Evening star., 1953-07-10
European Diplomats Expect
MdIenkov-MoIotov Showdown

w w
Unions atomic energy program,
but there was no indication
whether shortcomings in that
department contributed to his
downfall.
Beria was publicly drummed
out of the party and government
in language reminiscent of the
great Soviet purge trials of the
1930s. He was branded a per
f1dious" and Infamous
criminal who tried to under
mine the Soviet state in the in
terest of foreign capital"
The Communist Party news
paper Pravda declared fatty that
Beria was a "hireling of imper-
ialist forces" and had laid secret
plans for "seizing the leadership
of the party and the country"
His aims, Pravda continued
were to wreck the Communist
Party and replace it with q
policy of capitulation which
would lead in the end to the
restoration of capitalism"
Moscow radio reported that
speakers at the party meeting
angrily denounced him as a
bourgeois renegade" who "roused
the indignation of the entire
party and entire Soviet people" "
An official communique said
his removal from Office was de-
cided by the presidium of the
Soviet (parliament) of
the U. S. S. r. after it reviewed
the criminal and anti-state ac-
tivities of Beria, directed at un-
dermining the Soviet state in
the interests of foreign capital" ."
Although the news of Beria s
downfall took the West by sur
prise, there had been several
hints lately that something was
in the wind.
An editorial in the Soviet gov
newspaper Izvestia Mon
day indicated that some official
was headed for the discard. It
said the Soviets had crushed
all it's enemies" who tried to
the unity of the party
and declared that life sooner or
later would rid itself" of any
leader who neglects Communist
theory.
Pravda Editorial Recalled.
Two weeks ago, Pravda carried
an editorial blaming the Ameri-
cans for the uprisings in East
Germany. It asked pointedly why
it wasn't clear long ago that a
criminal organization of adven-
turers" existed in the east Sec
tor. It demanded those con-
cerned increase their vigilance
. and draw the necessary con-
clusions."
Speculation that Beria was on
the skids first doomed early in
April, when the post-Stalin gov
ernment released IS doctors i'm
prisoned in a much -trumpeted
plot against top military and
government officials. The Ma
lenkov regime blamed a minor
official of Beria's old Ministry
of State Security with framing
the doctors.
One of the most feared men
in the Soviet Union, Beria
sprang to prominence toward
the end of the bloody purges
of the 193Os that made Stain
an absolute dictator. 1t was his
job to purge the burgers and
attempt to heal the wounds Of
the blood bath.
Ruler Of a grim empire of
spies, informers and execution
ers, he was long considered one
of the most likely successors to
Stain. After the postwar rise
of Malenkov, he and Beria were
dubbed the power twins" and
Beria was believed to be ex-
tremely close to the Red die
tator.
Career in Secret Police.
A squat, scholarly looking
man. Beria's entire party career
back to the revolution
ary days of 1917-had been
spent in the secret police. He
was widely considered to WELD
absolute power in his hidden
realm, bulwarked by his close
ties with Stain.
It seemed doubtful that Kru-
GLOW, as Beria's successor at the
Internal affairs ministry, would
be given anywhere near the
power enjoyed by his predeces-
sor. Pravda today demanded
that party organizations reg
ularly verify" the work of all
institutions and officials, and
"the activity of the
of the Ministry of In
ternal Affairs"
AS colonel-general in the
Red Amy, Kruglov served as
Soviet security officer at the Big
Three's Teheran, Yalta and
Potsdam conferences during
World War II. For that he was
awarded the United States
Legion of Merit by United States
Maj. Gen. Floyd Parks in one of