On July 2, 1985, Eduard Shevardnadze took office as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. The “dilettante” decided to recall some of the minister’s Soviet colleagues.
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (party pseudonym, real name- Scriabin) was born on February 25 (March 9), 1890 in the Kukarka settlement, Kukarka district, Vyatka province (now the city of Sovetsk Kirov region) in the family of Mikhail Prokhorovich Scriabin, clerk of the trading house of merchant Yakov Nebogatikov.
V. M. Molotov spent his childhood years in Vyatka and Nolinsk. In 1902-1908 he studied at the 1st Kazan Real School. In the wake of the events of 1905, he joined revolutionary movement, in 1906 joined the RSDLP. In April 1909, he was first arrested and exiled to the Vologda province.
After serving his exile, in 1911 V. M. Molotov came to St. Petersburg, passed the exams for a real school as an external student and entered the economics department of the Polytechnic Institute. From 1912, he collaborated with the Bolshevik newspaper Zvezda, then became secretary of the editorial board of the newspaper Pravda, and a member of the St. Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP. During the preparation of the publication of Pravda, I met I.V. Stalin.
After the arrest of the RSDLP faction in the IV State Duma in 1914, he hid under the name Molotov. Since the autumn of 1914, he worked in Moscow to recreate the party organization destroyed by the secret police. In 1915, V. M. Molotov was arrested and exiled to the Irkutsk province for three years. In 1916 he escaped from exile and lived illegally.
V. M. Molotov met the February Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. He was a delegate to the VII (April) All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP (b) (April 24-29, 1917), a delegate to the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) from the Petrograd organization. He was a member of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council and the Military Revolutionary Committee, which led the overthrow of the Provisional Government in October 1917.
After the establishment of Soviet power, V. M. Molotov was in leading party work. In 1919, he was chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial executive committee, and later became secretary of the Donetsk provincial committee of the RCP (b). In 1920 he was elected secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine.
In 1921-1930, V. M. Molotov served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Since 1921, he was a candidate member of the Politburo of the Party Central Committee, and in 1926 he became a member of the Politburo. He actively participated in the fight against the internal party opposition and became one of the close associates of I.V. Stalin.
In 1930-1941, V. M. Molotov headed the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, and at the same time, since May 1939, he was the People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. An entire era in the Soviet Union is associated with his name. foreign policy. V. M. Molotov’s signature is on the non-aggression treaty with Nazi Germany of August 23, 1939 (the so-called “Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact”), assessments of which were and remain ambiguous.
It fell to V. M. Molotov to inform the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR on June 22, 1941. The words he said then: “Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours,” went down in the history of the Great Patriotic War 1941−1945.
It was Molotov who informed the Soviet people about the attack of Nazi Germany
During the war years, V. M. Molotov held the posts of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee of the USSR. In 1943 he was awarded the title of Hero Socialist Labor. V. M. Molotov took an active part in organizing and holding the Tehran (1943), Crimean (1945) and Potsdam (1945) conferences of the heads of government of the three allied powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, at which the main parameters of the post-war structure of Europe were determined.
V. M. Molotov remained as head of the NKID (from 1946 - the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs) until 1949, again heading the ministry in 1953-1957. From 1941 to 1957, he simultaneously held the position of First Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (since 1946, the Council of Ministers) of the USSR.
At the June plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in 1957, V. M. Molotov spoke out against N. S. Khrushchev, joining his opponents, who were condemned as an “anti-party group.” Together with its other members, he was removed from the leadership of the party and removed from all government posts.
In 1957-1960, V. M. Molotov was the USSR Ambassador to the Mongolian People's Republic, and in 1960-1962 he headed the Soviet representative office at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. In 1962 he was recalled from Vienna and expelled from the CPSU. By order of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs of September 12, 1963, V. M. Molotov was released from work in the ministry due to his retirement.
In 1984, with the sanction of K.U. Chernenko, V.M. Molotov was reinstated in the CPSU while maintaining his party experience.
V. M. Molotov died in Moscow on November 8, 1986 and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
Andrei Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky, a descendant of an old Polish noble family, a former Menshevik, who signed the order for the arrest of Lenin, it would seem, was doomed to fall into the millstones of the system. Surprisingly, instead, he himself came to power, holding the positions of: Prosecutor of the USSR, Prosecutor of the RSFSR, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rector of Moscow State University.
He owed this largely to his personal qualities, because even his opponents often note his deep education and outstanding oratorical abilities. It is for this reason that Vyshinsky’s lectures and court speeches have always attracted the attention of not only the professional legal community, but also the entire population. His performance was also noted. Already as Minister of Foreign Affairs, he worked from 11 a.m. until 4-5 a.m. the next day.
This is what contributed to his contribution to legal science. At one time, his works on criminology, criminal procedure, theory of state and law, and international law were considered classics. Even now, the concept of sectoral division of the legal system developed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky lies at the foundation of modern Russian jurisprudence.
As Minister, Vyshinsky worked from 11 a.m. until 4-5 a.m. the next day
But nevertheless, A. Ya. Vyshinsky went down in history as the “chief Soviet prosecutor” at the trials of the 1930s. For this reason, his name is almost always associated with the period of the Great Terror. The “Moscow trials” undoubtedly did not comply with the principles of a fair trial. Based on circumstantial evidence, the innocent were sentenced to death or long prison terms.
He was also characterized as an “inquisitor” by the extrajudicial form of sentencing in which he participated—the so-called “two,” officially the Commission of the NKVD of the USSR and the Prosecutor of the USSR. Accused of in this case were deprived of even a formal trial.
However, let me quote Vyshinsky himself: “It would be a big mistake to see the prosecutor’s office’s accusatory work as its main content. The main task of the prosecutor’s office is to be a guide and guardian of the rule of law.”
As Prosecutor of the USSR, his main task was the reform of the prosecutorial and investigative apparatus. The following problems had to be overcome: low education of prosecutors and investigators, staff shortages, bureaucracy, and negligence. As a result, a unique system of supervision over compliance with the law was formed, which the prosecutor's office remains at the present time.
The direction of Vyshinsky’s actions was even of a human rights nature, as far as this was possible in the conditions of totalitarian reality. For example, in January 1936, he initiated a review of cases against collective farmers and representatives of rural authorities convicted of theft in the early 30s. Tens of thousands of them were released.
Less well known are activities aimed at supporting Soviet defense. In numerous speeches and writings, he defended the independence and procedural powers of lawyers, often criticizing his colleagues for neglecting the defense. However, the declared ideals were not realized in practice, if we recall, for example, the “troikas”, which were the opposite of the adversarial process.
The diplomatic career of A. Ya. Vyshinsky is no less interesting. IN last years During his life, he served as the permanent representative of the USSR to the UN. In his speeches, he expressed authoritative opinions on many areas of international politics and international law. His speech on the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is well known - Vyshinsky foresaw problems with the implementation of the proclaimed rights, which are only now being noticed in the scientific and professional community.
The personality of Andrei Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky is ambiguous. On the one hand, participation in punitive justice. On the other hand, scientific and professional achievements, strong personal qualities, and the desire to achieve the ideal of “socialist legality.” It is they who force even Vyshinsky’s most fierce opponent to recognize in him that bearer of the highest values - “a man of his craft.”
We can conclude that it is possible to be one under totalitarianism. This was confirmed by A. Ya. Vyshinsky.
Born into a family of railway workshop workers. After the family moved to Tashkent, he studied first at the gymnasium and then at the secondary school.
In 1926 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Institute of Red Professorships.
Since 1926 - in the justice authorities, in 1926-1928 he worked as a prosecutor in Yakutia. Since 1929 - at scientific work. In 1933-1935 he worked in the political department of one of the Siberian state farms. After the publication of a number of notable articles, he was invited to the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Since 1935 - in the apparatus of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Department of Science). As Leonid Mlechin reports, at one of the meetings on scientific issues, Shepilov “allowed himself to object to Stalin.” Stalin suggested that he back down, but Shepilov stood his ground, as a result of which he was expelled from the Central Committee and spent seven months without work.
Since 1938 - Scientific Secretary of the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
In the first days of the war, he volunteered to go to the front as part of the Moscow militia, although he had a “reservation” as a professor and the opportunity to go to Kazakhstan as director of the Institute of Economics. From 1941 to 1946 - in the Soviet Army. He worked his way up from a private to major general, head of the Political Department of the 4th Guards Army.
In 1956, Khrushchev achieved the removal of Molotov from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, installing his comrade-in-arms Shepilov in his place. On June 2, 1956, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Shepilov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, replacing Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov in this post.
In June 1956, the Soviet Foreign Minister toured the Middle East for the first time in history, visiting Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Greece. During negotiations in Egypt with President Nasser in June 1956, he gave secret consent to the USSR to sponsor the construction of the Aswan Dam. At the same time, Shepilov, due to the nature of his previous activities, not being a professional international affairs specialist, was impressed by the truly “pharaonic” reception that the then President of Egypt Nasser gave him, and upon returning to Moscow he managed to convince Khrushchev to speed up the establishment of relations with Arab countries the Middle East as opposed to normalizing relations with Israel. It should be taken into account that during the Second World War, almost the entire political elite of the Middle East countries collaborated with Hitler’s Germany in one way or another, and Nasser himself and his brothers then studied at German higher military educational institutions.
Represented the USSR's position on the Suez crisis and the uprising in Hungary in 1956. He headed the Soviet delegation at the London Suez Canal Conference.
Contributed to the normalization of Soviet-Japanese relations: in October 1956, a joint declaration was signed with Japan, ending the state of war. The USSR and Japan exchanged ambassadors.
In its speech at the 20th Congress, the CPSU called for the forcible export of socialism outside the USSR. At the same time, he participated in the preparation of Khrushchev’s report “On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences,” but the prepared version of the report was significantly changed.
Shepilov called for the forced export of socialism outside the USSR
When Malenkov, Molotov and Kaganovich tried to remove Khrushchev at a meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee in June 1957, presenting him with a whole list of accusations, Shepilov suddenly also began to criticize Khrushchev for establishing his own “cult of personality,” although he was never a member of this group. As a result of the defeat of the group of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee that followed on June 22, 1957, the formulation “anti-party group of Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich and Shepilov who joined them” was born.
There is another, less literary-spectacular explanation for the origins of the formulation using the word “aligned”: a group that would consist of eight members would be awkward to call a “breakaway anti-party group”, since it turned out to be a clear majority, and this would be obvious even to readers of Pravda. To be called "factional schismatics", there had to be no more than seven members of the group; Shepilov was eighth.
It sounds more reasonable to assume that, unlike the seven members of the “anti-party group” - members of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee, Shepilov was defined as a “joiner”, since, as a candidate member of the Presidium, he did not have the right to a decisive vote in the voting.
Shepilov was relieved of all party and government posts. Since 1957 - director, since 1959 - deputy director of the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz SSR, in 1960-1982 - archaeographer, then senior archaeographer at the Main Archival Directorate under the USSR Council of Ministers.
Since the cliché “and Shepilov, who joined them,” was actively discussed in the press, a joke appeared: “The longest surname is And Shepilov, who joined them”; when a half-liter bottle of vodka was shared “by three,” the fourth drinking companion was nicknamed “Shepilov,” etc. Thanks to this phrase, the name of the party functionary was recognized by millions of Soviet citizens. Shepilov’s own memoirs are polemically entitled “Non-Aligned”; they are sharply critical of Khrushchev.
Shepilov himself, according to his memoirs, considered the case fabricated. He was expelled from the party in 1962, reinstated in 1976, and in 1991 reinstated in the USSR Academy of Sciences. Retired since 1982.
Of all the Russian and Soviet foreign ministers, only one, Andrei Andreevich Gromyko, served in this post legendary long term- twenty-eight years old. His name was well known not only in the Soviet Union, but also far beyond its borders. His position as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR made him famous throughout the world.
The diplomatic fate of A. A. Gromyko was such that for almost half a century he was at the center of world politics and earned the respect of even his political opponents. In diplomatic circles he was called the “patriarch of diplomacy”, “the most informed foreign minister in the world.” His legacy, despite the fact that the Soviet era is far behind, is still relevant today.
A. A. Gromyko was born on July 5, 1909 in the village of Starye Gromyki, Vetkovsky district, Gomel region. In 1932 he graduated from the Economic Institute, in 1936 - postgraduate studies at the All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Economics, Doctor of Economics (since 1956). In 1939 he was transferred to the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs (NKID) of the USSR. By this time, as a result of repressions, almost all the leading cadres of Soviet diplomacy had been destroyed, and Gromyko began to quickly make his career. At just under 30 years old, a native of the Belarusian hinterland with a PhD in Economics, almost immediately after joining the NKID, received the responsible post of head of the Department of American Countries. It was an unusually steep rise, even for those times when careers were created and destroyed overnight. No sooner had the young diplomat settled into his new apartments on Smolenskaya Square than he was summoned to the Kremlin. Stalin, in the presence of Molotov, said: “Comrade Gromyko, we intend to send you to work at the USSR Embassy in the USA as an adviser.” Thus, A. Gromyko became an adviser to the embassy in the United States for four years and at the same time an envoy to Cuba.
In 1946-1949 deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and at the same time in 1946-1948. fast. Representative of the USSR to the UN, 1949-1952. and 1953-1957 first deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, in 1952-1953. USSR Ambassador to Great Britain, in April 1957 Gromyko was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and served in this post until July 1985. Since 1983, First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers. In 1985-1988 Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The diplomatic talent of Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was quickly noticed abroad. The authority of Andrei Gromyko, recognized by the West, was of the highest standard. In August 1947, Times magazine wrote: "As the Soviet Union's permanent representative on the Security Council, Gromyko does his job with breathtaking competence."
At the same time, with light hand Western journalists, Andrei Gromyko, as an active participant in the Cold War, became the owner of a whole series of unflattering nicknames like “Andrei the Wolf”, “robot misanthrope”, “man without a face”, “modern Neanderthal”, etc. Gromyko became well Known in international circles for his perpetually dissatisfied and gloomy expression, as well as his extremely unyielding actions, which has earned him the nickname "Mr. No". Regarding this nickname, A. A. Gromyko noted: “They heard my “no” much less often than I heard their “know,” because we put forward much more proposals. In their newspapers they called me “Mr. No” because I did not allow myself to be manipulated. Whoever sought this wanted to manipulate the Soviet Union. We are a great power and we won’t allow anyone to do this!”
Thanks to his intransigence, Gromyko received the nickname "Mr. No"
However, Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, noted in his memoirs: “I found Gromyko a more pleasant interlocutor than I imagined him from the stories about this sarcastic “Mr. No.” He gave the impression of a correct and imperturbable person, reserved in a pleasant Anglo-Saxon manner. He knew how to make it clear in an unobtrusive manner how much experience he had.”
A. A. Gromyko adhered extremely firmly to the approved position. “The Soviet Union on the international stage is me,” thought Andrei Gromyko. - All our successes in the negotiations that led to the conclusion of important international treaties and agreements are explained by the fact that I was confidently firm and even adamant, especially when I saw that they were talking to me, and therefore to the Soviet Union, from a position of strength or playing in "cat and mouse". I never fawned over Westerners and after being hit on one cheek, I did not turn the other. Moreover, I acted in such a way that my overly obstinate opponent would have a hard time.”
Many did not know that A. A. Gromyko had a delightful sense of humor. His remarks could include pointed comments that came as a surprise during tense moments when receiving delegations. Henry Kissinger, coming to Moscow, was constantly afraid of eavesdropping by the KGB. Once, during a meeting, he pointed to a chandelier hanging in the room and asked the KGB to make him a copy of American documents, since the Americans’ copying equipment was “out of order.” Gromyko answered him in the same tone that chandeliers were made during the reign of the tsars and they could only contain microphones.
Among the most important achievements, Andrei Gromyko highlighted four points: the creation of the UN, the development of agreements to limit nuclear weapons, the legalization of borders in Europe and, finally, the recognition of the USSR as a great power by the US.
Few people today remember that the UN was conceived in Moscow. It was here in October 1943 that the Soviet Union, the United States and Great Britain declared that the world needed an international security organization. It was easy to declare, but difficult to do. Gromyko stood at the origins of the UN; the Charter of this organization bears his signature. In 1946, he became the first Soviet representative to the UN and at the same time deputy and then first deputy minister of foreign affairs. Gromyko was a participant and subsequently the head of our country’s delegation at 22 sessions of the UN General Assembly.
“The question of questions,” the “super task,” as A. A. Gromyko himself put it, was for him the process of negotiations to control the arms race, both conventional and nuclear. He went through all the stages of the post-war disarmament epic. Already in 1946, on behalf of the USSR, A. A. Gromyko made a proposal for a general reduction and regulation of weapons and a ban on the military use of atomic energy. Gromyko considered the Treaty Banning Tests of Nuclear Weapons in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, signed on August 5, 1963, the negotiations on which had dragged on since 1958, to be a source of special pride.
A. A. Gromyko considered consolidating the results of World War II to be another priority of foreign policy. This is, first of all, a settlement around West Berlin, the formalization of the status quo with the two German states, Germany and the GDR, and then pan-European affairs.
The historical agreements of the USSR (and then Poland and Czechoslovakia) with Germany in 1970-1971, as well as the 1971 quadripartite agreement on West Berlin, required enormous strength, persistence and flexibility from Moscow. How great the personal role of A. A. Gromyko in the preparation of these fundamental documents for peace in Europe is evident from the fact that to develop the text of the Moscow Treaty of 1970, he held 15 meetings with Chancellor W. Brandt’s adviser E. Bar and the same number with the minister Foreign Affairs V. Sheel.
It was they and the previous efforts that cleared the way for détente and the convening of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The significance of the Final Act signed in August 1975 in Helsinki had a global scale. It was, in essence, a code of conduct for states in key areas of relations, including military-political. The inviolability of post-war borders in Europe was secured, to which A. A. Gromyko attached special meaning, the prerequisites have been created for strengthening European stability and security.
It was thanks to the efforts of A. A. Gromyko that all the i’s were dotted between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. In September 1984, at the initiative of the Americans, a meeting between Andrei Gromyko and Ronald Reagan took place in Washington. These were Reagan's first negotiations with a representative of the Soviet leadership. Reagan recognized the Soviet Union as a superpower. But another statement became even more significant. Let me remind you of the words spoken by the herald of the myth of the “evil empire” after the end of the meeting in the White House: “The United States respects the status of the Soviet Union as a superpower... and we have no desire to change it social system" Thus, Gromyko's diplomacy obtained from the United States official recognition of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the Soviet Union.
Thanks to Gromyko, relations between the USSR and the USA were stabilized
Andrei Gromyko carried in his memory many facts that had been forgotten by wide circles of the international community. “Can you imagine,” Andrei Gromyko told his son, “it’s none other than the polished Macmillan, the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Since this was at the height of the Cold War, he makes attacks on us. Well, I would say that the usual UN cuisine is working, with all its political, diplomatic and propaganda techniques. I sit and think about how to respond to these attacks on occasion, during debates. Suddenly, Nikita Sergeevich, who was sitting next to me, bends down and, as I first thought, was looking for something under the table. I even moved away a little so as not to disturb him. And suddenly I see him pull out his shoe and start pounding it on the surface of the table. Frankly speaking, my first thought was that Khrushchev felt ill. But after a moment I realized that our leader was protesting in this way, seeking to embarrass MacMillan. I became all tense and, against my will, began to bang on the table with my fists - after all, I had to somehow support the head of the Soviet delegation. I didn’t look in Khrushchev’s direction, I was embarrassed. The situation was truly comical. And what’s surprising is that you can make dozens of smart and even brilliant speeches, but in decades no one will remember the speaker, Khrushchev’s shoe will not be forgotten.
As a result of almost half a century of practice, A. A. Gromyko developed for himself the “golden rules” of diplomatic work, which, however, are relevant not only for diplomats:
- it is absolutely unacceptable to immediately reveal all your cards to the other side, to want to solve the problem in one fell swoop;
— careful use of summits; poorly prepared, they do more harm than good;
- you cannot allow yourself to be manipulated either by crude or sophisticated means;
— Success in foreign policy requires a realistic assessment of the situation. It is even more important that this reality does not disappear;
— the most difficult thing is to consolidate the real situation through diplomatic agreements and international legal formalization of a compromise;
- constant struggle for initiative. In diplomacy, initiative is the best way to protect state interests.
A. A. Gromyko believed that diplomatic activity is hard work, requiring those who engage in it to mobilize all their knowledge and abilities. The task of a diplomat is “to fight to the end for the interests of his country, without harming others.” "Work across the entire range international relations, to find useful connections between seemingly separate processes,” this thought was a kind of constant in his diplomatic activity. “The main thing in diplomacy is compromise, harmony between states and their leaders.”
In October 1988, Andrei Andreevich retired and worked on his memoirs. He passed away on July 2, 1989. “The State, the Fatherland is us,” he liked to say. “If we don’t do it, no one will.”
Born on January 25, 1928 in the village of Mamati, Lanchkhuti district (Guria).
Graduated from Tbilisi Medical College. In 1959 he graduated from Kutaisi pedagogical institute them. A. Tsulukidze.
Since 1946, at Komsomol and party work. From 1961 to 1964 he was the first secretary of the district committee of the Communist Party of Georgia in Mtskheta, and then the first secretary of the Pervomaisky district party committee of Tbilisi. In the period from 1964 to 1972 - First Deputy Minister for the Protection of Public Order, then - Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia. From 1972 to 1985 - First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Georgia. In this post, he carried out a highly publicized campaign against the shadow market and corruption, which, however, did not lead to the eradication of these phenomena.
In 1985-1990 - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, from 1985 to 1990 - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR 9–11 convocations. In 1990-1991 - People's Deputy of the USSR.
In December 1990, he resigned “in protest against the impending dictatorship” and in the same year left the ranks of the CPSU. In November 1991, at the invitation of Gorbachev, he again headed the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (called at that time the Ministry of Foreign Relations), but after the collapse of the USSR a month later this position was abolished.
Shevardnadze was one of Gorbachev's associates in pursuing the policy of perestroika
In December 1991, the Minister of Foreign Relations of the USSR E. A. Shevardnadze was one of the first among the leaders of the USSR to recognize the Belovezhskaya Agreements and the upcoming demise of the USSR.
E. A. Shevardnadze was one of M. S. Gorbachev’s associates in pursuing the policy of perestroika, glasnost and détente.
Sources
- http://firstolymp.ru/2014/05/28/andrej-yanuarevich-vyshinskij/
- http://krsk.mid.ru/gromyko-andrej-andreevic
Leonid Mikhailovich Mlechin
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Russian foreign policy. From Lenin and Trotsky to Putin and Medvedev
Preface
Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov is only the fourteenth Minister of Foreign Affairs since October 1917. For comparison: there have been more than twenty ministers of internal affairs and heads of state security over these decades.
Among the minister-diplomats were three academicians (Evgeny Primakov, Vyacheslav Molotov and Andrei Vyshinsky) and one corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences (Dmitry Shepilov). Were brilliant educated people and those who didn't know at all foreign languages and before his appointment as minister, he had almost never been abroad. Two of them held office twice - Vyacheslav Molotov and Eduard Shevardnadze. The most a short time the ministers were Boris Pankin - less than three months, Leon Trotsky - five months and Dmitry Shepilov - eight and a half months. Andrei Gromyko has lived the longest - twenty-eight years.
Three long time were excluded from the history of diplomacy: these are Trotsky, Vyshinsky and Shepilov. The fourth - Molotov - was crossed out of history by some with curses, while others were triumphantly returned.
Sir Henry Wotton, a British poet and diplomat, wrote on the flyleaf of a book in 1604 his widely accepted definition of a diplomat: “A good man sent abroad to tell lies in the name of his country.” This definition turns the diplomat into just a performer.
All ministers assure that the development of foreign policy is the prerogative of the first person, that they are only carrying out the will of Secretary General or the president. But this is deceit. The personality of the minister has a decisive influence on policy formation. Molotov brought dogmatism and stubbornness to politics that Stalin did not have. Shevardnadze went further than Gorbachev in partnership with the West. Under the same president, Yeltsin, Kozyrev tried to make Russia an ally of the West, but Primakov abandoned this line.
Eduard Shevardnadze ceased to be a minister because the state itself - the Soviet Union - disappeared. Dmitry Shepilov resigned from the post of minister for promotion - secretary of the Central Committee. Andrei Gromyko briefly occupied the high but powerless position of chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Yevgeny Primakov, to the applause of the State Duma, moved from the post of minister directly to the chair of the head of government. Molotov made the opposite journey: he moved from the post of Chairman of the Council of Ministers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Eleven of the fourteen ministers were subjected to harsh criticism: some while still in office, others after resignation or even after death. Some of them are cursed as monsters and demons to this day. The exception is Evgeny Primakov. As a minister, he gained even more supporters and admirers.
Of the fourteen people's commissars and ministers, eight were dismissed or resigned due to dissatisfaction with their work. The owners of the Department of Internal Affairs suffered a more terrible fate - six were shot, two committed suicide; Five of the Lubyanka leaders were shot, others went to prison or fell into disgrace. God has had mercy on foreign ministers. For some reason, Stalin did not destroy even Maxim Litvinov, whose life hung by a thread.
Today life has become simpler. Resigned from the post of minister (obviously not because of at will) Igor Ivanov remains a prominent figure. But in a certain sense, you can sympathize with all the characters in this book.
The famous historian Evgeny Viktorovich Tarle once visited the no less famous lawyer Anatoly Fedorovich Koni. Kony complained about his old age. Tarle said:
Why, Anatoly Fedorovich, it’s a sin for you to complain. Vaughn Briand is older than you, and still hunts tigers.
Aristide Briand was the Prime Minister of France and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 19th century.
Yes,” Kony answered melancholy, “he feels good.” Brian hunts tigers, and here the tigers hunt us.
The reader will quickly see that this book is dedicated not only to people's commissars and foreign ministers, foreign policy and diplomacy. This is another look at the history of our country from 1917 to the present day...
Part one
FOREIGN POLICY AND REVOLUTION
LEO DAVIDOVITCH TROTSKY: “REVOLUTION DOES NOT NEED DIPLOMACY”
On one October Sunday in 1923, the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, people's commissar for military and naval affairs, Politburo member Lev Davidovich Trotsky went hunting, got his feet wet and caught a cold.
« “I fell ill,” he wrote in his autobiographical book. - After the influenza, some kind of cryptogenic temperature appeared. Doctors forbade me to get out of bed. So I lay there the rest of the fall and winter. This means that I missed the 1923 debate against « Trotskyism» . You can foresee revolution and war, but you cannot foresee the consequences of the autumn duck hunt».
The disease really turned out to be fatal. Trotsky went on the hunt that ended so sadly for him in the role of the second man in the country, whose popularity was comparable to Lenin’s. When he recovers in a few months, he will discover that he has become a persecuted oppositionist, deprived of power and surrounded by irreconcilable enemies. And all this, according to Trotsky, happened because an unknown illness unsettled him.
Doctors prescribed bed rest for the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council, and he was diligently treated. While the party apparatus was being raised to fight against « Trotskyism» Lev Davidovich was in a sanatorium near Moscow and, preoccupied with his illness, had little understanding of the changes taking place in the country. Well, really, what can you demand from a person who has been tormented? heat, who is forced to limit his communication to the circle of Kremlin doctors?
It is not difficult, however, to notice the striking contrast between Trotsky and Lenin: already terminally ill, Vladimir Ilyich, despite the strictest prohibitions from doctors, tried to participate in the political life of the country and influence it. Trotsky, having fallen ill, decisively withdraws from all affairs, reflects, remembers, writes. Lenin is eager to get down to business. Trotsky willingly accepts doctors' recommendations: rest and treatment.
The Bolshevik leaders, compensating for the difficulties and inconveniences of their former life, quickly mastered the advantages of their new position. They were treated abroad, mainly in Germany, went to sanatoriums, and went on long vacations. And they did not argue when doctors, who keenly sensed the moods of their high-ranking patients, prescribed them to rest in comfortable conditions.
Russian foreign ministers since 1991 have been different people who have championed different ideas about what role Russia should play in world politics. The first of them - Andrei Kozyrev - advocated cooperation with Western countries, but subsequent ministers sought to defend, first of all,.
Over the past twenty-seven years, the post of minister responsible for external relations states, in our country there were successively occupied by four people:
- Andrey Kozyrev (1991 - 1996);
- Evgeny Primakov (1996 - 1998);
- Igor Ivanov (1998 - 2004);
- Sergey Lavrov (2004 – present).
In 1974, the future minister graduated from MGIMO and began his diplomatic career as an assistant in the Department international organizations USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, he wrote and defended his PhD thesis on the role of the UN in politics. In 1990, the diplomat became the head of the Department, where he worked for many years. After the resignation, Shevardnadze took over the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Andrei Kozyrev was known as a liberal-minded minister who had sympathy for the United States. According to him, during his first visit to this country he was shocked by the number of cars owned by ordinary Americans and their supermarkets.
The minister participated in the development of an agreement on the abolition of the USSR and its replacement with the CIS. During the events of 1993, he supported Boris Yeltsin and his actions. Kozyrev tried to establish allied relations with former rival countries, especially the United States.
In 1996, the politician left the post of minister. Was a deputy for some time State Duma, and later focused on international business. Since 2012, the former minister has lived in the United States. He willingly gives interviews in which he criticizes Russia's current policies. Kozyrev expresses confidence in the impending collapse of the “anti-Western” regime of modern Russian Federation.
Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov is deservedly considered one of the most worthy politicians in our country after 1991. He managed to combine government and scientific activities.
Belonging to an older generation than many of his colleagues, he received a diplomatic education at the predecessor of MGIMO, the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, which closed in 1954. Later, he was a graduate student at the economics department of the country's leading university (MSU) and defended his PhD in economics, and in 1969, his doctorate.
In the 1960s, Evgeniy Maksimovich wrote a lot of journalistic articles about the Middle East and traveled around the region. In the first half of the 1990s, Primakov was responsible for questions foreign intelligence our country.
In 1996, Primakov took over the post from Minister Kozyrev. It was negatively received by politicians in other countries. Primakov continued to use his predecessor’s term “partnership” in relation to Western countries, but began to add “equal” to it. In 1997, he advocated sanctions against the Baltic countries in response to the oppression of the Russian-speaking population. In 1998, Evgeny Maksimovich became the head of the government, and Igor Ivanov received the ministerial portfolio.
Igor Ivanov was educated at the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages in 1969 and began working as a research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. Four years later he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Over the course of seventeen years, he built a successful diplomatic career and in 1995 served as Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Spain. After this, the diplomat became Yevgeny Primakov’s deputy. In 1998, Primakov headed the government, and Ivanov took the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
After six years in a high post, Igor Sergeevich continued to work in the diplomatic field. Until 2007, he was a member of the Russian Security Council. Since 2011, he has headed the Russian International Affairs Council.
Like many Soviet and Russian diplomats, Sergei Viktorovich was educated at MGIMO (in the eastern department). His first assignment was Sri Lanka. Therefore, in addition to the usual European languages for a diplomat, Lavrov knows the Sinhala language, which is spoken by the largest population of the island.
From 1992 to 1994, Sergei Lavrov served as deputy to Kozyrev, who then served as minister. He later served as our country’s permanent representative to the UN for ten years. In 2004, he received the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs and was reappointed to it several times. In this position, Sergei Viktorovich defends the national interests of Russia. He is known for his strong stance when dealing with foreign diplomats. In Europe and the United States, Lavrov is sometimes called the “second Gromyko” due to the minister’s tough position in the negotiations.
Today Sergei Lavrov is one of the most respected by ordinary citizens Russian politicians together with Vladimir Putin and Timur Shoigu. The lifestyle of the Russian diplomat attracts the attention of the press. Despite the passing years, the minister maintains contacts with his almamater - MGIMO. He is a member of the institute’s board of trustees and regularly participates in New Year’s skits.
Sergei Viktorovich writes poetry and is interested in poetry. He became the author of the MGIMO anthem. In recent months, Lavrov’s congratulatory poems addressed to the recently deceased Vitaly Churkin, where Sergei Viktorovich speaks warmly and respectfully about his diplomatic colleague, have become popular online. Despite his age, the minister is interested in sports - in particular, rafting and football. In addition to sports, the diplomat loves expensive cigars; there are several comical episodes of how Lavrov put colleagues in their place who tried to prohibit him from smoking in their presence.
Since 1991, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia have reflected the policy of the President of Russia in their activities. Kozyrev, in his desire to cooperate with, largely reflected the position of the entire top leadership of the Russian Federation. With the rise of Russia in the late 1990s, the country is reasserting itself as a serious force on the world stage. And the position of its ministers is becoming firmer.
Early years. Studies
Andrei Andreevich Gromyko was born on July 18 (July 5, old style) 1909 in the Belarusian village of Starye Gromyki, Gomel district, Mogilev province. His father, peasant Andrei Matveevich Gromyko, was a participant in the Russo-Japanese and First World Wars. Since childhood, Andrei helped his father with agricultural work and earning money in the city - as a rule, at the logging site in Gomel. Already in his early years, the future minister read a lot, standing out among his peers with perseverance and determination. After graduating from a seven-year school, he entered a vocational school in Gomel, and then a technical school in Borisov. At the vocational school, Gromyko headed the Komsomol cell, and at the technical school, soon after joining the CPSU(b) in 1931, he became secretary of the party organization.
After graduating from college, Gromyko entered the Minsk Economic Institute. In his second year, he began working as a teacher in a rural school near Minsk, and then took over the post of director of the same school. He continued his studies at the institute as an external student. Shortly before graduating from the institute, Gromyko received an offer from Minsk to continue his education in graduate school, which trained general economists. For some time he studied in Minsk, and at the end of 1934 he was transferred to Moscow. In 1936, Gromyko defended his Ph.D. thesis on agriculture USA and was sent to work at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences as a senior research fellow. During his graduate studies and writing his dissertation, Gromyko seriously studied English.
The first years of work at NKID
In parallel with his work at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Gromyko taught political economy at the Moscow Institute of Municipal Construction Engineers. Then the journal “Problems of Economics” published its first science articles. At the end of 1938, Gromyko became acting. O. Scientific Secretary at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The authorities planned to send him as a scientific secretary to the Far Eastern Branch of the Academy of Sciences, but circumstances turned out to be such that Gromyko was invited to work at the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. The Foreign Policy Department suffered greatly as a result of the repressions of the late 1930s and experienced a catastrophic shortage of personnel. At the beginning of 1939, the party commission headed by V. M. Molotov selected a group of candidates to work in the People's Commissariat, which included Gromyko. Soon, the young native of the Belarusian hinterland was offered the post of head of the Department of American Countries - this was an extraordinary career takeoff. In a responsible position, Gromyko established himself as a good analyst, a competent employee and a convinced communist, which was noted by Molotov and Stalin. A few months after joining the NKID, Stalin personally received Gromyko in the Kremlin and approved his appointment as adviser to the USSR Embassy in Washington. In August 1943, Gromyko became ambassador to the United States and concurrently envoy to Cuba. In this post, he established close relations with US President F. D. Roosevelt and some representatives of the American ruling circles. Gromyko made efforts to strengthen the anti-Hitler coalition and persuade the allies to open a second front in Europe, took part in the preparation and conduct of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, and was a member of the Soviet delegations at these conferences. At the conferences in Dumbarton Oaks and San Francisco, he headed the USSR delegations. During his years of work in Washington, Gromyko mastered the English language perfectly.
Gromyko personally participated in the development of the Charter of the United Nations. This document bears his signature. In 1946, he was appointed the first permanent representative of the USSR to the UN. At 22 sessions of the General Assembly, Gromyko was part of the Soviet delegation or headed it.
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
In August 1948, after eight years in the United States, he returned to Moscow and was soon appointed to the post of First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. Both Stalin and Molotov valued Gromyko as an effective worker. In 1952, at the 19th Congress of the CPSU, he was elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee, but, however, soon, causing Stalin’s displeasure, he was removed from his post and sent as an ambassador to Great Britain as “punishment.” He returned to Moscow after Stalin’s death: Molotov, who again headed the Foreign Ministry, recalled Gromyko from London and reinstated him as first deputy minister. Under Molotov, Gromyko became chairman of the Information Committee at the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a body created to analyze and develop recommendations on various aspects of the world situation, which included representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the KGB and the Ministry of Defense.
With N.S. Khrushchev coming to power, he entered into confrontation with Molotov. He chose Gromyko as his support in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - he accompanied Khrushchev during an important trip to India and a “conciliatory” visit to Yugoslavia. In 1956, at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, the deputy minister became a member of the Central Committee. In February 1957, D. T. Shepilov, who briefly held the post of head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, moved to the post of Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. He suggested Gromyko or V.V. Kuznetsov to Khrushchev as a successor. Giving characteristics to both applicants, Shepilov compared the first to a bulldog: “If you tell him, he will not unclench his jaws until he completes everything on time and accurately.” The Secretary General settled on Gromyko's candidacy, and the 47-year-old diplomat took the post of Foreign Minister.
Minister of Foreign Affairs under Khrushchev
Under Khrushchev, who independently shaped the country's foreign policy, Gromyko, as head of the Foreign Ministry, did not have freedom of action and played the role of a loyal executor. Most of the key steps in the foreign policy of the USSR at that time - a break with China and reconciliation with Yugoslavia, proposals at the UN on granting independence to colonial countries and peoples and on general and complete disarmament, the disruption of the summit meeting of four states in Paris in 1960 - were consequences of personal Khrushchev's intervention. Gromyko did not always share these initiatives. This was the case in October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis - Gromyko was initially skeptical of Khrushchev’s intention to place Soviet missiles in Cuba, predicting a “political explosion” in the United States. The Foreign Minister personally participated in negotiations with American President John Kennedy. He later recalled that these were the most difficult negotiations in his diplomatic career. Then, as during the Berlin crisis of 1961, diplomatic efforts played a key role in resolving the tense situation.
Minister of Foreign Affairs under Brezhnev
In 1964 general secretary The Central Committee of the CPSU became L. I. Brezhnev. Gromyko, and before Brezhnev came to power, supported with him a good relationship, quickly found a common language with Khrushchev’s successor. Brezhnev, especially in the first years of leading the country, willingly listened to the experienced diplomat. In the first decade of the reign of the new Secretary General of the USSR, the West managed to achieve recognition of the post-war borders in Europe as the basis of European and world peace. The turning point was the conclusion of the Moscow Treaty with Germany in 1970. Gromyko’s personal contribution in this case was more than significant: in the process of developing the text of the treaty, he had to hold 15 meetings with the adviser to the German Chancellor on foreign policy, E. Bahr, and the same number with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, W. Scheel. In 1975, the process of recognition of the territorial status quo in Europe was completed at a pan-European meeting in Helsinki.
In 1968, the Soviet Union signed another major international treaty - on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Gromyko also took an active part in its preparation. Against this background, there was an improvement in relations between the USSR and the USA. In 1972, Brezhnev and Gromyko held negotiations with R. Nixon and G. Kissinger in Moscow, and in 1973 in Washington. As a result, a number of important documents were signed, including the document “On the fundamentals of relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America,” a kind of code of peaceful coexistence between the two superpowers; Treaty on the Limitation of Missile Defense Systems; Interim Agreement on Certain Measures for the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (SALT I); Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War. Most of the signed documents on the Soviet side were prepared by Gromyko and members of the Foreign Ministry staff together with the Ministry of Defense and the KGB of the USSR. In 1974, Gromyko and Brezhnev held two-day negotiations with Kissinger and the new US President D. Ford.
The culmination of the efforts of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries to strengthen détente was the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Helsinki in 1975. On the USSR side, the process of preparing a charter for peaceful cooperation in Europe, which was adopted in Helsinki, was supervised by Foreign Ministry officials headed by Gromyko. In 1971, Gromyko signed the Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation between the USSR and India during Brezhnev's visit to that country.
In 1973, together with Yu. V. Andropov and A. A. Grechko, Gromyko became a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee.
Late 1970s - early 1980s
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Brezhnev's health deteriorated sharply, and he began to gradually withdraw from the actual leadership of the country. Under the current conditions, Gromyko began to almost single-handedly determine the vector of the USSR’s foreign policy. The minister's uncompromising attitude and his suspicion of foreign policy initiatives not coming from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began to negatively affect the international position of the USSR. The activity of the country's foreign policy has noticeably subsided. Water in the background Soviet troops Soviet-American relations deteriorated sharply in Afghanistan in 1979. Many of the achievements of previous years were nullified - the United States refused to ratify the SALT-2 treaty, and the atmosphere of the Cold War re-established itself in the dialogue between states. Gromyko's statements about the United States in the early 1980s were harsh.
On the eve of the next presidential election in the United States, in September 1984, Gromyko spoke with R. Reagan, who took the initiative to resume political contacts with the leadership of the USSR. According to Gromyko, the conversation went correctly, but both participants remained unconvinced. Diplomat A. M. Aleksandrov-Agentov, assessing the American direction of the USSR’s foreign policy in the early 1980s, wrote: “In general, perhaps, we can say that in these years A. A. Gromyko, even calling for the normalization of Soviet- American relations and agreements with the United States, proceeded from the fact that these would be agreements with the enemy rather than cooperation with a partner.”
In relations with the Warsaw Pact countries, as well as with China, Gromyko did not show due flexibility. Since October 1982, the USSR and China have held political consultations on the prospects for the development of bilateral relations. The Soviet side proposed concluding a treaty on non-aggression or non-use of force, signing a document on the principles of relations, but the Chinese were not satisfied with this option. Gromyko was reserved about the development of economic ties with China, fearing the strengthening of this country's military potential.
Last years
Gromyko was one of those who actively contributed to the rise of M. S. Gorbachev to the leadership of the state and party. At the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, he supported Gorbachev’s candidacy. In July 1985, he resigned from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. According to A. M. Aleksandrov-Agentov, this departure was “logical and, one might say, historically inevitable.” New position Gromyko became the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. In 1989, the former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs retired and died a few months later. Shortly before his death, he completed work on his memoirs, “Memorable.” Buried former minister Foreign Affairs at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Personal qualities
Colleagues recalled Gromyko as an energetic, very hard-working, organized person. He had a good memory and was knowledgeable in the issues that he dealt with as part of his job. Gromyko was always disciplined and loyal towards leaders - this was seen by his contemporaries as one of the main reasons for his political longevity. Without outwardly giving the impression of an intellectual and not being a good speaker, Gromyko showed great interest in literature and painting, met with famous figures of art and science, which he readily wrote about in his memoirs. He was socially constrained and did not have a good sense of humor.
Gromyko was the author of a number of scientific works. In 1957, under the pseudonym G. Andreev, his book “Export of American Capital” was published. From the history of US capital exports as a tool of economic and political expansion,” which was based on materials collected by Gromyko during his years of diplomatic service abroad. For this essay, the author was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Economic Sciences. In 1981, Gromyko’s book “The Expansion of the Dollar” was published, in 1983 - the monograph “External Expansion of Capital: History and Modernity”. For his scientific research, Gromyko was twice awarded the USSR State Prize. In 1958-1987, Gromyko was the editor-in-chief of the magazine International Affairs.
He was married to Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich (1911-2004). Son - Anatoly Andreevich Gromyko (born 1932), diplomat and scientist, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Historical Sciences. Daughter - Emilia Andreevna, married to Piradova.
The foreign policy of the USSR was managed by a separate department. The official history of the special department for foreign policy began on July 6, 1923. During its existence before the collapse of the USSR, the authority was renamed several times, which did not change the essence of its tasks.
First Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR
The People's Commissariat was headed by Georgy Chicherin, who was born in 1872 in the Tambov province. Received specialized diplomatic education. Since 1898, Chicherin has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire. The core activity of the future Soviet diplomat is the creation of a collection on the history of the ministry. Gradually becomes a supporter of socialist views. From 1904 until the revolution he lived abroad. Was a member of the socialist parties of the states. After the revolution, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR returned from emigration and entered into active political life states already during the period Civil War. Officially headed the foreign policy department from July 6, 1923 to July 21, 1930.
At the same time, Chicherin carried out actual diplomatic work even before receiving official status. It is very difficult to overestimate the merit of Chicherin in resolving many issues of relations between the Union and Western countries at the Genoa and Lausanne conferences (1922 and 1923), as well as during the signing of the Rappal Peace Treaty.
USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1930 to the formation of the UN
He headed the Department of Foreign Affairs in the most difficult time from a political point of view (1930-1939), because it was during this period that there were massive massacres in the USSR. As minister, he carried out several important missions:
- Resumption of diplomatic relations with the United States.
- The USSR was admitted to the League of Nations (the prototype of the UN; the organization existed from 1918 to 1940 in fact and legally before the creation of the UN). He was the state's permanent representative in the League of Nations.
The first diplomat who officially held the position (after all renamings) of “Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR” was Vyacheslav Molotov, who headed the department from May 3, 1939 to March 4, 1949. He remained in history as one of the authors of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This document actually divided Europe into zones of influence of the USSR and Germany. After signing the Pact of Obstacles, begin the Second world war Hitler had no more.
From March 1949 to 1953, the ministry was headed by Andrei Vyshinsky. Historians have yet to assess his role in the foreign policy of the USSR. After the end of the war, he took an active part in the Potsdam Conference and the creation of the UN. He actively defended the political interests of the USSR in the foreign arena. Also, do not forget that it was during these years that there was a war in Korea, which split this country into two states: communist and capitalist. Of course, this minister played a big role in fueling the Cold War between the Union and the United States.
The only foreign minister of the USSR who returned to the post after Stalin's death. True, he did not work as a minister for very long - until the famous 20th Congress of the CPSU.
Andrey Gromyko
USSR ministers often worked in the government for a long time. But none of them was able to last as long as Andrei Andreevich Gromyko (from 1957 to 1985), a professional diplomat whose word was heeded by many Western leaders. A lot can be said about this politician, because if not for his consistent, balanced position on many issues of relations with the United States, then " cold war"could easily develop into a real one. The most important achievement of the minister is considered to be the conclusion of the SALT-1 treaty.