Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria Georgian: ლავრენტი ბერია, Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria Russian: Лаврентий Павлович Берия
Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD)
In office November 1938 – June 26, 1953
Preceded by	Nikolai Yezhov
Succeeded by	Ivan Serov
Secretary of the Communist party in Georgia
In office 1931 – August, 1938
Preceded by	Samson Mamulia
Succeeded by	Kandid Charkviani
Born	March 29, 1899(1899-03-29) Merkheuli, near Sukhumi, in the Abkhazian region of Georgia, Russian Empire
Died	December 23, 1953 (aged 54) Moscow, Soviet Union
Nationality	Georgian / Soviet

Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (Georgian: ლავრენტი ბერია, Lavrenti Pavles dze Beria; Russian: Лаврентий Павлович Берия; 29 March 1899 – 23 December 1953) was a Soviet politician and chief of the Soviet security and police apparatus. Image File history File links Lavrenti_Beria. ... The NKVD (Narodny Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del  ) (Russian: , ) or Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the leading secret police organization of the Soviet Union that was responsible for political repressions during Stalinism. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov (Russian: ; May 1, 1895 – February 4, 1940) was a senior figure in the NKVD (the Soviet secret police) during the period of the Great Purge. ... Ivan Aleksandrovich Serov (Иван Александрович Серов in Russian) (8. ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... Destroyed shop in Sukhumi Sukhumi (Georgian: , Sokhumi; Abkhaz: , Aqwa; Russian: , Sukhumi) is the capital of Abkhazia, a de facto independent republic, which is internationally recognized as being an autonomous republic within Georgia. ... Capital Sokhumi Official languages Abkhaz, Georgian Government  -  Chairman, Cabinet of Ministers  -  Chairman, Supreme Council Temur Mzhavia Autonomous republic of Georgia  -  Georgian independence Declared Recognised 9 April 1991 25 December 1991  Currency Georgian lari (GEL) Anthem Aiaaira Capital Sukhumi Official languages Abkhaz, Russian1 Government  -  President Sergei Bagapsh  -  Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Georgian_SSR.svg The flag of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... CCCP redirects here. ... is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... CCCP redirects here. ...

Beria was most influential during and after World War II and immediately after Stalin's death, when he carried out a brief campaign of liberalization as First Deputy Prime Minister. However, in June 1953 he was arrested and then charged with various crimes. In December 1953, he was tried, sentenced to death and executed by firing squad. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Rise to power

Beria, an ethnic Mingrelian, was born the son of Pavel Khukhaevich Beria, a peasant, in Merkheuli, near Sukhumi, in the Abkhazian region of Georgia, which was then part of Imperial Russia. He was educated at a technical school in Sukhumi and joined the bolsheviks in March 1917 while an engineering student in Baku. The Mingrelians (Megrelians, Mingrels, Megrels; Megrelebi or მეგრელები in Georgian) are an ethnographic group of Georgians that mostly live in Samegrelo (Mingrelia) region of Georgia. ... Destroyed shop in Sukhumi Sukhumi (Georgian: , Sokhumi; Abkhaz: , Aqwa; Russian: , Sukhumi) is the capital of Abkhazia, a de facto independent republic, which is internationally recognized as being an autonomous republic within Georgia. ... Capital Sokhumi Official languages Abkhaz, Georgian Government  -  Chairman, Cabinet of Ministers  -  Chairman, Supreme Council Temur Mzhavia Autonomous republic of Georgia  -  Georgian independence Declared Recognised 9 April 1991 25 December 1991  Currency Georgian lari (GEL) Anthem Aiaaira Capital Sukhumi Official languages Abkhaz, Russian1 Government  -  President Sergei Bagapsh  -  Prime Minister Alexander Ankvab... The subject of this article was previously also known as Russia. ... For other uses, see Bolshevik (disambiguation). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Coordinates: , Country Government  - Mayor Hajibala Abutalybov Area  - City 260 km²  (100. ...

In 1919 Beria worked in the security service of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. Motto: None Anthem: Azərbaycan Respublikasının Dövlət Himni March of Azerbaijan Map of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from 1919 to 1920. ...

In 1920 or 1921 (accounts vary) Beria joined the Cheka - the original secret police force of the Bolsheviks. At that time, a Bolshevik revolt took place in the Menshevik-controlled Democratic Republic of Georgia and the Red Army subsequently invaded. The Cheka was heavily involved in the conflict, which resulted in the defeat of the Mensheviks and the formation of the Georgian SSR. By 1922, Beria was deputy head of the Georgian branch of Cheka's successor, the OGPU. Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... For the reggaeton aritst, see Cheka (artist). ... This article is about secret police as organizations. ... For other uses, see Bolshevik (disambiguation). ... Leaders of the Menshevik Party at Norra Bantorget in Stockholm, Sweden, May 1917. ... Anthem Dideba Zetsit Kurtheuls (Praise Be To The Heavenly Bestower of Blessings) Map of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from November 1918 to May 1920. ... For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Combatants •  Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic •  Republic of Turkey •  Georgian SSR •  Democratic Republic of Georgia Commanders •  Anatoli Gekker • Mikhail Velikanov • Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze •  Kazım Karabekir • Giorgi Kvinitadze • Giorgi Mazniashvili • Valiko Jugheli Strength ~50,000 (Red Army) ~35,000 Casualties Unknown, dead estimated at 5,500 Soviet soldiers Unknown, dead estimated... State motto: პროლეტარ ყველა ქვეყნისა, შეერთდით! Official language Georgian since 1978 Capital Tbilisi Chairman of the Supreme Council Zviad Gamsakhurdia (at independence) Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until February 25, 1921 December 30, 1922 April 9, 1991 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 10th in former Soviet Union 69,700 km² -- Population  - Total (1989)  - Density Ranked... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Soviet poster of the 1920s: The GPU strikes on the head the counter-revolutionary saboteur State Political Directorate was the secret police of the RSFSR and USSR until 1934. ...

In 1924, he led the repression of a Georgian nationalist uprising, after which up to 10,000 people were executed. For this display of "Bolshevik ruthlessness" Beria was appointed head of the "secret-political division" of the Transcaucasian OGPU and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... August Uprising in Georgia was an unsuccessful popular uprising against the Bolshevik occupation in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in August 1924. ... South Caucasus: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan South Caucasus (also referred sometimes as Transcaucasus) is a name to the transitional region between Europe and Asia extending from the Greater Caucasus to the Turkish and Iranian borders, between the Black and Caspian seas. ... The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Battle Red Banner, better-known as the Order of the Red Banner (in Russian: Орден Крaсного Знамени Orden Krasnogo Znameni) on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War. ...

In 1926, Beria became head of the Georgian OGPU and was introduced to fellow Georgian Joseph Stalin, becoming an ally in Stalin's rise to power within the Communist party and the Soviet regime. Some historians, however, claim that he was more henchman than ally, working to further his own cause by wooing Stalin in order to gain access to the inner circles of the Soviet regime.^{[citation needed]} Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from...

Beria was appointed secretary of the Communist party in Georgia in 1931, and for the whole Transcaucasian region in 1932. He became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in 1934. During this time he began to attack fellow members of the Georgian Communist party, particularly Gaioz Devdariani, who was the Minister of Education of the Georgian SSR; Beria ordered the killing of both of Devdariani's brothers - George and Shalva - who held important positions in the Cheka and the Communist party respectively. Eventually, Gaioz Devdariani was charged with violating Article 58 for alleged counter-revolutionary activities and was executed in 1938 by the orders of the NKVD troika. Even after moving on from Georgia, Beria continued to effectively control the republic's Communist party until it was purged in July, 1953. Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Central Committee most commonly refers to the central executive unit of a communist party, whether ruling or non-ruling. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gaioz Devdariani (Georgian: ) ( October 2, 1901–1938) was a Bolshevik revolutionary, intellectual, Soviet politician and a victim of the Great Purge. ... Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code was put in force on February 25, 1927 to arrest those suspected of counter-revolutionary activities. ... What does it mean? The Russian word troika (threesome, triumvirate) denoted commissions of three persons as an additional instrument of extrajudicial punishment (внесудебная расправа, внесудебное преследование) introduced to supplement the legal system with a means for quick punishment of anti-Soviet elements. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ...

By 1935, Beria was one of Stalin's most trusted subordinates. He cemented his place in Stalin's entourage with a lengthy oration titled, "On the History of the Bolshevik Organisations in Transcaucasia" (later published as a book), which rewrote the history of Transcaucasian Bolshevism, emphasizing Stalin's role in it.^{[citation needed]} When Stalin's purge of the Communist party and government began in 1934, after the assassination of Sergey Kirov, Beria ran the purges in Transcaucasia, using the opportunity to settle many old scores in the politically turbulent Transcaucasian republics. In June, 1937, he said in a speech, "Let our enemies know that anyone who attempts to raise a hand against the will of our people, against the will of the party of Lenin and Stalin, will be mercilessly crushed and destroyed". 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sergey Kirov Sergei Mironovich Kirov (Russian: ) (March 27 [O.S. March 15] 1886 – December 1, 1934) was a prominent early Bolshevik leader whose assassination marked the beginning of the Great Purge, the final removal of Joseph Stalins enemies and all remaining Old Bolsheviks from the Soviet government. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a...

Beria at the NKVD

An official poster eulogising Beria

In August, 1938, Stalin brought Beria to Moscow as deputy head of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), the ministry which oversaw the state security and police forces. Under Nikolai Yezhov, the NKVD embarked on the Great Purge - the large scale oppression and persecution of millions of people throughout the Soviet Union who were perceived to be "enemies of the people". By 1938, however, the oppression had become so extensive that it was damaging the infrastructure, economy and even the armed forces of the Soviet state, prompting Stalin to wind the purge down. In September, Beria was appointed head of the Main Administration of State Security (GUGB) of the NKVD, and in November he succeeded Yezhov as NKVD head (Yezhov himself was executed in 1940). The NKVD itself was then purged, with half its personnel replaced by Beria loyalists, many of them from the Caucasus. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... The NKVD (Narodny Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del  ) (Russian: , ) or Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the leading secret police organization of the Soviet Union that was responsible for political repressions during Stalinism. ... Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ... Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov (Russian: ; May 1, 1895 – February 4, 1940) was a senior figure in the NKVD (the Soviet secret police) during the period of the Great Purge. ... The Great Purge (Russian: , transliterated Bolshaya chistka) refers collectively to several related campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the 1930s, which removed all of his remaining opposition from power. ... The term enemy of the people (Russian language: враг народа, vrag naroda) was a fluid designation under the Bolsheviks rule in regards to their real or suspected political or class opponents, sometimes including former allies. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ...

Although Beria's name is closely identified with the Great Purge due to his activities while deputy head of the NKVD, his leadership of the organisation marked an easing of the repression. Over 100,000 people were released from the labour camps and it was officially admitted that there had been some injustice and "excesses" during the purges, which were blamed on Yezhov. Nevertheless this liberalisation was only relative: arrests and executions continued and in 1940, as war approached, the pace of the purges again accelerated. During this period Beria supervised the deportations of people from Poland and the Baltic states following the occupation of those regions by Soviet forces. ^{[citation needed]} Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. ...

In March, 1939, Beria became a candidate member of the Communist party's Politburo. Although he did not become a full member until 1946, he was already one of the senior leaders of the Soviet state. In 1941 Beria was made a Commissar General of State Security, the highest quasi-military rank within the Soviet police system of that time. Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ...

On March 5, 1940 Beria sent the note (no. 794/B) to Joseph Stalin which stated that Polish prisoners of war (mostly military officers) kept at camps and prisons in western Belarus and Ukraine are declared enemies of Soviet Union and advised members of Soviet Politburo to execute them (see Katyn massacre). This article is about the day. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from... Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ... Katyn and Katyń redirect here. ...

In February, 1941, he became Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and in June, following Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, he became a member of the State Defence Committee (GKO). During World War II he took on major domestic responsibilities, using the millions of people imprisoned in NKVD labour camps for wartime production. He took control of production of armaments and (with Georgy Malenkov) aircraft and aircraft engines. This was the beginning of Beria's alliance with Malenkov, which later became of central importance. For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ... For most of the history of the Soviet Union, its political system was characterized by divergence between the formal system as expressed in the Constitution of the Soviet Union and actual practice. ... Combatants Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Fedor von Bock Gerd von Rundstedt Heinz Guderian Günther von Kluge Franz Halder Ion Antonescu C.G.E. Mannerheim Giovanni Messe, CSIR Italo Garibaldi, ARMIR Iosef Stalin Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Fyodor Kuznetsov... State Defense Committee (Russian: , GKO) was the extraordinary superior organ in the USSR during the Great Patriotic War which held the total power in the state. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Georgy (Georgii) Maximilianovich Malenkov (Russian: , his first name then surname pronounced GHYOR-ghee mah-leen-KOF; January 8 [O.S. December 26, 1901] 1902 – January 14, 1988) was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. ...

In 1944, as the Germans were driven from Soviet soil, Beria was in charge of dealing with the various ethnic minorities accused of collaboration with the invaders, including the Chechens, the Ingush, the Crimean Tatars and the Volga Germans. All these were deported to Soviet Central Asia. (See "Population transfer in the Soviet Union".) Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Geography The Chechen people are mainly inhabitants of Chechnya, which is internationally recognized as part of Russia. ... The Ingush are a people of the northern Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. ... The Crimean Tatars (sg. ... Volga German pioneer family commemorative statue in Victoria, Kansas, USA. The Volga Germans (German: or Russlanddeutsche) were ethnic Germans living near the Volga River in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south, maintaining German culture, language, traditions and religions: Evangelical Lutheranism, Reformed and Roman Catholicism... Soviet Central Asia is a reference to the five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan that were part of the Soviet Union from 1924-1991. ... Not by Their Own Will. ...

In December, 1944, Beria's NKVD was assigned to supervise the Soviet atomic bomb project. In this capacity he ran the successful Soviet espionage campaign against the atomic weapons programme of the United States, which enabled the Soviet Union to obtain the technology required to build and test a bomb in 1949. However his most important contribution was to provide the necessary workforce for this project, which was extremely labour-intensive. The Gulag system provided tens of thousands of people for work in uranium mines and the construction and operation of uranium processing plants, as well as the construction of test facilities such as those at Semipalatinsk and on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The NKVD also ensured the necessary security and secrecy of the project. Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Andrei Sakharov (left) with Igor Kurchatov (right) The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb began during World War II in the Soviet Union. ... This article is about the World War II nuclear project. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gulag ( , Russian: ) was the government body responsible for administering prison camps across the former Soviet Union. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... The Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS) was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Unions nuclear weapons. ... Novaya Zemlya (Russian: , lit. ...

In July, 1945, as Soviet police ranks were converted to a uniform military system, Beria's rank was converted to that of Marshal of the Soviet Union. Although he had never held a military command, Beria, through his organisation of wartime production, made a significant contribution to the Soviet Union's victory in World War II. Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union (Russian: Marshal Sovietskovo Soyuza [Маршал Советского Союза]) was in practice the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ...

Postwar politics

Beria with Stalin (in background) and Stalin's daughter Svetlana

With Stalin nearing 70, the postwar years were dominated by a concealed struggle for the succession among his lieutenants. At the end of the war the most likely successor seemed to be Andrei Zhdanov, party leader in Leningrad during the war, then in charge of all cultural matters in 1946. Even during the war Beria and Zhdanov had been rivals, but after 1946 Beria formed an alliance with Malenkov to block Zhdanov's rise^{[citation needed]}. Image File history File links Lavrenti_Beria_Stalins_family. ... Image File history File links Lavrenti_Beria_Stalins_family. ... Svetlana with father Stalin in 1935. ... Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov (Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов) (February 26 [O.S. February 14] 1896–August 31, 1948) was a Soviet politician. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In January 1946 Beria left the post of the head of the NKVD, while retaining general control over national security matters from his post of Deputy Prime Minister, under Stalin. The new head, Sergei Kruglov, was not Beria's protégé. In addition, by the Summer of 1946, Beria's loyalist Vsevolod Merkulov was replaced by Viktor Abakumov as head of the MGB. Kruglov and Abakumov then moved expeditiously to replace the security apparatus leadership with new people outside of Beria's inner circle, such that very soon Deputy Minister of MVD Stepan Mamulov represented the only remnant of it outside foreign intelligence, on which Beria kept a grip. In the following months, Abakumov started carrying out important operations without consulting Beria, often working in tandem with Zhdanov, and sometimes on Stalin's direct orders. Some observers^{[citation needed]} argue that these operations were aimed---initially tangentially, but with time more directly---at Beria. Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The NKVD (Narodny Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del  ) (Russian: , ) or Peoples Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the leading secret police organization of the Soviet Union that was responsible for political repressions during Stalinism. ... Sergei Nikiforovich Kruglov (Russian: Сергей Никифорович Круглов) (1907 - 1977) was the minister of the interior of the USSR from March of 1953 until March of 1954. ... Vsevolod Nikolayevich Merkulov (Всеволод Николаевич Меркулов in Russian) (10. ... Viktor Abakumov Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov (Russian: Виктор Семёнович Абакумов) ( (1894 - 1954), (Colonel General), was a high level Soviet security organs official, from 1943 to 1946 the head of GURK (Chief Counterintelligence Directorate) well known as SMERSH by the USSR Peoples Commissariat of Defense, and from 1946 to 1951 minister of State Security... The Ministry of State Security (MGB) ( Russian: Министерство государственной безопасности (Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti)) was the name of the Soviet secret police agency from 1946 to 1953. ... Modern emblem of Russian MVD Russian Gendarme officers in the 1860s The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del (MVD) (Министерство внутренних дел) was the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the imperial Russia, later USSR, and still bears the same name in Russia. ...

One of the first such moves was the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee affair that commenced in October of 1946 and eventually led to the murder of Solomon Mikhoels and the arrest of many other members. The reason this campaign had negatively reflected on Beria was that not only did he champion^{[citation needed]} creation of the committee in 1942, but his own entourage included a substantial number of Jews. The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (JAC, Russian language: Еврейский антифашистский комитет, ЕАК) was formed in Kuibyshev in April 1942 with the official support of the Soviet authorities. ... Young Mikhoels Solomon Mikhoels (real surname - Vovsi), Yiddish: ; Russian: (16 March [O.S. 4 March] 1890 - January 12/13, 1948) was a Soviet Jewish actor and director in Yiddish theater and the chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Zhdanov died suddenly in August 1948, and Beria and Malenkov then moved to consolidate their power with a purge of Zhdanov's associates known as the "Leningrad Affair". Among the more than 2,000 people executed ^{[citation needed]} were Zhdanov's deputy Aleksei Kuznetsov, the economic chief Nikolai Voznesensky, the Leningrad Party head Pyotr Popkov and the Prime Minister of the Russian Republic, Mikhail Rodionov. It was only after Zhdanov's death that Nikita Khrushchev began to be considered as a possible alternative to the Beria-Malenkov axis. Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Leningrad Affair (Ленинградское дело in Russian, or Leningradskoye delo), a series of criminal cases, fabricated in the late 1940s–early 1950s in order to accuse a number of prominent members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of treason and intention to create an anti-Soviet organization out of the... Alexei Kuznetsov was Deputy Leningrad Party Leader during the seige of Leningrad. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... State motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Workers of the world, unite!) Official language None (Russian in practice) Capital Moscow Chairman of the Supreme... Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (Russian: , Nikita Sergeevič Chruščiov; IPA: , in English, , or , occasionally ); surname more accurately romanized as Khrushchyov[1]; April 17 [O.S. April 5] 1894[2]–September 11, 1971) was the chief director of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ...

Zhdanov's death did not, however, stop the anti-Semitic campaign. During the postwar years Beria supervised the establishment of Soviet-style systems of secret police, and hand-picked the leaders, in the countries of the Eastern Europe. A substantial number of these leaders were Jews. Starting in 1948, Abakumov initiated several investigations against these leaders, which culminated with the arrest in November of 1951 of Rudolf Slánský, Bedřich Geminder, and others in Prague, who were generally accused of Zionism and cosmopolitanism, but, more specifically, of using Czechoslovakia to funnel weapons to Israel. From Beria's standpoint, this charge was extremely explosive, because massive help to Israel was provided on his direct orders. Altogether, 14 leaders of Czechoslovakia, 11 of them Jewish, were tried, convicted, and executed in Prague (see Prague Trials). (Similar investigations have concurrently proceeded in Poland and other Soviet satellite countries.^{[citation needed]}) Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest orange). ... Rudolf Slánský (July 31, 1901, NezvÄ›stice near Kladno – December 2, 1952) was a Czech Communist politician and the partys General Secretary after the World War II. Later he fell into disfavour with the regime and was executed after a show trial. ... For other uses, see Prague (disambiguation). ... This article is about Zionism as a movement, not the History of Israel. ... Rootless cosmopolitan (Russian language: безродный космополит, bezrodniy kosmopolit) was a Soviet euphemism during Joseph Stalins campaign of 1949–1953, which culminated in the exposure of the alleged Doctors plot. ... The Prague Trials were a series of Stalinist and largely anti-Semitic show trials in Czechoslovakia. ...

Around that time, Abakumov was replaced by Semyon Ignatiev, who further intensified the anti-Semitic campaign. On January 13, 1953, the widest anti-semitic affair in the Soviet Union—that later came to be known as Doctors' plot—was initiated with an article in Pravda. A number of the country's prominent Jewish doctors were accused of poisoning top Soviet leaders and arrested. Concurrently, an hysterical anti-Semitic propaganda campaign sprang in the mass-media. Altogether, 37 doctors (17 of them were Jewish) were arrested, and MGB, on Stalin's orders, started to prepare^{[citation needed]} for the deportation, or worse, of the entire Jewish population to Russia's far east. is the 13th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... The Doctors plot (Russian language: дело врачей (doctors affair), врачи-вредители (doctors-saboteurs) or врачи-убийцы (doctors-killers)) was an alleged conspiracy to eliminate the leadership of the Soviet Union by means of Jewish doctors poisoning top leadership. ... For other uses, see Pravda (disambiguation). ...

Days after Stalin's death, Beria freed all the arrested doctors, announced that the entire matter was fabricated, and indeed arrested the MGB functionaries directly involved. The anticipated deportation of Jews never took place.

Early in the 1950s, Stalin's growing mistrust of Beria echoed in the Mingrelian Affair in which many of Beria's protégés were purged in the Georgian SSR, resulting in the decline of Beria's power in his native republic. The Mingrelian Affair, or Mingrelian Case (Russian: , mingrel’skoe delo; Georgian: , megrelt’a sak’me) was a series of criminal cases fabricated in 1951 and 1952 in order to accuse several members of the Georgian SSR Communist Party of Mingrelian provenance of secessionism and collaboration with the Western powers. ... State motto: პროლეტარ ყველა ქვეყნისა, შეერთდით! Official language Georgian since 1978 Capital Tbilisi Chairman of the Supreme Council Zviad Gamsakhurdia (at independence) Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until February 25, 1921 December 30, 1922 April 9, 1991 Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 10th in former Soviet Union 69,700 km² -- Population  - Total (1989)  - Density Ranked...

After Stalin

Stalin died on March 5, 1953, four days after collapsing during the night following a dinner with Beria and other Soviet leaders. The political memoirs of Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, published in 1993, claim that Beria boasted to Molotov that he had poisoned Stalin. The story about murder of Stalin by Beria associates was elaborated by Russian writer Edvard Radzinsky in his book Stalin: The First In-Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents From Russia's Secret Archives, based on interviews of a former Stalin's body guard, published memories, and other data. There is also evidence^{[citation needed]} that for many hours after Stalin was found unconscious, he was denied medical help. It is possible that all the Soviet leaders agreed to allow Stalin, whom they all feared, to die. This article is about the day. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... For other uses, see Molotov (disambiguation). ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Edvard Radzinsky (Russian: ) (b. ...

After Stalin's death Beria was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister and reappointed head of the MVD, which he merged with the MGB. His close ally Malenkov was the new Prime Minister and initially the most powerful man in the post-Stalin leadership. Beria was the second most powerful leader and, given Malenkov's lack of real leadership qualities, was in a position to become the power behind the throne and ultimately leader himself. Khrushchev became Party Secretary, which was seen as a less important post than the Prime Ministership.^{[citation needed]} Modern emblem of Russian MVD Russian Gendarme officers in the 1860s The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del (MVD) (Министерство внутренних дел) was the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the imperial Russia, later USSR, and still bears the same name in Russia. ... The Ministry of State Security (MGB) ( Russian: Министерство государственной безопасности (Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti)) was... Georgy (Georgii) Maximilianovich Malenkov (Russian: , his first name then surname pronounced GHYOR-ghee mah-leen-KOF; January 8 [O.S. December 26, 1901] 1902 – January 14, 1988) was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. ... Premier of the Soviet Union is the commonly used English term for the offices of Chairman of the Council of Peoples Commissars of the USSR (Председатель Совета Народных Комиссаров СССР; Predsedatel Soveta Narodnykh Komissarov SSSR) (1923-1946) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Председатель Совета Министров СССР; Predsedatel Soveta Ministrov SSSR) (1946-1991), who...

Beria was at the forefront of liberalization after Stalin's death. Beria publicly denounced the Doctors' plot as a "fraud," investigated and solved the murder of Solomon Mikhoels, and effectuated an amnesty that freed over a million non-political prisoners from forced labour camps. In April he signed a decree banning the use of torture in Soviet prisons. The Doctors plot (Russian language: дело врачей (doctors affair), врачи-вредители (doctors-saboteurs) or врачи-убийцы (doctors-killers)) was an alleged conspiracy to eliminate the leadership of the Soviet Union by means of Jewish doctors poisoning top leadership. ... Young Mikhoels Solomon Mikhoels (real surname - Vovsi), Yiddish: ; Russian: (16 March [O.S. 4 March] 1890 - January 12/13, 1948) was a Soviet Jewish actor and director in Yiddish theater and the chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. ... Look up Amnesty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

He also signalled^{[citation needed]} a more liberal policy towards the non-Russian nationalities in the Soviet Union. He persuaded the Presidium (as the Politburo had been renamed) and the Council of Ministers to urge the Communist regime in East Germany to allow liberal economic and political reforms. Beria maneuvered^{[citation needed]} to marginalize the role of the party apparatus in the decision-making process in policy and economic matters. The Politburo (in Russian: Политбюро), known as the Presidium from 1952 to 1966, functioned as the central policymaking and governing body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. ... This article is about the state which existed from 1949 to 1990. ...

Some writers have held^{[citation needed]} that Beria's liberal policies after Stalin's death were a tactic to maneuver himself into power. Even if he was sincere, they argue, Beria's past made it impossible for him to lead a liberalizing regime in the Soviet Union, a role which later fell to Khrushchev. The essential task of Soviet reformers was to bring the secret police under party control, and Beria could not do this since the police were the basis of his own power. Curbing Stalin's gross and often irrational excesses was, after all, only common sense.

Others have argued^{[citation needed]} that he had represented a truly reformist agenda, and that his eventual removal from power delayed a radical political and economic reform in the Soviet Union by almost forty years.

"Beria: Enemy of the people". TIME magazine cover, July 20, 1953

Given his record, it is not surprising that the other party leaders were suspicious of Beria's motives in all this. Khrushchev opposed the alliance between Beria and Malenkov, but he was initially unable to challenge the Beria-Malenkov axis. Khrushchev's opportunity came in June 1953 when demonstrations against the East German Communist regime broke out in East Berlin (see Workers Uprising of 1953 in East Germany). There was a suspicion that the practical Beria was willing to trade the reunification of Germany and the end of the cold war for massive aid from the United States such as had been received in World War II. The East German demonstrations convinced Molotov, Malenkov and Nikolai Bulganin that Beria's policies were dangerous and destabilising to Soviet power. Within days of the events in Germany, Khrushchev persuaded the other leaders to support a party coup against Beria; even Beria's principal ally Malenkov abandoned him. Image File history File links Beria_timemag_1101530720_400. ... Image File history File links Beria_timemag_1101530720_400. ... The term enemy of the people (Russian language: враг народа, vrag naroda) was a fluid designation under the Bolsheviks rule in regards to their real or suspected political or class opponents, sometimes including former allies. ... “TIME” redirects here. ... is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... Protestors marching through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany took place in June and July 1953. ... Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin (Russian: , Nikolaj Aleksandrovič Bulganin; June 11 [O.S. May 30] 1895 – February 24, 1975) was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense (1953-55) and Prime Minister (1955-58). ...

Beria's fall

Accounts of Beria's fall vary considerably. According to the most recent accounts^{[citation needed]} Khrushchev convened a meeting of the Praesidium on June 26, where he launched an attack on Beria, accusing him of being in the pay of British intelligence. Beria was taken completely by surprise. He asked, "What's going on, Nikita Sergeyevich? Why are you picking fleas in my trousers?" Molotov and others then also spoke against Beria, and Khrushchev put a motion for his instant dismissal. Malenkov then pressed a button on his desk as the pre-arranged signal to Marshal Georgy Zhukov and a group of armed officers in a nearby room. They immediately burst in and arrested Beria. is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, GCB (Russian: ) (December 1, 1896 [O.S. November 19]–June 18, 1974), was a Soviet military commander who, in the course of World War II, led the Red Army to liberate the Soviet Union from the Nazi occupation, to overrun...

Beria was taken first to the Moscow guardhouse ("gauptvakhta") and then to the bunker of the headquarters of Moscow Military District. Military Prison is where the level military operates some type of military prison system. ... Bunkers in Albania A bunker is a defensive military fortification. ... The Moscow Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. ...

Defence minister Nikolai Bulganin ordered Kantemirovskaya Tank Division and Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division to move into Moscow in order to prevent any possible attempts of Internal Troops loyal to Beria to rescue him. The 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division (Cyrillic: гвардейская танковая Кантемировская дивизия, Guards Tank Kantemirovskaya Division), more usually known as the Kantemirovskaya Division or Kantemir Division, is an elite armoured division of the Russian Army. ... The 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division, also known as the Tamanskaya Division, Taman Division and Taman Guards, is one of the most famous divisions of the Russian Army. ... Internal Troops (full name Internal Troops of the MVD), now called the Federal Guard are the 250,000 strong uniformed military mobile force of the Russian security forces (MVD) and are used to deal with major disturbances and internal security matters. ...

Beria's henchmen such as Vsevolod Merkulov, Bogdan Kobulov, Sergey Golgidze, Vladimir Dekanozov, Pavel Meshik, Lev Vlodzimirskiy were also arrested. Vsevolod Nikolayevich Merkulov (Всеволод Николаевич Меркулов in Russian) (10. ... Vladimir Georgievich Dekanozov Владимир Георгиевич Деканозов (June 1898, Baku - 23 December 1953) headed the Soviet foreign intelligence service INO in (GUGB), part of the NKVD, from 1938 to 1939. ...

Pravda announced Beria's arrest only on July 10, crediting it to Malenkov and referring to Beria's "criminal activities against the Party and the State." In December it was announced that Beria and six accomplices, "in the pay of foreign intelligence agencies," had been "conspiring for many years to seize power in the Soviet Union and restore capitalism." For other uses, see Pravda (disambiguation). ... is the 191st day of the year (192nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Beria and his henchmen were tried by a special session ("Spetsialnoye Sudebnoye Prisutstvie") of the Supreme Court of the USSR with no defense counsel and no right of appeal. Marshal Ivan Konev was the chairman of the court. Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Koniev Ivan Stepanovich Koniev (Russian Иван Степанович Конев) (December 28, 1897 - May 21, 1973), Soviet military commander, was born into a peasant family near Podosinovsky in central Russia...

Beria was found guilty of:

1) treason; It was alleged, without any proof, that "up to the moment of his arrest Beria maintained and developed his secret connections with foreign intelligence services". In particular, attempts to initiate peace talks with Hitler in 1941 through the ambassador of Bulgaria were classified as treason, it was not mentioned that Beria was fulfilling the orders of Stalin and Molotov in this respect. It was also alleged that Beria, who in 1942 was involved in the organisation of the defence of the North Caucasus, tried to let the Germans occupy the Caucasus. There were also allegations that "planning to seize power, Beria tried to obtain the support of imperialist states at the price of violation of territorial integrity of the Soviet Union and transfer of parts of USSR's territory to capitalist states". These allegations were due to Beria's suggestion to his assistants that in order to improve foreign relations it is reasonable to transfer Kaliningrad Oblast to Germany, part of Karelia to Finland and Kuril Islands to Japan. For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation) or Traitor (disambiguation). ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვი&#4314... For other uses, see Molotov (disambiguation). ... The Battle of Caucasus is a generic name for a series of operations during the Great Patriotic War. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: , Kaliningradskaya Oblast; informally called Yantarny kray (, meaning amber region) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) on the Baltic coast. ... Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union. ... For the political history of the sovereignty conflict, see Kuril Islands dispute. ...

2) terrorism; Beria's order to execute 25 political prisoners in October 1941 without trial was classified as an act of terrorism. Terrorist redirects here. ...

3) counterrevolutionary activity during Russian Civil War; In 1919 Beria worked in the security service of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, he maintained that Hummet party which subsequently merged with the Adalat Party, the Ahrar Party and Baku Bolsheviks to establish the Azerbaijan Communist Party gave him such an assignment. Combatants Local Soviet powers led by Russian SFSR and Red Army Chinese mercenaries White Movement Central Powers (1917-1918): Austria-Hungary Ottoman Empire German Empire Allied Intervention: (1918-1922) Japan Czechoslovakia Greece  United States  Canada Serbia Romania UK  France Foreign volunteers: Polish Italian Local nationalist movements, national states, and decentralist... Motto: None Anthem: AzÉ™rbaycan Respublikasının DövlÉ™t Himni March of Azerbaijan Map of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from 1919 to 1920. ... The Muslim Social Democratic Party, usually referred to as Hummet, was a political party in Transcaucasus. ... Nifedipine (brand name Adalat and Procardia) is a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker. ... The Ahrar (Liberal) Party (Azeri: Əhrar firqÉ™si) was a small political party in Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (1918-1920) , representing mainly the Sunni peasantry of Azerbaijan. ... For other uses, see Bolshevik (disambiguation). ... The Azerbaijan Communist Party (Azərbaycan Kommunist Partiyası) is a communist political party in Azerbaijan. ...

Beria and all the other defendants were sentenced to death. When the death sentence was passed, according to Moskalenko's later account, Beria begged on his knees for mercy, but he and his subordinates were immediately executed on 23 December 1953. (See Citizen Kurchatov documentary for more details on his death^[1]). Apparently his body was cremated. is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... Igor The Beard Kurchatov Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov (И́горь Васи́льевич Курча́тов) (January 8, 1903 – February 7, 1960), Soviet/Russian physicist. ...

However, according to other accounts including his son's^{[citation needed]}, Beria's house was assaulted on 26 June 1953, by military units and Beria himself was killed on the spot. A member of the court which tried Beria, Nikolay Shvernik, has subsequently allegedly told Beria's son that he had never seen Beria alive. is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... Nikolay Mikhailovich Shvernik (Никола́й Миха́йлович Шве́рник) (1888-1970) was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (or President of the USSR) from March 19, 1946 until March 15, 1953. ...

Beria's wife and son were sent to exile to Sverdlovsk. They were released in 1964; his wife Nina died in 1991 in exile in Ukraine, his son Sergo died in October 2000 still defending his father's reputation. After Beria's death the MGB was separated from the MVD and reduced from the status of a Ministry to a Committee (known as the KGB), and no Soviet police chief ever again held the kind of power Beria had wielded. Snow-covered statue of Sverdlov in Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburgs Church on the Blood built on the spot where the Tsar and his family were executed. ... The Ministry of State Security (MGB) ( Russian: Министерство государственной безопасности (Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti)) was the name of the Soviet secret police agency from 1946 to 1953. ... Modern emblem of Russian MVD Russian Gendarme officers in the 1860s The Ministerstvo Vnutrennikh Del (MVD) (Министерство внутренних дел) was the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the imperial Russia, later USSR, and still bears the same name in Russia. ... This article is about the KGB of the Soviet Union. ...

In May 2000 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation refused an application by members of Beria's family to overturn his 1953 conviction. The application was based on a Russian law that provided for rehabilitation of victims of false political accusations. The court ruled, however, that "Beria was the organizer of repression against his own people, and therefore could not be considered a victim". However, the Supreme Court found Vladimir Dekanozov, Pavel Meshik and Lev Vlodzimirskiy guilty of abuse of authority, instead of crimes against the state, and the sentence for them was posthumously changed from death to 25 year imprisonment. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (Russian: ) is the final instance in administrative law, civil law and criminal law cases. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ...

Sexual sadism

Charges of sexual assault and sexual sadism against Beria were first made in the speech by a Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Nikolay Shatalin, at the Plenary Meeting of the committee on July 10, 1953, two weeks after Beria's arrest. Shatalin said that Beria had had sexual relations with numerous women and that he had contracted syphilis as a result of his sex with prostitutes. Shatalin referred to a list (supposedly kept by Beria's bodyguard) of over 25 women with whom Beria had sex. Over time, however, the charges became more dramatic. Khrushchev in his posthumously published memoirs wrote: "We were given a list of more than 100 names of women. They were dragged to Beria by his people. And he had the same trick for them all: all who got to his house for the first time, Beria would invite for a dinner and would propose to drink for the health of Stalin. And in wine, he would mix in some sleeping pills..." Afterwards he would drop off his charge and the chauffeur would give them a bouquet of flowers. One pregnant victim, having refused his advances, was accidentally given the flowers. On noticing Beria shouted "it's not a bouquet, it's a wreath. May they rot on your grave" She was later arrested. is the 191st day of the year (192nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 7 - President Harry S. Truman announces the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. ... Syphilis is a curable sexually transmitted disease caused by the Treponema pallidum spirochete. ...

By the 1980s, the sexual assault stories about Beria included the rape of teenage girls. The author Anton Antonov-Ovseenko, who wrote a biography of Beria, mentions in an interview a specific sexual game Beria is said to have forced upon young girls before picking one of them to be raped. This alleged practice got the name "Beria's Flower Game".^[2] Anton Antonov-Ovseenko (born 1920) is Russian historian and writer. ...

Numerous stories have circulated over the years involving Beria personally beating, torturing and killing his victims. Since the 1970s, Muscovites have been retelling stories of bones found in the back yard, cellars, or hidden inside the walls of Beria's former residence, currently the Tunisian Embassy. Such stories continue to re-appear in the news media. The London Daily Telegraph reported in December 2003: "The latest grisly find—a large thigh bone and some smaller leg bones—was only two years ago when a kitchen was re-tiled. In the basement, Anil, an Indian who has worked at the embassy for 17 years, showed a plastic bag of human bones he had found in the cellars."^[2] Such reports are denied by the people close to Beria, such as his son Sergo Beria and former Soviet foreign intelligence chief Pavel Sudoplatov. This article concerns the British newspaper. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pavel Sudoplatov 1907 - 1996 Pavel Sudoplatov (1907 - September, 1996) was a member of the intelligence services of the Soviet Union who rose to the rank of major general. ...

See also

• History of the Soviet Union
• List of Georgians

v • d • e First Secretaries of the Transcaucasian SFSR
Aleksandr Miasnikyan • Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze • Mamia Orakhelashvili • Rukholla Akhundov • Vissarion Lominadze • Mamia Orakhelashvili • Lavrentiy Beria

The History of the Soviet Union begins with the Russian Revolution of 1917. ... The following is a partial list of prominent people from the Republic of Georgia, arranged chronologically within categories. ... The Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was a short-lived (1922-1936) Soviet republic, consisting of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, which were traditionally known as the Transcaucasian Republics in the Soviet Union. ... Grigoriy Konstantinovich Ordzhonikidze (Russian:Григорий Константинович Орджоникидзе), generally known as Sergo Ordzhonikidze (Серго) (October 12, 1886 - February 18, 1937) was a member of the Politburo, and close friend to Stalin. ... Mamia Orakhelashvili (Georgian: , Russian: , Ivan (Mamia) Dmitrievich Orakhelashvili) (1883-1937) was a Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet politician energetically involved in the revolutionary movement in Russia and Georgia. ... Mamia Orakhelashvili (Georgian: , Russian: , Ivan (Mamia) Dmitrievich Orakhelashvili) (1883-1937) was a Georgian Bolshevik and Soviet politician energetically involved in the revolutionary movement in Russia and Georgia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Transcaucasian_SFSR.svg‎ Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Soviet Union Republics of the Soviet Union Estonian SSR Byelorussian SSR Kazakh SSR Turkmen SSR Karelo-Finnish SSR...

Further reading

• Antonov-Ovseenko, Anton, Beria, Moscow, 1999 (in Russian)
• Avtorkhanov, Abdurahman, The Mystery of Stalin's Death, Novyi Mir, #5, 1991, pp. 194-233 (in Russian)
• Beria, Sergo, Beria: My Father, London, 2001
• Knight, Amy, Beria: Stalin's First Lieutenant, Princeton University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-691-03257-2
• Khruschev, Nikita, Khruschev Remembers: Last Testament, Random House, 1977, ISBN 0-517-17547-9
• Rhodes, Richard, Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, Simon and Schuster, 1996 ISBN 0-684-82414-0
• Stove, R. J., The Unsleeping Eye: Secret Police and Their Victims, Encounter Books, San Francisco, 2003). ISBN 1-893554-66-X
• Sudoplatov, Pavel, Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness - A Soviet Spymaster, Little Brown & Co, 1994, ISBN 0-316-77352-2
• Sukhomlinov, Andrei, "Kto Vy, Lavrentiy Beria?", Moscow, 2003 (in Russian), ISBN 5-89935-060-1
• Wittlin, Thaddeus. Commissar: The Life and Death of Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria, The Macmillan Co., New York, 1972.
• Yakovlev, A.N., Naumov, V., and Sigachev, Y. (eds), Lavrenty Beria, 1953. Stenographic Report of July's Plenary Meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Other Documents, International Democracy Foundation, Moscow, 1999 (in Russian). ISBN 5-89511-006-1

References

is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Benjamin B. Fischer, "The Katyn Controversy - Stalin's Killing Field"
• Photocopy of Beria's letter to Stalin to execute Katyn officers prisoners
• Official site of the Memorial to Katyn
• Interview with Sergo Beria
• An outline of the Russian Supreme Court decision of 29 May 2000
• Annotated bibliography for Lavrenty Beria from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
• Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Current Intelligence. The Reversal of the Doctors' Plot and Its Immediate Aftermath, 17 July 1953.
• Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Current Intelligence. Purge of L.P. Beria, 17 April 1954.
• Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Current Intelligence. Summarization of Reports Preceding Beria Purge, 17 August 1954.

Benjamin B. Fischer has worked for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for nearly 30 years, and has been headquartered at its Center for the Study of Intelligence, History Staff, in recent years. ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union (Russian: Marshal Sovietskovo Soyuza [Маршал Советского Союза]) was in practice the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. ...   (Russian: ), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (Russian: ) (February 4 [O.S. January 23] 1881 – December 2, 1969) was a Soviet military commander and politician. ... Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky (Russian: ; Polish: ) (February 16 [O.S. February 4] 1893 â€“ June 12, 1937), was a Soviet military commander, chief of the Red Army (1925–1928), and one of the most prominent victims of Stalins Great Purge of the late 1930s. ... Semyon Budyonny (also spelled Budennii, Budenny, Budyenny etc, Russian: Семён Михайлович Будённый) (April 25 [O.S. April 13] 1883 – October 26, 1973) was a Soviet military commander and an ally of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Yegorov, here shown wearing the insignia of Komandarm second class (2 ranks below Marshal Alexander Ilyich Yegorov (Russian: Александр Ильич Егоров) (October 13, 1883–February 22, 1939), Soviet military commander, was a prominent victim of Stalins Great Purge of the late 1930s. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Blyukher Vasily Konstantinovich Blyukher (also spelled Blücher, Blukher, Bliukher etc, Russian: Василий Константинович Блюхер) (November 19, 1889 - November 9... Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko (Russian: Семён Константинович Тимошенко) (February 6 O.S (February 18 N.S.), 1895-March 31... Marshal of the Soviet Union Grigory Kulik Grigory Ivanovich Kulik (Russian: Григорий Иванович Кулик) (November 9, 1890 - August 24, 1950), Soviet military commander, was born into a peasant family near Poltava in Ukraine. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Boris Shaposhnikov (with Joseph Stalin, 1935) Boris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov (Russian: Борис Михайлович Шапошников) (October 2, 1882 - March 26, 1945), Soviet military commander, was... Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, GCB (Russian: ) (December 1, 1896 [O.S. November 19]–June 18, 1974), was a Soviet military commander who, in the course of World War II, led the Red Army to liberate the Soviet Union from the Nazi occupation, to overrun... Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky (Russian: , September 30, 1895 – December 5, 1977) was a Soviet military commander, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. ... Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili (Georgian: , Ioseb Besarionis Dze Jughashvili; Russian: , Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) (December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953), better known by his adopted name, Joseph Stalin (alternatively transliterated Josef Stalin), was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unions Central Committee from... Marshal Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Koniev (Russian Иван Степанович Конев) (December 28, 1897 – May 21, 1973), Soviet military commander, was born into a peasant family near Podosinovsky in central Russia (now in Kirov Oblast). ... Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov (Russian Леонид Александрович Говоров) (February 22, 1897 - March 19, 1955), Soviet military commander, was born in the village of Butyrki in central Russia (now in Kirov Oblast). ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovskiy (Russian: Константин Константинович Рокоссовский, Polish: Konstanty Rokossowski) (December 21, 1896 – August 3, 1968) was a Soviet military commander and Polish Defence Minister. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Rodion Malinovsky Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky (Russian: , Rodion Jakovlevič Malinovskij; November 23, 1898-March 31, 1967) was a Soviet military commander, Defense Minister of the Soviet Union in the late 1950s and 1960s, who played a key role in World War II, including the major defeat... Marshal of the Soviet Union Fedor Tolbukhin Fyodor Ivanovich Tolbukhin (June 16, 1894 - October 17, 1949) (Russian: Фёдор Иванович Толбухин), Soviet military commander, was born into a peasant family in the rural... Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov (Russian: Кирилл Афанасьевич Мерецков) (June 7, 1897 - December 30, 1968) was a Soviet military commander. ... Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky (Russian: Василий Данилович Соколовский) (July 21, 1897 - May 10, 1968), Soviet military commander, was born into a peasant family in Kozliki, a small town in the province of Grodno, near BiaÅ‚ystok in Poland (then part of the Russian Empire). ... Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin (Russian: , Nikolaj Aleksandrovič Bulganin; June 11 [O.S. May 30] 1895 – February 24, 1975) was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense (1953-55) and Prime Minister (1955-58). ... Hovhannes Khachatury Bagramyan (Armenian: ; Russian: ; December 2 [O.S. November 20] 1897 – September 21, 1982) was a Soviet Armenian military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Biriuzov Sergei Semenovich Biriuzov (August 21, 1904-October 19, 1964) Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief of the General Staff, born in Skopin, in the province of Ryazan. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Grechko Andrei Antonovich Grechko (October 17, 1903–April 26, 1976) Soviet general, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Minister of Defense, born in small town near Rostov, the son of Ukrainian peasants. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Andrei Yeremenko Andrei Ivanovich Yeremenko (Yeryomenko, Андрей Иванович Ерёменко) (October 14, 1892 - November 19, 1970) Soviet general during World War II, Marshal of the Soviet Union, born in Markovka in the province of Kharkov in Ukraine to a peasant family. ... Kirill Semenovich Moskalenko (May 11, 1902 – June 17, 1985) Marshal of the Soviet Union, Commander in Chief Strategic Missile Forces, Inspector General Ministry of Defense, born in village of Grishino, near Donetsk in Ukraine. ... Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (Васи́лий Ива́нович Чуйко́в) (February 12, 1900 - March 18, 1982) was a lieutenant general in the Soviet Red Army during World War II, two times Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union. ... Marshal of the Soviet Union Matvei Zakharov Matvei Vasilevich Zakharov (August 17, 1898- January 31, 1972) Marshal of the Soviet Union, Chief General Staff, Deputy Defense Minister, born in Kalinin (now Tver) northwest of Moscow, to peasant parents. ... Filipp Ivanovich Golikov, a Marshal of the Soviet Union Filipp Ivanovich Golikov, (July 30, 1900 - July 29, 1980) was a Soviet military commander, promoted Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1961. ... Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov (April 29, 1903–February 9, 1972) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union (from 1962). ... Ivan Ignatyevich Yakubovsky (January 7, 1912 - November 30, 1976) was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, serving as commander-in-chief of the Warsaw Pact from 1967 to 1976. ... Pavel Fedorovich Batitsky (June 27, 1910 - February 17, 1984) served as commander-in-chief of Soviet Air Defense from 1963 to 1978, and was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1968. ... Petr Kirillovich Koshevoi (Russian: ) (December 21, 1904 — August 30, 1976) was a Soviet military leader. ... Brezhnev redirects here. ... Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (Russian: ) (October 17, 1908–December 20, 1984) was Defense Minister of the Soviet Union from 1976 until his death. ... Viktor Georgiyevich Kulikov (born July 5, 1921) was the Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief from 1977 to 1989. ... Nikolai Vasilievich Ogarkov (October 30, 1917 - January 23, 1994), was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1977. ... Sergei Leonidovich Sokolov (Russian: ) (born July 1, 1911 in Eupatoria) was Commander of the Leningrad military district from 1965 to 1984, 1st Deputy Defense Minister from 1967 to 1984. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Semyon Konstantinovich Kurkotkin (February 13, 1917 - September 16, 1990) was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1983. ... Vasily Ivanovich Petrov (born January 15, 1917) was appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1983. ... Dmitri Timofeyevich Yazov (Дмитрий Тимофеевич Язов in Russian) (born November 8, 1923) was the last Marshal of the Soviet Union to be appointed before the collapse of the Soviet Union. ... Image File history File links Marshal_of_the_Soviet_Union_rank_insignia. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This article is about the military alliance. ... Not to be confused with the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement about airlines financial liability and the Treaty of Warsaw (1970) between West Germany and the Peoples Republic of Poland. ... Member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (2005). ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... The Big Three at the Yalta Conference, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. ... Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin meeting at the Potsdam Conference on July 18, 1945. ... Gouzenko wearing his white hood for anonymity Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko (January 13, 1919, Rogachev, Soviet Union – June 28, 1982, Mississauga, Canada) was a cipher clerk for the Soviet Embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. ... This concerns the Soviet occupation of Iran, not the Iran hostage crisis. ... Combatants Kuomintang of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (traditional... Combatants Hellenic Army, Royalist forces, Republicans United Kingdom Communist Party of Greece (ELAS, DSE) Commanders Alexander Papagos, Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, James Van Fleet Markos Vafiadis Strength 150,000 men 50,000 men and women Casualties 15,000 killed 32,000+ killed or captured The Greek Civil War (Ελληνικός εμφύλιος πόλεμος [ellinikos emfilios polemos]) was... Restatement of Policy on Germany is a famous speech by James F. Byrnes, then United States Secretary of State, held in Stuttgart on September 6, 1946. ... The Truman Doctrine was a proclamation by U.S. president Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947. ... Map of Cold-War era Europe and the Near East showing countries that received Marshall Plan aid. ... The Czechoslovak coup détat of 1948 (often simply the Czech coup) (Czech: , meaning February 1948; in Communist historiography known as Victorious February (Czech: )) was an event late that February in which the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, with Soviet backing, assumed undisputed control over the government of Czechoslovakia, ushering in... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Informbiro. ... Occupation zones after 1945. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... Combatants  United Nations:  Republic of Korea  Australia  Belgium  Canada  Colombia  Ethiopia  France Greece  Luxembourg  Netherlands  New Zealand  Philippines South Africa  Thailand  Turkey  United Kingdom  United States Medical staff:  Denmark  Italy  Norway  Sweden Communist: Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea  Peoples Republic of China  Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung... Combatants French Union France State of Vietnam Cambodia Laos Viet Minh Commanders French Expeditionary Corps Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1945-46) Jean-Étienne Valluy (1946-8) Roger Blaizot (1948-9) Marcel-Maurice Carpentier (1949-50) Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1950-51) Raoul Salan (1952-3) Henri Navarre (1953-4... Soldiers surround the Parliament building in Tehran on August 19, 1953. ... Former president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán on the cover of TIME magazine in June 1954 after his overthrow Operation PBSUCCESS was a CIA-organized covert operation that overthrew the democratically-elected President of Guatemala, Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán in 1954. ... Protesters marching through the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin The Uprising of 1953 in East Germany took place in June and July 1953. ... Taiwan Strait The First Taiwan Strait Crisis (also called the 1954-1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis or the 1955 Taiwan Strait Crisis) was a short armed conflict that took place between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments. ... Combatants Anti-communist labourers and other civilian protesters Communist LWP KBW and UB Commanders Unknown, probably none Gen. ... Combatants Soviet Union; ÁVH (Hungarian State Security Police) Ad hoc local Hungarian militias Commanders Ivan Konev Various independent militia leaders Strength 150,000 troops, 6,000 tanks Unknown number of militia and rebelling soldiers Casualties 722 killed, 1,251 wounded[1] 2,500 killed 13,000 wounded[2] The Hungarian... Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA[1... Sputnik 1 The Sputnik crisis was a turn point of the Cold War that began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite. ... Taiwan Strait The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) governments in which the PRC was accused by Taiwan of shelling the islands of Matsu and... The Cuban Revolution refers to the revolution that led to the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batistas regime on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement and other revolutionary elements within the country. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ... Combatants Congo ONUC Cuba Belgium Katanga South Kasai CIA Commanders Patrice Lumumba Pierre Mulele Laurent-Désiré Kabila Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi Che Guevara Moise Tshombe Joseph Mobutu Mike Hoare Charles Laurent Albert Kalonji Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo... The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. ... The U–2 Crisis of 1960 occurred when an American U–2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. ... Combatants Cubans trained by Soviet advisors Cuban exiles trained by United States Commanders Fidel Castro José Ramón Fernández Ernesto Che Guevara Francisco Ciutat de Miguel Grayston Lynch Pepe San Roman Erneido Oliva Strength 51,000 1,500 Casualties various estimates; over 1,600 dead[1] to 5,000... President Kennedy in a crowded Cabinet Room during the Cuban Missile Crisis. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... The Brazilian military coup of 1964 was a bloodless coup détat held against left-wing President Joao Goulart by the Brazilian military on the night of 31 March 1964. ... Combatants  United States (IAPF) Inter-American Peace Force (CEFA) Dominican Armed Forces Training Center (SIM) Dominican Military Intelligence Service Dominican Armed Forces Constitutionalists PRD irregulars Commanders Lyndon B. Johnson Gen. ... Combatants Republic of Angola, Republic of Cuba, SWAPO, USSR, East Germany, Republic of Zambia Republic of South Africa, UNITA Scope of operations Operational Area: The South African Border War The South African Border War refers to the conflict that took place from 1966 to 1989 in South-West Africa (now... The overthrow of Sukarno and the violence that followed it was a conflict in Indonesia from 1965 to 1966 between forces loyal to then-President Sukarno and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) and forces loyal to a right-wing military faction led by General Abdul Haris Nasution and Maj. ... ASEAN Declaration or Bangkok Declaration is the founding document of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ... “Secret War” redirects here. ... The Greek military junta of 1967-1974, alternatively The Regime of the Colonels (Greek: ), or in Greece The Junta (Greek: ) and The Seven Years (Greek: ) are terms used to refer to a series of right-wing military governments that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. ... People in a café watch Soviet tanks roll past The Prague Spring (Czech: Pražské jaro, Slovak: Pražská jar, Russian: пражская весна) was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia starting January 5, 1968 when Alexander Dubček came to power, and running until August 20 of that year when the... Détente is a French term, meaning a relaxing or easing; the term has been used in international politics since the early 1970s. ... Combatants People’s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Mao Tse-Tung Leonid Brezhnev Strength 814,000 658,000 Casualties 800 killed, 620 wounded, 1 lost [1] 58 killed, 94 wounded [2] The Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969 was a series of armed clashes between the Soviet Union and... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Opened for signature July 1, 1968 in New York Entered into force March 5, 1970 Conditions for entry into force Ratification by the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and 40 other signatory states. ... Combatants Khmer Republic, United States, Republic of Vietnam Khmer Rouge, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF) Strength ~250,000 FANK troops ~100,000 (60,000) Khmer Rouge Casualties ~600,000 dead, 1,000,000+ wounded[1] The Cambodian Civil War was a conflict that pitted... Three-Time World Mens Singles Champion Zhuang Zedong (left) and U.S. team member Glenn Cowan (right) on the Chinese team bus in Nagoya, Japan, 1971. ... The Four Power Agreement on Berlin[1] was signed on 3 September 1971 by the foreign ministers of the four powers, United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, France, and the United States. ... Richard Nixon (right) meets with Mao Zedong in 1972. ... Prisoners outside the La Moneda Palace after their surrender during the coup (1973). ... Combatants  Israel  Egypt,  Syria,  Iraq Commanders Moshe Dayan, David Elazar, Ariel Sharon, Shmuel Gonen, Benjamin Peled, Israel Tal, Rehavam Zeevi, Aharon Yariv, Yitzhak Hofi, Rafael Eitan, Abraham Adan, Yanush Ben Gal Saad El Shazly, Ahmad Ismail Ali, Hosni Mubarak, Mohammed Aly Fahmy, Anwar Sadat, Abdel Ghani el-Gammasy, Abdul Munim... The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties refers to two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties between the Soviet Union and United States, the Cold War superpowers, on the issue of armament control. ... Combatants MPLA Republic of Cuba AAF Mozambique[1] UNITA FNLA South Africa Republic of Zaire Commanders José Eduardo dos Santos Jonas Savimbi Casualties Over 500,000 militants[2] and hundreds of thousands of civilians The Angolan Civil War began when Angola won its war for independence in 1975 with the... The Mozambican Civil War started in Mozambique during the 1970s following independence in 1975. ... Combatants Ethiopia Cuba South Yemen Somalia WSLF Commanders Mengistu Haile Mariam Vasily Petrov[1][2] Siad Barre Strength 217,000 Ethiopians 1,500 Soviet advisors 15,000 Cubans 2,000 South Yemenis SNA 60,000 WSLF 15,000 Casualties Unknown 20,000 killed or wounded 1/2 of the Air... Combatants Peoples Republic of China Socialist Republic of Vietnam Commanders Yang Dezhi Văn Tiến DÅ©ng Strength 300,000+[1] 100,000+ from regular army divisions and divisions of the Public Security Army Casualties Disputed. ... After Islamic Conquest  Modern SSR = Soviet Socialist Republic Afghanistan  Azerbaijan  Bahrain  Iran  Iraq  Tajikistan  Uzbekistan  This box:      The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution,[1][2][3][4][5][6] Persian: انقلاب اسلامی, Enghelābe Eslāmi) was the revolution that transformed Iran from a monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ... Combatants USSR DRA Mujahideen of Afghanistan Commanders Soviet forces: Sergei Sokolov Valentin Varennikov Boris Gromov DRA: Babrak Karmal Mohammad Najibullah Abdul Haq Jalaluddin Haqqani Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Ismail Khan Ahmad Shah Massoud Strength Soviet forces: 80,000-104,000 Afghan forces: 329,000 (in 1989)[1] 45,000 (in 1983) 150... TIME magazine cover depicting Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa and the Solidarity movement shaking up communism shows that Solidarity received wide international recognition. ... Beginning in the late 1970s, major civil wars erupted in the Central American region, and became one of the major foreign policy crises of the 1980s. ... Able Archer 83 was a ten-day NATO exercise starting on November 2, 1983 that spanned the continent of Europe and simulated a coordinated nuclear release. ... The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983[1] to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. ... Combatants  United States  Antigua and Barbuda  Barbados  Dominica  Jamaica  Saint Lucia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Grenada  Cuba Commanders Ronald Reagan Joseph Metcalf H. Norman Schwarzkopf Hudson Austin Pedro Tortolo Strength 7,300 Grenada: 1,500 regulars Cuba: about 722 (mostly military engineers)[1] Casualties 19 killed; 116 wounded[2... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ... The Eastern Bloc prior to the political upheavals of 1989. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... This is a history of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. ... Senator John W. Bricker, the sponsor of the proposed constitutional amendment to limit the treaty power of the United States government. ... //   (Russian: IPA: ) is politics of maximal openness, transparency of activity of all official (governmental) institutes, and freedom of information. ... Warsaw Pact countries to the east of the Iron Curtain are shaded red; NATO members to the west of it — blue. ... A 1947 comic book published by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society warning of the dangers of a Communist takeover. ... For other uses of Operation Condor, please see Operation Condor (disambiguation) Operation Condor (Spanish: Operación Cóndor, Portuguese: Operação Condor) was a campaign of political repressions involving assassination and intelligence operations officially implemented starting in 1975 by the right-wing dictatorships that dominated the Southern Cone in South... Emblem of Gladio, Italian branch of the NATO stay-behind paramilitary organizations. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... // Browder, Golos and Peters By the mid to late 1920s, there were three elements of Soviet power operating in the United States, despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations, the Comintern, military intelligence or GRU, and the forerunner of the KGB, the GPU. The Comintern was the dominant arm, though... CIA redirects here. ... A Soviet poster reading COMECON: Unity of Goals, Unity of Action The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON / Comecon / CMEA / CEMA), 1949 – 1991, was an economic organization of communist states and a kind of Eastern Bloc equivalent to—but more inclusive than—the European Economic Community. ... The European Community (EC) was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... This article is about the KGB of the Soviet Union. ... Logotype of the DDRs Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS or Stasi) / Ministry for State Security This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ... The term arms race in its original usage describes a competition between two or more parties for military supremacy. ... U.S. and USSR/Russian nuclear weapons stockpiles, 1945-2006. ... For other uses, see Space Race (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... For architecture, see Stalinist architecture. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet policy doctrine, introduced by Leonid Brezhnev in a speech at the Fifth Congress of the Polish United Workers Party on November 13, 1968, which stated: When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it... The Ulbricht Doctrine, named after East German leader Walter Ulbricht, was the assertion that normal diplomatic relations between East Germany and West Germany could only occur if both states fully recognised each others sovereignty. ... The Carter Doctrine was proclaimed by President Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union Address on 23 January 1980. ... This article is about foreign policy. ... The domino theory was a mid-20th century foreign policy theory, promoted by the government of the United States, that speculated that if one land in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. ... The Eisenhower Doctrine, given in a message to the United States Congress on January 5, 1957, was the foreign policy of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. ... The Johnson Doctrine, enunciated by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. ... The Kennedy Doctrine refers to foreign policy initiatives of the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, towards Latin America during his term in office between 1961 and 1963. ... The Nixon Doctrine was put forth in a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969 by Richard Nixon. ... Ostpolitik or Eastern Politics describes the realisation of the Change through Rapprochement principle, verbalised by Egon Bahr in 1963, by the effort of Willy Brandt, Chancellor of West Germany, to normalize relations with Eastern European nations including East Germany. ... Peaceful coexistence was a theory developed during the Cold War among Communist states that they could peacefully coexist with capitalist states. ... The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War. ... Rollback was a term used by American foreign policy thinkers during the Cold War. ... The Truman Doctrine was a proclamation by U.S. president Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947. ... Map of Cold-War era Europe and the Near East showing countries that received Marshall Plan aid. ... // At its simplest, the Cold War is said to have begun in 1947. ...