Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was Soviet Foreign Minister from 1939 to 1949 and one of Stalin's closest and most durable lieutenants. A Bolshevik since 1906, he survived the purges that decimated the Soviet leadership — in part by signing death warrants including those of his own associates. As Foreign Minister he negotiated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany in August 1939, a deal that shocked the world and whose secret protocol divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. After Hitler's invasion in June 1941, Molotov delivered the radio address informing the Soviet people of the attack. He attended the major Allied conferences at Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam, and the San Francisco conference that founded the United Nations. His implacable stonewalling negotiating style earned him the nickname 'Mr. No' during the early Cold War. After Stalin's death he served briefly under Khrushchev but was expelled from the party in 1961 for membership in the 'Anti-Party Group.' He was reinstated only in 1984, at the age of 94.
- Lived: 1890 CE – 1986 CE
- Nationality: Soviet
- Roles: foreign_minister, statesman, communist
