Vyacheslav Molotov
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Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (9 March, [O.S. 25 February] – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium (Politburo) of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev. He served as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars from 1930 to 1941, and as Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1957. Molotov served for several years as First Deputy Premier of Joseph Stalin's cabinet. He retired in 1961 after several years of obscurity.
Molotov was the principal Soviet signatory of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1939 (also known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), was involved in post-war negotiations, and was a signatory of the Politburo resolution authorizing the Katyn massacre. Following the aftermath of the World War II (Great Patriotic War) Molotov kept his place, until 1949, as a leading Soviet diplomat and politician. In 1949, after losing Stalin's favour, he lost the foreign affairs ministership. Molotov's relationship with Stalin deteriorated further, with Stalin complaining about Molotov's so-called mistakes in a speech to the 19th Party Congress. However, after Stalin's death in 1953 Molotov was staunchly opposed to Khrushchev's de-Stalinization policy. He remained unapologetic about the crimes of Stalin's regime, and had few regrets about his actions and those of the Party, a view held until he died in 1986.
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