The New Command

To all appearances, Malenkov took power as smoothly as a new U.S. corporation president moving into the Old Man's office. Less than 24 hours after the announcing of Stalin's death came word of Malenkov's take-over--including a complex plan for revamping the top government and party machine. But there was an unmistakable note of urgency and apprehension in the air. "In this difficult time for our party and country," said Moscow Radio, "the most important task of the party and the government [is] to ensure the uninterrupted and correct leadership of the whole life of the country . . and the prevention of any kind of disarray and panic."

The thoroughness with which "disarray and panic" were guarded against showed preparation. There seemed little doubt that: 1) Stalin himself had picked Malenkov, his longtime protege, for the top job; 2) the general plan, if not the details, of succession had been worked out long ago, with Stalin's approval. Significantly, however, in the first days no one claimed publicly that Stalin had planned it that way.

These are the main facts about the new Russian team :

P:Malenkov succeeds Stalin as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, i.e., Premier. Presumably he also succeeds him as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the party. These are the two top posts in government and party, Russia's twin-engined machine of domination.

P:Malenkov shares power with four Deputy Premiers, all old hands (see box): Bena (Interior), Molotov (Foreign Affairs), Bulganin (War), and Kaganovich (Economics). Together, these five men make up the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, a kind of inner cabinet. On the charts (see NEWS IN PICTURES) they form a pentarchy, but Malenkov is clearly head man.

Several changes make for a more streamlined emergency command setup--or, as Moscow's official communique put it, "more operative leadership." The changes: P:A few years ago, Beria, Molotov and Bulganin stopped actually running their ministries, remained on the all-powerful Politburo, free to think and plan; the ministries were taken over by lesser lights, e.g., Andrei Vishinsky replaced Molotov as Foreign Minister. Now the top boys are back in charge of their departments and the second-stringers are kicked downstairs, e.g., Vishinsky is now only deputy minister and chief representative at U.N. P:At last October's Congress, the old Politburo--the world's most powerful exclusive and dangerous club, whose membership varied between 7 and 14--was replaced by the Presidium (36 members). Now the Party Presidium is cut to 14 about the size of the old Politburo, with much the same members.

This sharp consolidation of power means that a lot of people lost jobs (or at least titles). Malenkov has been careful to find other jobs for most of them, although some seem to be out in the cold. He also tried to take care of the army, the likeliest center of opposition, by kicking Marshal Voroshilov upstairs to Chairman of the Supreme Soviet Presidium (a figurehead job usually called "President of the Soviet Union" in the West), and by appointing as Deputy Minister of War Marshal Zhukov, Russia's greatest military hero of World War II. Finally. Malenkov took pains to hand out plums to national minorities, e.g., a comrade from Azerbaijan was made an alternate member of the Party Presidium, the first time that a Moslem has gotten a top political job in Russia.

To the world and to the Russian people, the Kremlin presented a picture of strength, sureness and unity. How real that unity is, and how long it can last, is another question.

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