NEWS OF THE WEEK IN REVIEW - PURGE OF STALINISTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP65-00756R000500130069-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 25, 1998
• Sequence Number: 69
• Publication Date: January 1, 1957
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved
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A Resilient Russian
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PEOPLE whose business it is
to see that Soviet citizens
get clothing, shoes and the like
normally have not risen very
high in the Kremlin hierarchy.
Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin,
however, has been one of the
few exceptions.
His appointment yesterday
as a Deputy Premier is be-
ing interpreted by
Man some as an indica-
hi the tion that more at-
tention will be paid
News to that usually
slighted area of So-
viet life. Others view the ap-
pointment as still one more
proof that Mr. Kosygin knows
how to ride out Soviet politi-
cal storms.
' The secret of Mr. Kosygin's
political longevity may reside
in the fact at he has always
taade it plain that his ambi-
tions are limited. In group pic-
tures he is always the one in
the, background, in the second
row rather than the first.
?When One meets him in Mos-
e* his shy and diffident man-
? lie As at the opposite extreme
? from the confident self-asser-
tiveness that is the hallmark
O f Nikita S. Khrttskichev's per-
sonality. Thven Mr. Kosygin's
face has struck some who have
Met him as zabbit-like.
The great test of his ability
to _Survive in life-and-death
bureaucratic battles came it
1918 and 1949, Those were the
years in which almost all mem-
bers of the "Leningrad gang"
to which he belonged were
purged from power. Some of
them, such as one of his chief
stonSors, Nikolai A, Voznesen-
s cy, were executed at Stalin's
? order,
'Baby' of the Politburo
Mr. Kosygin may have been
aided by the fact that he was
the "baby" of the Politburo, as
the highest Soviet ruling group
avis then called. Characteris-
tica,lly, his name in those days
always appeared at the bot-
tom of official lists of Polit-
buro members ranked in order
of importance.
Bo harmless did he appear
to his colleagues and to Stalin
that he survived demotion to
alternate memberShip in the
Politburo in 1952 and full ex-
clusion in early 1953. He was
an early post-war example of
the possibility that a Soviet
leader could be demoted with-
out being purged.
Yet meekness is far from
the whole truth about Mr.
Kosygin, who survived still
another crisis in 1956, for he
could never have got to his
present post if he were only
a Soviet Caspar Milquetoast.
He was born into a poor
worker's home in St. Peters-
burg (now Leningrad) on Feb.
20, 1904. He was only 13 when
the Bolshevik Revolution took
place, and his rise since has
been a Soviet version of the
"rags-to-riches" theme
Sovtoto
From rags to riches
Red Army during Russia's civil
war, The Nineteen Twenties
and early Nineteen Thirties
saw him occupy a number of
minor jobs, none of which
promised much in the way of
success, and as late as 1936 he
was only a foreman in a Lenin-
grad textile plant.
But then opportunity was
created by the great purges
that his the ranks of Soviet
leadership in the late Thirties.
In 1937 he became a factory
director and in 1938 Mayor of
Leningrad. In 1939 he was al-
ready People's Commissar of
the Textile Industry, in charge
of all Soviet textile production.
Premier of a Republic
The climb continued in the
early Nineteen Forties. in 1940
he became a Deputy Premier,
working directly under Stalin.
In 1943 he became Premier of
the Russian Republic, largest
constituent unit of the Soviet
Union.
He entered the charmed
Politburo circle as an alternate
in 1946 and as a full member
in 1948. His meekness plus his
ability had obviously won
Stalin's favor, a fact more re-
markable since his main con-
cern has always been with the
consumer goods fields, to which
Stalin normally attached only
minimal importance.
The great mystery of his
career is his relationship to
Anastas I. Mikoyan, the other
major figure who has tradi-
tionally been concerned with
meeting the Soviet consumer's
needs in some measure. Are
they rivals or do they work
hand in glove?
No Westerner knows, but it
may be significant that in this
latest Soviet shake-up this
week Mr. Mikoyan has sur-
vived in the highest Soviet rul-
Some of the strength in him ing group and Mr. Kosygin has
*C/PAStrieVtgit1/5 gpifTy0Pre829439)""
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CP
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BLENCH RIC
FOR LIFE IS SEEN'
Continued From Page 1
Pandora's box of Stalin's crimes
which he briefly lifited in Feb-
ruary, 1956, at the Twentieth
Party Congress. But this time,
instead of putting the blame all
on Stalin himself and the late
Lavrenti P. Berta, he may accuse
his ousted colleague. As for his
own role in Stalin's sinister re-
gime, he might thus obscure his
trail in the dust that he raised
about his former associates.
The charge leveled at Mr.
Malenkov yesterday indicated
that Mr. Khrushchev might be
prepared to expose another un-
savory story of inner Kremlin
rivalries. That story involved
Beria, Mr. Malenkov and the
late Andrei A. Zhdanov, a rival
of Mr. Malenkov's, who died on
Sept. 1, 1948.
The Demingrad affair was an
Important episode of that
rivalry. It involved a purge of
Leningrad Communist party
leaders associated with Mr.
Zhdanov and of other important
party members.
,, The .principal victims, whose
Stine's- Were never announced or
even mentioned during Stalin's
lifetime, were N. Kolai A. Voz-
nesonsky, the principal state
planner, who vanished from the
Politburo in March, 1049; Nuk-
hail I Rodionov, Premier of the
RuSsian Federated Republic;
Mayor Petr S. Popkov of Lenin-
grad; and A. A. Kuznetzov,
Leningrad party leader and a
secretary of the Communist
patty Central Committee.
If These men were arrested in
31 late 1948 and early 1949, only a
TI
ri ew Months after the death of
Mr. Zhdanoy, thp leader of the
Politburo faction with which
they were associated. Whether
; they were shot at that time or
3' later has never been established.
4
Revealed After Beth's Death
The case was first mentioned
the revelations that followed
the execution of Eieria, who was
t-said to have been implicated in
t. Later Abukumov and five
e associates Were tried for their
part in the case, it was an-
ced_Dec. 24, 1954. Abuku-
. Indy and three others were ex-
' ecilted.
3 Mr. Khrushchev gave further
details of the affair in his se-
cret speech to the Twentieth
Congress of the Soviet Commu-
? st party in 1956, but did not
!, hint at that time that Mr. Mal-
enkov might have been con-
ected with it.
Ilowever,, students of Soviet
affairs have long suspected that
, Mr. Malenkov, Mr. Zhdanov's
chief intra-party rival at that
a time, had a hand in the case.
bets also long been suspected
thal Mr. Malenkov and Beria at
Inr_liffl at other times had
alliance. -
-ere seem a little
chance that Mr. Malenkov could
urvive a trial on charges of this
Itt_s the ,possibility should not
2i
ire y ruled" out. Mr. Malen-
een described by some
of . rusEari?aSsociarel
as having placed a leading role
In the events connected with the
arrest of Beria. It is possible that
.,ight be spared in payment
e services. Or Mr. Khrush-
y, seeking to emphasize the
digerence between his purge and
? e of Stalin's, might make a
2 ilk2/22 : SMAIDR6540
spare Mr. Malenkov.
Yesterday, there was no indi-
alien whether Mr. Molotov and
W.,gni,nvh.1, fn nod Ma en ilia
of denunciation as Mr.
ghrushchev leveled at Mr. Ma-
Associated es
SLAIN STALINIST: Lay-
rettti P. Serie, former head
of the Soviet secret police.
younger than Mr. Khrushchev
and a past master at Kremlin
intrigue, might be regarded by
the party Secretary as a much
greater danger than Mr. Molotov
or Mr. Kaganovich. The former
Foreign Minister of a long career
in Bolshevism and Mr. Kagano-
vich has also long since passed
his prime.
Mr. Khrushchev, however, has
a variety of alternatives, He has
a made-to-order group of vil-
lains. Each of the three ousted
men was a close lieutenant of
Stalin's. Each obviously did par-
ticipate in Stalin's crimes.
Mr. Khrushchev may, in the
first instance, simply paralyze
his opponents with blackmail
threats similar to his declara-
tion in Leningrad. He would
thus make it plain that if they
did not submit quietly or of they
attempted in any way to oppose
him he would bring them to trial
for their real or fancied con-
nections with Stalinist crimes.
He may reinforce his threats
by going forward, after a pause
for consolidation, with further
public revelations of Stalin's
crimes.
In making further revela-
tions, he could mention the
names of Messrs. Molotov, Kag-
anovich and Malenkov or he
might simply state his case in
such a way that their complicity
was obvious and leave the ac-
tual formal charges like a sword
of Damocles over their heads.
Or, finally, he might bring
formal charges against his old
associates. Mr. Molotov might
be presented as Stalin's alter
ego in the early years and the
eminence grise of the later
years.
Mr. Kaganovich could be
tagged with responsibility for
various Ukrainian party purges
and perhaps be charged with .
sabotaging Soviet industrial de-
velopment. He has already been
accused of nearly wrecking the
Ukrainian Communist Party in
19
With such powerful weapons
as these in his arsenal Mr.
Khrushchev can well be con-
fident of the success of his (
coup.
AFI TI-112C)11C;4
CPYRGHT
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CPYRGHT
THE WEATHER
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Fair and warmer today. Partly
cloudy, warm, humid tomorrow.
Temp. range: 88-67. Yesterday: 81.1-67.4.
? SECTION ONE
25e ben)" "" TWENTY-FIVE CENTS
? rom New York City
WARREN PRAISES
TRUMAN LIBRARY
AS A 'MILESTONE'
Dedication Speech Also Hails
Former President for His
'Courage and Stamina'
71
MALENKOV ACCUSED BY KHRUSHCHEV
AS A LEADER IN '49 LENINGRAD PLOT;
MOLOTOV AND KAGANOVICH ASSAILED
U.S. IS DENOUNCED
Purge Trial for Malenkov
By DONALD JANSON
Special to
INDEPENDENCE, Mo., July Indicated in New Charges
The New York Times,
the United States, acclaimed the
Kerry S. Truman Library today
as a research center represent-
ing "a milestone in American
history."
The Chief Justice spoke at
ceremonies dedicating the cres-
cent-shaped limestone-and-mar-
ble structure that will house the
Presidential records of Mr. Tru-
man's seven years in office.
Mr. Warren was preceded to
the sun-drenched rostrum on the
steps of the newly completed
library by speakers that in-
cluded Lyndon? B. Johnson, thc
Senate rmajority leader; William
F. Knowland, the Senate minor-
ity leader; Sam Rayburn, Speak-
er of the House of Representa-
tives, and Representative Charles?
A. Halleck of Indiana assistant
House minority leader. ?
Among the guests were for-
mer President Herbert Hoover
and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.
A 'Momentous' Period
Partisanship was missing as
leaders of both major political
parties united to praise the
former President and the library
he has labored for several years
to establish.
'The Truman era is already
recognized as one of, the most
rholuentous periods in the his-
Eery of our country and the
wCrld," Chief justice Warren
asserted.
Without' the 3500,000 docu-
ments collected in the library,
he said, "the world would never
fully understand his courage
and stamina in responding in
the vigorous and effective Way
he did to crises such as few Other
Eirecuthees have had to face."
Mr. Warren cited the estab-
lishment of the United Nations
Headquarters in this country,
the repelling of aggression in
Korea, the Berlin airlift and the
nation's "very new policy" of
foreign economic and technical
aid as some of the historic, ac-
complishments of the Truman
Administration.
'Generosity' Is Hailed
He praised the former Presi-
dent as a "tireless, fearless and
decisive" man of action.
The library is intended to' pro-
vide an official record of the
functioning of the administrative
branch of Government during the
ors
-
Ors
en-
- to
C On.
flee
acted
E'en-
no-
a an.
re-
an
Ion
et-
Truman tenure. Mr. Warren said
Of the institution would keep "th
oscow Says Plan toi
Send Arms to Korea
Soviet Shake-Up Seems to Be Assuming
Is Peace Threat Patterns Familiar in Early Years
The text of Soviet statement
will be found on Page 12.
ol Stalin's Rise to Power
PYRGH I
By HARRISON E. SALISBURY
Soviet
developments vissters, sr-
ATTACK GROWING
Ex-Premier Accused of
Planning Deaths of
High Officers
By The United Press.
MOSCOW, July 6?The Soy'
uceaun ara-Lusea Lute unnert star
tonight of threatening peace
the Far East by its decision
move modern arms and plan
into South Korea.
A Government statement d
flounced the decision of the Un
ted Nations Command for Kor
ast month to revoke the ban
supplying new weapons to uni
n Korea.
[The United Nations corn
mend said it had decided t
build up its armed forces be
cause the North Koreans an
Chinese Communists had illeg
ally brought new weapons int
North Korea in violation
the 1953 armistice agreement.]
'Dangerous' Situation Seen
The Soviet statement said
was "easy to imagine" the si
ation the would arise if t
Dommunist side "on its part als
started to introduce into 'North
srn Korea new types of arma
lients."
"There can be no doubt tha
is a result, a situation fraugh
with most dangerous conse
nuenees could be created," i
mserted.
The statement denied Wester
tharges that there has been
build-up of Communist strengt
n North Korea. It accuse
Inited States military authori
ries of "Systematically purSuina,
h. policy of undermining the ar
nistice in Korea."
The statement reviewed th
leciSion by which the Unite
Clations Command cancele
l'aragraph 13D of the armistic
agreement, under which bot
ides agreed not to increase o
modernize their armaments
he divided country.
Atomic Arms Plan Alleged
complained that the Unite
ates Defense Depart-nen
imultaneously had announce
at modern alms, "includin
'ghters and bombers capable o
yne
nan
of
enn
ntie
mm-
H.
ard
Ma-
n 5
om icing
ark one historically.
He declared:
"Mr. Truman, who has an abid-
ing interest in our national his-
tory, has arranged for the pres-
ervation of his papers in this
library in such manner that his
Administration will be one of the
'clearest ages' of history,
"It is in compliance with this
Continued on Page 53, Column 4
strongly suggested that Nikita organizers" of this plot, it hardly
S. Khrushchev might be prepar- seemed likely that the f carmer
ing to place his erstwhile asso- Presidium member would escapel
ciate, Georgi M. Malenkov, on more lightly than the former
trial for his life. Minister of State Security.
Thus, the Soviet shake-up ap-
peared to be assuming a pattern
familiar in the early years of
Stalin's rise to power. Stalin
occupying the key post of party
Secretary, now held by Mr.
Khrushchev, first consolidated
his hold on the bureaucracy. He
then moved to eliminate the Old
Bolsheviks, the men who had
been closest to Lenin. Mr. Khru-
shchev in much the same man-
ner has now moved to consoli-
date his power by striking at
the old Stalinists.
Mr. Khrushchev's charges
against Mr. Malenkov suggest
that he is now prepared once
again to remove the lid from the
Whether there would be any
such action against Vyacheslav
. Molotov and Lazar M. Ka-
ganovich, who were expelled
from the Soviet leadership with
Mr. Malenkov, was not indicated.
But the statements being made
by Mr. Khrushchev and the So-
viet press assumed a foreboding
tenor.
In a speech in Leningrad yes-
terday, Mr. Khrushchev accused
Mr. Malenkov of being an insti-
gator of one of the most notori-
ous purges of the Stalin era.
That was a conspiracy for which
four men, headed by Viktor S.
Abukumov, former State Secu-
rity Minister, have already been
shot,
Since Mr i