With the death of Stalin - the “father of peoples” and “the architect of communism” - the struggle for power began in 1953, because the personality cult established by him suggested that the USSR would have the same sovereign leader who would take over the reins of government .
The only difference was that the main applicants for power all in one advocated the abolition of this cult itself and the liberalization of the country's political course.
Who ruled after Stalin?
A serious struggle unfolded between the three main contenders, who were originally a triumvirate - Georgy Malenkov (chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR), Lavrenty Beria (minister of the united Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Nikita Khrushchev (secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). Each of them wanted to take a place at the head of state, but the victory could go only to the applicant whose candidacy would be supported by a party whose members were highly respected and had the necessary connections. In addition, all of them were united by a desire to achieve stability, end the era of repression and get more freedom in their actions. That is why the question of who ruled after the death of Stalin does not always have a definite answer - after all, there were just three people fighting for power.
The triumvirate in power: the beginning of a 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 the 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 held by the Minister of Internal Affairs, who was in charge of the entire system of repressive bodies. In this regard, in July 1953, Beria was arrested, accusing him of espionage and some other crimes, thereby eliminating such a dangerous opponent.
Malenkov and his politics
Khrushchev’s authority as the organizer of this conspiracy increased significantly, and his influence on other party members increased. 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 towards de-Stalinization and the establishment of collective governance of the country: it was planned to abolish the cult of personality, but to do it in such a way as not to belittle the merits of the “father of nations”. The main task that Malenkov posed was to develop the economy taking into account the interests of the population. He proposed a fairly 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 after Stalin’s sovereign rule, the decision was made 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 be the most “effective” in his decisions. The set of measures taken by him to combat bureaucracy in the state and party apparatus, to develop food and light industry, to expand the independence of collective farms have borne fruit: 1954-1956 for the first time after the end of the war showed an increase in the rural population and an increase in agricultural production, which over many years decline and stagnation has become cost-effective. The effect of these measures persisted until 1958. It is this five-year plan that is considered the most productive and productive after the death of Stalin.
Those who ruled after Stalin understood that it would not be possible to achieve such successes in light industry, since Malenkov’s proposals for its development contradicted the objectives of the next five-year plan, which emphasized the promotion of heavy industry.
Georgy Malenkov tried to approach the solution of problems from a rational point of view, applying economic rather than ideological considerations. However, such an order did not suit the party nomenclature (headed by Khrushchev), which had practically lost its prevailing role in the life of the state. This was a powerful argument against Malenkov, who, under pressure from the party in February 1955, submitted his resignation. Khrushchev's associate Nikolai Bulganin took his place . Malenkov became one of his deputies, but after the dispersal of the anti-party group (of which he was a member) in 1957, he and his supporters were expelled from the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee. Khrushchev took advantage of this situation and in 1958, Malenkov also removed 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 Sergeyevich Khrushchev concentrated almost complete power in his hands. He got rid of the two most powerful competitors and led the country.
Who ruled the country after the death of Stalin and the removal of Malenkov?
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 era of Khrushchev's rule are as follows:
- The policy of developing virgin lands (not supported by scientific research) - increased the number of cultivated areas, but did not take into account the climatic features that impeded the development of agriculture in the developed territories.
- The Corn Campaign, whose goal was to catch up with and overtake the United States, which received good crops from this crop. Sown areas for corn doubled to the detriment of crops of rye and wheat. But the result was sad - the climatic conditions did not allow to get a high crop, and the reduction of areas for other crops provoked the receipt of low indicators for their collection. The campaign failed miserably in 1962, and its result was an increase in oil and meat prices, which caused discontent among the population.
- The beginning of perestroika was the massive construction of houses, which allowed many families to move from dormitories and communal apartments to apartments (the so-called "Khrushchev").
The results of the reign of Khrushchev
Among those who ruled after Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev stood out for his unconventional and not always thought-out approach to reforming within the state. Despite the many projects that came to life, their inconsistency led to the dismissal of Khrushchev from his post in 1964.