Georgi Malenkov
1902–88, Soviet Communist leader.
He rose to prominence through the party secretariat and was a
trusted aide of Joseph Stalin. In 1946, he became a full member
of the politburo and a deputy premier. He succeeded Stalin as
premier in March, 1953, and was also very briefly first secretary
of the Communist party. However, Nikita Khrushchev replaced him
as party head. Malenkov's premiership was marked by a conciliatory
foreign policy and by the curtailment of the power of the secret
police. In Feb., 1955, he was forced to resign, assuming blame
for the failure of the government's agricultural policy; he was
succeeded by Nikolai Bulganin, whom Khrushchev supported for the
post. In 1957, Malenkov was removed from all important posts for
his role in the “antiparty faction” opposing Khrushchev.
He was expelled from the party in 1961.
