Scores of dictators throughout history have hoped to push their power beyond death by trying to decree their succession;most have failed. Did Stalin turn the trick before death took him?
Stalin himself had to establish his rule during years of bloody struggle and, in a sense, the struggle never ended; the latest major Soviet purge took place only a few months before he died. Masters who rule a people by fear are doomed to fear themselves. In this respect, Stalin's regime was never secure, nor can Malenkov's be.
Yet Malenkov has at his disposal an...
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