Beria

• makes first running for top job
• leaves Stalin on deathbed and runs to raid his safes

  • Death warrants and lists and contain signatures of the collective leadership so he can weaponise them against everyone
• Not particularly well liked
• Beria knows the gulags aren’t making money

  • to make himself look heroic he suggests reform and releases a million prisoners out of 2 and 1/2
  • short sentenced people = release cash and induce loyalty
• reverses russification in Ukraine and Baltic states - Lithuania, latvia and Estonia
• Pushes reforms to east Germany

  • showing west change
  • Leadership in Germany was Stalin placed and dont want to give up power
  • Uprising caused - blame beria
• Krushchev notes this
• He controls secret police, bugged them etc
• Krushchev gets secretly in touch with Zhukov :

  • asks for help to rid Beria
  • Zhukov comes to Moscow secretely
• 26th June 1953

  • Khrushchev calls a presidium meeting
  • at the meeting of 10 - Krushchev takes lead and accuses Beria of his crimes
  • Khrushchev gets malenkov to second him and vote occurs
  • zhukov had a secret signal and Beria is arrested
• central committee take their vote and confirm Beria disgrace
• khrushchev can absolve everyone of responsibility by blaming and scapegoating Beria
• Beria is denounced in Pravda and accuse him of being a fifth columnist
• December 23rd 1953

  • Beria is shot