Evening star., 1954-11-25
Rasfvoroy Says Beria
Met Doom al Armed
Kren,Iin Showdown
By III. Associated Press

By the Associated Press
NEW YORK, Nov. 25.-An
armed showdown by Communist
leaders in the Kremlin settled
the Moscow struggle for power
and sent Police Boss Lavrenty p.
Beria to his doom, says a former
officer of Beria's forces.
Writing in Life Magazine, 1t.
Col. Yuri Rastvorov, who detected
to the Americans In japan last
January. declares:
Beria, allied with Stalin's son.
1t. Gen. Vastly Stain, gathered
forces during Stalin's final ILL
ness with the intention even
tually of seizing the Soviet gov
ernment by force. Marshal
Georgi Zhukov and other mill
tary leaders, fearing a blood
purge even greater than Stalin's
If Beria succeeded, Joined forces
with Georgi Malenkov and other
Communist elements to thwart
the intended coup, seized Beria
and his cohorts and send them
to death by execution.
Believes Death Natural.
Col. Rastvorov until last jan
uary was the head of an MVD
(Beria's secret police) spy ring
In Japan. Expressing conviction
that Stain died a natural death
in March. 1858. he says:
With 10 physicians prepared
to testify that their leader had
indeed died Of a brain hemor-
rliage, each member Of the
(ruling) group hoped to fore
stall any future accusations
that he had plotted Stains
death or failed to provide the
fullest possible medical care for
the dying vozhd leader).
But a contest for power be-
tween the various blocs became
inevitable when Stain died. Col.
Rastvorov sketches the Kremlin
events this way:
Malenkov, who had flattered
and wooed Beria In the past,
had his assistance in becoming
premier, while Eeria retained
control over the secret police
and the nations arms program.
Beria realized the time was not
ripe for a hated police boss to
take over the top job, and thus
Joined a working agreement
with Malenkov and v. NJ. Molo-
tov for governing triulnvirate.
Molotov could not have taken
the top job because he had been
In disfavor and his wife ectu-
ally had just been released from
Imprisonment on Stalin's char
ges that she was a spy for the
Americans. This charge was
based largely on the fact that
she had brother in the United
States.
Got Doctors Acquitted.
But Beria set out at once to
build up his own power. quietly
shaking up police forces
throughout the country, and
climaxing his moves by bringing
about public acquittal of the
group of doctors accused III
February, 1858, of plotting So
Wet leaders deaths.
Aligned with Beria were
Stalin's son and several generals,
including Col. Gen. Pavel Arte-
miev, commandant of the Mos
COW district; 1t. Gen. N. K.
Spiridonov. commandant of the
Kremlin, and 1t. Gen. K. r.
Sinilov. commandant of the city
of Moscow. (None of these has
been heard from since Beria was
seized. Rastvorov reports all
were quietly liquidated.)
But Malenkov was not. idle
either, and set about strength
ening his position in the Com
munist Party. Suddenly, with
the help Of army general, Malen-
kov had young Stain removed
from his post. Beria realized the
time for action had come, and
Artemiev ordered two divisions
under trusted officers into Mos
COW from the nearby provinces.
But Communist spies In the
army tipped off Malenkov.
Zhukov, along with Defense
Minister Nikolai Bulganin and
other high army officers. secretly
brought in two loyal guards divi-
sions from the Urals region, one
o fthem a tank division. They
arranged to capture Beria by
calling a full meeting of the
party central committee. That
was June 26, 1858.
Key Communist leaders were
armed as they gathered for the
meeting. They seized Beria on
his arrival. With Beria gone, the
plot collapsed.