The struggle for power after the death of Stalin began literally the next day. The leader died in 1953, on March 5th. On the 6th, a meeting of the CPSU Central Committee was held. At it, it was decided to appoint Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov to the key post of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers. This leader in recent years was the head of the party apparatus and was considered (behind the scenes) the second person in the party and state administration.
The first assistants of Malenkov were former assistants to Joseph Vissarionovich: Lavrenty Beria, Lazar Kaganovich, Vyacheslav Molotov, Anastas Mikoyan.
Separate ministries were formed, and the secretaries of the CPSU Central Committee led them. So, Molotov became the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Beria became the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (combined with state security). Bulganin was appointed Minister of Defense. The Ministry of Foreign and Domestic Trade was headed by Mikoyan.
Khrushchev was relieved of the duties of the first secretary of the Committee of the CPSU of Moscow. At the same time, Nikita Sergeyevich became one of the leaders in the party apparatus. In other words, Khrushchev, not endowed with any state posts, occupied the second place in the Central Committee of the CPSU.
The struggle for power after the death of Stalin initially led to the fact that Malenkov took first place in government. By a long tradition, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers was simultaneously considered the first person in the government and in the leadership of the party itself.
However, eight days later (March 14), Malenkov, who did not have time to legitimize his powers, was presented with a choice. The chairman needed to choose between managing the secretariat of the Central Committee and leading the government. Malenkov preferred the second. This meant that the activities of the Secretariat in the Central Committee passed under the leadership of Khrushchev.
The struggle for power in the early stages was characterized by the active activity of Beria. Lavrenty Pavlovich was able to concentrate the greatest power in his hands. Mainly, this was possible due to the presence of a powerful support in the form of a state security apparatus and internal affairs.
The struggle for power after the death of Stalin, according to Beria, could be successful with support from below. To gain popularity, Lavrenty Pavlovich held several political events. Beria declared an amnesty, terminated the Doctors' Case, and took several steps in the development of international relations. He also suggested raising the German question, resolving the conflict with the leadership of Yugoslavia.
However, the rise of Beria made the rest of the leaders alert and unite. The struggle for power after the death of Stalin continued.
Khrushchev took the initiative to eliminate Beria. Nikita Sergeyevich held secret negotiations with members of the Presidium, then secured the support of Malenkov and military leaders.
As a result, after three and a half months after the death of Stalin, Beria was taken into custody. The arrest was carried out by a group of generals under the leadership of Zhukov. According to the official version, Beria was executed in 1953, in December.
After the elimination of Lavrenty Pavlovich, the processes began on other figures. So, for example, the deputies of Abakumov (former chief of the MGB) and he were shot.
All these decisive measures helped strengthen the position of Khrushchev and military leaders. Along with this, the role of Malenkov in state governance has weakened.
After Beria was eliminated, conflicts began between Malenkov and Khrushchev. Basically, the contradictions touched on issues of the economy and the role of society in the ongoing reforms. Malenkov’s position was criticized quite severely. As a result of disagreements, he was forced to announce his resignation.
Having eliminated Malenkov, Khrushchev appointed Bulganin as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Zhukov became the Minister of Defense.
These rearrangements within the leadership apparatus were an undoubted, however, incomplete victory, because Nikita Sergeyevich’s position remained the same.