Cold Open

It’s a warm summer’s night in the Soviet Union in 1943. 

A young woman walks home alone through the dark, deserted streets of Moscow. She's just finished a long shift at a nearby munitions factory, and her weary limbs ache for the comfort of her warm bed.

As the young woman shuffles past row upon row of derelict buildings, their boarded-up facades plastered with wartime propaganda posters, she hears the soft rumbling of a car engine somewhere close behind.

Glancing over her shoulder, the young woman notices a black limousine idling in the glow of a street lamp. Pang of dread courses through her body.

Under the tyrannical rule of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union has become a place of paranoia and suspicion, where even ordinary citizens live in constant fear of being arrested and transported to a dreaded gulag detention camp.

Afraid she’s being followed, the young woman spins around and ducks down a dingy side alley, her heart rate quickening. But before she can get very far… the limousine screeches to a stop alongside her.

The door swings open and two men in military uniform step out.

They stride up to the young woman and order her inside the vehicle. Before she can object, they grab her arms and shove her inside the limousine, and slam the door.

The young woman is terrified, and her fear only intensifies when she looks up and realizes who sits opposite her. Lavrentiy Beria is the notorious head of the Soviet secret police, a man known for sadistic cruelty.

The bald-headed Beria leans forward with an unnerving smile. He places a hand on the young woman’s knee and she shivers. Then the Soviet official invites the young woman back to his house for dinner.

Speechless with panic, the young woman can only nod her compliance. She’s heard stories about Beria driving around Moscow, picking up young women to sexually assault at his private villa. She knows that if she protests, she and her entire family will be carted off to the gulag - or killed. So she accepts Beria’s invitation, her heart pounding as the limousine speeds through the empty Moscow streets.

Over the course of his career, Lavrentiy Beria establishes himself as one of the most powerful men in the Soviet Union, notorious for his ruthless measures and violent acts, including kidnapping, torture, and rape. His wily cunning and heartlessness helps him earn the confidence of Joseph Stalin, who entrusted Beria with the implementing of a brutal purge of perceived enemies, a campaign of killing that leaves hundreds of thousands dead. And following the Soviet leader’s death, Beria will position himself as Stalin’s natural successor, but a group of rival officers will conspire against him, setting in motion a dramatic series of events that will lead to Beria’s arrest on June 26th, 1953.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is June 26th, 1953: The Downfall of Stalin’s Right-Hand Man.

Act One: Rise to Infamy

It’s November 1938, fifteen years before Lavrentiy Beria’s arrest.

A biting wind slices through the streets of Moscow as Beria strides up the steps of the Kremlin. He pauses to brush the snow from the shoulders of his overcoat before stalking across the cavernous entrance hall. The stiff-backed guards stand to attention as the bespectacled Beria sweeps past. But as soon as his back is turned, the guards’ faces settle into expressions of unfiltered loathing.

At thirty-nine years old, Beria is one of the most powerful men in the Soviet Union. Driven by unwavering ambition and fortified by cold-blooded ruthlessness, Beria has been able to successfully ascend the ranks of the Communist Party and establish himself as one of Joseph Stalin’s most trusted subordinates.

Three months ago, Beria was promoted to deputy head of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, or the NKVD - the state security force that has become synonymous with terror and oppression. Over the last few years, the NKVD has been conducting a frenzied campaign of slaughter known as the Great Purge, arresting and killing anybody suspected of being an “enemy of the people”. The Great Purge began as a systematic liquidation of Stalin’s political opponents, but its scope was soon expanded to include other branches of society, including the clergy, the military, and the intelligentsia.

By 1938, the death toll has exceeded one million. The unrelenting bloodshed has started to destabilize society and damage the economy, prompting Stalin to scale back the killings. Moreover, the uncontrolled excesses of the Purge has caused Stalin to lose faith in the current NKVD chief, Nikolai Yezhov - Beria’s immediate superior. Ever the opportunist, Beria capitalized on Yezhov’s loss of favor to further his own agenda, deftly manipulating Stalin with hushed remarks and whispered insinuations, sowing seeds of uncertainty about Yezhov in order to claim even greater power for himself.

Today, on this cold winter’s morning, Beria has been summoned to the Kremlin for a meeting with Stalin. He steps inside the dictator’s office and greets him with an obsequious bow. Stalin proceeds to give Beria the news that he is been hoping for: the Soviet leader has decided to fire Yezhov and offer Beria the leadership of the NKVD. Beria’s face cracks into a thin smile as he thanks Stalin profusely.

Beria doesn’t waste time cementing his authority. Very shortly after his promotion, he presents Stalin with a list of 457 names, all dubbed “enemies of the people.” Among them is his predecessor, Yezhov. Within days, Yezhov has been arrested and shot, along with hundreds of his former deputies.

By eliminating his rival, Beria secures his role as the chief enforcer of Stalin’s murderous regime. And although the extent of the bloodshed is reduced after Beria takes control of the NKVD, killings persist. They assume a more focused and methodical approach, mirroring Beria’s own chillingly clinical and calculating nature. He presents Stalin with a list of hundreds of names, including industrial leaders, military officers, and bureaucrats. Those unfortunate souls are then promptly seized from their homes in the night and sent to the gulag – or immediately killed.

But it’s in the wake of the Soviet Union's entry into World War II, that Beria's most egregious acts of brutality are unleashed.

In September 1939, Soviet forces invade Poland as part of a pact with Nazi Germany, with Stalin aiming to extend his influence across Eastern Europe. The Soviet troops swiftly achieve their objectives, resulting in the capture and internment of thousands of Polish soldiers in Soviet prison camps.

Six months later, Beria submits a memo to Stalin, advising him that the imprisoned Polish troops are enemies of the Soviet Union and should be executed without delay. Stalin heeds Beria's counsel. And shortly thereafter, around 22,000 Polish prisoners of war, including officers, medical professionals, and intellectuals, are rounded up and shot. Their lifeless bodies are then callously dumped into mass graves.

This atrocity will become known as the Katyn Massacre, named after the forest in Russia where the graves are later discovered. The event further enhances Beria’s fearsome and ruthless reputation, and in the years that follow, he continues to consolidate his power within the Communist Party. By forming calculated alliances inside the Kremlin, and by leveraging his position as the head of the dreaded NKVD, Beria is able to carefully maneuver himself into a position of almost unassailable power and prominence.

By 1945, though, Joseph Stalin’s health will be in decline. A series of strokes will leave the dictator greatly impaired and increasingly reliant on his inner circle, all of whom will be jockeying for the ultimate prize of succeeding him as leader of the Soviet Union. After seven more years, the long-awaited moment will dawn for Beria, as Stalin, the architect of one of the most notorious and blood-soaked regimes of the 20th century, will draw his final breath, sparking a bitter power struggle that will shake the very foundations of the Soviet Union.

Act Two: Death of Stalin

It’s February 28th, 1953. Inside Joseph Stalin's private estate on the outskirts of Moscow, four months before Lavrentiy Beria’s arrest. 

Beria and a group of other senior Communist Party officials are seated around a long banquet table, indulging in another evening of drunken revelry. At the head of the table, Stalin regales his captive audience with an anecdote they’ve all heard countless times before. But as they howl with forced laughter, Beria sizes up his rivals from over the rim of his wine glass.

Tonight’s guests include Stalin’s deputy, Georgy Malenkov; defense minister Nikolai Bulganin; foreign secretary Vyacheslav Molotov; and the First Secretary of the Moscow Party Committee, Nikita Khrushchev. In order to reach this table, these men have all had to survive years of show trials and purges, shrewdly navigating the treacherous minefield of Soviet politics to remain in favor and avoid being stabbed in the back. But even as they laugh uproariously at Stalin’s jokes and toast the glory of the motherland, these men know that nobody at this table can be trusted, that in this atmosphere of heightened paranoia, a single misjudged comment or ill-timed look could undo decades of hard work, and earn them a bullet in the head.

The dinner party finally ends around five o’clock in the morning. As his limousine snakes its way back into Moscow, Beria reflects on Stalin’s declining health. Over the past few years, the 73-year-old dictator has gradually become more disengaged from state affairs. He spends most of his time at his estate, surrounded by members of his inner circle, watching movies and indulging in lavish dinner parties.

Meanwhile, Beria has been quietly expanding his sphere of influence. By deploying NKVD hit-squads to round up anyone he deems a potential threat to his authority, Beria has created a culture of fear in which nobody feels safe. He routinely interrogates his victims, delighting in their pain as he beats them senseless. Prisoners often denounce their own families as “enemies of the people” just to escape Beria’s sadistic torture.

Fear is a powerful currency in Stalin’s Russia. It allows men like Beria to wield extraordinary control and influence. But by the same measure, being universally feared and despised means Beria has a lot of enemies, people who would like to see him dead. It’s a dangerous game he’s playing, and one that he cannot afford to lose.

The following day, in the early hours of the morning, Beria is at home in his apartment when the telephone rings. It’s one of Stalin’s bodyguards. His voice trembles as he tells Beria that something terrible has happened: Comrade Stalin has been discovered unconscious in his study, and he is not showing any signs of waking up.

Within the hour, Beria’s limousine screeches to a halt on the gravel outside Stalin’s home. The 54-year-old rushes inside the building, where he finds a gaggle of guards and maids standing outside Stalin’s room, their faces ashen. Beria breathlessly demands to know exactly what happened. Guard explains that Stalin had said he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances. So when they heard him fall to the ground, they were too afraid to enter the room and check on him. Beria asks if anybody has seen him yet. And the guard says no - just the housekeeper who discovered the body.

Beria nods, his mind whirring. He tells the staff members to wait outside, then steps inside the study. Stalin is lying on the carpet in a puddle of his own urine. His breathing is labored, his chest rising and falling in great rattling heaves. Beria kneels by Stalin’s side and scrutinizes the dictator’s face. Then he makes a decision. He stands and leaves the study and shoots a withering look at Stalin’s bodyguard, saying: “Can’t you see Comrade Stalin is just sleeping? Don’t disturb him and stop alarming us.”

Later that morning, Khrushchev, Malenkov, Bulganin, and Molotov stand huddled around Stalin’s body, which has been moved into his bedroom. Beria watches from a distance as the other ministers debate the next steps. They agree that they need to call a doctor, but most of Moscow’s doctors have been either shot or sent to the gulag. Eventually, they manage to assemble what few medical professionals remain in the city and bring them in to examine Stalin. Their diagnosis is grim: Stalin has suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and his chances of survival are slim.

Sure enough, three days later, Stalin is declared dead. But while the other ministers weep over his body, Beria springs into action. He sneaks into the dictator’s study and unlocks the safe containing Stalin’s kill lists. After throwing these documents in the fire, Beria picks up the telephone and frantically dials his trusted second-in-command. He instructs his officers to roll out across Moscow, replacing all soldiers stationed at military checkpoints with NKVD personnel. Beria knows that the actions he takes in the next few hours are critical, they could determine the entire future of the Soviet Union’s leadership.

And soon, Beria will issue an order to freeze executions and release low-level prisoners, hoping these reforms will win him favor with the public. And as the arrangements for Stalin’s funeral are set in motion, Beria will feel confident that he is getting ever closer to gaining the ultimate power he’s always craved.

Act Three: Downfall

It’s June 26th, 1953 in Moscow.

Lavrentiy Beria strides confidently through the labyrinthine corridors of the Kremlin. He’s on his way to a meeting of the Presidium - the executive decision-making body in the Soviet Union. Beria has a spring in his step because, in the months following Stalin’s death, he has managed to worm his way into a position of even greater power than before.

In accordance with state protocol, Stalin was succeeded as General Secretary by his deputy, Georgy Malenkov. But Malenkov is weak and impressionable - and a longtime ally of Beria’s. Beria was able to persuade Malenkov to combine the ministries of State Security and Internal Affairs, effectively doubling Beria's authority and putting him in charge of a private army of police officers. Given Malenkov’s weakness, Beria believes it’s only a matter of time before he wrestles the official from power and claims the top spot for himself.

Beria enters the conference room where the other members of the Presidium - Khrushchev, Malenkov, Bulganin, and Molotov - all wait assembled. After greeting his comrades with a sneer, Beria takes his seat and introduces the first motion of the day. But Khrushchev interrupts him. He launches into a blistering attack on Beria, accusing him of betraying Stalin and harboring anti-Communist beliefs. The other ministers voice their agreement, pointing accusatory fingers at Beria, who is slowly realizing that he's fallen victim to a conspiracy. He looks toward Malenkov, his old ally, for support. But Malenkov doesn’t meet his gaze. Instead, he reaches under the table and presses a secret button…

Seconds later, the door bursts open and the head of the Red Army marches into the room, flanked by a cadre of officers. Beria jumps to his feet, sputtering indignant threats. But he is silenced by the general, who slams the butt of his rifle into Beria’s face and then drags him, bleeding, from the room.

Beria will be driven to an underground bunker in Moscow, where he’ll be held for the next six months, during which time many of his NKVD deputies will be rounded up and killed. In December, Beria himself will stand trial and be convicted of treason. Following the verdict, he will be led outdoors and met with a single, fatal gunshot to the head, the same fate as thousands of others whose executions Beria ordered.

Today, Lavrentiy Beria is an overlooked figure from the history of the Soviet Union. But for several years, he loomed large as the likeliest successor to Joseph Stalin, threatening to cast an even darker shadow over the 20th century with his potential tenure. This outcome was only avoided, thanks to the animosity he instilled in his peers, who conspired against him and halted Beria’s rise to power with his arrest on June 26th, 1953.

Outro

Next on History Daily. June 27th, 1954. The CIA deposes one of Guatemala’s first democratically elected presidents, upending the nation’s government and ushering in decades of instability.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Katrina Zemrak.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Joe Viner.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.