ALLEGED CIRCUMSTANCES OF STALIN'S 'MURDER' AT GAGRY/GREAT-RUSSIAN VS. CAUCASIAN FACTIONS.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00423R000700480001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 24, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 15, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/07/24: CIA-RDP83-00423R000700480001-1
7,1
bbwihiluo OTTICIAL3 ONLY/ODOURITY INFORMATIQK
Country - USSR
Subject -Alleged Circumstances of Stalin's "Murder" at Gagry/Great-Russian
vs. Caucasian Factions.
Place Acquired - 50X1
Date Acquired -
Date of Information - February - May 53
50X1
1. "Stalin did not die a natural death but was killed at Gagry near Sochi, his
summer residence. He was knocked down with a blunt instrument which caused
hemorrhage of the brain a few days previous to the date when his grave
illness was officially announced.
2. "The cause and background of this assassination was the struggle for power
between two warring fractions within the Politbureau: the so-called 'Great-
Russians' headed by Molotov and Bulganin and the 'Caucasians' headed by Beria,
Mikoyan and Kaganovich. Their tug of war has been going on for years behind
the scenes with Malenkov cleverly maneuvering between both groups. For a
long time Stalin had given no marked support to either group and had withstood
all the pressure of the Great-Russians because of his old friendship for Beria.
In autumn 1952, however, Stalin made his decision to sponsor the Great-Russian
grasp. This resulted in the conspicuous build-up of Malenkov as heir apparent
at the 19th Communist Party Congress, the 'discovery' of the doctors' plot and the
general undermining of the position of Beria and his friends.
3. The latter were not slow to grasp the import of all this. The fact that Stalin
had put his authority behind the above moves left them no other way out but the
elimination of Stalin's person. As the control of the secret police apparatus
was not yet wrested from Beria to any serious degree, the execution of this plot
presented no great difficulties.
It. "Stalin's death, coming unexpectedly to the Great-Russians, caught them unpre-
pared and Beria could undo the measures taken against him. For the moment he
holds the greatest power in the USSR, as Bulganin's army, too, ishoneycombed
with his agents. Nevertheless, Beria can hardly hope to become another Stalin.
For one thing, the head-hangman of the USSR cannot hope for any popularity
however much he tries for it; second, another Georgian at the head of the
Empire would hardly be tolerated. Even if he succeeds in remaining in the
saddle, his rule will always be by proxy - either Malenkov or some other more
neutral figure will act as the head of the government.
This
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/07/24: CIA-RDP83-00423R000700480001-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/07/24: CIA-RDP83-00423R000700480001-1
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5. "At the same time it cannot be supposed that the Great-Russian group is
idle and prepared to contemplate its setback with indifference. Today the
power in the USSR is in a state of precarious equilibrium: neither side
dares any decisive step for fear of making a mistake and toppling into the
abyss. Hence the tactical moves to placate the West, to win a respite and
to settle domestic matters before the foreign policy of the Communist Party -
i.e., Stalin's old policy - to which both factions adhere- can be pursued again
with full force. In the USSR it is felt that decisive Western pressure on
the split Kremlin is indicated more than ever; the Soviet leaders would rather
make any concessions than risk an armed conflict at a moment when they are so
deeply disunited."
-end-
CEORET/UC orriomm NLY/ODOURITY INFODMATI
urr'"r"".1, .F?4.017101 fOr OS Officials
OnW ''''373-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr 2013/07/24: CIA-RDP83-00423R000700480001-1