Stalin died without naming an heir, and none of his associates had the power to immediately claim supreme leadership. The deceased dictator's colleagues initially tried to rule jointly through collective leadership, with Malenkov holding the top positions of prime minister and general secretary. Lavrenti Beria took over Ministry of Interior and also became the first deputy prime minister. Molotov became foreign minister and, like Beria, a first deputy prime minister. These three formed the uneasy triumvirate. (Modern Enc.. and Kort)

To prevent Malenkov from gaining to much power, he was stripped of his duties as First Secretary. These duties in turn were handed to Nikita Khrushchev, a longtime party boss of the Ukraine and the first secretary of the party's Moscow organization, who was not seen as a serious candidate for supreme power. (Kort) Khrus

hchev had two advantages over his associates, the right to appoint his trusted followers to key positions and the right to demote those he distrusted. To succeed Khrushchev had to remove his two principal rivals. He removed Beria quickly with the help of other colleagues who feared Beria. On April 4, 1953 Beria was forced to admit that his men had fabricated the "Doctors plot" that resulted in the arrest and death of several

Khrushchev, above all, is remembered for his contribution to de-Stalinization. His de-Stalinization policy not only affected Russia, but also its allies. The main pressures for political liberalization throughout Eastern Europe came from his attack on Stalinism and changes that were made in the Soviet legal system. Leaders in other communist states recognized that they could no longer depend on terrorism and the support of the Soviet Union to remain in power, leading to a general relaxation in the exercise of power. Khrushchev's charge that Stalin had debased the basic nature of communism by developing a cult of personality led to changes aimed at reducing the previously dominant role of individual leaders like, Rakosi of Hungary and Gottwald of Czechoslovakia. In many cases, one individual held the top posts in both party and government, but the de-Stalinization campaign with its attack on the cult of the individual resulted in temporary abandonment of the dual role. Reforms during this period mainly took the form of reduced power for the state security system, ending a period if unchecked authority over all citizens. The impact of de-Stalinization and its liberalization's remain today in the Soviet Union and in most Eastern European countries. (Markiewicz)

By 1964 Khrushchev's prestige had been injured in a number of areas. Industrial growth slowed, while agriculture showed no new progress. Abroad, the split with China, the Berlin crisis, and the Cuban fiasco hurt the Soviet Union's international stature, and Khrushchev's efforts to improve relations with the West antagonized many in the military. Finally, the 1962 party reorganization caused turmoil throughout the Soviet political chain of command. In October 1964, while Khrushchev was vacationing in Crimea, the Presidium was summoned to meet, with the objective of removing Khrushchev from all his official positions. The plot had been hatched by Suslov and Shelepi

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1591
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)