A few weeks before the December 1953 execution of Lavrenty Beria, Stalin's fellow Georgian who became boss of the Soviet secret police. Foreign Minister Molotov gave a big party at the old Spiri-donovka Palace in Moscow. Except for Malenkov, Khrushchev and Voroshilov, all the Soviet leaders were there, rubbing shoulders with several hundred foreign diplomats and newsmen. In a corner of the ornate reception room, Politburocrats matched toasts with the ambassadors of Britain, France, Red China and the U.S., and for once vodka seemed to relax the occupationally tight-mouthed.
Lusty old Lazar M. Kaganovich, wartime commissar for transport, reputedly Stalin's brother-in-law, made toast after toast, in loud, rambling, unguarded speeches. Toasting "the great friendship of the Soviet peoples," he ran down the list of Soviet nationalities: "Tadzhiks, Uzbeks, Kazakhs—."
"What about the Georgians?" asked Trade Minister Anastas Mikoyan.
Dead silence, and then Kaganovich, looking dully at Mikoyan, said: "Yes, the Georgians, too."
When someone asked why the ambassador for Red China didn't think up a toast, Mikoyan snapped: "He doesn't think anything."
Refusing to be hushed by Molotov, Kaganovich went on roaring until Molotov brought over Marshal Zhukov. Looking grim, Zhukov recalled a toast to "Justice" made earlier by U.S. Ambassador Charles E. Bohlen. He said he wanted to support that toast.
Snapped Mikoyan: "What's the matter, Zhukov, can't you think up your own toast?"
"I repeat," said Marshal Zhukov, "I wish to support the toast to Justice."
Into the Darkness. "Justice," in its peculiar Soviet connotation, had a special meaning for Mikoyan that day. An Armenian who served Stalin in the transCaucasus area during Stalin's early struggle for power. Mikoyan was made commissar for trade in 1926, not only survived the purges, but is credited with having brought Lavrenty Beria to Stalin's attention.
The record now shows that at the time of the Spiridonovka party, another of his protégés, Armenian party Secretary Grigori A. Arutinov, political boss of Armenia since 1937, was being ousted. Some time later Mikoyan's trusted deputy in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, English-speaking Alexei D. Krutikov, was also expelled for "placing personal friendships above party and state interests," and the ministry was criticized for having covered up for Krutikov.
Mikoyan had more contacts with foreign civilians than any other Soviet leader (he visited the U.S. in 1936, returned with enthusiasm for frozen foods. Coca-Cola and Eskimo Pies), and was popular with British businessmen, who refer to him as "Mikky." He junketed with Khrushchev and Bulganin to Red China last September, but Aneurin Bevan, who met him in Moscow, noted that his influence seemed to be waning. His ministry was criticized for boosting the sales of vodka while the party was carrying on an anti-alcohol campaign. Recently his trade representative in Georgia was tried for "speculation and cheating the public."