Evening star., 1954-11-22

vishinsky at Office
On Park Avenue
Continued From First Page.)
NOTED four years later to dep
uty. He always drew capacity
audiences when he spoke. Most
of his fellow delegates regularly
voted against him. but they were
intent on his every word. Visi-
tors galleries were packed.
Mr.. Vishinsky spoke In loud
voice. Shouting was his normal
form OF delivery. AS he warmed
up to his theatrical courtroom
manner, his arms whipped the
air and his voice grew in in
tensity.
He could be ceurtly, charming
and polite when MoScow'S cold
war policies called for such tao
tics. but he usually was insult
ing. international councils coined
the term "Vishinskyism." tt
meant vitriolic type of oratory.
The acid-tongued Russian FREE
uuently used such words as war
monger. murderer, liar, imperial
ist. lackey, cannibal, reactionary
ruling circles. In fact, he talked
like the top prosecutor he was
at the bizarre blood purge trials
of the mid-thirties that sent to
their doom a number of early
revolutionists who fought on.
Lenin's side.
Relentless Prosecutor.
At lea lit prominent Com
munists - including one time
chief Bolshevist figures-were
executed after these trials and
numerous others were imprisoned.
Their departures from the po-
litical scene removed the last
barriers between Joseph Stain
and complete power.
Charges included conspiracy
to overthrow the government.
treason, murder and plots to
kill Stain and others high in
Soviet adm .flistration.
The prosecution alleged a vast
conspiracy was directed by the
exiled revolutionary leader, Leon
Trotzky. Trotzky issued a state
ment in Mexico vigorously deny
ing that he plotted to dismember
the Soviet Union. He subse-
quently was killed in his Mexi-
can place of exile by an assassin
who used pick AK. :.
The uniformity with which the
defendants confessed to the most
sweeping crimes and plots
against the government and old
comrades caused wonder
throughout the world.
: Grilled Relentlessly.
Mr.. Vishinsky revealed himself
as a ruthless examiner who
grilled defendants for hours and
then demanded death for the
"accursed vipers foul dogs
:. disgusting villains"
1--WE cannot leave such people
alive" he cried in summing up
one case. He referred to a group
of defendants as this sinking
heap of human scum" and "a
gang without ideals or spiritual
value"
Mr.. Vishinsky demanded Hthe
maximum measures of social de-
fense"-a shot in the back Of
the head.
He compared one of the de-
PENDANTS with AL Capone and
declared: "They can do such
things in America, where AL Ca
pone remains alive, but not here.
Thank God Russia is not Amer
ica." authorities on Russia
said the expression Thank
God" was in common usage in
the Goddess u. s. S. RI
Originally a Menshevik.
Mr.. Vishinsky knew how to
maneuver his way in the intri-
cate and sometimes dangerous
channels of Soviet politics. One
evidence of that was the fact
that originally he was member
of the Menshevik faction which
ultimately lost out to the Boil
Sheviks.
At thesU. N. he was regarded
as a very shrewd and capable
delegate. But when the chips
were down, his logic-or logic
twisting, as it usually was
could never be certain Of at
tracing more than five votes,
all from the Soviet bloc, against
40 to SIS from members opposing
the Soviet position.
His sudden elevation on March
5, 1949 to the post Of Foreign
Minister, replacing v. NJ. Molo-
tov, whose deputy he had been
for a number of years, was sur
prise, never-explained Kremlin
move. -Four years and a day
later he was bounced out Of that
job and denoted to his old one
of deputy to Mr.. Molotov, who
succeeded to his old position.
Those were among the numer-
Gus Soviet government and Com
munist Party shifts that followed
the death of Prime Minister Sta
lin. The same decree that con-
firmed Georgi Malenkov as Prime
Minister restored Mr.. Molotov to
the title of Foreign Minister and
designated Mr.. ViShinsky as his
deputy. Mr.. Vishinsky also was
appointed permanent, or chief
Soviet delegate to the u. N
Previously he had served as head
of the Soviet delegation only to
U. N. General Assembly sessions
Had Highest Decoration.
Moscow took official note of his
10th birthday in 1853 hy award.