not always considered approach to reforming within the state. Despite the numerous projects that were implemented, their inconsistency led to Khrushchev's dismissal from office in 1964.