Stalin's passing away in March 1953 was a great shock for the entire people. Many loved him and believed that Stalin was great, that his death for the country was an irreparable loss.
Potential successors
The highest echelons of power also worried - who will take the place of the “father of nations”? And for many it was a matter of life or death. The main contender, if I may say so, was considered L. P. Beria. Already during the war, he became the first deputy chairman of the State Defense Committee, overseeing, among other things, the issue of creating atomic weapons. In fact, it was during the war that he became the second person in the state, and with the creation of the atomic bomb, his authority only increased. Along with him, Khrushchev, Malenkov and Bulganin could claim leadership.
Lavrenty Beria at the beginning of his KGB career, 1920s.
Beria's initiatives after Stalin's death
From March until his arrest in June 1953, Beria issued several fateful orders for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And also made proposals to the Council of Ministers and the Central Committee - and many were approved by resolutions and decrees. He becomes the initiator of the termination of several high-profile political cases. In general, each of these investigations weakened the position of one of the potential "candidates for Napoleons" - Bulganin, Khrushchev, Malenkov and Beria himself. Did Beria earn political capital for himself, trying to get supporters of any of his competitors, or were his aspirations disinterested? Whatever it was, but the amnesty was announced, in addition to the termination of these high-profile cases, more than 1 million people were released after Stalin's death. In the USSR, the strict passport regime was weakened, the use of methods of physical pressure in relation to those under investigation was prohibited.
Promotional video:
L. P. Beria in 1934 (behind - Merkulov).
Arrest, investigation, trial and sentence
Beria's stormy activities could not but cause concern for his "comrades". After the death of the leader, the party elite, fearing the purge of personnel and reprisals if Beria took Stalin's place, decided to get rid of him. The initiator was Khrushchev, who, as Beria's son recalls, persuaded his father to take the post of Minister of Internal Affairs in March. But in three months, apparently, Khrushchev changed his mind, or maybe he had planned such a combination in advance, lulling the vigilance of Stalin's most vigilant ally? Beria was detained on June 26, 1953 in the Kremlin, this is the official version of events. Until the evening, he was under the supervision of a group of generals led by G. K. Zhukov, and then, under cover of darkness, so to speak, he was taken out, supposedly wrapped in a carpet. Accused of far-fetched atrocities, although he had plenty of real ones, he also had merit,and considerable. But who will arrest him for some controversial cases of eliminating certain former comrades-in-arms, because then most of the country's top would have to become accomplices. Beria was convicted for what many other statesmen had been imprisoned and shot for earlier: for espionage in favor of a foreign power and for undermining the Soviet system. To this went the makeweight and accusations that he abused his power. Yes, and morally decayed, finally. To this went the makeweight and accusations that he abused his power. Yes, and morally decayed, finally. To this went the makeweight and accusations that he abused his power. Yes, and morally decayed, finally.
Lavrenty Beria with his son Sergo, 1930s.
Why there are doubts that they were shot after the trial
In December 53, after the examination of his case, Beria was sentenced to death, and on the same day he was shot. But there is no warrant for his arrest. There are only copies of the protocols of interrogations and letters. And there are no photographic documents, not to mention the film - they did not photograph him, did not shoot him on camera either before or after his arrest, and the fact of the execution was not recorded. And even a certificate stating that he was cremated - and that is not. It is interesting that the participants in this event describe the arrest of Beria in different ways. As a result, all together and gives abundant food to lovers of conspiracy theories. It is believed that L. P. Beria was killed during his arrest, and the investigation, the trial is a falsification and nothing more.
L. P.'s son agrees with this interpretation of events. Beria - Sergo. In his book, he reports that G. K. Zhukov, later said to him:
The former mansion of L. P. Beria, where he lived from 1938 to 1953 (Malaya Nikitskaya Street, 28/1).
Further in the book follows a story that test pilot Amet-Khan Sultan, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, called him on that day, June 26, and said that they (that is, Beria's) had a shootout, and that he, Sergo, we must run. But Sergo Beria drives home, where he discovers two armored personnel carriers in the courtyard of the house.
However, the son of V. N. Merkulov, who was part of Beria's inner circle, who was also shot in December 1953, believes that most of what is written in this book is lies.
L. P. Beria and I. V. Stalin's daughter (Stalin - in the background).
Who was tried and shot then?
Many researchers believe that in December not the formidable Beria himself was executed, but his double. Much has been said about the fact that the top officials of the state have doubles; there are recollections of those present in the courtroom. They say that it was impossible to recognize Beria.