History of the Soviet Union (1953–64) Nikita Khrushchev as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and Georgi Malenkov as Premier of the Soviet Union. However the central figure in the immediate post-Stalin period was the former head of the state security apparatus, Lavrentiy Beria. Stalin had left the Soviet Union in an unenviable state when he died. At least 2.5 million people languished in prison and in labor camps, science and the arts had been subjugated to socialist realism, and agriculture productivity on the whole was meager. The country had only one quarter of the livestock it
Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union all between 1939 and 1952. After the death of Joseph Stalin, the congresses were held every five years. Information on congresses, number of delegates, number of people elected to CCs, party membership, the individual who presented the Political Report and information on when the congress was convened can be found in these sources: "Articles and journals:" Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union () was the supreme decision-making body of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Its meetings served as convention of all party delegates and their