Georgy Malenkov - Soviet statesman, one of Stalin's close associates. He was called "the direct successor of the leader", however, after the death of Stalin, he did not head the government, and a few years later he fell into disgrace.
Early years
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was born in 1902. His father was a small employee on the railroad. Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov had a rather interesting origin. He was Russian by nationality, but his paternal ancestors had once arrived in Russia from Macedonia. The mother of the hero of today's story (nee Shemyakina) came from the middle class.
In 1919, Georgy Malenkov graduated from the classical gymnasium. Although there is no exact data regarding the early period in the biography of this historical figure. Boris Bazhanov, who served as Stalin's personal secretary from 1923 to 1927, claimed that Malenkov did not even have a secondary education. The son of Georgy Maksimilianovich assured that his father successfully graduated from the gymnasium, then the Moscow Higher Technical School, and after that he was invited to graduate school, but refused, givingpreference for party activities. The second point of view is more plausible. After all, Stalin valued Malenkov primarily for his deep knowledge of energy.
Work in the political department
In 1919, the hero of today's article joined the Red Army. What position did he hold? In his autobiography, Georgy Malenkov wrote that he worked as a political instructor. According to modern historians, he held the position of an ordinary clerk. Georgy Malenkov never led fighters on the attack. Moreover, he was a bad shooter and even worse on horseback. His element was office work. Thus, the revolutionary activity of Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov in the heroic years of the Civil War was reduced to writing and rewriting various papers.
Marriage
During his studies, Georgy Malenkov met his future wife. Valeria Golubtsova in the twenties held an insignificant position in the Central Committee of the RCP. The marriage had a beneficial effect on the career of Georgy Malenkov. Golubtsova entered the graduate school of MPEI in 1936. Subsequently, she took the post of rector of the Moscow Power Engineering Institute.
Career advancement
During the times in which the first years of Malenkov's political activity fell, Trotsky was very popular among young people. First of all, an opposition platform was formed in the party cells of the universities. When it collapsed, Georgy Malenkov showed activity, which played a significant role in his future career. He became onefrom the members of the commission for checking the reliability of students. And soon he took the post of secretary of the party organization of the Moscow Higher Technical School. In this position, he gained the first experience in the fight against the so-called enemies of the people.
The diligence and activity of Georgy Malenkov did not go unnoticed. On the advice of his wife, in 1925 he went to serve in the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the RCP. And two years later he took the post of technical secretary of the Politburo. According to historians, then already Georgy Malenkov was a typical apparatchik. He quickly turned into an unprincipled official, ready for anything for a career. With enviable readiness, he followed the instructions of the leadership and, above all, of course, the Secretary General. And like every classical official, Malenkov did not have his own opinion. And if it did come up occasionally, he didn't say it.
Fight against dissent
In the early thirties, Georgy Malenkov strengthened his reputation as a statesman loyal to the ideas of communism. This was expressed in a zealous struggle with dissidents. In 1930, Kaganovich was elected "leader" of the Moscow Bolsheviks. And he, in turn, instructed Malenkov to head the organizational department of the MC of the CPSU. In this position, the hero of our story achieved high results in the fight against the "enemies of the people." First of all, he conducted a major verification of the Moscow Party organization for the presence of oppositionists. He revealed quite a few of them, which earned the trust of not only his protege Kaganovich, but also Stalin himself.
In the meantime, the leader was preparing the apparatus for tougherpurges. Therefore, he needed new personnel. When the question arose of who to appoint as head of the department of leading party bodies of the Central Committee, Stalin remembered Malenkov. In his new post, Georgy Maximilianovich did not perform independent actions, fulfilling the will of the Secretary General in everything. This not only had a positive effect on his further career growth, but, of course, saved his life.
Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov, a Soviet historian and public figure, once called Stalin and Malenkov the creators of the CPSU. At the same time, the first is a designer, the second is an architect. Avtorkhanov, according to later researchers, overestimated the role of Georgy Malenkov. Although it is impossible to deny the influence of this political figure on the daily leadership of the party, and therefore the entire state.
In the early thirties, Malenkov became close to Yezhov. Under his leadership, he conducted another check of the communists, which became a kind of rehearsal for the "great terror". In 1937, most of the leaders of the Soviet apparatus were arrested. Georgy Malenkov took a very active part in the fight against the "enemies of the people." He often attended the interrogations of the arrested. Yes, and in the quiet of his office, he also led the repressions well. Yezhov wanted to appoint him to the post of his deputy, but Stalin did not allow: it was difficult to replace such a personnel specialist in the Central Committee.
Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Only at the end of the thirties Malenkov began to leave the secret offices in the openpolitical arena. He has been a member of the Supreme Soviet since 1938. The range of issues that Georgy Malenkov solved gradually expanded. So, at the All-Union Conference, he made a report on the tasks of transport and industry. At this time, he managed to take a strong position in Stalin's entourage. Moreover, in this environment, if you do not take into account the opinion of Boris Bazhanov, he was the only person with a higher education. In addition, he had an amazing memory and a huge capacity for work.
War years
During the Second World War, Georgy Malenkov often traveled to the front. In 1941 - to Leningrad and the Moscow region. In August 1942, Malenkov left for Stalingrad. During this period, he controlled the aviation industry and was responsible for the production of combat aircraft. And in the fall of 1944, Malenkov plunged into the solution of the "Jewish question". He devoted more than one report to the Kremlin to this topic. In the last years of the war, Malenkov was most concerned about the issue of limiting positions for representatives of Jewish nationality.
The position of Secretary of the Central Committee Malenkov first held for seven years. In 1946, he was suspended for errors that were discovered in the production of aircraft. Stalin sent the former secretary to Central Asia for two months. It was a very lenient punishment; after the exile, Malenkov did not lose the confidence of the leader. In 1948, he again took up the post of Secretary of the Central Committee.
Leningrad case
Stalin personally entrusted Malenkov with the identification of members of the anti-party group. The sametried with might and main to justify the trust of the leader. Malenkov accused the leadership of the Leningrad Regional Committee of undermining the foundations of the Soviet state. He led the investigation in the "Leningrad case", according to an old habit, he was present at interrogations.
In January 1949, the All-Russian Wholesale Fair was held. Through the efforts of Malenkov, its leader, A. Kuznetsov, was accused of data manipulation. There was no crime, as it turned out later. But it was no longer possible to establish the course of events exactly, because Malenkov destroyed almost everything that was relevant in the "Leningrad case".
Head of State
There are many white spots in the biography of Georgy Malenkov. Why was this politician, having worked in the state apparatus for many years, unable to stay afloat? In 1953, he actually led the country and became the first to criticize Stalin's personality cult. However, in 1957 Malenkov was removed from the Central Committee and appointed director of the thermal power plant in Ekibastuz. Four years later, he was completely expelled from the party. According to one version, the "comrades" did not forgive Malenkov for his desire to resolve important issues without their knowledge, the independence that he showed in the first years after Stalin's death.
