Khrushchev as Leader

Abstract

When Stalin died on 5 March 1953 he was head of the Soviet government and of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). His formal title as Prime Minister was Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers but he was only a secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the CPSU. Hence it was not clear how anyone could become head of the CPSU; there was no office which formally conferred on the incumbent that position. Should anyone, however, wish to emulate Stalin, it was clear that he needed to acquire the headship of government and Party. There were four main contenders: Georgy Malenkov, Lavrenty Beria, Vyacheslav Molotov and Nikita Khrushchev. The first division of power was dated 6 March 1953. Malenkov became Chairman, and Molotov and Beria First Deputy Chairmen of the USSR Council of Ministers. There were two other First Deputy Chairmen: Nikolai Bulganin and Lazar Kaganovich. After the distribution of government offices had been decided a CC plenum met on 7 March to elect a new Presidium (as the Politburo was called between 1952 and 1966) and Secretariat. Malenkov and all the Deputy Prime Ministers were confirmed as full members of the Presidium. However Malenkov’s name was placed at the top of the list of CC secretaries. This made him de facto head of the Party.