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