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MELNTKOVS REMOVAL IN THE UKRAINE
Office of Current Intelligence CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
KEUTDCOV'S REMOVAL Ttl THE UKRAINE
Ukrainian personnel shifts following the death of Stalin culminated in the purge of L. G. Melnikov from his position as First Secretary of the Ukrainian Party onune. In view of his membership on the USSR Party Presidium and his close relations with other members of that body, he was the most important Soviet leader to have been removed since the death of Stalin.
There were few advance indications of Melnikov's ouster to be found in the Ukrainian governmental reorganization. Onpril, the Ukrainian SSR began to reorganize its governmental structure in accordance with the USSR reorganization ofarch; this process continued throughout the months of April and May. Thepril reorganization Included the consolidation of several ministries in line with the All-Unlon ministerial consolidation. Among others, the Ministries of Internal Affairs and State Security were mergedingle Ministry of Internal Affairs under the direction of P. Y.eported MGB associate of. Beria. Onpril, the Ukrainian Minister of State Control, A. P. Plrogov, was replaced by K. S. Karavaev. An important personnel change onay provided what Is perhaps the first indication of an impending high level personnel reversal in the Ukraine. On that date, the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet appointed A. Y. Kbrneichuk First Deputy Chairman of the Republican Council of Ministers, and released Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers Yeremenke from his position "in connection with his appointment as Chairman of the Ukrainian Industrial Council Administration."
The new Deputy Premier, Komeichuk, was an officialriter who had previously been quite prominent In Party and State affairs, but who had been criticized on several occasions for having allowed "bourgeois nationalist" tendencies to appear In hie writings. Both he and his wife, the Polish-born writer V. Vasllevskaya, had been criticized on this account by Melnikov himself ath Congress of the Ukrainian Communist Party in At tbat time, Melnikov hod stated that Komeichuk and his wife were both guilty of "gross ideological defects and deviations from historicaln their libretto of the opera 'Bogdan Khnelnitski'."
While generally adhering rather closely to the line laid down by the Moscow press, Ukrainian papers daring this period reflected
several Interesting trends which help put Melnikov's removal in perspective. In one respect, the Ukrainian press did not follow the Moscow line; following the death of Stalin and untilarch, the Soviet press generally, led by Pravda and Izvestia, began to giveuildup similar to that used for Stalin. As mentioned above, tbe new Soviet Premier was liberally quoted in every issue, and quotations from his speeches Were setoldface type previously reserved for similar quotations from Stalin. Onarch, the central press, and particularly Pravda, abruptly stopped this practice in favor of the new, collective approach to tbe Soviet leadership. The Ukrainian press, however, continued to give exceptional treatment to Malenkov at least until the end of March. This may have been an Indirectof allegiance to him by the Ukrainian Party under Melnlkov's leadership. The baiting of this procedure by tbe Ukrainian press may have been due to pressure on the part of an antl-Malenkov faction in Moscow. On the other hand, it may have occurred at tbe personal request of Malenkov, assuming that he was in accord with the collective leadership line for the time being.
In early June, Ukrainian papers began to feature articles which foreshadowed tbe removal of Melnlkov onh of that month. une, the official Ukrainian newspaper apologizedront page editorial for its own "smear" of the Ukrainian Ministry of Health onebruary, during the height of the vigilance campaign. The February article bad castigated the Health Ministry for tolerating unethical'practices, employing professionally Incompetent practitioners, and failing to eliminate nepotism, bureaucracy and corruption in certain hospitals. Most of the officials singled out in the article had Jewish names.une editorial stated that the previous article badarge group of honest health officials and reflected erroneous views Incompatible with national policy, the Communist Party and Soviet ideology."
Thislear repudiation of an anti-Jewisb article; it was traceable to the reversal of the doctors' plot in early April. Additional criticism of "violators of the Soviet nationalities policy" arose in short order in connection with newspaper criticism of the training of Party propagandists.une, Party officials were scored for not having paid proper attention to tbe theoretical training of propagandists and for having delegated responsibility for the selection and training of propagandists to lower Party organization rather than maintaining centralized control in these matters.
Onune, the official newspaper,ore extensive criticism, charged that anti-Marxist viewpoints were creeping into propaganda material, and that propagandists were not speaking to the workers "in that language which is mostto them." This latter charge was to figure the next day as one of the chief reasons for the expulsion of Melnlkov.
Onane it was announced that Melnlkov had been discharged from his post as First Secretary of the Ukrainian Party by tbe Central Committee of tbe Ukrainian Party. Melnlkov was accused inter alia of having allowed "distortions" of the Soviet nationalities policy in the western areas of the Ukraine. Among these distortions was tho virtual replacement of the local by the Russian language in several schools, and the appointment of officials who were not drawn from the local population. The plenum of the Central Committee appointed A. I. Kirichenko to replace Melnlkov as First Secretary, the first Ukrainian to occupy this position8 with tbe exception of Kaganovleh, who bad been bom in Kiev and who bad held tbe postrief period The Central Committee also appointed A. E. Korneichuk to the thlrteen-man Bureau of the Ukrainian Central Committee.
Criticism was levelled at the Ukrainian Council of Ministers,
cocnKcrs ouster" DAB not Dean conrxraedg oxr.er indications that the Ukrainian Council of Ministers was being reorganized. It was announced that V. G. Bondarchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Council of Ministers, was released from his post "in connection with his transfercientificnd onune another Deputy Chairman, Baranovsky, was released from bie duties "In connection with his passing fully for work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainianther changes in the Ukraine included the dismissal of officials in both the Kiev and Lvov Soviets.
The removal of Melnlkov was of importance from several points of view. First of all. It eeenedto reflect on the position of the USSR Presidium faction headed by. Malenkov and N. S. Melnlkov had been Second Secretary of the Ukrainian Party directly responsible to Khrushchev when the latter served ss First Secretary of the Ukrainian Party He had alsorominent part ath Party Congress, which was generally believed to havealenkov affair, and he bad
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been elected to tbe top USSR Party Presidium following the Congress. He had alsoember of the Caucus of Representatives ofwhich proposed tho composition of the governing bodies ofh Congress, and had beenember of the Congress Secretariat. This was interesting because many of the prominent members of tbe Caucus, and particularly of the.Congress Secretariat, have either been purged or demoted or have disappeared from public prominence since the death of Stalin. Melnikov also badather prominent part in the Soviet vigilance campaign, which derived much of its ideological Inspiration frompeech at tbe Party Congress, and he had faithfully reflected Malenkov'a views on party discipline, policy and procedures.
It was speculated at the time that Melnlkov's ouster was instigated by L. P. Berla, since his removal was the third instancearty purge on charges of promoting excessive Russiflcatlon directly related to changes in the Ministry of Internal affairs. The first such instance revolved around tbe Interior Ministry's reversal of the doctors' plot, which included the dismissal from the Party Secretariat of Former MOB Minister S. D. Ignatlev. The mid-April purge in the Georgian SSR included the installationew Interior Minister believed close to Berla, and included charges that the previous KGB Minister had framed'loyal Georgians on charges of non-existent nationalism.i/ Finally, the governmental changes In tbe Ukraine had brought to the Interior Ministry of that Republic an official believed to be loyal to Berla. Subsequent' Party criticism In the Soviet Republics of Latvia and Lithuania, which had been accompanied by transfers Into the Interior Ministry of MGB officials believed to be loyal to Berla, also Included charges that previous administrations In those republics had violated the correct nationalities policy;.
There were suggestions that the removal of Melnikov might be followed by further difficulties within the Soviet Party hierarchy. M. D. A. Baglrov, Premier of Azerbaijan, was another proponenttrict Russification policy. He had received unusual prominence Inarch reorganization, when he had by-passed twenty-two
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members of the October Party Presidium and was made one of the four alternate members of the new group. Following his installation as Premier of Azerbaijan, be bad paid fulsome personal tribute to Malenkov. This was in contrast to tbe Georgian reorganisation when Bakradze, the new Georgian Premier, had singled out Berla for praise. It was also in contrast to the current line on "colleglal" leadership then in vogue.
In addition to the above, it was also believed that Melnikov would be relieved of his meBberehlp in the Party Presidium. In order for this to be accomplished legally, another meeting of the USSR Party Central Committee would be required, as In the case of the dismissal of Ignatlev from the Party Secretariat. It Is not known whether this has taken place, although onune Melnikov, along with Beria and M. D. A. Baglrov, failed to attend the opera with the Party Presidium at the Bolshol theater. The fact that a. Malysbev, tbe new Minister of Transport and Heavy Machine Building appeared with the group suggested that be had replaced Melnikov.
Original document.
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